Anyone have a Roomba?

[b-boy]

I wish I would've had the extra money for wood floors when we built the house. Extras had to be paid for up front. I hate carpets for dirt, dust, allergens, pet dander, etc. Wood is easier to keep cleaner.

I replaced all my carpeting with wood, laminate, or tile over the past 10 years. I did the work myself, so it was fairly cheap. I won't go back to carpet. My only problem is with the dog. He's scratched up the floors in a few places. Originally it bothered me a lot. Now I just call it 'character'.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I don't have carpet downstairs but I have area rugs. How does that handle those? They're shaggy basically.

Comment withheld due to my mind being in the gutter, and it being in bad taste.


And a question. How do they do on transitioning between wood/tile and rugs and not just carpeting where the transition is mostly seamless. I have a lot of tile in my basement and the floors are always gritty and being primarily barefoot when I am at home I accumulate dust/whatnot socks rather rapidly. Not to mention I am lazy and dont like sweeping/vacuuming. This may be just what I need if they can jump onto rugs well.

Now if they could only teach the things to empty themselves. Maybe have the charger have a little vacuum of its own to empty the tray.

 

[grrickar]

We have had an older model for years. I have lost count of the repairs and replacement parts I have bought for it. They are decent, but the batteries fail eventually and quit holding a charge. The side sweeper motor had to be replaced a couple of times too.

It does daily duty in our basement, where it keeps things mostly tidy. If my daughter leaves iPhone change cables and such on the floor the Roomba will 'eat' them.

 

[b-boy]

And a question. How do they do on transitioning between wood/tile and rugs and not just carpeting where the transition is mostly seamless. I have a lot of tile in my basement and the floors are always gritty and being primarily barefoot when I am at home I accumulate dust/whatnot socks rather rapidly. Not to mention I am lazy and dont like sweeping/vacuuming. This may be just what I need if they can jump onto rugs well.

Now if they could only teach the things to empty themselves. Maybe have the charger have a little vacuum of its own to empty the tray.

I have some transitions on the 2nd floor of my house. It has no problem with them. They are probably 3/4".

In my kitchen I have a transition that's a little higher due to multiple layers of flooring. It has a hard time with that. It will make the transition about 50% of the time. It's probably 1-1/2" or so.

The only thing that makes me nervous is stairs. This thing seems to be able to locate and reverse direction when it comes to a ledge, or stair, but I don't fully trust it. I use an invisible wall to keep it away from the stairs for now.

 

[b-boy]

We have had an older model for years. I have lost count of the repairs and replacement parts I have bought for it. They are decent, but the batteries fail eventually and quit holding a charge. The side sweeper motor had to be replaced a couple of times too.

It does daily duty in our basement, where it keeps things mostly tidy. If my daughter leaves iPhone change cables and such on the floor the Roomba will 'eat' them.

Yea - I'm assuming the battery will go after a few years. It's the same with cell phones and laptops. The weak point is always the battery. New batteries aren't cheap, but they aren't super expensive either.

 

[b-boy]

Actually, changing the dustbin is pretty painless. It takes about 30 seconds.

 

[GHBWNY]

We've been seeing the one that steams the wood floors clean that looks like one of those. I keep thinking steam would screw up the wood's finish?

Depends somewhat on the type of finish. If it's polyurethane, no prob. If it's a higher grade catalyzed lacquer, not as good for floors as poly, but not as much a concern as regular old varnish or shellac. Most pre-finished flooring is a lacquer of some kind. No matter what the finish, where the wood is bare (like edges, micro-bevels, seams), or worn spots, the hot steam can swell the fibers of the raw wood and/or creep under the finish and cause the finish to peel. Steam is [very hot] water and usually, you don't clean wood floors with water, except for an occasional damp cloth. I could be mistaken, but I don't know of any pre-finished flooring companies that will warranty their product under use of steam-cleaning. To see those commercials where they are steam-cleaning wood floors is misleading.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah Pete, that was my first impression when I first saw the commercial. You don't steam wood unless you want to bend it to another shape in my experience.

 

[Tin4]

I do not have one. I prefer my electronic DJ to stay in one place.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXhsUPtsiLU[/ame]

 

[estricklin]

Nope - Hazel. Only people in their late 40s will get that.

Haha I'd probably name mine Hal 8,999.

 

[b-boy]

Haha I'd probably name mine Hal 8,999.

Not 9001?

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Best reason to own a Roomba

 

[Zuljin]

I just bought one of these. I've had it for a few weeks now, and I absolutely love it. I had one about 10 years ago, but the product wasn't quite 'there' yet, so I sold it.

I have a gigantic, hairy dog in my house (English Mastiff). He's a perpetual shedder. I've never seen a dog shed as much as this dog. We have to vacuum 4-5 times a week just to keep up with the dog hair. I swear we've had giant dog hair tumbleweeds blowing through the kitchen on several occasions. Dog hair tumbleweeds kind of ruin parties.

My kids used to do the vacuuming, but they're both in college now. My wife looked at me as the next person in line to take over the vacuuming duties, so I did what any semi-successful businessman would do - I whipped out my credit card and bought a Roomba.

I am completely mesmerized by it. I pop a beer and watch it zoom around the house. It can sense walls and large pieces of furniture. It will maneuver around them. I swear it's smarter than the dog! It has it's own docking/charging station. It can be programmed to vacuum on a regular basis. When it's done, it returns to it's docking station automatically. I have to do nothing except empty the little dust bin! I feel like George Jetson!

My dog is not too happy with it. He's more scared than intimidated. The cat, however, stalks it like it's some sort of prey.

My wife was a little apprehensive. She saw right through my ploy to avoid housework, but the lack of dog hair in the house has turned her. She's even named it.

Can it go into multiple rooms on its own?

try Neato its much better.

Do tell.

I don't have carpet downstairs but I have area rugs. How does that handle those? They're shaggy basically.

I've often thought about getting one but if I doesn't also do under furniture then I feel like I will still be cleaning floors. They come up on Woot.com a lot as refurbished models and I nearly always bite.

/juvenile locker-room giggle snorts.

What if I leave the recliners up? Will it clean under the length of the L sofa then?

We have wood floors (maple) throughout, 3 kids, dog, cat. We still prefer the wood over carpet.

Hoover makes a pretty nice cordless sweeper that uses a Lithium Ion removable batter that is far better than the sharks. My wife has used ALL of them and this one is by far her favorite.

We also have the handheld Lynx, which uses the exact same battery. Also tops in its class. If you buy this also, you'll have two batteries in case one dies while using it.

Hoover Linx Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner, BH50010
Hoover Platinum Collection LiNX Cordless Pet Handheld Vacuum, BH50030

Hoover makes a corded floor cleaner called the Floor Mate. We bought one at a store. Damn fine floor cleaning machine. Simple. Durable. Does a great job.

 

[Zuljin]

How long have you had it and how well does it handle the dog hair,Present dog is shortered haired but doesn't seem to shed any less

Probably only a few minutes longer then when he first posted about it.

 

[ChefRex]

Probably only a few minutes longer then when he first posted about it.

I guess I deserve that

 

[jbender21]

I love mine. It's a 500 series and it still kicks ass! Every part is replaceable (well engineered). If u have pets u will really appreciate it.

 

[Zuljin]

Is the $700 one that much more worth it than the $350 one?

 

[pagrider]

Ok so I have had several Roombas and own a scooba as well. I am a big fan of Roomba products and have used them for years. We have two labs so lots of hair. Last year I purchased a Neato and its not even close. The Neato is just much more powerful and doesnt run around in circles bumping into things like a roomba. the Neato actually laser maps the room and then operates like a traditional vacuum with suction. It works terrific on carpets (roomba not so good on carpets) as well and will clean an entire home room by room without steps in the way. It will just find its way back recharge and continue on. Neato has it beat hands down IMO. Neato is programed to clean the house while we are at work and we come home to a newly vacuumed home very night. Its awesome. Roomba does a good job just not great. Neato = great.

 

[b-boy]

Ok so I have had several Roombas and own a scooba as well. I am a big fan of Roomba products and have used them for years. We have two labs so lots of hair. Last year I purchased a Neato and its not even close. The Neato is just much more powerful and doesnt run around in circles bumping into things like a roomba. the Neato actually laser maps the room and then operates like a traditional vacuum with suction. It works terrific on carpets (roomba not so good on carpets) as well and will clean an entire home room by room without steps in the way. It will just find its way back recharge and continue on. Neato has it beat hands down IMO. Neato is programed to clean the house while we are at work and we come home to a newly vacuumed home very night. Its awesome. Roomba does a good job just not great. Neato = great.

Where were you 3 weeks ago?

 

[pagrider]

sorry about that just wanted to give an honest assessment of both. The roomba is still great we use it upstairs in our house well the Neato takes care of downstairs