Roomba's (furniture, socks, deals, carpet)

[Giesela]

I thought maybe I'd buy one for my 87 yr old mother. She lives alone in her ranch and spends a lot of time tryting to maintain her old standards of cleanliness. Hardwood, linoleum, low nap carpet. I thought it would help.
I had seen models previously for around 300.00 or a little less.
Well the new 780 is 600.00! I actually emailed iRobert and asked which model would do. No pets, its not like there is a lot of dirt. I did say I wanted a simple set up operation. They of course recommended the 780 and I'm wondering if its because of the virtual wall thing.
Anyone have any of the cheaper models? Any thoughts on this?

[Zembonez]

I'd be leery of giving it to an elderly person. They are a bit unstable when getting around and I'd be scared they would step on it or trip over it.

[Giesela]

I'm pretty sure she would be able to get to a chair while its vacuuming. They aren't that strong and she uses a walker and slides her feet.

[donsabi]

I had a Roomba a few years ago. It worked very well on hardwood floors but not on carpet. They sweep well but don't have the vacuum power to do a good job on carpet. If you have a majority of non carpet surfaces I would recommend them. They will run into objects including people but the touch is so slight I don't think it would be a safety hazard for a senior. However, anything left on the floor can be a trip hazard. All seniors age differently and you have to decide if your mother would be OK with a Roomba.

[hey teach]

Our son has one and he loves it. I personally hope I am getting one for Christmas. He turns it on at night before he goes to bed and it does its job and goes back to its home when finished. Just make sure you pick up socks before starting. Roomba's love eating socks.

[TFW46]

I'm 65 and partially disabled from a stroke. I cant use a regular vacuum so Roombas have been a blessing for me.

I have a lot of Roombas (one is too many and a dozen wouldnt be enough for us addicts) from the basics to the most expensive -- and, believe me, the 400 / 4000 Discovery models work better than the newer, fancier models.

I've bought a few Roombas from the iRobot site. But then I got smart and started buying them on eBay. Most of the ones I've bought on eBay were refurbished but they worked right out of the box just as well as the new ones. I also buy the batteries and other supplies on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=...4&_sop=1&_sc=1


If you're nervous about buying on eBay, you can also check out Roombas on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_sc...rnid=386465011


I ended up with a lot of "walls" but never use them. They might be useful if you want to vacuum only a portion of a room. Instead, I just close a door or put a chair or rolled-up area rug in the doorway. The Roombas are very respectful of objects like that.


Edited to add that the above searches are my own. You may be able to find better deals using other search terms. You can also google BUY ROOMBAS and find some good deals at sites other than iRobot.

Edited to add, also, that the older models seem to be easier to change out the batteries than the newer ones. I like the Discovery models and older ones where you just turn the Roomba over and flip out the old battery. Too, if you buy on eBay, be sure to look for sellers with a 99+% rating. I've been buying on eBay for 12 years (4,000 purchases) , dealing only with sellers who have that kind of rating (98% is not good, in my opinion) and havent had a bad purchase.

[Sunday1]

Originally Posted by donsabi

I had a Roomba a few years ago. It worked very well on hardwood floors but not on carpet. They sweep well but don't have the vacuum power to do a good job on carpet. If you have a majority of non carpet surfaces I would recommend them. They will run into objects including people but the touch is so slight I don't think it would be a safety hazard for a senior. However, anything left on the floor can be a trip hazard. All seniors age differently and you have to decide if your mother would be OK with a Roomba.

This is perfectly stated. I got one for Christmas a few years ago. It sits in the closet and is almost never used. We pulled it out the other day because our entire first floor is hardwood, but I didn't like how it kept knocking into the furniture.

It's not worth the price. For that kind of money, I'd much rather receive a gift certificate for a weekly cleaning service. I'd think particularly older folks would love the gift of a cleaning service~ especially one that's licensed and bonded, or one personally checked out by the giver ~ or recommended by a mutual friend or relative.