Roomba

[Terrytx]

We are back home and are playing with our Christmas present :D The DH is actually spell-bound by it. He is standing in the den, as I type, and watching it do it's thing....and giggling like a 2 yr. old :rolleyes:

[bensdad]

And they say men are hard to entertain :p

[Jazzmatazz49]

I gave my elderly parents the Roomba for Christmas. My mom and I also watched it the first time and laughed like fools. It's just so great to vacuum your floors without doing any work. It does a good job, too. I am definitely buying myself one.

[sfarler]

I got mine Roomba this year and named him Bob.

Bob does the dining room while I do the living room. It's so nice to have help.

I love Bob!

[catts]

We bought one for "us" for Christmas. I love the way it goes under beds and gets all the lint you can't reach with a regular vacuum. I pickup up first and then set it free in the bedroom for about 45 min. checking the dirt trap twice. I was suprised (sort of) on how much it really picks up. My husband wants to put a tail and ears on it and give it a name. The cats don't really mind it very much. They are mildly amused.

[yomomma]

What does it cost and how is the accumulation contained - in a bag?

[Terrytx]

They cost from under $200.00 to on up, depending on what model you get. Ours was around 250. It collects the dirt into a cup-like fixture, which is easily dumped and dust is collected through a filter in this same cup-like thingy (make any sense?). Google roomba and check them out......way cool :D :D We have been playing with "Spot" on and off all day. I think it does a better job than I do with the regular vac.

[Jazzmatazz49]

I bought one at Linens and Things for $270 but had a 20% off coupon so it cost less. It is the middle of the line (Discovery) model. There is one that you can program to run when you're not home that costs more.

You can also buy extra 'virtual walls' which send a beam across the room and the Roomba will not cross that beam.

You would be surprised to see how the thing covers the entire floor and really gets up against walls and things. I told my mom that it tries harder to vacuum under the furniture than any cleaning service I ever hired. :p

I love gadgets. :)

[blazedog]

I have been considering one but am wondering how much work it is to make it Roomba safe -- Do you have to get all the wires out of the way? What about obstacles like dining room chairs etc.


Thanks.

[catts]

You do have to pick everything up off the floor (clothing, magazines) the normal stuff if you were to vacuum yourself. As for cords and such we just let it roam and kept an eye on it to see where it would get stuck and have problems. It only got stuck under the couch once. I do move the kitchen chairs out of the way if I want it to go under the kitchen table. By the way, my husband attached a tail to it, and now the cats are very interested. We think we should put a tracking device on it and have it follow my 14 yr old son around.

[blazedog]

Thanks Catts -- So you pick up the obvious stuff that one would do in terms of straightening but it doesn't have a problem dealing with the frightening quagmires of wires around the TV set for example.

Will it maneuver itself into any area that it can fit.

There doesn't appear to be any down side -- Does it reverse itself automatically if it can't fit someplace.

Lastly, is there any particular model I should think of getting?

Thanks -- I do believe I know what my next purchase is going to be. :D

How do you charge it?

[jmarie]

I got mine Roomba this year and named him Bob.

Bob does the dining room while I do the living room. It's so nice to have help.

I love Bob!

:D That was so funny! Thanks for the smile! :cool:
Joyce

[catts]

It has a home base for charging. You can either program/schedule it to return when it has finished or return it yourself. We haven't figured out the scheduling yet, (doesn't look hard just had fun playing with it as it is). The power light will light solid when it is fully charged.

It has only got stuck twice that I have found. One of the couches is tall enough so it can fit under. There was something under the couch (surprise) that it got stuck on. The second time there was a space between the couch and a speaker that was big enough to get into but not out. So I pushed the couch closer so it can't get in there at all.

Really it is pretty easy. I am not technically savy and am having no problems. The brushes and dirt trap are easy to change and it looks pretty matenince (sp?) free.

[Pamiann]

I am so intreged by this machine! Really am thinking about getting one! This would be great for all of us with RA. I have had a blast reading the posts!

[Terrytx]

:D :D :D

The DH has put "Spot" back to work again. I swear this is the cleanest house on the block. Now if I could find some amusing way to get him to dust-DH, not Spot.

[tea4one]

We are back home and are playing with our Christmas present :D The DH is actually spell-bound by it. He is standing in the den, as I type, and watching it do it's thing....and giggling like a 2 yr. old :rolleyes:
Which Model number did you get? Do you know which one is the latest one? I did see one at amazon and thought about buying one as I hate to clean and most of the time can't get the ambition to do it.

[valchemist]

how noisy is it?

how long does it take to vacuum an average room? (I realize "average" is a loose term, but I am wondering mainly is this thing a pretty slow worker or is it fairly quick?)

[tea4one]

I am not trying to hijack the thread, but the scooba is also available. Gee, I could vacuum my floors and clean them while relaxing on the sofa!!

[beacooker]

Val, the Roomba is quieter than a regular vaccuum. I have watched tv, with the volume turned way up, while the Roomba is vaccuuming my tv room. Can't say I could hear every word, but I was able to hear.

As far as speed, I don't have any hard numbers for you, but the Roomba is a lot slower than a regular vaccuum. For an 'average' sized room, it might take ? maybe 30 minutes? Maybe more. But its no skin off your teeth, since you are off doing something else!

www.roombareview.com is a site we have found helpful.

[sfarler]

I think the cutest thing 'Bob' has done for me is when I have him do the den carpeting, that's where his charger sets, he puts himself away (re-docks) when he's done!

We recently took up the wall-to-wall carpeting in several of our rooms and re-did the hardwood floors and added area rugs. Bob does those rooms without a problem. He does the area rugs as well as the hardwood floors. And I love how he goes under the couches and beds.

[luvItalian]

Ok now you all have me interested. I have a large and quite hairy dog. I need to vacum daily. Can Roomba (or Bob) handle this?

[Terrytx]

I'm no expert, but my guess is that it could with no problem.

[sfarler]

We have de-petted our house, and are currently pet-free. So I really don't known about pet hair.

[Terrytx]

I have a chinchilla that lives in our great room and she sheds pretty bad at times (not like a big hairy dog :) ). "Spot" had no trouble getting all of it up, even stuff I missed.