Any Roomba users?

[Kenny1113]

I'm going to start working full time soon and saw an ad for the Roomba. I just wanted to know... Does it really work???

[Ms.Disney]

I have been wondering the same thing myself, wouldn't that be great! I hope someone who owns one comes along to answer.

[Chrisx2]

I own and love my Roomba! So much so that I bought a Scooba too! I have serious back problems that make vacuuming difficult. This is a HUGE help to me. It actually works really well too. It even cleans under my furniture (entertainment center and china cabinet) which wouldn't happen with a traditional vacuum. There are some things you would have to get used to. I empty the dust bin after every use and change the filter every two months or so. I also have to clean the brushes every other week. (My DD and I both shed long hair ). I have had mine for about two years and it's been great.

[PirateLover]

I love our Roomba! Yes it does work. Obviously it's not going to pick up large pieces of things, but it does pick up more than I expected it to. You can get a scheduler and have it run while you're at work as well. Some of them have recharging stations and go back to them on their own when they are running low. We have a pretty basic one. I love watching it go around though, it's like a little pet. Once my older brother was sitting on the floor with his legs bent and it started circling around his legs! I also love the little beeps and boops it makes when you push the buttons or the battery is running low.

[Disneyatic]

I have thought about getting one of these also!

Does anyone know if it works well for pet hair and sand?

[jray21]

I have a roomba and love it! It is so convenient to use. It vacuums automatically every morning so I wake up to a nice house. It also forces us to keep stuff off the ground so it can clean even better. As for animals, YES it works! We have 3 cats, a dog, 2 birds, and prarie dog, and a sugar glider. We never have hair problems in our house. Even those with allergies have no problems at our house. We have air filters for floating hair, and the roomba grabs the floor hair. It works very well for animals because it not only has normal brushes, like all vacuums do, but it also has a rubber beater brush that is great for hair. The only downside is that you will need to empty the bin a lot sooner, and I have to clean the brushes at least once a week (it is really easy to do). I got a great deal on mine from the major big-box, member warehouse place. They were the cheapest around, and it was a great package.

[mdhiggin]

I love mine too. As everyone says, you have to empty the bin and clean the brushes a lot more often than a regular vacuum, but it's still way better than having to vacuum. It will get caught on fringe rugs, shoelaces, doll hair, so make sure you have the floor picked up before vacuuming. The side brush can't quite reach under the edge of my kitchen cabinets, but it goes all under my bed which helps a lot with my allergies. I would love a Scooba, but I can't use it because I have laminate flooring.

[Kenny1113]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies. Sounds great!!! How well does it pick up stuff along the walls???

[Tink1]

I have 2, Bubba and Dusty (yes, I named mine) They are the BEST thing since sliced bread.

Nanc

[tinksmom02]

I must be in the minority here, my mom bought me one for Christmas and I can't stand it. I don't think it works that well at all. We can't use it in our bedroom--it doesn't pick anything up off the carpet. Honestly, I only use it in DD's room, because it'll clean under the bed.

My mom loves hers, though...I wish she'd bought us a Dyson, instead...

[Tink1]

I have a dyson too (and and old fantom)LOL

The Dyson gets run about once every other week. They other times (daily at 8:45 am) Bubba and Dusty do the job, and do it well. It is great for under beds.

The fantom stays down in the family room so I dont have to carry a vacuum up and down steps.

I suppose it would depend on the type of flooring you have as to how well the roomba claens, but we are carpeted in a plush pile and it does really well.

Next I want a scooba for the kitchen and it would be great if roomba's could do steps. I actually have a small shop vac I use on them.

For fathers day I think my husband may be getting a dirt dog for the garage.

Yes, I seem to collect vacuums.

Nanc

[aurora, ariel, and bell]

I have never heard of these before. I'm getting the picture for the roomba, but what is a scubba?

Do they work on hardwood and vinyl floors?

Does anyone know if they are available in Canada?

They sound great

[WDWCrazyKaren]

We have 3 dogs with VERY long hair. We have a Dyson Animal AND a Roomba.

I vaccuum sometimes 3 times a day (and I work full time!). I try to let it go in the morning and wait until I get home from work, but sometimes I just can't stand it.

The Dyson is used every day. The Roomba gets used when I've vaccuumed maybe less than an hour before and it needs "spot" cleaning. However, with long haired dogs, poor Fred (yes, we named our Roomba as well!) gets his wheels clogged too frequently to use him much.

The Roomba does not really do corners, nor does it get edges. Fred also doesn't vaccuum around his docking station either. He only makes a "trail" to the docking station.

I think Fred (and Roombas in general) are a great idea, but maybe not as great for folks with real pet hair problems.

I'm thinking of going hardwood....

[Tink1]

I have never heard of these before. I'm getting the picture for the roomba, but what is a scubba?

Do they work on hardwood and vinyl floors?

Does anyone know if they are available in Canada?

They sound great

A Scooba is a floor washing robot. You fill it with cleaner and water and it washes and drys your floors.

Roomba and scooba are availale locally here at Target, online at Amazon but i got both of mine online at woot.

Nanc

[MNNHFLTX]

I have 2, Bubba and Dusty (yes, I named mine) They are the BEST thing since sliced bread.

Nanc

Lol--I named ours as well, Nanci! I must say that I love, love, love my Roomba (aka Giles). I got one based on the recommendation of John (our illustrious leader here on INTERCOT) and it's been great. We have two cats and two dogs (black lab mixes), so the fur situation on our hardwood floors was driving me crazy before we got it. I was vacuuming the whole lower floor of our house practically every day. Now I just set Giles to clean a different area every day and then only have to a more extensive vacuuming once a week or so. Here are my observations:

--Yes, my Roomba gets into the corners and along walls fairly well.
--We have the model that goes back to its base automatically to charge and I would highly recommend that.
--Our model also came with two "virtual wall" devices. You put these in places that you want to block the Roomba from going. So if you don't have a door to shut to contain the Roomba in a certain area, you can place the device next to an opening and it sends out infra-red signals that work with the Roomba's sensors to keep it away.
--They say to empty the bin every three cycles, but we also find that it has to be emptied after every use.
--It does not bother our cats or dogs (something I was concerned about at first). At first they were a bit apprehensive, but now they mostly ignore it.

[Chrisx2]

Of course we named ours! Our Roomba is Talouse and the Scooba is Berlioz. Can you tell my kids like Aristocats?

I will say that Scooba is great but we had to replace the battery after a year and so did my sister. Another friend has had to replace the battery in her Roomba. Everytime though, IRobot has been super about taking care of it.

[PirateLover]

Haha I love all my Intercot peeps! I named our Roomba as well, all though I'm not as creative as most of you. I just call him "Roombie." (and yes, ours is a "he").
We don't have one that goes back to his station. One time the battery was dying and he started beeping. I was downstairs. I actually said out loud "I'm coming Roombie!" I know, sad. But I have no pets! It's the closest thing I have....

[threeh]

I love my Roomba too!! Dh wants to get a Scoomba ( the scrubby one). Roomba has been keeping my carpets and floors clean!!

[alphamommy]

I loved my Roomba, Rosie (like the Jetsons' robot)! I say "loved" because she died a couple years ago. The wheel on one side quit working, so she just went in circles. We tried fixing her (we thought maybe there was hair binding it), but couldn't figure out what was keeping the wheel from turning.

Rosie was an older model, and she didn't work well on our carpet. However, our previous house was all hardwood or linoleum on the first floor, and that's where we used her. She wouldn't fit under our end tables or sofa, so we only used her in the kitchen and dining area. We had to be careful, because if she bumped into the china cabinet just right, she got stuck.

Pay attention to the height of the Roomba, compared to the clearance under the furniture in the room(s) you want to do. Even in the areas where we used her, there were things she couldn't clean under. I would usually dust mop under the pedestal of the dining table, the china cabinet, the edge of the fridge, etc., then run her.

Gosh, I miss the old girl!
Good luck!

[Advnt05]

We have a Roomba as well. For the first year, it cleaned pretty well. We have three dogs and hardwood floors. It would pick up the hair pretty well and get under things as well. Like the other pet owners, our dogs adjusted to it and were not bothered by it.
Our battery in ours also went out. The first time, we thought it was a malfunction in the Roomba and sent it back to the company where they sent us a refurbished one as a replacement. After about 1 month though, the same problem occurred. I'm figuring it needs a new battery. We haven't bothered to do that yet so we haven't used it in quiet some time.