Roomba vacuum...

Does anybody own one?? If yes, how do you like it?
I just trial purchased iRobot Roomba, but I am not impressed after the first use.
Maybe I don't know how to fully utilize its full potential? any advice??

Risa

I have heard it doesn't work very good for moderate messes, but if you have no dogs/cats/hair/kids/mess it works pretty good. For me with my two monsterous dogs and baby it would never work, but say you vaccuum and the next day you throw down your roomba and use it every day after that it should work well as a maintenence thing. You may be able to get away with only vaccuuming once a week or twice a month or so.

Let us know how it works. I'd never get rid of my dogs but my mom might be interested to know. BTW, link that trial if you don't mind.

Well it looks like this, and cost over 100 bucks after taxes in Canada:
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Of course, now I realize being this small a gadget it will never do a regular size vacuum's job.
But it did promise to be "great for pet's hair" - which tipped me over into buying. I did make sure I can return it if I don't like it, though.

So, now I am going back and forth back and forth whether to keep it or not for, as you say Lovegia, a maintenance cleaning.
I figured as much after seeing how much capability Roomba has, and thought "perhaps if I used it everyday as an upkeep?"

There is however this little problem I haven't solved yet, and wonder if it can be solved at all.
Roomba, as intelligent as it is - for a electronic gadget - is not a little genius unfortunately, and tends to go over and over the same places too many times while completely ignoring other.
So, I ended up hoovering (lol) over the Roomba turning it off and restarting so the places it missed would be cleaned, finally.

Then there is the problem of removing all the chairs, footstools, decorative and other items that generate dust bunnies around (my two Aussies!) that need to be cleaned,
or boy the Roomba will bang and bang and bang against them to end up gliding in every which direction but them bunnies...

So, at the moment, while I can not deny that the house is definitely, visibly cleaner than it was before Roomba,
I can not also say it is as the commercial goes:

~ you just push the start button and go off to whatever you want to do because it will take care of the vacuuming all by itself ~

Oh no. You need to prepare the surface -you need to make sure there are no cords or rug's tassels laying about and either make the access to the places you want to be cleaned possible or block to the ones you don't.
Then after every time you need to clean the brushes. yep :/
And all I ever wanted was to press the button on, then off and sit on my butt, ha.

So hmm I dunno. I have about two weeks until the return date, I will give it some more time before my final decision I guess..

Risa

Oh my.. That was really really funny. Really funny. So funny I am still laughing actually. The laughing will probably continue for a few minutes because, Risa, that was a hilarious review.

I will make sure to save that on my computer so if anyone asks me for a review about iRobot Roomba, I can be prepared!

My dog (Dolly) follows the regular upright vacuum around like she's prepared to defend me from it and it may attack at any time. It's difficult to vacuum with a dog following it that close. I can't image what she'd do with the Roomba. She'd probably be pouncing on it and growling at it. I don't think it would last at my house--the dog would beat it up.

My major need for a vacuum is dog hair. If it doesn't do that or only does it marginally, it wouldn't be worth it to me. Now if it vacuumed the floors and vacuumed the dogs too, that might be a good sale point.

Becky

The Roomba Dance
- Day 2.

Well I gotta admit I somehow lost the heart today after observing Roomba bumping itself stupidly into a circle for a good three minutes, unable to get out of a trickier corner.
On the good note, it was probably the cleanest spot in the house, EVER...

I did remarked to myself that if my laminated floors didn't help to fairly easy glide my two pieces of sofa and the coffee table along the walls, it would be pretty hard to manage that
and I probably would end up chucking the Roomba into an abyss of a deep closet very soon. this way, it probably will happen a bit later.

Ok, once I did that (without much enthusiasm) I set the Roomba in the middle of the room and pushed start.
btw I decided to clean one room at a time only.
It beeped, and started spinning in a snail pattern, making bigger and bigger coils until it bumped into its first obstruction.
Then its intelligence sent it into mysterious zigzagging pattern that once again caused it to clean certain spaces multiple times while totally ignoring other. It was totally indifferent to a screaming, obvious, hairy, messy spot every time it whizzed past by it!
Today I unkindly decided Roomba is stupid!!!...

Finally in desperation I grabbed the thing and re-set it again. Had to rearrange furniture a bit, too to change the zig-zagging pattern.
Again, there is always the good side to everything - coincidentally I've discovered there was a lot of dirt generated under one of the sofas (the one which is never moved).
Which the Roomba has cleaned

After the session was over I decided to re-charge the thing a bit and let me tell you you are not supposed to re-charge it with garbage inside. Well, let me tell you something else- it is SO easy to forget it. So easy.
Luckily, nothing happened.
btw gotta check how much all this recharging is gonna cost me - it lasted almost two hrs! whew!? and I barely cleaned for 45 min???

On the plus side, the room is clean. It really is and I can't remember it being so clean, but what's more- for two days by row!!
on the downside - despite Roomba blinking greenly 'recharged', I personally was depleted of energy and didn't let it clean any other room today

Risa

My major need for a vacuum is dog hair. If it doesn't do that or only does it marginally, it wouldn't be worth it to me.

That's why I bought Roomba. It said on the box it's good for the pet hair. I have two Australian Shepherds who shed like crazy, I have hair bunnies floating on the floors forever. Only in May, summer when we cut their fur short there is a respite until about September.

The Roomba does pretty good job on hair on laminated floors.
On the carpet - not so good, although I would say for a C+ job, just "I am not cringing at the sight of my carpet" kind of job it's also good enough.

As for the doggies reaction - Kuba who is afraid of the vacuum but will defend me or himself bravely of course tried to attack the Roomba, bless his heart.
I tried to train him a la Cesar Millan poking him with my two fingers in the neck (ineffectual, could have broken mine for all the good it does) and talking with the firm voice. Finally only the screaming LIE DOWN! make him leave it alone,
but I know dam* well just as soon as the two of them were left without witnesses it would be the end of Roomba

So am chucking the dogs out on the deck for the duration, the other one to keep him company.
Bella, btw is not threatened by the noisy intruder just politely interested, and otherwise unfazed.
She is a well balanced dog, unilke the poor neurotic Kuba.

Risa