Talk to me about Roomba

ChaosParent23 · February 25

I have no idea what I want/need. There's so many choices.
I'm assuming you don't move a Roomba from one floor to the other? If not, this would be for the downstairs, primarily.
Downstairs- tile/hardwoods except for carpet in office off kitchen and rugs in family and library.
Upstairs- carpet in bedrooms and game room. hardwood in loft.

There will very likely be a mini-goldendoodle in our near future as well.

MomofWildChild · February 25

Ours is Eufy (brand) and we are really happy with it. It takes some planning. You have to put the tape strips down for rooms or areas you want it to avoid. You have to move some chairs or it will get caught under them. We have a lot of furry household members, so it needs to be stopped and cleaned mid-cycle. My husband has it all set up and loves it. We have hardwood, some area rugs and some carpet. I think he keeps it out of the bedroom (wall to wall carpet) and we use the regular vacuum in there.

VeryHappy · February 25

My son and DIL also have Eufy and they run it downstairs every day. Hardwood completely throughout. They have a dog and a one-year-old, so they're a tad anal about keeping things clean. It seems to do the trick.

They also use a regular upright vacuum upstairs where the carpet is.

Sally22 · February 25

I have a roomba and love it. I run it downstairs about once or twice a week. Hardwoods and area rugs. The model I bought comes with a virtual room barrier that i set up in front of the living room when no one has used that room.

https://www.amazon.com/Virtual-Wall-iRobot-Roomba-Compact/dp/B07NKZM988/ref=asc_df_B07NKZM988/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=295779670266&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=663727810019119210&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9010952&hvtargid=aud-801657747996:pla-653582323370&psc=1

I move it upstairs and run it maybe once a week or every 10 days or so. You have to be careful of chargers etc on the floor. Takes me 30 secs to check nothing is lying about. I love the fact it cleans under the beds.

We are empty nesters with no pets so the floors don't get that dirty.

Lindagaf · February 25

I hate it and don’t use it. My husband put it in his office.

musicmom · February 25

Our Roomba is named "Cankles", something to do with it wanting to bite your ankles according to our DD.

We love it. We have a ranch, mostly carpeting except vinyl in kitchen.
She easily moves from one surface to another. Does a MUCH better job than I do with a conventional vacuum. Excellent with cleaning all edges of carpet by shoe molding.
We can place an included electronic boundary unit in doorway if we want to exclude a room.

We have her set for Tues and Fri on a timer. When she's done she returns to her charger in the kitchen. We empty her once a week.

adlgel · February 25

I'm surprised that there are enough people with a large enough same-level floor to make it worth it. Our first floor has a step down into the family room so it would never be able to do that room.

LTmomof2 · February 25

We had one when we lived in Texas and our whole downstairs was hardwood. We have 4 cats so ours ran every day. I have no complaints about how well it picked up dirt and cat hair, but it was really rough on the legs of our furniture, I had a Bombay chest in my foyer and you can still see the line of demarcation on the legs where the Roomba hit it every day. Same with my dining room chairs. I ended up giving it to my mom.

Groundwork2022 · February 25

I have an older model, and the algorhythms for coverage aren't as good as the newer models. I set it to run while we are at work because it is a bit loud (I can take about 15 minutes of it running while I am at home, then I usually shut it off).

I empty it once a week, but once every 4-6 weeks I have to get out the screwdriver and give it a deeper cleaning to clean out the brushes and around the wheel. You may have to do it more often if you have pets.

It comes with "lighthouses" that can block off areas you don't want it to go... I use mine at Christmas to keep Roomba away from the tree, for example.

Mine has been known to shut doors by itself and occasionally trap itself in the laundry room or bathroom.

Despite all this, I love it. It is a big time saver.

Someday I hope to get my husband one that mows the lawn.

4kids4us · February 25

I probably wouldn’t have gotten one if not for my out of control shedding dog. The first one I had was very loud. I ran it maybe every other day initially. I never realized just how much hair my daughters and I were also shedding - we all have very thick long hair. I had to clean the brushes at least twice a month because the long hair would wrap around the brushes. At some point, the Roomba stopped charging. I’d been meaning to look into replacing the battery to see if that was the problem, but my husband ended up getting me a new one for Christmas. I’ve noticed it’s much quieter than my original one.

I now have a second dog that doesn’t shed as much as the first, but with the addition of that dog, their frolicking in the backyard has torn up a lot of grass and created some areas of dirt. I now run the new Roomba everyday and I’m surprised at how much grit and dirt particles it picks up! My kids aren’t as good about wiping the dog paws as I am. My second dog is afraid of the Roomba and attacks it - barks at it and tries to bite it. As a result, I only run it when I’m home (I have no way to keep her contained - she has anxiety and can’t be crated).

I only use mine on my first floor which is all wood floors except for a rug underneath our kitchen table. It manages to clear all the chairs without ever getting stuck, but I notice that it often leaves behind a pile of dog hair around the edge of the rug where it transitions to the floor. I have to vacuum it up separately. Our upstairs is all carpeted so I use a regular vacuum upstairs.

I do have a canister shoulder vacuum with attachments that I use every other week or so, especially if I’m having company because the Roomba doesn’t quite get up everything (dust balls that end up behind furniture, etc.).

I’ve been very happy with mine but I wouldn’t have bothered with one if not for my shedding dogs. I just couldn’t keep up with daily vacuuming myself.

O2BonCC · February 25

I don't see what the problem would be with multi-level houses. I had one for several years - not the programmable kind. I just put it in the room(s) I wanted to vacuum (after blocking off the doors and checking the floor for cat toys and other clutter). One or two rooms was about all it could handle on a charge/bin empty. I eventually quit using it because parts (batteries, motors, brushes, etc.) would give out after a few years. Sometimes under warranty, sometimes not. Eventually it was easier to get a $99 Shark rechargeable stick vacuum for quick cleanups. I'm guessing the quality (and options in other brands) has improved by now.

Oh and also regarding multi-levels - it had a "cliff sensor" that kept it from flinging itself down the stairs. Never had a problem with that.

jym626 · February 25

DS#1 and DIL have one (not sure which brand, but DS has had several over the years, since they first came out). They do take it up and down the stairs. I love that it parks itelf in its docking station when its done. Ans GD loves to play with it as well, so its an entertaining toy for her too

momofsenior1 · February 25

I'm contemplating getting an i7. We have hardwoods throughout the first two levels of the house, with area rugs, and a long haired dog.

ChaosParent23 · February 25

I'm having to do the floors every 2-3 days. Our rental is a bit small, but our new house will be good sized. It's just such a hassle to lug the heavy dyson.
@Lindagaf What about it didn't you like? No snark, just curious.

Lindagaf · February 25

It can’t get into corners. It takes forever. It’s noisy. It leaves so many tiny pieces of debris around. I need to get a Dustbuster or the reg vac and clean up after it. I mostly think it’s not thorough and I don’t like seeing it all the time. I guess it is okay for minimal jobs, but I find my canister Miele is fast and thorough. Our Roomba is about three or four years old, so maybe they are better now.

ChaosParent23 · February 25

The tiny pieces are what bother me, so Maybe I need to rethink this.

Lindagaf · February 25

With my canister vac, I can just shove things out of the way. I can see the dirt. It’s just more efficient. And I don’t need a device sitting on the floor docked at an outlet. Yes, a vacuum cleaner is bigger, but it goes in the laundry room so I don’t have to see it all the time.

deb922 · February 25

I’m meh about the roomba. It’s ok but I don’t really use it.

I have to empty it out about half way through. It’s doesn’t clean that well compared to my other vacuum. I have to set up the strips or close doors and take up throw rugs before I run it.

I bought a slim dyson and it works much better. It’s really light and easy to work. I will say that it also doesn’t hold much and I have to empty it often.

But I don’t have animals and it’s just 2 of us so we aren’t that dirty

scubasue · February 26

We have a Eufy.....the top rated robotic vacuum a according to consumer reports testing. My DH got it at Christmas for $180. I was VERY skeptical/resistant.

Now I love it. We've named ours Rosie after the housekeeper from the Jetsons. It rarely gets stuck under any furniture. I have not noticed it leaving any little bits behind. It runs every day. In addition to keeping the floors clean, I am convinced I've needed to dust less frequently.

PurplePlum · February 26

I bought the Roomba 985 from Costco. It came with one virtual wall, but I have since bought another. I absolutely love mine. I use it on my hardwood floors mostly. I do have a dog and it picks up pet hair extremely well and does a great job in general. My favorite part is that it vacuums under my bed and under my dresser and night tables, etc. I feel like my bedrooms are so much cleaner. My Roomba does not leave a trail of dirt and has never damaged my furniture. In fact, I have watched it and it is very gentle when it runs up against my furniture.

Honestly, I wasn't sure how well it would work or whether or not I'd end up liking it, but I figured I'd buy it from Costco (I got in on sale around Christmas) and it would be easy enough for me to return if I was not pleased with it.

I wish I had purchased it sooner--that is how much I love mine. And the bonus is that my dog, who typically is afraid of his own shadow, is not scared of the Roomba. He avoids it, but does not bark or seem at all scared of it.

momofsenior1 · February 26

@PurplePlum - Does the dog hair get tangled in the Roomba?

Talk to me about Roomba

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