Anyone Use iRobot Vacumn (Roomba)?

jyl · jyl's Garage

Has anyone tried the robotic home vacumns and floor cleaners, e.g. those made by iRobot? Any feedback on well, not not, these work? Thanks.

holtjv · 09-10-2007, 11:54 AM

Yes, we have one and my wife likes it a lot.

Only negative feedback is that it is easily overwhelmed and underperforms if it has a lot of pet hair to deal with.

All in all, a good unit--certainly dependable.

osidak · 09-10-2007, 11:56 AM

got one last christmas and other than stupid expensive shipping on consumables we love ours.

does a great job on wood floors - any area rugs with tassles will piss it off though

Joeaksa · 09-10-2007, 12:02 PM

Good thread. Have thought about getting one and might take the plunge now.

09-10-2007, 12:36 PM

Dog hair gums up the works after one use. Otherwise, it works fine.

Rot 911 · 09-10-2007, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Wilson

Dog hair gums up the works after one use. Otherwise, it works fine.

Damn that sucks, because that is exactly what I wanted one for, to pick up all the dog hair on hardwood floors.

RichF · 09-10-2007, 12:47 PM

Me and my brother bought one for are apartment second best thing we have bought yet next to the kegarator

holtjv · 09-10-2007, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurt V

Damn that sucks, because that is exactly what I wanted one for, to pick up all the dog hair on hardwood floors.

Thats exactly why we bought ours and it does a fair job on it. Key is not using it on too big of an area at a time, and emptying the container after each use. Make sure to clean all the brushes and rollers and not to lose the small parts. I maintain that the amount of time it takes to clean the thing out negates the time saving but my wife still likes it.

We should have been the pilot program: 3 dogs, 5 cats, 2300 sq ft of wood floors.
One of our cats (the bengal) got on top, hit the power button, and rode it around the house for 5 minutes--would have liked a picture of that.

Not too many overnight visitors at our abode... JH

osidak · 09-10-2007, 12:59 PM

they make one geared towards pets i believe

Deschodt · 09-10-2007, 01:14 PM

I have 2. We love(d) those things and they do a great job with the lab's hair... But like clockwork, both broke down after 3 years of ownership within a week of one another, and no amount of blowing compressed air at the sensors or anything is fixing them... A bit bummed w/quality, considering I had just spent money for new components for them....

Also, they are noisy - Ok if you set them while you leave home, but noisy if you're in the house.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by holtjv

One of our cats (the bengal) got on top, hit the power button, and rode it around the house for 5 minutes--would have liked a picture of that.

That's hilarious! How noisy are they? I'd be more concerned about the cats getting scared by it (I've been known to chase them around the house with my RC 911 GT3 car occasionally. . .) But it sounds like they might just look at it as a plaything. . .

Still, video of the surfin' pet would have been priceless.

Deschodt · 09-10-2007, 01:37 PM

Couldn't tell you about cats, but the thing has come from under a sofa and surprised the crap out of my dog a few times. It was really funny to see the dog jump a foot in the air and run away from the robot. All in all, though, as much as I liked mine, I am dissapointed both broke, and they are not cheap. I think I'll stick to vacuuming by hand from now on. The roomba left a lot of dog hair on the edge of rugs too... It's great if your house is mostly tile or wood floors, no place for it to get tangled in stuff, no rugs with tassle like stuff at the edges, etc....

Rikao4 · 09-10-2007, 01:48 PM

I just know if I bought this..SAM would first chew it to bits , and take it's remain to the pool to perform flotation test.

Rika

jyl · jyl's Garage

I don't have tassles on the rugs - environment is hardwood floors, one large rug per room, lots of legs (chairs, couch, tables, end tables, floor lamps, piano, etc etc) - so my main issue is if they can navigate a complicated and crowded environment well?