Roomba

<p>We got the 550 model from Costco. It doesn’t eat cords and rug fringe the way earlier models do. So far only one major problem - the “cliff avoidance” feature doesn’t seem to work on our stairs (maybe the roundness of the carpeted nose is too gradual?), she tumbles off the top step. Fortunately that’s a landing so it didn’t do any harm other than dumping lots of grit onto the landing… and then 2 minor glitches - if a room door is ajar she has nudged it closed and then been trapped (my bedroom floor has never been cleaner) and she has pushed under the rocking chair rocker far enough that she can’t escape. In that case she shuts down and waits to be rescued. Oh, and if you leave your closet door open your shoes get seriously re-arranged.</p>

<p>Hazel was the robotic housekeeper on the Jetsons am I correct?</p>

<p>No, the was Rosie. Hazel was a maid in a show named after her. LONG time ago!</p>

<p>Bulletandpima- I had the same dilemma. I really want and need both. I went with the Roomba since the reviews are mixed on the floor cleaner model. I think I will wait for it a later model hopefully with all the kinks worked out.
I had the Roomba do my kitchen family room area today. A mix of hardwood floors with grooves and large area rugs with fringe. Plus a stair drop. I put up the invisible wall at the step and it worked. My kitchen floor has never been cleaner. We get lots of sand and dirt and it looks and feels good. My 13 yr old thought I was nuts watching this thing work.</p>

<p>Hey - I’m not as old as I sound (with ‘Hazel’) - I just like old shows and old movies.</p>

<p>Understood! I think Hazel was in reruns when I was a kid. It was one of those shows that was on in the daytime … there would be a soap, a movie, and a rerun on the whole 3 channels we got. If I stayed home from school because I was sick, I would watch Canadian tv (Friendly Giant, Mr. Dress Up), Captain Kangaroo, and sitcom reruns.</p>

<p>bought my Roomba, charged her up, and had great fun watching her figure out the room.
DH calls the thing “Your big hockey puck.”</p>

<p>Bullet says if we got a roomba he would build a maze like he did in hs for his hamster…I of course would walk behind him and remove the maze as he built it…LUCY!</p>

<p>Bullet wants to now get his own moniker as BaBaLoo</p>

<p>No need to build a maze – just put a bunch of dining room chairs in a room. Astro won’t give up, no matter how many chair legs there are.</p>

<p>Bullet here. Oh, I can see DAYS of entertainment in my future! The kids can have thier Wii, I want a roomba!</p>

<p>Seriously, our biggest concern is our two dogs, who also find days of entertainment chasing the vacuum around as we clean (and yes, I said WE, because Pima makes sure it’s that way! (sometimes…)) the house. I can just see them going NUTS over this thing, and in turn driving us nuts. :)</p>

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<p>I’ll take old age over the other option.</p>

<p>We have an old cat (no, not as old as Hazel when it originally ran, but seemingly close). Any cat owners have any warnings? </p>

<p>I’d hate to take home a roomba and croak the cat. Wouldn’t want to test W on cat vs. H.</p>

<p>The roomba won’t croak the cat. It may harrass the cat, though, if the cat doesn’t feel like moving when the roomba bumps into it.</p>

<p>Does Roomba remember the room’s layout or does it have to navigate the perimeter each time? The room in which I’d use it the most has stuff along the walls and furniture in the middle as well. (I just counted 12 along the walls and 3 in the middle.)</p>

<p>It goes in a random pattern throughout the space. When it bumps into something it turns until it finds a clear pathway, and then it continues until it bumps into something else. Or sometimes it just turns in the middle of a straightaway. Eventually it has randomly gone through the entire space, missing very little. It finds its home and wiggles its way back to the charger and then sings a little tune because it is very proud of itself for completing the chore. I spend more time with Roberta than I did vacuuming the old fashioned way. I can’t stop watching it! :)</p>

<p>Another question does it know when it is close to the stairs, we have a jack and jill staircase (one to the foyer and one to the kitchen)</p>

<p>Astro is very talented at not falling down stairs. Unfortunately, this means he is trapped in our sunken living room until someone lifts him up. It also means that the living room is vacuumed really well.</p>

<p>depending on the profile of the ledge, yes, the roomba knows enough not to plunge to its depth. [url=<a href=“http://homesupport.irobot.com/cgi-bin/irobot_homesupport.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=56&p_created=1154120658&p_sid=5JXyP4Wi&p_accessibility=&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MzkmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9Y2xpZmYgc2Vuc29y&p_li=&p_topview=1]Answer[/url”>http://homesupport.irobot.com/cgi-bin/irobot_homesupport.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=56&p_created=1154120658&p_sid=5JXyP4Wi&p_accessibility=&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MzkmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3NlYXJjaF90eXBlPWFuc3dlcnMuc2VhcmNoX25sJnBfcGFnZT0xJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9Y2xpZmYgc2Vuc29y&p_li=&p_topview=1]Answer[/url</a>]</p>

<p>Also, mine came with 2 “virtual walls” (small units that emit a beam that the roomba can detect) to keep the contraption contained within a certain area</p>

<p>What the heck is the “light-house” feature? And does it come with a fog-horn warning ships at sea? :}</p>

<p>Just my opinion: if the dog hair is dense enough to need a fog horn, you may need more than a roomba!</p>

<p>The light house feature comes with the programmable models. It “directs” the robot to stay in one area until that area is clean, then directs it to the next area.</p>

<p>“Virtual walls” and “lighthouses” do two different things. Virtual walls block the Roomba’s path. We use it to keep Astro out of the kitchen when he’s doing the family room and hallway. Lighthouses are used to mark boundaries between areas you want the robot to vacuum. You can put the lighthouse between the kitchen and family room, for example, and the Roomba will complete the family room first before passing the lighthouse to the kitchen. I don’t fully understand why this is a benefit, but I don’t have lighthouses either. The virtual walls are really handy.</p>