My Roomba Report: 6 months with a robot vacuum

[Robb]

So it's been six months since my girlfriend bought me a little red Roomba robot vacuum for my birthday. $99 seemed like a no-brainer. I thought I'd let folks know how it's been working.

It seems to do best on the wood floors; battery gets drained a little quickly on the carpet. It should be pointed out I have Siberian Huskies who shed like no tomorrow. This means I have to clean the thing every time I use it; empty the little bin, pop out the rotating brushes and pick the dog hair off into the trash.

While annoying, doing that takes about 30 seconds. Much less than vacuuming would.

I had some issues when I didn't replace the filter after about three months of use... dusty gunk built up and found its way into the little eye sensors that constantly watch the wheels to tell the computer how far the thing has moved. That resulted in hilarious robot confusion, albeit no cleaning getting done.

A little internet research and I found out how to take the right screw off to get at the sensors with a Q-tip. Now, since I change the filter when I'm supposed to, no further gunk problems.

Broadly speaking, a fine product for $99. I turn the thing off when I leave the house, come back and the floors are clean and the Roomba is dirty. Clean out the Roomba, plug it in, and repeat in a day or two.

The only downside is that it does NOT save time in the first few weeks you have it. It works slower than a regular vacuum, which is fine when it's running solo, but for the first few weeks everyone in the house watches it work. Man-hours spent vacuuming therefore multiply quickly. ;)

"Oooo oooo, me and my robot friend!!! :D

[Spinzonner]

1. Where's your dogs' review ?

[Robb]

3. They remain nonplussed

It only bothers them when it nudges into them and turns around. They get up, look a little indignant, and trot over to plop down elsewhere. :)

[MissB]

2. I'm gonna ask for one for Christmas.

All I have is hardwood. And a shedding dog. And two cats.

[tridim]

4. I can't help thinking about the "Womba" skit on SNL

It was one of the rare funny things on SNL last year. :)

[TimeChaser]

5. I thought of that too n/t