Does anyone use the iROBOT for vacuuming?

[kinein]

I am thinking about buying an iRobot for vacuuming around the house. Does anyone use the iRobot and would you mind giving me your input on the product?


iRobot: Roomba Robots

[Hugh R]

I had one for a few years, but it died. It works well, set it for when you are at work. Won't go off of stairs, picks up a lot of dirt. You need to take the bottom plate off and really clean the underside of the drive wheels every few months, not hard, about a ten minute job.

The "lighthouses" are little Infrared boxes you put in, say a hallway, and it won't cross that beam. I find it kind of cool that it will find its charging station and park itself. Once in a while they get stuck and can't figure out how to back out, so you need to figure out where it died.

Costco

[scottmandue]

Do you have a dog? I don't have an iROBOT but there was a humorous story on the internet about an owner who's dog pooped while they were away and the iRobot... do I need to go on?

I saw it on the internet so it has to be true!

[Hugh R]

iRobot Rhoomba

[jyl]

Love mine. Empty the dust bin weekly (30 sec), do a more thorough cleaning monthly (5 min), sometimes put it back on the charger if it didn't get there on its own (5 sec). That's all the time I spend on routine vacuuming nowadays. The regular vacuum still gets used on deep cleaning days.

[Rick V]

I really want one, I have four cats and there is no way to keep up with the dust bunnies. I am just afraid the cats will be riding the thing

[Jrboulder]

I had one that worked well for about 6 years. Didn't replace it.

[imcarthur]

We bought one crazy cheap somewhere in the last year. We only use it the living/dining but it does wonders for picking up cat fur. Of course, you also have to be diligent & clean it when it gets wound up with the same.

It freaks our cat out.

Ian

[John Rogers]

Yes, we have for years. Had to replace: the batt. pack once, the dust collector with the new high power fan/filter, the brush and gear assembly and the little three pointed spinning brush yearly. Since we had a pair of English Bulldogs, it ran daily for about 20 minutes. I cleaned it daily. Is is great!

[72doug2,2S]

Saw one at Costco the other day. What is a good price on these?

[kinein]

Does anyone have the neato robotic vacuum?

[Evans, Marv]

We have area rugs, most maybe 8 ft. x 10 ft. The edges are maybe up to half an inch plus high. How do they do with rugs like this? I've thought of getting one, but never heard comments about them with area rugs.

[jyl]

If the rug edge is a sudden large rise, the Rhoomba might bounce off (trigger the bumper that tells it that it hit something). If the rise is a bit gradual, then it should be fine. Most likely it will be fine. We have thick area rugs on 1/2" pads, and the Rhoomba goes up into them fine.

[Evans, Marv]

Good to know. Thanks a bunch.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Like it so much I'm considering a robo-mower. If they could just invent a robo-snowblower (I've considered inventing one but I bet the lawyers will never allow it to go to production - maybe for personal use only...) It'd make life far more enjoyable. The thought of coming home and having a driveway clean and clear without having to pay some dirtbag HS dropout plow jockey to do it is very, very appealing...

[island911]

Twice I've liked the idea enough to spend the money on one. And twice I was disappointed. The dust bins are tiny, and I found myself spending a lot of time cleaning/clearing the roller/sweepers or unsticking it from a blanket (or some such) that it was trying to eat.

One other downside, they spend a lot of time driving around randomly, making the vacuuming event rather drawn-out.

PS - it's not so much a vacuum as it is a sweeper. (tiny vacuum motor)

[Nickshu]

Reminds me of the "Woomba" SNL commercial:

Woomba - Cleans your lady business (Roomba parody) - Video Dailymotion

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Rick V

I really want one, I have four cats and there is no way to keep up with the dust bunnies. I am just afraid the cats will be riding the thing

I WISH my cat would ride it...

[future]

Had one for 3 years now. Use it daily on my tile and wooden floors which it's great for expecially collecting my dogs hairs but it's not so good on carpets which I use the Dyson for. In 3 years I've replaced a battery once and the spinning 3 pronged brush 4 times.

Would I buy another when it dies ... definitely

[kinein]

well this week the wife and I are going to buy the Irobot 880. Bed bath beyond has a 20% coupon for any product in the store, so we are goin to use it for the irobot. Might have to get one to mop for us also......