roomba?

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dolphinsaremammals
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roomba?

Post by dolphinsaremammals »

Years ago I bought a Roomba, and wound up spending more time cleaning it than I would have spent actually vacuuming. At the time there was an interesting user group somewhere (yahoo?) devoted to tips about how to clean it without ruining it, hacks, and so on, until one day the group totally vanished, apparently at the request of the manufacturer.

Fast forward a few years to now, and presumably they have made the Roomba better. Also, I'd really like to have a robot wash my kitchen floor and they do have a floor washing version.

Is anyone using the current or semi-current versions? What do you think of them?

Thanks.
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fizxman
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Re: roomba?

Post by fizxman »

I have the 650, which isn't the latest model but I don't think it's that old. It's the cheapest model that is programmable and I think it works well. I have it run Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:30am while I'm at work. When I come home the little trap is full or mostly full so does pick up dirt. I don't spend much time maintaining it; I just empty the trap, wipe off sides where the sensors are and make sure the brush isn't all gunked up with fiance's long red hair. We also have a small black dog that sheds so it helps keep the amount of pet hair down. I don't think it's as good as an upright vacuum but it keeps me from having to run the upright all the time.
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FelixTheCat
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Re: roomba?

Post by FelixTheCat »

I hate the stupid little thing. Well hate is a strong word. I dislike what I do when I turn the thing on.

Roomba is fantastic. Unfortunately my brain is amazed by it and I follow it around defeating the purpose of me doing something useful while it is cleaning.
Felix is a wonderful, wonderful cat.
kermit
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Re: roomba?

Post by kermit »

I had one 3 years ago. Did a fine job but needed attention too often (cleaning, repairs, etc.). Now we have a new place with all hardwood floors and multiple levels; Roomba just isn't for us anymore.
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retiredbuthappy
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Re: roomba?

Post by retiredbuthappy »

Roomba is terrific....comments from reviewers on Amazon are helpful in getting the cleaning issues simple. BUT the fringes of our expensive old and still beautiful oriental rugs were chewed up badly before I noticed it. Now Roomba is only allowed to work in the kitchen, where it does a great job.
investor1
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Re: roomba?

Post by investor1 »

I've got the 560. I've had it for maybe 5 or 6 years. I don't run it on carpet all that often, but it runs on hardwood and tile every week while I'm at work. I don't clean it unless it tells me to or something seems wrong. It works great.

I do clean it after each run over carpet, but that takes way less time than vacuuming myself.
investor1
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Re: roomba?

Post by investor1 »

imgritz wrote:I hate the stupid little thing. Well hate is a strong word. I dislike what I do when I turn the thing on.

Roomba is fantastic. Unfortunately my brain is amazed by it and I follow it around defeating the purpose of me doing something useful while it is cleaning.
You have something in common with my cat.
Colorado14
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Re: roomba?

Post by Colorado14 »

This says it all: cat in a shark costume riding a Roomba.
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LadyGeek
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Re: roomba?

Post by LadyGeek »

I splurged on the overpriced 800 series for Christmas. Two weeks later, I returned it. Why?

There was no problem that it picked up the dirt, the vacuum part was fine. It was also fun to watch. However...

- You needed to be careful about going over wires. I've got a high def theater layout with speaker wires running along the floor. Those fast moving rollers and wiring just don't mix. :annoyed

- It can only go so long before running out of battery charge. Once it gets low on juice, it goes back to its charging station and it's done. Really. It doesn't come back and pick up where it left off. It never finishes the job unless I pick it up and put it where it's supposed to go. That's not what I got this for.

- It gets to be tedious having to empty it after every use.

On the engineering side, I'm disappointed that this is a very simple bump-n-turn navigation system (no intelligence). It's why the Roomba can't finish where it left off after recharging - there's no way to figure out where it is.

Other manufacturers use infra-red sensors to map the room and know where they are. It's a piece of cake to go back and resume vacuuming after a recharge.

The bottom line is that these robot cleaners can't replace a full size vacuum. Use the full size one for the real work, then a robot for supplemental duty.
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
protagonist
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Re: roomba?

Post by protagonist »

dolphinsaremammals wrote:Years ago I bought a Roomba, and wound up spending more time cleaning it than I would have spent actually vacuuming. At the time there was an interesting user group somewhere (yahoo?) devoted to tips about how to clean it without ruining it, hacks, and so on, until one day the group totally vanished, apparently at the request of the manufacturer.

Fast forward a few years to now, and presumably they have made the Roomba better. Also, I'd really like to have a robot wash my kitchen floor and they do have a floor washing version.

Is anyone using the current or semi-current versions? What do you think of them?

Thanks.
The Mint 4200/5200 (now called Braava) is fantastic for non-carpeted floors. It mops and sweeps, it's quiet and it is low enough to get under stuff. I think the advantage of the 5200 over the 4200 is small and does not justify the additional cost (I have one of both). If you use Swiffer pads, cleaning amounts to no more than tossing away the pad. They seem to me to clean more surface area than advertised.
Kersten
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Re: roomba?

Post by Kersten »

I received the Roomba as a gift.

It was like having a pet that I did not want, but needed to take care of while it was operating.

Because I have tile floors with lots of area rugs, the Roomba would stop! and I would have to redirect it.

Way too much hassle.

I gave it away and the people to whom I gave it ended up donating it to GoodWill.

Now I use an old fashioned broom, mop, and wet mop on my floors. And to dry the floors, I usually put on old socks and skate around the floors, with great music playing, of course!

Now I thought this was a bit weird but when I visited friends in their late 30's, found them skating around their floors to dry them after wet mopping them.

This might be an idea you want to consider.
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Crimsontide
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Re: roomba?

Post by Crimsontide »

Kersten wrote:I received the Roomba as a gift.

It was like having a pet that I did not want, but needed to take care of while it was operating.

Because I have tile floors with lots of area rugs, the Roomba would stop! and I would have to redirect it.

Way too much hassle.

I gave it away and the people to whom I gave it ended up donating it to GoodWill.

Now I use an old fashioned broom, mop, and wet mop on my floors. And to dry the floors, I usually put on old socks and skate around the floors, with great music playing, of course!

Now I thought this was a bit weird but when I visited friends in their late 30's, found them skating around their floors to dry them after wet mopping them.

This might be an idea you want to consider.
We got one as a gift as well. Never even opened the box. Off to Goodwill.
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LadyGeek
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Re: roomba?

Post by LadyGeek »

A Roomba vacuum cleaner I don't need.

If anyone wants to give a gift that an engineer really loves, check this out: iRobot: Support For Developers 8-)
Wiki To some, the glass is half full. To others, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, it's twice the size it needs to be.
Tinkerbelle
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Re: roomba?

Post by Tinkerbelle »

I had an old roomba (500 series I think). It was a piece of junk and I stopped using it as it got stuck every few minutes. What a waste of $500.

I just bought a new house and was looking for ways to keep the floors clean as my cats track litter everywhere. I bought the latest roomba (800 series) and love it. It rarely gets stuck, athough I do notice it dragging cords around, so I try to keep cords out of the way. In fact, I bought a second 800 series roomba for another floor. Hopefully these new roombas will last a few years as they are pretty expensive.
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