Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
They are not a fad. When I got my first Roomba I had 3 dogs and 1 cat and I live on a farm. The store I bought it from has a good return policy and I figured I would give it a try and if it wasn't up to the job, return it. I have area rugs and wood flooring throughout the house. My first model was a 500 series and I upgraded to an 805 this fall. With dogs, a cat and a farm to run, I will never be without a roomba. I DO supervise it though and corners and the carpet edges do need a tune-up every now and then with a regular vacuum. A roomba will vacuum more thoroughly than a regular vacuum because it passes over the same area more than once. I vacuum almost every day.
thank you all for the responses. my dog does occasionally poop in the house when she gets sick or has eaten something she reacted to, so now it's a matter of poop recovery with a machine running over poop/pee and spreading it everywhere, or getting much of the fur/dander vacuumed more on a daily basis. my dog has thick fur herself and sheds terribly during the summer/fall months and now with the 2 new cats in addition to the 2 we already had, it's just more fur/dander that i can handle right now.
I've had one for years, the one I have now is a 780, I have a remote for it when it gets stuck under furniture but I rarely have to use it. It does an awesome job, better than my Dyson. As far as it taking 6 hours, I guess that's true if you use it all over your house, but I use it in the master bedroom and in the living/dining/kitchen area and it takes about 2 hours...2 hours of me not having to do a thing.
Just imagine that one in a 100 poo accident on the floor. Now it is run over by the roomba and spread all over the house.
I guess we've been fortunate then, we've had a Black Lab for over 8 years, and have vaccum go out daily (to avoid tumbleweeds being created from our Lab's fur) and have never had this problem. I guess it could happen, but really how often does a pet relieve itself in the house? If it's frequent then this isn't for you. The only time we came close to this maybe being a problem was when dog got sick overnight, but fortunately the dog became sick after robot had completed its task.
To the OP's question, we have found these to be very helpful. As mentioned above, we've had a robot vacuum for over 10 years and wouldn't go without one. From my experience I recommend Neato over Roomba. I find that Roomba brushes require much more frequent (at least weekly) cleaning while my Neato can go months. I also find that Neato pattern is more organized and is more efficient. Also, the Neato is quieter than Roomba models we've had. We have one that goes out daily with our tile floors downstairs (each night). We just need to be sure you pick up each night such as no shoes with laces out to get stuck on. We have another upstairs, with carpet, goes out weekly (less traffic). It keeps the carpets clean enough that we just run our Dyson to do a deeper clean monthly.
I don't have fringes but there is a detangler on the roomba. It is supposed to back off when it runs into cords and such and I suppose it would leave the area around fringes unvacuumed or not well vacuumed. I think the 900 series, and maybe the higher 800 series have something that is supposed to better vacuum the edges where carpets and flooring meet. The roomba also has a problem with stark black lines on carpets as it reads them as a drop off, like stairs. Some people get around that by taping the sensors, if they don't have stairs, that is.
Regardless of its imperfections, I consider the roomba to be one of the best purchases I have ever made for my particular lifestyle. It's like a dishwasher. You can wash dishes by hand faster than the dishwasher can do it, but more thoroughly? You may get the occasional pot with food glued into a corner but most people continue to see dishwashers as a welcome convenience. The roomba is the same. I look at it as being cheaper than a maid.
Does the room have to be pretty clear of objects though? Im sitting the living room trying to figure out how it would get around everything? Book shelf, couch, rocking chair, wardrobe, footstools, shoe bin, lamp, side table...
Does the room have to be pretty clear of objects though? Im sitting the living room trying to figure out how it would get around everything? Book shelf, couch, rocking chair, wardrobe, footstools, shoe bin, lamp, side table...
It usually goes around everything, we have a display case in our bedroom that it gets stuck trying to get under it because it happens to be just tall enough to let the front of the roomba in, but it gets stuck halfway through and makes a little noise and shuts itself off.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
no thanks.
