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has anyone used a roomba?

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9 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago

Roombas seem like a great idea - has anyone used one? Do they work good?

Comments (51)

  • jerzeegirl
    9 years ago

    I have one too and really like it. We have two dogs that shed so we got the one that is formulated for pet households. First I swiffer; then run the roomba and it does a really good job of getting up the pet hair.

  • ainelane
    9 years ago

    Roomba changed my life!!
    It used to take me 3 hours to vacuum my whole house. Partially because of multiple pets and partially because I despise vacuuming so much that I would put it off for way too long.

    Now, I have 2 Roombas and they are on a schedule. There is nothing better than coming home to a freshly vacuumed house! I run them when I'm not home so I don't have to hear them. I got the first one at least 5 years ago, maybe longer. They are THE BEST. I will never be without them.

  • Errant_gw
    9 years ago

    I have one upstairs, one downstairs, and a Braava for the laminate floors. I love my "Cleaning Ladies"

  • dretutz
    9 years ago

    Love my vacuum robot. It cleans really well and is easy to empty and clean. I schedule the downstairs for 1 am everyday. It keeps dog hair, dust bunnies and usual daily dirt tracked in to a minimum. Love waking up to clean downstairs. I run it upstairs when I'm home.

  • rmtdoug
    9 years ago

    Not yet, but I plan to when finally done with our remodel. One thing I did learn about Roomba's is that they have standardized parts across models. If even your old one breaks, you can fix it yourself with new parts. To me, that alone would influence me to buy one, but then the reviews are very good, too, so it's almost a no-brainer. This is coming from owning a Miele for 15 years, which we will continue to use for stairs and other unreachable areas.

  • schoolhouse_gw
    9 years ago

    The idea is so tempting to me, but I keep wondering how they work in a room like a kitchen? Does it bump into or go around and in between the legs of your kitchen table? or does it just vacuum the very center, more open areas of a room? My rooms are on the small side with furniture set in the middle of most of them. And all floors are hardwood. Can it get caught up in floor rugs or carpet runners?

    A person would still have to use a Swiffer to sweep out under sofas.

  • rbpdx
    9 years ago

    We got a Botvac for ours xmas presents and LOVE IT! Reviews said it's better than Roomba (we never tried Roomba before)
    It's on sale on Costco online. Love this thing!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Botvac

  • arlosmom
    9 years ago

    I have a neat-o robot vac (an earlier version than the one pdxkit has). I doesn't replace regular vacuuming, but it really spaces out the need to clean. I love mine. We have 2 dogs and 2 cats, so I'll take all the help I can get.

  • three3apples
    9 years ago

    To answer the question about Roomba's in a kitchen: it's not at all useful for us in that room. It bangs into the chair legs and essentially ends up cleaning a very small portion of the floor because it keeps redirecting itself. If I remove all 6 chairs it will get about half the room. For some reason it doesn't seem to keep accurate track of its motions and, therefore, leaves large areas of all floors uncleaned. I'd give it a 5/10 rating. It's ok, but doesn't make up for other cleaning because it doesn't seem to cover the whole square footage of any room, unfortunately.

  • glenda_al
    9 years ago

    I have a NEATO robotics vacuum and absolutely love it.

    It comes with strips that you place in front of areas that you want it to stay away from, like under small spaces that it might get suck.

    I highly recommend a NEATO robotic vacuum.

  • Errant_gw
    9 years ago

    Which Roomba do you have, three3apples? Mine are both 770 models, and it's rare that it misses a spot.

    As for kitchen chairs, I have 8 so I usually pick up one or two to make it easier for her to get in and out, otherwise she will spend too much time banging around under the table.

  • Karenseb
    9 years ago

    I checked out the link for the Botvac and it looks great. The Roomba and Botvac vacs look small. How often do you have to empty them. How long does it take to clean a room and how do they keep from falling off a step down into another room?

  • violetwest
    9 years ago

    I wonder if my cats would freak. or decide to take a ride!

  • Hydragea
    9 years ago

    I had a roomba in about 2005.
    It lacked suction, and was next to useless on carpeting. (Mind you, I had a dog, a cat, and 2 small children at the time.)

    It did OK on hardwood, but manual sweeping did a better job (notably in the corners), in far less time, with less noise.

    So that's what you have to ask yourself: are you willing to put up with the noise of roomba for an hour or more while it sweeps your hardwood? Or would you rather spend 5 - 10 minutes sweeping and achieve better results?

    You can obviously tell that I prefer the latter option, likely because I live in a small, 1 storey house. I think I might be of a different mind if I lived in a big, multi-storey house.

    This post was edited by Hydragea on Mon, Jan 5, 15 at 15:09

  • Mistman
    9 years ago

    Ours is about 18 months old, the 770 model. I think it does a great job, DW still uses the Oreck for the dining room rug but for hardwood and carpet it works great. It wont complete the job in one charge but will do most of it depending on what rooms are open. Animals pretty much ignore it, she runs it during the day when she's got the house to herself. It's not quiet but I don't know of any that are. Though it has a relatively small dirt storage it will pack it full and let you know if it needs cleaned out (usually a couple times per use). Overall I think it's a wonderful little machine and I know it saves DW much time pushing a vac around.

  • Errant_gw
    9 years ago

    I'm guessing they've changed considerably in the last 10 years, Hydragea. Mine are a couple of years old and work great on carpet (deep pile in living room, berber in bedrooms, and various throws over laminate). I have two large dogs and one cat, so it picks up a lot of fur every day.

    As for noise, I don't find it nearly as loud as my upright vacuum. Also, being able to have it run everyday after I leave for work means I don't hear it at all.

  • frankielynnsie
    9 years ago

    I can just visualize the robo vacuum zipping thru a pile of dog poo and spreading it all over the carpet and floor from a you tube video. It was very funny since it wasn't my floor.

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    9 years ago

    Like CarrieB, I had a relatively early model of a Roomba, but it developed programming issues after about a dozen uses so that it would only turn around in a tight circle.

    So then a couple of years ago I tried a Neato, and after about 3 months one of the wheels froze up.

    I love having the worst of the stuff that gets tracked in vacuumed up without my input beyond programming the start time, but I would be much happier if they were more reliable, particularly considering the cost when compared to regular vacuums.

  • OOTM_Mom
    9 years ago

    I had a 770 for about a month, (bought from Best Buy). It kept getting stuck on my patterned rug - tan with some black swirly stripes. It thought it was going off a cliff. I read some reviews on the 880 and decided to return the 770 and try the 880. It has only been a few hours and I am already impressed. The 880 moves faster, is a little quieter (not much, but a little), seems smarter about navigating around furniture, and moves over our area rug much better. It did get stuck once so far, but the 770 got stuck every time it was on this rug. The bin full light also seems to work on the 880, its come on three times already, whereas the 770 it never came on, even though it was definitely full. I have all hardwood, with three area rugs. Two very low tight profile rugs, and one medium pile rug with the dark stripes. So far I am very impressed with the 880 over the 770. And I have two dogs that shed like mad. A corgi and a shephard/hound mix. I dont review often, so I am really impressed. If it holds up well over time, it will deserve 5 stars.

    That was the review I gave on Amazon a while back. Its's been a while now and it still gets stuck on that rug. Other than that I still like it. My kids have the duty to dump it when full and move it when stuck. They run it every afternoon after school. It would wake me up at night. Here is the rug that confuses it.

  • mrspete
    9 years ago

    I love my Roomba:

    - It's great for everyday vaccuming, though it doesn't get into the corners, so you still need an occasional "deep clean", but not often.
    - You'd also still need a regular-type vaccum because you'd still need the attachment tools for cobwebs on the crown molding, etc.
    - It can't do heavy duty jobs like picking up Christmas tree needles, but it's a champ on pet hair and everyday dust.
    - It fits through my kitchen chairs just fine, but will it fit through yours? I don't know the size of the chairs or the size of the Roomba you'd choose.
    - It drives the dog INSANE. He barks, he threatens it, and finally he breaks down and whines to us, "Don't you see the danger? Why, oh, why won't you lift a finger to help me defend this house?" The best is when he accidentally turns it on himself!

  • oldbat2be
    9 years ago

    Ditto what Errant says. We've had ours for about 3 years and LOVE it. (Or, at least, I love it). DS and DD turn it off as soon as it starts if they're around. Would never be without one. We had a long haired German Shepherd (and will get another soon) and it does a great job picking up the hair and dirt. There IS work on your end, daily cleaning out the hair and dirt, but it's so worth it. Good luck!

  • Hydragea
    9 years ago

    I honestly forgot that 2005 was 10 years ago. Whoah!

  • Errant_gw
    9 years ago

    Funny how the years creep up on us, huh? :)

  • bbtrix
    9 years ago

    LOL, MrsPete! I expect my lab pup would do the same. I may have to get a Roomba just to amuse our pup (or us). Errant, have you named her?

    I'm glad this thread was started. I've wondered for years if they really work well. Vacuuming kills my back so I think a robo maid is in my future!

  • Errant_gw
    9 years ago

    Our pets just ignore them. In fact, the Weimaraner sometimes waits for it to crash into him before he will bother to move.

    Bbtrix, I haven't named them, other than to collectively call them The Cleaning Ladies.

    I did just recently buy another robot, to clean rain gutters. Sounded like a great idea, but he didn't do too well with the pine needles we have here :(

  • emmers_m
    9 years ago

    Sigh, I would have hoped robot society had progressed beyond traditional gender roles :)

  • OOTM_Mom
    9 years ago

    Ours is named George.

  • Errant_gw
    9 years ago

    Too funny, emmers! While my robots might be stuck in the traditional gender roles, my children are not. You should have seen my 26 year old son swooning over my first robot when I received it as a gift. He was spouting specs and capabilities before I could even get the paper off of it. He was more excited than I was. A month earlier he had to call me to brag about his new Dyson. That boy has a thing for vacuums! LOL

  • emmers_m
    9 years ago

    Errant, you deserve an award - you definitely raised that one right!

  • Errant_gw
    9 years ago

    Thank you! Both boys have turned out to be amazing young men. I'm so proud of them :)

  • AvatarWalt
    9 years ago

    This is a timely thread, as I've been wishing for an easy between-cleaning cleaning method. We have a few oriental rugs with fringe--does the robot suck them up and jam like the regular vacuum does?

    Our ten pound miniature pinscher/chihuahua launches herself ferociously at the vacuum; while it's hard not to laugh at her teeth clicking on the plastic while she tries to subdue the noisy invader, I don't know that she'd bond very well with a Roomba.

  • a2gemini
    9 years ago

    Errant- so funny - must have inherited the sweeping gene. A friend has it and his son inherited it as well. He comes home after a long day in surgery and either grabs the broom or vacuum. I keep hoping it will rub off on DH.

    My nephew and wife love their Roomba.

    We don't have one but saw the miele demo. It had a camera in it to avoid chair legs. It was cute but since we are retired neat DINKs the carpets aren't too bad so not sure worth the investment.

  • marykh
    9 years ago

    It's 8:20 am and "Henri" (550 pet model) has left his dock and is making his daily way around the house -- smoothly making the transisiton from concrete to cork flooring and skimming over the area rugs. He's yet to learn how to straighten the fringe on the oriental runner, but does a fine job of whisking away the cat hair that collects in it. He does get stuck under the sofa, if I don't block one particular area, but that's a small inconvenience. The cats open an eye when he enters the room, but largely ignore him.

    I'm shocked (and horrified) at how full his collector bin is at the end of each cycle. We've moved from a home with carpeted floors to one with hard surface floors and a few area rugs. Three cats and 2 adult humans shed more daily "stuff" than I would ever have imagined. I shudder when I think of what the carpets were holding.

  • shelayne
    9 years ago

    Our Roomba is named Thomas. My boys named "him". The first day we sent him off his base, we were mesmerized, watching him zip around the room. I think we watched him for his entire run. ;) He does a great job, I think, and he does go right on over the rug by the back door and the carpet runner in the kitchen. I set up the virtual walls for areas I don't want him to clean.

    I quite like him. :)

  • OOTM_Mom
    9 years ago

    I'm gonna pretend to be the OP for a moment, since they seem to be mia...

    "Thank you all so much for the great information about Roombas! I think I will give one a try based on all your help!"

    ;-)

  • sahmmy_gw
    9 years ago

    I have been considering a Roomba - I have cats, and somehow also trek in a lot of grit from outside (even though I have a no-shoes-policy house). Anyway, I got a little overwhelmed on Amazon as there were so many reviews and different models.

    But my most important consideration is that I live in a 3-story townhome. That means vertical living. So, ground floor is entry hall, bathroom, laundry, den. Middle floor is kitchen and living room. Top floor is bedrooms and bathrooms. Will the Roomba be a good buy for a townhome that means stacked vertical living?

  • ainelane
    9 years ago

    Sahmmy -
    The only part of Roomba that you won't be able to take full advantage of is the scheduling aspect. He will be able to vacuum one of your levels by himself, if you set up the timer.

    The thing to consider is where his home base will be. This is where he charges and rests when not in use. From his home base, he can vacuum that level on a pre-set schedule without any direction from you, for example twice per week at 9am. For your other two levels, you will have to carry him there and then he can be left alone to work.

    My main floor actually has 3 levels (sunken rooms and such) and so he can't do them all on the pre-set schedule. But, I don't find this to be a problem at all. He can do the kitchen/keeping room by himself 3 times a week at midnight. The rest of the levels I just carry him to the room, press start and then go out or go to bed etc.

    With your cats, I think you will find Roomba to be an outstanding helper in making life easier!

  • huntingforgrout
    9 years ago

    If you have family members with long hair, roomba will collect all that hair and wind it around the rotating brush and rubber rotating thingie. Mostly at the ends, but also all along the brush. You will need to use scissors to remove it. You will need to remove both at least once a week to cut the mess loose. This may not be an issue at your house, but it was at mine.

  • huntingforgrout
    9 years ago

    If you have family members with long hair, roomba will collect all that hair and wind it around the rotating brush and rubber rotating thingie. Mostly at the ends, but also all along the brush. You will need to use scissors to remove it. You will need to remove both at least once a week to cut the mess loose. This may not be an issue at your house, but it was at mine.

  • party_music50
    9 years ago

    Mine is named Bob and I love him! :)

  • kitchendetective
    9 years ago

    We were in love with the Roomba for a few months, but grew tired of the novelty. Mine had lots of problems and needed parts replaced, although the replacements never seemed to solve the problems. It stopped working completely after about a year. While it worked, it needed such frequent cleaning (dog and cat hair), that it wasn't worth the effort. It went to the recycling center when we gave up on it.

  • sahmmy_gw
    9 years ago

    I just did some googling, and discovered that Dyson has come out recently with a robot vacuum. Dyson is always proud that it engineers vacuums better than what has come before. According to the article I am linking, the Dyson robot vacuum solves issues that people complain about in Roombas and other robot vacuums. The Dyson is being sold at HD, BBB, and other stores like that. But there are no reviews of it yet. I may wait a bit and see what people think of it.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Dyson's First Robot Vacuum

  • AvatarWalt
    8 years ago

    I've had this thread in the back of my mind (forgetting that I'd actually commented on it), and I finally bought a Roomba 595 Pet Series at Costco, lured by the discount. I'm liking it pretty well, except that instead of returning to the dock it just tells me it needs to be recharged and stops after about an hour. Does anyone know if that's a "feature"? I'd like it to do the whole first floor (about 1000 sf of kitchen, dining, living, bath and two bedrooms, and I don't like the notion if having to hunt it down after it's died somewhere. And if I recharge it and restart, does it pick up where it left off or start all over? Why must simplifying things be so complicated?

  • Barb J
    8 years ago

    We have a 2000 sqft house and I only do about 500 sqft at a time with two rooms/areas for each run. If I do more than 2 areas, it seems to get confused. I have 5 lighthouses/walls and 2 bases. It lives in my formal living/dining with one base and the 2nd base roves around to the area that I want to target (master bedroom/bathroom or kitchen/family room). I wish that I could set up lighthouses all over and have it clean the whole house at once, but I think that's too much to ask of my little robot vacuum.

  • AvatarWalt
    8 years ago

    Thanks barbja-- does the base have to be in a spot that it can "see" or will it remember that it's tucked in an inconspicuous corner? I'd certainly prefer to keep it hidden.

  • gazmitch61
    5 years ago

    If you want to know the what the difference is between the Roomba 860 and the 880 this post explains it well, I think it a lot to do with what you want the Roomba vacuum to do in your home, and the features each model has, and the cost of course, no point in pay over the top on features you might never need, only my thoughts.


  • Daniel Fisher
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I really do not advise the cyber vacuums, since I find them don't perform effectively enough. I think that they will get much better behaviour enhancement after several years, 5-6 approx., but now you'd better stick to any modern type of cleaner option.

    You can check some guides here and there.
    From my personal practice, Oreck and Shark are top brands to choose from. As a proud husband of a long-haired wife I can recommend you this.

  • AvatarWalt
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Since this popped up again, I thought I'd update with my experience in case there are folks looking for information. We bought a Roomba at Costco in 2015, and I used it regularly for quite a while, then occasionally, and have now stopped entirely. I finally decided it was more hassle than it was worth, and the fact that the battery wouldn't last beyond part of a floor was the final straw. I found that it got hung up on area rugs so I couldn't really trust it to finish, and by the time I'd moved ottomans, dining room chairs, cords, etc. so it could cover more floor area it felt like I might as well use the Dyson stick and do a better job. So I do.


    EDIT: the area rugs I had trouble with are oriental rugs with fringe--sometimes the Roomba was fine, but sometimes it ate the fringe. And it can't get under the dining room table with all the legs there, as well as in a surprising number of other spots in our house. I loved the idea (and fact) of regular cleaning like bbtrix below, but it wasn't working well enough for us.

  • bbtrix
    4 years ago

    I’m adding my input since these posts were helpful when I was choosing. I love mine. I’ve got the Roomba 960. Maybe they’ve improved over time or it’s the specific model I have, but I’m not experiencing problems. I’ve got area and throw rugs and it has no problem with them. My area rug is a thick jute rug and it climbs over the edge fine. My bot has saved my back that cannot tolerate vacuuming and with a 90 lb lab I don’t want to wait for my DHs weekly regular vacuum. My house has three levels and bot does one per day so each area gets two bot vacs and one regular vac weekly. I am thrilled that I can easily keep up with the dog hair without having constant back pain. The most effort I have is moving and cleaning bot prior to starting. Occasionally I’ll have to empty the bin during a clean but not usually if I keep to my schedule. My battery lasts through the each level fine, but I’m sure that will change with time. I let it go around chair legs and have my cords hidden. I do have to get my curtains off the floor. To me that is much less effort than vacuuming. So it all depends on your needs, but I’ll always have a bot in my home and will make sure I design a permanent spot for it to reside when we build our next home.

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