You're all set then. Rug fringe really stops them.

The other big downside, is the small dirt bin. Yet, they are still a time saver.

Weird, I ran the Roomba idea by wife who says she wants a new TV instead. Like Oprah is going to look better in 50-inch HD? That is the last thing I want to spend money on.

the Roomba is just a couple hundred . . oh wait, were you two disgussing getting the Woomba? :eek: --I think those are more. :D

We got one for Christmas also, I don't think it's been run as much as it used to. Don't throw away your human guided one.
Jim

I received the hardwood version last december. Its sounds like a little ATM machine cruising around my house..

I knew I'd find a thread on this! Ok, I have hardwood floors in the entire house, and I have pets. Will the $129 cheap one work for me, or should I go for the pet one for like $350? What about "virtual walls" and lighthouses, what is that all about? I read a review about setting up a line of walls so it will stay in one room with a virtual wall. I want "fire and forget". Programmable for time of day start, definitely.

The lighthouses help it find its way back to base station when the power gets low, ours got loose once and died under a bed in a guestroom. We had to follow the tracks to find it after it went rogue. Really a neat little machine.

I got mine off "Woot", it was refurbished, about 135 bucks.

• Works GREAT. Every Saturday, while I drink coffee, read the paper (in another room, music on, it's pretty noisy)

• Cat ignores it.

• I have mostly wood floors, rug in front of the couch, no problem getting up and down on the rug, about 3/8 inch

• I use the virtual wall in front of the hall, long halls are a time waster, still need to get out the regular vacuum, just not every time.

• Helps to move a few things out of the way, (area rugs, dining room chairs, speaker stands, that sort of stuff)

• Mostly just goes, once in a while a sensor needs cleaned, or cat hair gets built up on the ends of the brushes, but for the most part, set it and forget it.

They are cool. I have three dogs, and the dust bin and brushes get full pretty quick. Two of my dogs (German Shepards) have pretty long hair. I have thought about getting the larger non vacuum assisted dust bin.

I'd definitly say go for it. We have one of the more expensive ones and two of the light houses. I'd didn't use it for a while, and it killed the battery. They are pretty easy to replace. The programmable part is pretty useful as well.

I can answer any questions you may have Hugh.

Bill

What model do you guys have? I like the idea, just not sure which one to buy. I need one for pet hair and I'd like to have it start while I'm at work.

I have 5 or 6 of them. The cheap ones are loud. Try to avoid them. Costco sells one for $250 that is very nice. Programmable and fairly quiet.

Cool, thanks Motion!

I have the 570 (or the equivalent, its a few years old). I think I am going to try the high capicity dust bin. I also ordered a couple of extra brushes a while ago.

I'm not sure - but mine is NOT programmable, I think the one I have is the latest non - programmable unit.
I just went and looked,
the Quickstart guide says it's the 500 series.

I purchased the $249 unit from Costco. It is a 560 and is programmable. I have hardwood and tile floors and it does three rooms nicely before it goes back to the charger. I also have a small carpet by the front door and it goes right over it without issue. It does well going over the hardwood topper between hardwood and tile floors. It also goes under my couch and chair without much incedent.

Hugh, I do not have pets so I can't say if it works better then the one for pets but my sister has two cats and has the cheaper model and it works well in her house with hardwood floors.

Mine is the 560.
Not my cat.
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Had one... worked good for about a year.... now it does the spin around in a circle dance (something is messed with it) Cleaned all the sensors, pulled it apart cleaned everything... still does the same..

Hugh, I'm modifying my comments/POV The cleaning and fussing with the Roomba got to be too high a price for me. There is also value in having one less piece of equipment in the house. ....one less remote control. YMMV ... It may work for you. It's a close balance . . hassle vs help.

I got one for my wife for Mother's Day, and some jewelry. We love it, it has an scheduler for automatic starts up to seven times a week. Model 550 at COSTCO for $249 plus tax. I think it's a COSTCO model as it isn't listed on IRobot.com's web site. Having it start middle of the day when no one is home. We named it "Rosie" after the Jetson's Robot Maid.

One of my buddies from High School, his little brother Colin is the Chairman of the Board of iRobot. Yep, I know the little twerp that invented all of this stuff. He was one of the underling computer nerds when I was an overling computer nerd.