Roomba?

[someguy]

The last Roomba thread I found was 3+ years ago which is a long time in technology.

Do folks use these robots to clean and would you do it again? I'd be particularly interested to hear opinions about Roomba in conjunction with (human) cleaning services. Having cleaners is one of the our greatest domestic tranquility expenditures so I don't plan on stopping that service. But I am wondering if house cleaners + daily Roomba would make a noticeable improvement?

 

[Midpack]

This seems to be a good, more current review FWIW, though the quote below may answer your primary question?

The Best Robot Vacuum | The Sweethome

If you expect a $400 robot to clean as deeply and consistently as a $400 vacuum used properly, you’re going to be disappointed.

I can't provide a first hand review. The more exercise I get outside of formal workouts the better IMO. If I buy a Roomba, it won't be until I'm physically unable to handle a "manual" vacuum cleaner.

It appears the Roomba can't match a traditional vacuum for cleaning, and the very limited debris collection capacity may always be an Achilles heel for robot vacuums, especially for those with family pets. YMMV

 

[Dash man]

While my Roomba isn't nearly as powerful as a vacuum, we still love it for keeping cat and dog hair under control between the biweekly cleaning service we have.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[JoeWras]

Vacuuming is a touchy subject for me on this board. When I first joined, I said I looked forward to ER so I could spend some days vacuuming. What I meant was it would be nice to not have to be hurried about this mundane task, and that I could use it for routine exercise.

But I got drawn and quartered by some here for my off-hand comment. That's OK, we all had a good laugh.

As for the Roomba, I have a friend who has one of the early ones, and he swears by it, even after many years of usage of his first gen device. He loves it. It keeps his dog's long hair mess in check. And actually, if you are not really picky, his carpets look fine.

Personally, I won't get one because -- well -- I think the exercise benefit is good. ... Oh boy, here I go again.

 

[REWahoo]

Personally, I won't get one because -- well -- I think the exercise benefit is good. ... Oh boy, here I go again.

This obviously isn't going away on it's own. I recommend you seek some professional counseling.

 

[JoeWras]

I think I may need help. I'm weird.

 

[outabout]

We used a Roomba about couple years ago and used it for about a year.
I'd say the satisfaction depends on how picky you are. I am fairly picky because I pay attention to details, corners, etc. I found that I needed to clean again after Roomba. Roomba does fairly decent job at the first glance, but then you would find missed spots, no corner cleaning, and if you have a surface difference (like from hardwood to rug), there is a "roombarf" effect (it leaves dust/hair at the edge). It would also create static and attract the dog hair, then smear it onto furtniture/couches. In addition, you need to clean Roomba often, the pet hair would get into the axle and you need to take it apart. It is a 5-min job, but annoying.

All in all, we returned our Roomba. We bought it from hammacher.com, they have life time guarantee.

 

[Katsmeow]

WE have a Roomba. Like many we use it to keep pet hair under control. It doesn't entirely do that, but our ragdoll leaves lots of white fuzzy hair all over our dark wood floors.

This is not a substitute for a "real" vacuum cleaner (whether by you or someone else). We don't have a cleaning service now but had one in the past. Roomba is nice to keep stuff down in between. I'm not sure how necessary it would be for a non pet owner though.

 

[wrl11]

We have had 2 of them for 2 years (one for 2nd floor and one for downstairs). They do a good job, but we have them run every day, so if you use them only once or twice a week there will likely be missed spots or disappointing performance vs. a hand vac.

 

[Car-Guy]

I've lost count at how many Roomba's we had (more than 5 that I know of) After about 2 years they start to have probelms. (YMMV) They are great for picking up the easy stuff (like dog hair) and keeping the carpets looking good but they don't replace a good vacuuming once in a while. Another plus is they don't throw out or kick-up any dust.

 

[pb4uski]

We had an old Roomba that we originally bought in the mid 2000s used occasionally for a few years and then abandoned. Shortly after I retired I found it in a bag, went online and bought a new battery and tred kit for it and totally refurbished it.

We have been using it more often over the last year or so and I like it.

IMO, it is best to think of it as an robotic sweeper than a robotic vacuum. It does a good job of sweeping up lint, dirt, etc between when we do a through vacuuming. It works much better on hard surfaces than on carpeting, even short-pile carpeting.

The battery is starting to discharge too fast so I'm probably due for a new battery soon. I'd like to buy a new Roomba but DW isn't keen on the Roomba so I suspect she would have a cow if I spent $400 for a new one.

Once last summer I was a bit bored and put the cat and the Roomba in the same room and turned the Roomba on and watched it drive the cat crazy for a couple minutes.

 

[Car-Guy]

Once last summer I was a bit bored and put the cat and the Roomba in the same room and turned the Roomba on and watched it drive the cat crazy for a couple minutes.

Fuuny you say that. Our dog totally ignores our Roomba. It will bump into him and he doesn't move or even look at it.

 

[Koolau]

We got rid of all carpet (tile only.) The Roomba does an okay job on this surface, but it still requires occasional mopping to get dirt that sticks to the surface and probably no vacuum will get the stuff that sticks to tile. We don't have AC so the windows and doors are open almost 24/7. We get some fine volcanic "dirt" off the mountain behind us (20 mph trades will pick up a lot of dirt.) So, the Roomba, run just about every day with a weekly mopping works pretty well.

My biggest complaint about the Roomba is that it seems to have no logic at all. It will go over the same spot 6 times and miss whole areas (daily use takes care of most issues associated with this.) I can hardly stand to watch it "work." It just seems so bloody stupid! Given the chance, it will commit suicide by running under the ledge on the lanai to drop several floors to its death. Fortunately, we figured out how to prevent this, but you really have to be careful. Also, it will always find some spot to get stuck. It may or may not be able to extricate itself, but if it does, the stupid thing will go right back and try it again! Drives me crazy.

If you really hate housework as we do, I'd still vote for the Roomba, but don't count on it to be thorough and don't count on it behaving logically. Other than that, we like ours fine. YMMV

 

[someguy]

I have to say, the thought of vacuuming as exercise baffles me on so many levels but it sounds like a horse that has been beaten way past death in another thread.

We have mostly hardwood floors in the non-bedroom areas and between professional cleanings they get the standard dust and other detritus. It'd be nice to have that automatically taken care of. But, spending 5 minutes a day emptying the bin and cleaning the filter and rollers wouldn't make sense -- I could use the swiffer every other day or every third day and that takes five minutes or less. I like the idea of getting Roomba from a place with a lifetime guarantee because the only way to know for sure in any given household is after real life use.

 

[Socal Tom]

We one our fourth or fifth roomba. We have pugs which shed quite a bit. We have our set to clean every night at about 1am. Our cleaners come every 2 weeks, and while the roomba isn't the best vacuum available, it works well on keeping the hair under control. Another side affect is that you have to pick up nightly or the roomba gets caught on things. If we didn't have the dogs, I probably wouldn't recommend a roomba. I don't think they help a lot with moderate dust.
Tom