Anyone have iRobot Roombas?

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  • leehljp
    Just me
    • Dec 2002
    • 8429
    • Tunica, MS
    • BT3000/3100

    Anyone have iRobot Roombas?

    What is your opinion of the Roombas?
    Which model do you have?
    If, knowing what you know, would you change models to another model and why?
    Are the more expensive 800-900 models worth the money over the others?

    Any experience with the mop Roombas?

    LOML has mentioned these; I was looking at some Black Friday deals but nothing on these that I couldn't get normally on Amazon.

    Thanks
    Hank Lee

    Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!
  • JimD
    Veteran Member
    • Feb 2003
    • 4187
    • Lexington, SC.

    #2
    I have one, I think it was the cheapest you can program. But we never have. It is pretty noisy so it would be good to have it run when you aren't around. I use it fairly frequently. It does a pretty good job. But you have to keep wires and cloths off the floor or it gets tangled up and stops. Other than the noise and the need to pick up first, no issues.

    Comment

    • atgcpaul
      Veteran Member
      • Aug 2003
      • 4055
      • Maryland
      • Grizzly 1023SLX

      #3
      Jim, do you think it's a thorough as a regular vacuum cleaner? We're moving to 1 story place with all tile floors so this seems like the ideal terrain for a Roomba. We also have dogs that shed.

      Comment

      • radhak
        Veteran Member
        • Apr 2006
        • 3058
        • Miramar, FL
        • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw

        #4
        Couple of years ago we got one from Costco, then returned it after a month. My main problem was I found it 'missed' spots even when I saw it go right over that area! It was not malfunctioning - it'd pick 90% of the stuff, but when I closely followed it, I was not satisfied. Maybe pet hair was the issue, or maybe it works better for carpet while we only have tile/wood, but combined with the fact that we have furniture and throw rugs around that it found difficult to navigate, it proved to be too much hassle.

        I really like the idea of it, and would be willing to give it another go if I can figure out if another model would work better for us.
        It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
        - Aristotle

        Comment

        • Tom Slick
          Veteran Member
          • May 2005
          • 2913
          • Paso Robles, Calif, USA.
          • sears BT3 clone

          #5
          We’ve had a 500 Roomba for years. It isn’t a deep cleaning vacuum, more of a sweeper. In fact it doesn’t have a real vacuum motor or a beater, just a brush. It works well as daily or semi daily maintenance but doesn’t replace using a regular vacuum, it lessens the frequency you need to vacuum. It doesn’t hit every spot every time but if it runs several times a week it will hit everything sometime that week. It does pick up a lot of stuff, ours is full of dog hair and crumbs every time it runs.
          Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Edison

          Comment

          • atgcpaul
            Veteran Member
            • Aug 2003
            • 4055
            • Maryland
            • Grizzly 1023SLX

            #6
            Just read a funny but gross review of a Roomba vs pet waste incident on Amazon. I can see that totally happening to me so I'm going to stick with a broom, mop, and vacuum.

            Comment

            • poolhound
              Veteran Member
              • Mar 2006
              • 3195
              • Phoenix, AZ
              • BT3100

              #7
              We have one and would not be without it. If you have hard floors and pets then it is kind of a necessity. I dont recal the model number but it was from Costco. approx $300 ish IIRC.
              Jon

              Phoenix AZ - It's a dry heat
              ________________________________

              We all make mistakes and I should know I've made enough of them
              techzibits.com

              Comment

              • leehljp
                Just me
                • Dec 2002
                • 8429
                • Tunica, MS
                • BT3000/3100

                #8
                I appreciate the input from all of you and this pushes me over the hill for choosing one. We don't have carpet, neither one of us likes to sweep daily, - and our daughter that visits 3 to 4 times a year from MO has two medium size dogs that shed big time. It seems like the Roombas are made for our situation. We do have a small 20lb non-shedding dog but it is our daughter's dogs that causes the problems. We clean the day after she leaves, but a few days later it is almost like we didn't clean at all. Wood floors, occasional dog hair, hate sweeping, looks like it is time for a roomba.

                If anyone else has comments, I would appreciate seeing them.
                Hank Lee

                Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

                Comment

                • dbhost
                  Slow and steady
                  • Apr 2008
                  • 9209
                  • League City, Texas
                  • Ryobi BT3100

                  #9
                  I don't own one, but have considered getting one just to entertain the cat.
                  Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

                  Comment

                  • atgcpaul
                    Veteran Member
                    • Aug 2003
                    • 4055
                    • Maryland
                    • Grizzly 1023SLX

                    #10
                    Hank, did you ever get a Roomba? We don't wear shoes in the house but our new place just seems ideal for one of these robots--wide expanse of tile.

                    Woot is selling a competing vacuum at a great price and I'm really tempted.

                    Comment

                    • leehljp
                      Just me
                      • Dec 2002
                      • 8429
                      • Tunica, MS
                      • BT3000/3100

                      #11
                      Originally posted by atgcpaul
                      Hank, did you ever get a Roomba? We don't wear shoes in the house but our new place just seems ideal for one of these robots--wide expanse of tile.

                      Woot is selling a competing vacuum at a great price and I'm really tempted.
                      LOML got an 890 for Christmas. Uses it some, but not as much as she (or I) thought she would. She has it in the living room-dining room. Being just two people, we go into the living room three to four days a week for a few hours at the most, so the LR - DR doesn't get that dirty. It was nice the first time as it did a good job. We get visitors once or twice a week; use the TV in the living room once or twice a week (just to use that TV) and eat in the dining room maybe once a week. Total about 450sq feet. Of course when family comes with grandkids (3 to 4 times a year), we use those two rooms for a week or so at a time, morning til night.

                      The Roomba does great in those two rooms. LOML has two lithium ion? battery powered vacs and cleans the other rooms as needed with the vacs. By the way, I got a rare 30% coupon for BedBath&Beyond before Christmas and caught a good sale online; ended up paying about $325 plus shipping. Worked out fine.

                      We don't use it as much as we thought, because LOML doesn't use it in the bed rooms and den, and doesn't want to fool with setting the options for each room. It does a very good job for as little as LOML uses it. She is not real tech savvy and is scared to "change" something, ergo - move it from room to room. She is happy with it in the LR-DR. I am happy with the peace of not having to show her all the intricacies (WiFi) that would frustrate her!

                      Worth it? Not for us, but it is used on occasion. Where we have dirt, LOML uses a vac.

                      Add-in: WE have one 8 X 12 rug in the living room, not thick so the Roomba goes over it without a hiccup.
                      Last edited by leehljp; 02-27-2018, 02:36 PM.
                      Hank Lee

                      Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

                      Comment

                      • Carlos
                        Veteran Member
                        • Jan 2004
                        • 1893
                        • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

                        #12
                        We had one in our previous house (about 1800 sq foot, single story, all composite "wood" flooring). We had two big shedder dogs, and the Roomba made good work of that. Oh, and we lived in a VERY dusty area near farms and such. We pay to have a cleaning crew in every other week, and don't vacuum in between. It was a nice thing to have the family/living room areas cleaned up automatically while we slept. Now we're in a two story house, 3100 sq feet, and don't have it any more. We don't have a dust problem, and the dogs we currently have aren't huge shedders. I do have a Li-Ion hand vac ($35) that I grab for the occasional furball on the wall edges or something like that. But the rest of the floor seems to always be fine. Well this morning I felt crunchiness under my feet by the coffee maker...someone must have spilled grounds? Dunno. Got it with the little hand vac.

                        Oh, we have some very thick-pile rugs and the Roomba treated them like a wall edge, or would occasionally grab a string off of it and get stuck. Low-pile rugs are fine.
                        Last edited by Carlos; 02-28-2018, 11:23 AM.

                        Comment

                        • atgcpaul
                          Veteran Member
                          • Aug 2003
                          • 4055
                          • Maryland
                          • Grizzly 1023SLX

                          #13
                          This place is just under 1300 sqft so it would be perfect for a robot vac. I was ready to pull the trigger on Woot yesterday but apparently they don't deliver here even though Amazon Prime does (and Woot is owned by Amazon). Oh well, I guess I'll have to find one on Amazon. Maybe it's for the best, though. The one yesterday was a "dumb" and did not map the layout of your floors so it wasn't as efficient.

                          Comment

                          • atgcpaul
                            Veteran Member
                            • Aug 2003
                            • 4055
                            • Maryland
                            • Grizzly 1023SLX

                            #14
                            I picked up my new Ecovacs Deebot N79 from the mailroom today. I think I ordered it a week ago. I was kind of surprised I could order it because it has a Li ion battery and it most definitely arrived by plane and not boat. Anyway, when I go to Amazon today, there's a message saying "This item requires special handling and cannot be shipped to your selected location." but I think it's because there is now a $50 off coupon. Oh well.

                            Setup was simple. Plug it in and let the thing charge. After the charge light stopped blinking, I hit the Auto button and it started cleaning up. The dog wasn't bothered by it; it's pretty quiet. It probably cleaned for about an hour and then it docked itself. Until I figure out how to program the timer, I'll have to send it out again to finish the apartment. It doesn't do any mapping and has a few cleaning modes but I just used the default Auto mode.

                            For the price I am impressed. I will have to move the chairs away from the tables so it can get underneath. The dust bin is pretty generous and it was full by the end of its run.

                            Comment

                            • JimD
                              Veteran Member
                              • Feb 2003
                              • 4187
                              • Lexington, SC.

                              #15
                              Our home is all hardwood and tile. The roomba does about as well as a normal vacuum. We have to wet mop to get the floors really clean. But the roomba gets all the loose stuff.

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