The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: couponvan on October 27, 2014, 05:52:59 PM
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Does the Roomba really work? Especially under the kitchen table? A Roomba seems facepunch worthy, even for an Xmas gift.
However, I am considering asking for one for Christmas. I gave up the housekeeper earlier this year after finding MMM. She was basically hired for deep cleaning floors and showers, two things I dislike doing. I've saved over $2K by letting her go.
The floors need vacuuming downstairs in our house EVERY DAY. No pets, just 5 messy eaters. Yes, I know it's our mess and we should clean it. My father was a janitor and as a child I was vacuuming offices and cleaning out ash trays at night. I know HOW to vacuum. I just dislike it.
I was thinking of using the Best Buy gift cards we always get from DH's family....I'd rather have the Roomba than just about any other gadget out there. (DH might not agree.)
I tried to look through the search feature to see if this one has been asked before, and I didn't really see it as a question other than someone pointing out a Roomba was cheaper than a housekeeper.
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In my experience, it's not going to work well for the mess from messy eaters. I have hard floors, so while I do love it for its ability to vacuum under couches and beds, it doesn't do well with large chunks of things (like anything much bigger than a cheerio) and I think it would smear food all over your floor.
I have two messy eaters, and I've not been impressed at the job Roomba does in the kitchen.
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Does the Roomba really work? Especially under the kitchen table? A Roomba seems facepunch worthy, even for an Xmas gift.
However, I am considering asking for one for Christmas. I gave up the housekeeper earlier this year after finding MMM. She was basically hired for deep cleaning floors and showers, two things I dislike doing. I've saved over $2K by letting her go.
The floors need vacuuming downstairs in our house EVERY DAY. No pets, just 5 messy eaters. Yes, I know it's our mess and we should clean it. My father was a janitor and as a child I was vacuuming offices and cleaning out ash trays at night. I know HOW to vacuum. I just dislike it.
I was thinking of using the Best Buy gift cards we always get from DH's family....I'd rather have the Roomba than just about any other gadget out there. (DH might not agree.)
I tried to look through the search feature to see if this one has been asked before, and I didn't really see it as a question other than someone pointing out a Roomba was cheaper than a housekeeper.
I have no experience with Roomba's and I've always wanted one. I have a thing with clean floors, just can't seem to vacuum or mop enough, they always seem dirty.
I would love to see others replies to this threat.
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We have one and love it!
Clean floors every night-the open lay out of our house probably helps.
You're buying a good amount of time for yourself for the $400-we've had ours for years now.
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I have one and love it. We have long haired cats and running the Roomba a few times a week keeps the floors looking great. It picks up little pieces of dry cat food from the kitchen, but I'm not sure how it would do on larger pieces of food. But it's great for fur and dirt tracked in from the yard.
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Best thing ever!!!!!! I have the "pet" one, even though I don't have a pet, and it's amazing. It picks up so much dust that regular vacuums have left behind, and my carpets look GREAT for it!
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Dyson is coming out with a robotic vacuum next year, might be worth holding out. It's so fucking sexy...
https://www.dyson360eye.com/
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BTW I got mine from Bed, Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon code. That was the best deal I could find, so it might be worth requesting BB&B gift cards instead of Best Buy gift cards this year. Or see if Best Buy will price match.
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Dyson is coming out with a robotic vacuum next year, might be worth holding out. It's so fucking sexy...
https://www.dyson360eye.com/
OMG - It's like a Tesla for floors....BUT - how much is it going to cost? They were silent on that.
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A friend of mine has a pretty messy house, but her floors are always spotless. It always puzzled me until I found out about Matilda her maid (ie roomba) who cleaned the floors twice a day (yes, she ran it twice a day.... I think because it was a fairly big house, so every spot didn't get covered in one run, plus she had kids always dropping crumbs).
Anyway, I did a ton of reasqrch at one point, and wanted to pitch it to H. What held me back was the fact that reviews said you had to futz with it a decent amount, cleaning hair balls out do the brushes and such, and that they tend to die after five years or so. I wasn't sure the time spent futzing with it + having to replace at a frequency that equalled a cost of 50-80$ a year was work it when my regular vacuum is chugging along at 9 years now, with virtually no futzing. I decided that in the time I could clean out the finicky roomba, I could just vacuum the damn floor.
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Dyson is coming out with a robotic vacuum next year, might be worth holding out. It's so fucking sexy...
https://www.dyson360eye.com/
OMG - It's like a Tesla for floors....BUT - how much is it going to cost? They were silent on that.
If you have to ask...
Just kidding. Last year, I got a Dyson upright that was originally $750 for $250 at Kohl's on Black Friday after all the discounts, Chase Cashback, coupons, and Kohl's cash. Be patient, you might get a deal!
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BTW I got mine from Bed, Bath and Beyond with a 20% off coupon code. That was the best deal I could find, so it might be worth requesting BB&B gift cards instead of Best Buy gift cards this year. Or see if Best Buy will price match.
He only gets Best Buy for Christmas, and his family is way overboard on Xmas to the tune of several hundreds of dollars for him at Xmas....He has some "guilt" gifts to me coming. (See the Antimustachain Wall of Shame and the socket wrench thread). ;) Sometimes Best Buy has discounts as well.....
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I have a friend who LOVES her roomba. I think I should save my Christmas and birthday money this year and get one for myself. I'd forgotten about them until I read this thread. Good timing with Christmas and my birthday coming up soon!
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A friend of mine has a pretty messy house, but her floors are always spotless. It always puzzled me until I found out about Matilda her maid (ie roomba) who cleaned the floors twice a day (yes, she ran it twice a day.... I think because it was a fairly big house, so every spot didn't get covered in one run, plus she had kids always dropping crumbs).
Anyway, I did a ton of reasqrch at one point, and wanted to pitch it to H. What held me back was the fact that reviews said you had to futz with it a decent amount, cleaning hair balls out do the brushes and such, and that they tend to die after five years or so. I wasn't sure the time spent futzing with it + having to replace at a frequency that equalled a cost of 50-80$ a year was work it when my regular vacuum is chugging along at 9 years now, with virtually no futzing. I decided that in the time I could clean out the finicky roomba, I could just vacuum the damn floor.
Hmm....I might have more fun working with the finicky roomba than just vacuuming the damn floor since it's the vacuuming piece I dislike.
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Dyson is coming out with a robotic vacuum next year, might be worth holding out. It's so fucking sexy...
https://www.dyson360eye.com/
OMG - It's like a Tesla for floors....BUT - how much is it going to cost? They were silent on that.
Yeah....I CAN afford any of them, but do I want to? Is this the Iphone 6 of floor cleaners? ;-)
If you have to ask...
Just kidding. Last year, I got a Dyson upright that was originally $750 for $250 at Kohl's on Black Friday after all the discounts, Chase Cashback, coupons, and Kohl's cash. Be patient, you might get a deal!
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We have one and love it!
Clean floors every night-the open lay out of our house probably helps.
You're buying a good amount of time for yourself for the $400-we've had ours for years now.
Thank you for the feedback.
I'm thinking cost per hour would be a win, and I can still do the occasional under the kitchen table sweep with the Swiffer vac if the Roomba misses....
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I had one (and loved it) for many years.
No, it won't clean up 'wet' messes. And it's not as effective as a normal vacuum cleaner so you still need to do a 'real' vacuum of your house every once in a while. And yes, you have to muck around with the brushes.
I'd still get one again in the future, particularly as I love having a very clean house but can't always physically do it all. The roomba was great for those days when I would want to do an hour or two of deep cleaning - it would vacuum my entire house while I did other chores.
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I had a refurb'd roomba that I ended up having to buy a replacement battery for. It died.
I bought a new one at a decent price. The issue is that we end up spending a lot of time cleaning fibers and such from the brush.
The Mrs likes running it though.
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I'm concerned about the Dyson robot's height. I like the Roomba because it will go under my low shelves, couches, etc.
I run Roomba at least every 2-3 days, while I'm out doing other stuff, and I only need to clean the brushes every 6-8 weeks, if that. (Mind you, I am in a small place.) I do the cleaning when I feel like having a meditative little task. I sit down on my front stoop, take it all apart, fuss and preen, and put it back. I love doing that part! I feel like I'm giving it a little bath, and am just grateful the whole time for what it's done for me the previous couple of months. Doing it in my extremely slow, thorough, pokey way, this takes me about 20 minutes. A normal person would probably need 10, max.
The box says it can't replace a real vacuum, and is only to be used as a supplement, but I've found it does a phenomenal job. In my last place, the white carpets came up looking like they'd just been professionally cleaned -this inspired my landlord to buy one for her place!- and in my new place, Roomba manages to collect copious dust from the clean-looking carpets (previously vacuumed by a regular one).
What I wouldn't do is cheap out on a knock-off. I think this is one of those things in which you get what you pay for. I went for the "pet" version, and wonder if that's the best of the best?
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To me its face punch worthy. I broom my house for 20 minutes a week and call it good. My broom doesnt wear out and when it break im not gonna mourn the loss of some $200+ luxury. Then again I have a 1200 sq foot wood floor house.
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I had a refurb'd roomba that I ended up having to buy a replacement battery for. It died.
I bought a new one at a decent price. The issue is that we end up spending a lot of time cleaning fibers and such from the brush.
The Mrs likes running it though.
We had a refurbished Roomba too, for less than half price. Ran for 2.5 years, replace filter/ some brushes after 1 year. Battery died at 2.5 yrs and new brushes needed again, so we mothballed it. This was bought in 2007, so maybe the batteries are much better now.
Husband did pilfer it for parts and make a walkie robot using an old phone for a controller, for his robotics course, so not all lost. (Best project in class).
It works great with all the crumbs / dust / hair (we only had a lightly shedding cat). Worked amazingly well under kitchen table despite all those legs. I was surprised.
Chews up fringe on carpets for breakfast, so you need to lift many of your floor rugs / get rid of them if they are in the slightest loose.
Not sure I would spend $400, but otherwise, it is a good device.
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Definitely facepunch. Messy eaters? Be less messy! Or just put down a drop cloth before you dig in. Also, al fresco dining means you don't have to vaccum.
Joking aside, I don't think those robotic vacuums do a good enough job for the price/longevity. I'm waiting for a robotic vaccum that can move my chairs around and go up and down stairs.
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I should add that futzing with brushes is super annoying. I have long hair and have two girls and pretty much have to dismantle the stupid thing every month or two. And I only use it a couple of times a week.
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I've had several over the course of my life. They do not work as well as a human with a real vacuum, but they sure are convenient.
When I lived in a tiny carpeted apartment with a single cat, it was awesome. Every day it would turn itself on, do the whole place, and I'd come home to fresh robot vacuum tracks everywhere. I could probably get away with vacuuming by hand once every six months, to get the remote corners and baseboards and such that it can't do.
Now that I have a larger house, they don't do as well. It can't get the same level of coverage before the battery dies.
And that's really the problem, the battery is a short term solution. Especially if you configure the robot to run every day, after about a year it will only run for two or three minutes before dying and then it can't find its recharging station in time and it dies loose somewhere in your house. The batteries are replaceable, but they aren't cheap.
The other problem is that you still have to empty the little bin, and if you have pets the brushes will get clogged in a hurry and need to be cleaned. Cleaning them is tedious and time consuming, and sometimes I think it would be faster to just vacuum by hand.
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I love my Roomba! I cannot remember if I have the 650 or the 750 series, but I do remember that I bought it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond with a 20% off coupon. It was $500, so I got it for $400.
I have 3 short-haired dogs and it does a great job of picking up dog hair and dirt that they track in. Having it clean the floor while I do something else makes me very happy. Maintenance is simple: I do empty the bin after every use, but I don't clean it all that often. When I do clean it, I do a very thorough job, but this isn't a difficult or unpleasant task. I do not fuss with it on a regular basis.
As others have noted, it is not a complete replacement for a regular vacuum -- for example it won't work in your car, it doesn't do stairs or upholstery, and I wouldn't recommend it for big chunks of things. But if you sweep up the big chunks, it will go over the remaining bits until they are gone.
For me it is well worth the money and I recommend Roomba very highly. I think it was the review in Cook's Illustrated that finally convinced me. Do not buy one of the knockoffs. They don't work and are not worth the money.
I bought mine about 2.5 years ago and have had no problems. The battery appears to be going strong.
I am not a "gadget person" in the slightest, I just really appreciate a product that works well. I really have better things to do besides vacuuming.
Now, I have a question. Has anyone used the Scooba -- the one that scrubs the floors?
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My parents bought a roomba (could have been a different brand but pretty sure it was roomba).
For the first month or two they asked for my help with figuring out various problems it had.
Haven't seen it since then, for the last 6 months or so. Pretty sure they discarded or closeted it.
It never did a great job picking up dog hair, and the amount of time spent tinkering with it probably wasn''t worth it.
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I have had a Roomba and a Neato. The Neato behaves much more like a vacuum, sucking up dust/hair/etc., whereas Roomba is more of a sweeper. I love the Neato for our bedrooms because it goes under the bed to get rid of all of the dust. This is particularly helpful for me as I have dust allergies.
They often sell refurbished Roombas and Neatos on Woot for a halfway decent price. No problems with my Neato in 2 years. The Roomba battery died once and then the whole thing died after about 3 years.
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It is facepunch worthy. But I will take all the facepunches to keep my roomba.
I live in a 860 sq. ft. apartment with my hubby and two cats. The roomba does a great job, especially on collecting fur and hair.
Even my allergic friends doesn't have a problem going to my place anymore. They used to take some allergy medicine to be able to stay because of my cats, but after i bought the roomba the problem almost vanished.
To clean the thing takes something like 5~10 minutes. I run it every day, and have to empty and clean the brushes once or twice a week, depending on the shedding and the mess we do.
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I have an original Neato and would buy another if this one died. We hate vacuuming that much.
The bad:
Yes it is a pain to clean out the hair on the brush and gears.
Yes it has a little dust bin that needs cleaning every time we run it.
Yes it sometimes gets stuck behind chairs or runs itself up onto a lamp base.
Yes I run my foot (or a broom) along the baseboards once and a while to pick up the dust it leaves behind along the walls.
Yes I had to replace the battery after about a year and a half because of run time.
Yes we do pick up chairs, end tables, ottomans, and assorted other things that it won't fit under - or can get stuck on.
The good:
The Neato does leave really nice lines on the carpet (it vacuums in nice lines - not random).
I can't tell you how much joy it gives us to turn it on and watch it vacuum, or simply turn it on and leave the house - then come home to a full dust bin and clean floors.
You can schedule it to run every day if you want (we do not).
It fits under most of our furniture (all couches and chairs) so we are no longer getting dust bunnies living under them.
Did I say yet how much we hate vacuuming?
That said - I believe their new version now has a wall brush to get along the base boards, and a redesigned gear system that isn't supposed to get as jammed up with stuff.
So I definitely say the robotic vacuums are not a free ride, but I am willing to make the trade off of the extra vacuum maintenance in exchange for no hand vacuuming.
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<punch>
5 eaters, plenty of people to run a broom or far less expensive lower maintenance vacuum.
I wasn't going to say much else, but when the good is 'really nice lines on the carpet', well that was too much for me! I feel like I was transported to another forum.
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Wow, just wow. Train your kids to vacuum. Problem solved. $400 saved. Congrats.
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Definitely facepunch. Messy eaters? Be less messy! Or just put down a drop cloth before you dig in.
Agreed. Use a napkin, sit closer to the table, plate etc. It's part habit and part manners. I have a relative who's kid was not taught how to eat, it's like sitting down with Taz. The rest of use can eat without wearing it.
It takes 2 minutes to sweep under the table. Not worth $400.
If the kids (or whoever is messiest) get to sweep and wipe the table, they will soon learn to be less messy.
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As with any purchase like this, consider looking on Craigslist- Roombas are a pretty popular 'upscale' gift, and a lot of people either don't want one or don't have a place conducive to one, so you have a decent chance of finding one for much less than retail with some patience. Doesn't fit into the 'use Best Buy gift cards from Christmas' strategy, but it is one of the cheapest ways to come up with one. Also, as per most 'tech' stuff, refurbished models are usually worth a look too.
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Think of all the other things you could do with $200 / $400
- Buy index funds.
- Take your family on at least two long weekend vacations
- Go on 5+ weekend camping trips.
- Buy 2 used kayaks
- Buy 4 used bikes.
- Buy possibly months worth of groceries.
Would you rather have the above or some little box that sweeps your floor for you?
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It seems like Roomba is one of those super divisive items on the MMM forums, lol. Some find it matches their values for cleanliness, freedom, time, etc, and others find it irritating to use and/or a cost that could easily be avoided by using cheaper tools, time, overcoming a desire for specific levels of cleanliness, etc.
I obviously fall into the first camp :)
Two more favourite things about it:
1. I have an intense shoulder injury -the result of vacuuming lots and scrubbing tubs (I was a home support worker) in the months following a bad bicycling accident (cycling to one of said clients' homes). Many years later, the ONLY effect of the accident is strong pain in the shoulder upon lots of vacuuming. Roomba eliminated this. (I don't have or use a regular vacuum anywhere. I don't have stairs, and Roomba does hard surfaces, carpets, area rugs, etc, without my involvement.)
2. Because of point #1, as well as an aversion to noise, before Roomba I swept all my floors and carpets. The stiff corn broom did a good job. However, I also have an absolute aversion to feeling stuff via the soles of my feet -crumbs, little bits that I may not even notice visually but which trigger Aspie/sensory stress. My kid and I are both naturally very neat -no food droppings, etc- but these tiny bits aggravate me. Roomba eliminated this, and works (makes sound) while I'm out of the house. I know I could have changed other habits -start wearing my shoes indoors (which I think tracks in more dirt), or wearing slippers, etc, and continued sweeping, but Roomba resolves so many needs, it seems a perfect fit for us. In fact, it's one of the few things that made the cut when we last moved and everything we owned needed to fit inside our compact car with us!
If I were even wealthier, I would buy one for at least three other people I know, who struggle with floor stuff and/or vacuuming for one reason or another.
The only place I have missed having a regular vacuum (which, again, I gave up years before Roomba came into my life) was when I was shrink-packing for my last move. I borrowed a vacuum to draw the air out of four bags. I can't justify owning a regular vacuum for that :)
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Had one, it's kind of cool. Not as effective as doing the work yourself, but if you're not getting it done, it's sure better than nothing... Prices are pretty reasonable on them too.
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I'm curious about why in some houses, the Roomba is as effective or more effective than regular vacuums, and in other homes they are less effective than a regular vacuum? What is accounting for that difference?
Is it the brand (i.e., not-actually-a-Roomba-but-a-cheaper-knock-off vs an actual Roomba)?
Is it the type of Actual Roomba (e.g. 300 series vs 750 Pet series)?
The type of mess a household is dealing with (chunks vs crumbs, wet vs dry, etc)?
Size of the home?
Year of model tested?
Mine pulls out more than any regular vacuum has (i.e., when we vacuum first with a regular, and then Roomba goes over it, the carpet is cleaner after Roomba and its bin is full of stuff the first one didn't pick up), does corners and edges, goes over rugs no problem, etc. But I have the fanciest Actual Roomba, (a series of) homes each no bigger than 500 sq feet, low to medium pile carpet, rugs with no fringes, etc. So, perhaps its value depends very much on a variety of factors, including quality of robot, size and type of home, type of mess, etc? Perhaps these are what need to be considered in determining the potential value of a Roomba-style vacuum?
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Wow, just wow. Train your kids to vacuum. Problem solved. $400 saved. Congrats.
HA HA HA HA
I am tempted to post of picture of what my floors look like after my kids (12 and 14) vacuum. i.e., Its the worst job that they can get away with, and if I see it when I get home, 3 hours after it was "done", they blame the disaster on the afternoon snack caused the other child, or cat. (as if).
Still, they do the chores, and I close my eyes and just say thanks 9 times out of 10 (then we go on a "training" session - again!)
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I'm curious about why in some houses, the Roomba is as effective or more effective than regular vacuums, and in other homes they are less effective than a regular vacuum? What is accounting for that difference?
Is it the brand (i.e., not-actually-a-Roomba-but-a-cheaper-knock-off vs an actual Roomba)?
Is it the type of Actual Roomba (e.g. 300 series vs 750 Pet series)?
The type of mess a household is dealing with (chunks vs crumbs, wet vs dry, etc)?
Size of the home?
Mine pulls out more than any regular vacuum has (i.e., when we vacuum first with a regular, and then Roomba goes over it, the carpet is cleaner after Roomba and its bin is full of stuff the first one didn't pick up), does corners and edges, goes over rugs no problem, etc. But I have the fanciest Actual Roomba, (a series of) homes each no bigger than 500 sq feet, low to medium pile carpet, rugs with no fringes, etc. So, perhaps its value depends very much on a variety of factors, including quality of robot, size and type of home, type of mess, etc? Perhaps these are what need to be considered in determining the potential value of a Roomba-style vacuum?
I'd add in type of floor to your list of variables.
We have a less fancy Roomba model (500 series), and an 1100 sqft home. But the tile flooring works on our side (pickup on rugs when we leave them down isn't great), and we're able to get good coverage by blocking off the house into quarters and having Roomba tackle each quarter separately.
After redoing our tile in 2015, we'll probably get one of the new Scoobas, too!
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I had a refurb'd roomba that I ended up having to buy a replacement battery for. It died.
Ditto. We've bought 2 or 3 off woot over the years, batteries tend to die, lots of time spent cleaning people and cat hair out of the brushes. The short battery life might be that they're Woot.com/refurbished purchases, but when the last one died a few years back we never bothered buying a replacement.
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I bought one with rewards points back in 2006 or so. At the time, I lived in a small flat-sytle apartment with plush-ish carpet and linoleum. It worked pretty well, but I had to clean the brushes at least every month because I have tons of long hair. It was actually really hard to clean the hair out of the brushes, so I don't think I really saved any time vs vacuuming. Note: I did not have the type that auto-charged itself or could be programmed (or I didn't bother to learn how).
In 2007, I moved into a new place with hardwoods and berber carpet (with floor transitions between rooms). It really didn't work that well there - didn't deep clean the pet hair that was ground into the carpet from the previous owner's dog; didn't do well moving from room to room because of the thresholds; battery starting crapping out. I looked at replacing the battery, but decided to instead buy a "real" vac. I'm way happier with a real vac, especially now that we're in a place with multiple levels and flooring types.
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I was given a Roomba one birthday. It isn't a vaccuum cleaner replacement, it replaces sweeping the house with a broom -- it just doesn't clean as well as a proper vaccuum. I had to clean the brush daily, which took 10-15 minutes. We have two long-haired cats, so ymmv. It took me less time to vaccuum the area the Roomba covered, so the Roomba got sold and now I just vaccuum or sweep.
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I bought " The Mint" which is for solid surface floors & it sweeps & mops. It costs $200 but got a new one on ebay for $130. There is nothing to clean-just change the pads & it has GPS so knows where it has been. I really love it!
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How effective the Roomba will be for you is somewhat a function of your floor plan layout. Large open spaces work better than lots of little rooms broken up with interior walls.
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Wow, just wow. Train your kids to vacuum. Problem solved. $400 saved. Congrats.
HA HA HA HA
I am tempted to post of picture of what my floors look like after my kids (12 and 14) vacuum. i.e., Its the worst job that they can get away with, and if I see it when I get home, 3 hours after it was "done", they blame the disaster on the afternoon snack caused the other child, or cat. (as if).
Still, they do the chores, and I close my eyes and just say thanks 9 times out of 10 (then we go on a "training" session - again!)
+1 LOL...those are my kids 9/12/14.... Yes they vacuum, yes I try to train, no, I am not putting a drop cloth down for them to eat. I have a lower crumb tolerance than the rest of the family.
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Think of all the other things you could do with $200 / $400
- Buy index funds.
- Take your family on at least two long weekend vacations
- Go on 5+ weekend camping trips.
- Buy 2 used kayaks
- Buy 4 used bikes.
- Buy possibly months worth of groceries.
Would you rather have the above or some little box that sweeps your floor for you?
I would rather have a little box....Other than the index funds.
The rest of the stuff we already have/do in the budget and if I don't get the Roomba hubby will just use those GC on yet another iPhone.
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Think of all the other things you could do with $200 / $400
- Buy index funds.
- Take your family on at least two long weekend vacations
- Go on 5+ weekend camping trips.
- Buy 2 used kayaks
- Buy 4 used bikes.
- Buy possibly months worth of groceries.
Would you rather have the above or some little box that sweeps your floor for you?
I would rather have a little box....Other than the index funds.
The rest of the stuff we already have/do in the budget and if I don't get the Roomba hubby will just use those GC on yet another iPhone.
Enjoy it.
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Go ahead and punch yourself. Not as good as elbow grease and desire. Not even close. I have one and regret it. It depends on what clean is to you. I'm no germophobe, but I do have a little one walking around.
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2roomba4me
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We have a roomba and love it. It has a tough time with our unique dining chairs, so when we have it go in the dining room we have to move them around, but it is so nice for under beds and couches. Next furniture or rug purchase will be made with roomba in mind lol!
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Think of all the other things you could do with $200 / $400
- Buy index funds.
- Take your family on at least two long weekend vacations
- Go on 5+ weekend camping trips.
- Buy 2 used kayaks
- Buy 4 used bikes.
- Buy possibly months worth of groceries.
Would you rather have the above or some little box that sweeps your floor for you?
Box. Hands down, including the index funds - I have index funds. I didn't have a robot to sweep my floors.
I have hard floors and a sweeper variety (Roomba brand) that lacks most of the downsides of the vacuum variety. I cheaped out and didn't get one that runs itself on a timer, and that's my only regret - I should've bought the better, more expensive one.
I don't buy shit. But I bought this and will buy another (with a timer) when it dies.
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My Roomba sometimes gets stuck under my recliner and does need preened every few weeks. It does a good job on cat shedding and cat litter tracked around my openfloor plan 900 sq ft condo. I bought mine at Costco. It has chewed up a cat toy that fell on the floor in its path. I do not set it to automatically run because I want to make sure to clear the area beforehand. I would still vacuum my throw rugs and furniture occasionally to keep fibers fluffy.
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We have a roomba and love it. It has a tough time with our unique dining chairs, so when we have it go in the dining room we have to move them around, but it is so nice for under beds and couches. Next furniture or rug purchase will be made with roomba in mind lol!
Us too - We bought a new couch and chairs this year - I am sure people thought I was odd for measuring the height of the legs in the store to make sure they were long enough for the vacuum to fit under the furniture!
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I'm curious about why in some houses, the Roomba is as effective or more effective than regular vacuums, and in other homes they are less effective than a regular vacuum? What is accounting for that difference?
Is it the brand (i.e., not-actually-a-Roomba-but-a-cheaper-knock-off vs an actual Roomba)?
Is it the type of Actual Roomba (e.g. 300 series vs 750 Pet series)?
The type of mess a household is dealing with (chunks vs crumbs, wet vs dry, etc)?
Size of the home?
Year of model tested?
Mine pulls out more than any regular vacuum has (i.e., when we vacuum first with a regular, and then Roomba goes over it, the carpet is cleaner after Roomba and its bin is full of stuff the first one didn't pick up), does corners and edges, goes over rugs no problem, etc. But I have the fanciest Actual Roomba, (a series of) homes each no bigger than 500 sq feet, low to medium pile carpet, rugs with no fringes, etc. So, perhaps its value depends very much on a variety of factors, including quality of robot, size and type of home, type of mess, etc? Perhaps these are what need to be considered in determining the potential value of a Roomba-style vacuum?
I guess there are some important things to be considered:
1. Floor layout. An open floor plan is much more roomba-friendly than a lot of little rooms.
2. Floor material. I have all tile, so it's great. My search says that roomba does good with carpet too, and heavy rugs. If you have fringes or light throw rugs it can get stuck.
3. Colors. Roomba doesn't understand black floor/rug/decorations on the floor. For some reason it think it is an abyss and can't get through. If you have a black strip on a rug, your roomba may be unable to get past it. If you have black furniture, there is a great chance roomba will bump on it full speed and leave some markings/scratches.
4. Stairs. For obvious reasons, it doesn't do stairs. And if you have some condo/studio/house that is divided on many levels, you have to move it around, and you lose some of the practicality of the "set and forget" schedule.
5. Type of mess. Wet is bad. It will get into the brushes, smudge on the wheels, and instead of a clean home you might end with a lot of marks of the wet mess being dragged around. And it can really damage the device, according to the manual. Dust is fine, crumbs are fine, fur is fine. It pick up hair, but it usually gets tangled in the brushes, so if you have a lot of hair it will be a little harder to clean it. Hardly more than 10 minutes at a time, though.
6. Size. If you have a too big of a home it might get lost and/or without power to come back to the base, or just clean the rooms closest to the base. This problem can be mitigated using the lighthouses of the newer versions. I don't know what is the size threshold for it.
7. Things on the floor. We have cats. Cats love playing with strings. Roomba hates strings. We have to be careful to do not leave strings on the floor, or it gets all tangled and makes roomba stop working and cry for help. My mom has a dog that can't learn to poop on the right place, so she couldn't never have a roomba (unless she likes poop spread all over her house, or if she carefully inspect the house for poop beforehand). Depending on what kind of toys you/your kids/pets leave on the floor, roomba may have a problem with it.
8. Shape of furniture. Depending on the shape of your tables/chairs/things feet, the robot may be able to come up and not come down, and ask for help. If you have mostly square angles things it shouldn't be a problem, but round, curved edges may be troublesome, depending on the angle.
aaaaand, that's the end of my roomba research sheet =P
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I liked it, but it took so long for it to do one room that I would rather do it myself. There was no way I could have finished my whole house in one day...but I had a 2900 SF house back then. I did feel that manually vacuuming got my carpets cleaner. Maybe, a handivac or dustbuster would be better for your eating area.
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Wow, just wow. Train your kids to vacuum. Problem solved. $400 saved. Congrats.
HA HA HA HA
I am tempted to post of picture of what my floors look like after my kids (12 and 14) vacuum. i.e., Its the worst job that they can get away with, and if I see it when I get home, 3 hours after it was "done", they blame the disaster on the afternoon snack caused the other child, or cat. (as if).
Still, they do the chores, and I close my eyes and just say thanks 9 times out of 10 (then we go on a "training" session - again!)
+1 LOL...those are my kids 9/12/14.... Yes they vacuum, yes I try to train, no, I am not putting a drop cloth down for them to eat. I have a lower crumb tolerance than the rest of the family.
You guys can laugh at me, but it's me laughing at your lack of training. When I was 9, I was doing my own laundry every week. By 12, I was mowing the lawn, doing dishes, vacuuming, and more. Was my job perfect every time? Hardly, but it certainly wasn't laughable. Your 14 year olds are going to be out of the house in 4 years. Do you magically think that between now and then they're going to magically learn how to care for themselves properly?
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We have a roomba and love it. It has a tough time with our unique dining chairs, so when we have it go in the dining room we have to move them around, but it is so nice for under beds and couches. Next furniture or rug purchase will be made with roomba in mind lol!
Us too - We bought a new couch and chairs this year - I am sure people thought I was odd for measuring the height of the legs in the store to make sure they were long enough for the vacuum to fit under the furniture!
haha, the new kitchen cabinets we're getting next year will definitely be measured for Roomba clearance under the toe kick since Roomba can currently get stuck in an awkward corner of our current cabinetry. =)
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Oh, for those that think the Roomba is better because it picks up stuff even after vacuuming, your normal vacuum would pick up more if you vacuum a second time. It would pick up more the third time. And the fourth. Etc. The quantity will obviously go down each time, but don't for a second think that one pass with even the best vacuum is enough to get everything possible. If you've ever ripped carpet out of a house, this would be obvious.
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2roomba4me
If dragoncar has 2, I am willing to take the punch and try it....
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I liked it, but it took so long for it to do one room that I would rather do it myself.
Roomba is incredibly slow compared to regular vacuuming, but that's not a problem if you run it while you're away. We never run ours while we're home.
If your house is occupied 24/7 it's probably not a great idea.
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aaaaand, that's the end of my roomba research sheet =P
Caella, that was excellent!
When making any costlier purchase, it makes so much sense to look at the objectives. On this thread we have some total Roomba enthusiasts -finding freedom, joy, time, and überclean floors, people for whom a robot vacuum was tried but for any reason not a fit, and others who are opposed on the matter of cost, and/or training opportunities, etc.
Yours is a great list of practical things to consider about whether it may or may not be awesome for a given home which, after others' actual experiences as well as opinions, is the critical piece.
(I sort of feel I "lucked out" in having a home and lifestyle that happened to be so perfectly matched to the Roomba's best scenario...and that I got me an awesome one!)
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I was given a Roomba one birthday. It isn't a vaccuum cleaner replacement, it replaces sweeping the house with a broom -- it just doesn't clean as well as a proper vaccuum. I had to clean the brush daily, which took 10-15 minutes. We have two long-haired cats, so ymmv. It took me less time to vaccuum the area the Roomba covered, so the Roomba got sold and now I just vaccuum or sweep.
Yes, better said than my previous post. It brooms for you.
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This entire topic is an evil plot by the Roomba corporation to cause me to buy a $400-$500 dollar model of consumerism! Where before my $50 walmart vacuum was working just fine, now I crave a robot servant doing my bidding! (sarcasm font needed here)
Also, they seem cool and I've wanted one for years.
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This entire topic is an evil plot by the Roomba corporation to cause me to buy a $400-$500 dollar model of consumerism! Where before my $50 walmart vacuum was working just fine, now I crave a robot servant doing my bidding! (sarcasm font needed here)
Also, they seem cool and I've wanted one for years.
I think it was because I'm in the same boat! However, I'm researching the Neato brands - CNET reviewed a few of them and they perform more efficiently for less money. This will be my "we're feeling guilty at the holidays because we have a ton of kids and you don't have any" present from my sisters this Christmas...
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I always thought Roomba is for carpet (i.e. vacuum replacement). Reading some of these posts, it sounds like that's not entirely true..
We briefly considered Roomba, but since we thought it's for carpet, and we don't have *that* much carpet and already has a nice vacuum, we decided it's not worth it. But if it's actually better for hard surface... it might worth a second look (I know I know, punch me now).
So if it's more like a broom, is it more effective on hard surface floors? Does it handle floor transition bumps (e.g., strip for transition between laminate and tile)? And wouldn't a mopping robot be more effective for hard surface -- or do you end up needing both broom / mop?
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Love my Roomba! It works great, you can schedule it to run when you are not home, etc... Yes, you do have to clean it but once you have the process down it takes just a few minutes. Wife loves coming home to a freshly vacuumed house....happy wife = happy life!
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I keep thinking about this thread, and our lack of face punches. Wondered why? (Even me!) I feel guilty in case I have led someone on about Roomba being a MMM choice. BUT, I am happy that all the posts seem to indirectly acknowledge the following fact:
Roomba is a luxury, a "toy" for grown-ups, that does not fully replace the need for a house vacuum.
It costs $400 and is for convenience, and fun (I thought it was fun to own), and will last between 2 and ? years only.
It is not a recommended purchase, unless you are looking for a "spendypants spree", on a item many of us seemed to appreciate owning.
People with hair on fire and $24,000/yr incomes should look away.
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...is it more effective on hard surface floors?
Mine is equally (i.e., awesomely) effective on both carpet and hard surface floors (tile, wood, and laminate).
Does it handle floor transition bumps (e.g., strip for transition between laminate and tile)?
Mine handles my floor transitions (two different homes) beautifully.
And wouldn't a mopping robot be more effective for hard surface -- or do you end up needing both broom / mop?
I haven't tried a mopping robot, and am not even considering one. Here's why: In my case, my Roomba does such a phenomenal job of cleaning up food, crumbs, leaves, dirt, whatever that there is nothing sticking to the floors. That is, I very rarely see the need to wet-clean my floors since I got Roomba (and I'm very fussy about cleanliness as well as hygiene). They look great, maybe once a month I'll spot clean the laminate around the cooking area and wipe the bathroom floor thoroughly with a rag. It's only every couple of months the hard floors look like they're ready for a wet cleaning, and I do it with a hot rag then.
BUT, I am happy that all the posts seem to indirectly acknowledge the following fact:
Roomba is a luxury, a "toy" for grown-ups, that does not fully replace the need for a house vacuum.
It costs $400 and is for convenience, and fun (I thought it was fun to own), and will last between 2 and ? years only.
[...]People with hair on fire and $24,000/yr incomes should look away.
Mine doesn't acknowledge that :) Mine says the opposite: Roomba absolutely replaces my need for a house vacuum (and broom), frees me up for more work and MMMing, prevents injury-related pain, and so on.
People with hair on fire should definitely look away, yes, but I would say this is because they would ideally look away from everything beyond basic nutrition, shelter, and expenses that allow them to get income. I would say Roomba does not fall into that category, yes.
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Roomba is a luxury, a "toy" for grown-ups, that does not fully replace the need for a house vacuum.
It costs $400 and is for convenience, and fun (I thought it was fun to own), and will last between 2 and ? years only.
I thought the fact that it's a luxury is a given. It's a $300+ vacuum for god's sake. I will admit I am not a hard-core Mustachian. I have much to learn about frugality -- but one believe that I will maintain is that there is nothing inherently wrong with luxury, as long as you're aware it is one, and that you've made a conscious, well thought-out decision to partake in it.
Now, the lifetime stated on this thread is a concern. I'm willing to pay a premium for a good product, but $300-500 vacuum for a 2-year lifetime is not a value I'm willing to pay for.
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I am shocked how many people here have Roombas.
Don't get me wrong, I get the appeal. I thought about getting one because I'm a lazy cleaner. I even went to check them out in person, and I LITERALLY thought to myself, "I can never give someone advice on the MMM forum if I bought that shit." I swear this forum made me decide to not buy a Roomba. Then I realized I was being an idiot, I punched myself in the face and went home.
You guys, seriously. YOU GUYS. DON'T BUY THAT FUCKING ROBOT VACUUM OR I WILL PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE AND MAIL YOU A BED PAN AND FEEDING TUBES.
FACEPUNCH
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The last two posts... they beautifully reflect the differing ideas within the MMM community.
Some see Mustache Land as about frugality, first and foremost. Spend no more money than we absolutely need to, etc. But in that case I would pitch that a $50 vacuum is also luxurious and wasteful, from that perspective. For many years I used only a broom, including on carpets, and it worked really well, so how do we justify even $50 on a dust sucker?
Others see Mustache Land as about thoughtful consumption, stewarding our money yet also allowing ourselves luxuries, preferences, comforts...things that free up time, relieve pain, enhance our joy, etc.
This Roomba owner (i.e, me!) definitely falls into the latter camp. I had no Roomba, no other vacuum, no car, no shelter, no personal supply of running water, no bed for all those years... Honestly, everything outside of basic nutrition ends up seeming like a luxury after that. At what price point do we insist others "draw the line" on the various luxuries available? Why is a $300 vacuum too luxurious, and a $50 vacuum entirely acceptable...yet the same $50 on, say, a pair of pajamas would draw facepunches? (Am I getting too philosophical about vacuum cleaners? lol)
Two of my favourite topics combined: "robot vacuums", and "what is a luxury?" Yum.
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I have one and love it. I usually run it when I'm doing other cleaning or while out. You still have to use the normal vacuum every so often, but it makes a difference especially if you have a lot of pet hair to deal with. It doesn't get pet hair stuck around furniture legs, for example, and in my house it can't get between the dining room chairs unless I spread them out so it wouldn't be great for food mess.
My MIL bought it for us so I never even thought about cost, but I enjoy not having to vacuum every day while still being able to spend time in my house without getting covered in dog hair.
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The last two posts... they beautifully reflect the differing ideas within the MMM community.
Some see Mustache Land as about frugality, first and foremost. Spend no more money than we absolutely need to, etc. But in that case I would pitch that a $50 vacuum is also luxurious and wasteful, from that perspective. For many years I used only a broom, including on carpets, and it worked really well, so how do we justify even $50 on a dust sucker?
Others see Mustache Land as about thoughtful consumption, stewarding our money yet also allowing ourselves luxuries, preferences, comforts...things that free up time, relieve pain, enhance our joy, etc.
This Roomba owner (i.e, me!) definitely falls into the latter camp. I had no Roomba, no other vacuum, no car, no shelter, no personal supply of running water, no bed for all those years... Honestly, everything outside of basic nutrition ends up seeming like a luxury after that. At what price point do we insist others "draw the line" on the various luxuries available? Why is a $300 vacuum too luxurious, and a $50 vacuum entirely acceptable...yet the same $50 on, say, a pair of pajamas would draw facepunches? (Am I getting too philosophical about vacuum cleaners? lol)
Two of my favourite topics combined: "robot vacuums", and "what is a luxury?" Yum.
You make a great point. Where I tend to look to draw the "luxury line" is at the cost per year to own something functional. (And if not functional, then it really is a treat, which I have a pre-planned budget for)
e.g.,
$50 for 1 year's use of winter PJ's that are worn about 20 times is a face punch, when I can get new ones for $12 or wear an old t-shirt.
Same too with spending $400, plus $50 on replacement brushes, for a Roomba that lasted me 2.5 years. $180 per year. Do not repeat! says the little voice in my head.
Especially compared to the $40 bagless vacuum that I bought at a garage sale to replace it, that is lasting many years? I definitely advise the vacuum and broom combo.
BUT
I think a face punch is best suited when we start to assume a "luxury" is a necessity. The good thing about the tone of this thread is that happy Roomba users are generally not calling it a need, but a very satisfied "nice to have".
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The last two posts... they beautifully reflect the differing ideas within the MMM community.
I always like your comments, scrubby, but I'm not sure this one is on target exactly. Interestingly enough, I never mentioned that the outrageous price was what made me choose to not buy it. I'm rarely the voice of epic frugality.
I do a brief cost-benefit analyses for everything big I purchase:
--The roomba would save me little time because I rarely vacuum as it is. Instead, I used my mind powers to accept that things get on the floor sometimes and it's not a big deal.
--It obviously doesn't save me money since it costs more than $0.
--It wastes resources because I've already got a vacuum that works well, and I don't need the world to manufacture me another one.
--It might save me some effort, but it doesn't vacuum stairs and those are the worst part. I don't want to pay hundreds of dollars and STILL have to vacuum the stairs in my tri-level.
--It's not all that well made or reliable. I hate things that crap out on me in a couple years and I'd probably still have to clean the floors occasionally.
--I don't want more stuff in my house.
Honestly, after performing that thought exercise I didn't even want one any more. But I really did consider my experiences on the forum. How would I feel about helping someone cut their budget items down in the Ask forum when I've got a $200 vacuum cleaner whizzing underneath my propped up feet? Sure, my savings rate is great, but I don't need that shit and neither does OP.
It's no harder to vacuum my own house than it is to live without cable TV and drive an old car, so why is no one else punching faces in this thread? This is a GODDAMN VACUUM you guys. At least buy something you enjoy for that much spare cash. I'm not going to lovingly watch my roomba every day and sigh with delight when it sucks up my hair clods (okay, maybe I will the first time).
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When I got married 4.5 years ago, one of the things we used wedding present money on was a vacuum. Mine was on it's last legs after 5 years of duty cleaning up after 5-9 college/young professional men, and several years of cleaning up after just me. We looked at vacuums and bought a Dyson. I forget the exact model, but it was normally $400. Home Depot had it on sale for $300. We went to Bed Bath and Beyond, got them to price match HD, and then we used a 20% off coupon to bring it down to $240. Sure, I could have gotten another $50-$100 vacuum, but the Dyson certainly picks up a lot more than my $100 bissel ever did. It also had a good warranty and has lasted 4.5 years with zero issues. I think I had to clean the rollers once, and I got the tube stuck up when I vacuumed a bunch of wood chips from under my firewood rack (oops). Could I have saved money? Sure. Was it extravagant? Meh, we had BB&B gift cards, so it cost us almost nothing. If we hadn't bought it, my wife would have probably wanted to use them on frilly decoration things that would have been a real waste. What I will tell you is that I'll take the cleanlyness challenge with my Dyson over a Roomba any day of the week.
Oh, and for the broom vs vacuum question, there is no freaking comparison between the job the two do. If I lived alone and wanted to rip my carpet out in the next year or two, maybe I'd go just with a broom. As the father of an almost 2yr old, I can see the stuff my vacuum picks up, and I don't want my kid to be playing on the floor with that stuff there. I also have pretty bad dust allergies, and a broom isn't going to cut it.
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It's no harder to vacuum my own house than it is to live without cable TV and drive an old car, so why is no one else punching faces in this thread? This is a GODDAMN VACUUM you guys. At least buy something you enjoy for that much spare cash. I'm not going to lovingly watch my roomba every day and sigh with delight when it sucks up my hair clods (okay, maybe I will the first time).
I think the difference is that this thread is not about being frugal, it was about how much people like their robotic vacuums.
/rant on
Even MMM himself would be ripped to shreds by the face punch police on this forum - His house is an explosion of extravagance (old and new),
How about the big trend on this forum for eating fancy foods - eating organic grass fed kale picked by virgins (or whatever the latest health craze is) is not really frugal, drinking ANYTHING other than water is not frugal. Wine, beer, etc. (even making your own) is not necessary! Don't get me started on carbonated beverages (and a machine to make your own!!!)
/rant off
ahhhhhh - I feel better now.
Yes - I think we all realize that a robotic vacuum is an explosion of whiny complainy pants bedpan using wussy consumerist purchasing.
Aren't we allowed to have fun things if we can afford it?
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I always like your comments, scrubby,
Thanks, ChransStache :)
...but I'm not sure this one is on target exactly. Interestingly enough, I never mentioned that the outrageous price was what made me choose to not buy it. I'm rarely the voice of epic frugality.
Duly noted.
And I really enjoyed hearing your list (subsequent) detailing where you were coming from, as well as your sense of responsibility to other members. That was a really neat read.
I'm not going to lovingly watch my roomba every day and sigh with delight when it sucks up my hair clods (okay, maybe I will the first time).
I've had mine six months or so now, and I get utterly giddy with delight every day, lol. To each his own, I'm sure! When it docks, and sings its little song to say so, I literally call out, out loud, "Thank you, Roomba!" Every single time.
For me it's infinitely harder to vacuum (partly due to pain, partly due to frustration, partly due to noise, etc) than to go without cable TV. Going without heaps of other things or activities is way easier for me than to go without my robot! (Hence it surviving the recent "everything I keep must fit in the car" cull.)
What I will tell you is that I'll take the cleanlyness challenge with my Dyson over a Roomba any day of the week.
Ohmygoodness, I so want us all to do this! All get together at a giant conference centre with our most beloved floor-cleaning tools, and have at 'er! Best MMM party yet. I don't know who'd win this weird contest, but for sure at least most of us would be splitting our guts laughing at ourselves!
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When I got married 4.5 years ago, one of the things we used wedding present money on was a vacuum. Mine was on it's last legs after 5 years of duty cleaning up after 5-9 college/young professional men, and several years of cleaning up after just me. We looked at vacuums and bought a Dyson. I forget the exact model, but it was normally $400. Home Depot had it on sale for $300. We went to Bed Bath and Beyond, got them to price match HD, and then we used a 20% off coupon to bring it down to $240. Sure, I could have gotten another $50-$100 vacuum, but the Dyson certainly picks up a lot more than my $100 bissel ever did. It also had a good warranty and has lasted 4.5 years with zero issues. I think I had to clean the rollers once, and I got the tube stuck up when I vacuumed a bunch of wood chips from under my firewood rack (oops). Could I have saved money? Sure. Was it extravagant? Meh, we had BB&B gift cards, so it cost us almost nothing. If we hadn't bought it, my wife would have probably wanted to use them on frilly decoration things that would have been a real waste. What I will tell you is that I'll take the cleanlyness challenge with my Dyson over a Roomba any day of the week.
Oh, and for the broom vs vacuum question, there is no freaking comparison between the job the two do. If I lived alone and wanted to rip my carpet out in the next year or two, maybe I'd go just with a broom. As the father of an almost 2yr old, I can see the stuff my vacuum picks up, and I don't want my kid to be playing on the floor with that stuff there. I also have pretty bad dust allergies, and a broom isn't going to cut it.
Dyson I can get behind. I don't even remember how much I paid, but it was probably in the $400 range, and I've had it over a decade. Still rocks.
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We call our schnauzer/poodle mix dog "Roomba". Anything edible, she gets. Maybe get the kids a dog for Christmas?!? ;)
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The roomba is for carpets. Yes it isn't as good as a normal vacuum, but you end up vacuuming more often.
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I've had mine six months or so now, and I get utterly giddy with delight every day, lol. To each his own, I'm sure! When it docks, and sings its little song to say so, I literally call out, out loud, "Thank you, Roomba!" Every single time.
We're at 3.5 years with ours, and I still pump my fist in the air every time it does it's docking song "do-do-doo-do-dooo" and end by singing "Charge!" Silly and ridiculous, but joyful nonetheless.
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Where I tend to look to draw the "luxury line" is at the cost per year to own something functional.
I like that.
[...] e.g., $50 for 1 year's use of winter PJ's that are worn about 20 times is a face punch
I was pondering this excellent post while washing dishes (by hand! no robot!)...
Even though my thoughtstream is leaping off this post, I'm by no means debating your post, goldielocks. It's a goody.
My pajamas have lasted 12 (!) or more years so far. (And they only cost about .50 cents originally! Bonus!)
A lot of things I have that I'm told "will last 'x' amount of time" last way longer, I think because I'm such a nut for taking care of everything. (I'm not a shopper, so don't want to have to replace things. Plus I want them to go to their next owner -usually a thrift shop customer- in excellent shape.) On the other hand, I've bought many things that people said were "necessities" (e.g., a bed) or cost-savers (e.g., snowshoes, wtf) only to get rid of it relatively soon -so, what was supposed to last 10 or even 20 years ended up costing me, say, $250/yr. That pissed me off.
But something that cost $250/yr that enhanced my life while I had it? Absolutely. Expensive things that have rocked my world include: a car (costlier than "necessary"), high-end electrical toothbrushes for my kid and I (almost eliminated need for dentistry), excellent boots, custom orthotics, etc. I'm pretty sure some people would facepunch those, regardless of how they enhance my life. Because they're not "necessary" and they're expensive. But to me, a facepunch is not for unnecessary, expensive items period, but only for unnecessary, expensive items bought during hair-on-fire, or after that but it doesn't truly enhance one's life.
I know now that I can't know in advance how long an item will "last" (i.e., remain functional, or remain wanted by me, or enhance my life since my circumstances change regularly), so I have to use different criteria. That criteria is essentially: "How do I anticipate my life will change with this product or service? Acknowledging that this product may prove to be a bum experiment, how much am I willing to risk on the chance that it might sufficiently change my life?" Then I buy it at a place like Costco, so I can return it if my hopes were dashed. But if my hopes came true, I am happy, because I assessed in advance the value to me of the "life change" factor.
BUT
I think a face punch is best suited when we start to assume a "luxury" is a necessity. The good thing about the tone of this thread is that happy Roomba users are generally not calling it a need, but a very satisfied "nice to have".
Agreed. Well said.
We're at 3.5 years with ours, and I still pump my fist in the air every time it does it's docking song "do-do-doo-do-dooo" and end by singing "Charge!" Silly and ridiculous, but joyful nonetheless.
Ha! That's beautiful and awesome!!!!!!
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Dyson is coming out with a robotic vacuum next year, might be worth holding out. It's so fucking sexy...
https://www.dyson360eye.com/
OMG - It's like a Tesla for floors....BUT - how much is it going to cost? They were silent on that.
Supposedly it will cost $1000 to $1200
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Dyson is coming out with a robotic vacuum next year, might be worth holding out. It's so fucking sexy...
https://www.dyson360eye.com/
OMG - It's like a Tesla for floors....BUT - how much is it going to cost? They were silent on that.
Supposedly it will cost $1000 to $1200
After government subsidies, tills be $800, but they plan to release a version 3 someday for $100
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I liked mine. It was great at keeping car hair down. Unfortunately the battery charger isn't well protected and a lightning strike fried it. I'm going to make sure the next one I buy is always on a surge protector.
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Every time I hear "Roomba" I think of this video. Couldn't stop laughing the first time I saw it...
I'll never buy one now.
Be warned, it's gross.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbOqsp3oUQI
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It's no harder to vacuum my own house than it is to live without cable TV and drive an old car, so why is no one else punching faces in this thread? This is a GODDAMN VACUUM you guys. At least buy something you enjoy for that much spare cash. I'm not going to lovingly watch my roomba every day and sigh with delight when it sucks up my hair clods (okay, maybe I will the first time).
I loved watching my roomba (especially on thick beige carpet where it made the loveliest patterns), but I recognized it is a rather absurd luxury item. I ended up purchasing it with employee reward points, so the "cost" was compared against a lot of other absurd luxury items (fancy blenders, fancy casserole dishes, fancy luggage). I suppose I could have sold the luxury items and pocketed the cash, but I like technology! I'm glad I got the roomba out of my system before we moved into our current house where it most certainly wouldn't work well (2 story, multi-level, tile/wood/plush carpet with poor transitions).
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2roomba4me
If dragoncar has 2, I am willing to take the punch and try it....
Oops, forgot to include the link. Room as are fine as long as you don't mind the ghosts.
http://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/2j704b/roombas_dancing/
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Hazards of owning a roomba:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbOqsp3oUQI
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LOVE my Roomba. Housekeeping is not my forte, and I hate vacuuming worse than any other chore. I say to myself, I'll do it this afternoon . . . No, tomorrow . . . Oh, the weekend's coming . . . and I put it off, put it off, put it off.
It is totally worth the cost.
I have to agree with the others: It doesn't clean as well as a regular vacuum. You'll still need to run the "real vacuum" a couple times a year (depending upon your level of cleanliness). And for messy-messy things -- like cleaning up after the Christmas tree has dropped all its needles -- you'll still need your real vacuum.
Having said that, no, it isn't going to work well around table legs and picking up chunks of food. It IS good at picking up typical living room floor dust, pet hair, crumbs.
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I liked it, but it took so long for it to do one room that I would rather do it myself.
Roomba is incredibly slow compared to regular vacuuming, but that's not a problem if you run it while you're away. We never run ours while we're home.
If your house is occupied 24/7 it's probably not a great idea.
Oh, I always run mine while I'm home! It's so entertaining to watch the dog alternate between running from it and trying to decide whether to challenge it. And it's even more fun to tie a dog treat to the Roomba and watch him try to retrieve it.
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--The roomba would save me little time because I rarely vacuum as it is. Instead, I used my mind powers to accept that things get on the floor sometimes and it's not a big deal.
See, I wasn't spending much time vacuuming either -- but I always felt bad about NOT doing it. I don't want to accept that a nasty carpeted floor is okay.
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And for messy-messy things -- like cleaning up after the Christmas tree has dropped all its needles -- you'll still need your real vacuum.
Mine did last year's Christmas tree needles (which made me realize I was wrong about how long I've had mine). I set it to normal clean while the tree was up, and spot clean when I took the tree down. It did great.
+1 about the putting off of tasks! (Same reason I'm working hard now on setting up my financials for auto-tracking.) I'm happy to do all sorts of weird jobs, gross jobs, etc, but there are some things I will put off to no end.
I'm looking forward to checking out all the video links above :)
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See, I wasn't spending much time vacuuming either -- but I always felt bad about NOT doing it. I don't want to accept that a nasty carpeted floor is okay.
That's what they're really selling. Nobody is going to buy a $400 vacuum that doesn't really work very well. But they will totally buy a $400 absolution so they don't have to feel bad about not doing housework.
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We call our schnauzer/poodle mix dog "Roomba". Anything edible, she gets. Maybe get the kids a dog for Christmas?!? ;)
The Roomba is way cheaper than a dog....food, vet bill, pet insurance due said vet, rabies vaccines, etc. we were frugal on the dog side by helping our neighbor watch their dog. If we had a shedder, there would be even more for the Roomba to do. Not to mention needing a sh*t cleaner for the potty training phase if a pet. Thank goodness our neighbors just got a puppy to satisfy that dream for my kids on a free (potentially moneymaking) basis.
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Face punches noted. Still contemplating....our kitchen chairs only open 12" in the back....Roomba will not fit unless I can train said children to put up their chairs.
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In my experience, Roomba doesn't work well. You will have to vacuum up after the Roomba anyways because it doesn't pick-up big tufts of dirt. My parents bought one and it crapped out after a month.
You'd be better off getting a goat and having it "mow" your lawn ; ) hahaha
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We call our schnauzer/poodle mix dog "Roomba". Anything edible, she gets. Maybe get the kids a dog for Christmas?!? ;)
The Roomba is way cheaper than a dog....food, vet bill, pet insurance due said vet, rabies vaccines, etc. we were frugal on the dog side by helping our neighbor watch their dog. If we had a shedder, there would be even more for the Roomba to do. Not to mention needing a sh*t cleaner for the potty training phase if a pet. Thank goodness our neighbors just got a puppy to satisfy that dream for my kids on a free (potentially moneymaking) basis.
Our dog really is a frugal schnoodle. She does great on one bag of Costco dog food every three months. She got fixed and microchipped for under $50 at the county "big fix". She doesn't shed and we do our own grooming with clippers. She's a super healthy mutt, so just regular shots and check ups. She doesn't replace a vacuum, but the floors in my kitchen and dining area have never been cleaner! Plus she's more fun to snuggle with than a vacuum.
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I liked it, but it took so long for it to do one room that I would rather do it myself.
Roomba is incredibly slow compared to regular vacuuming, but that's not a problem if you run it while you're away. We never run ours while we're home.
If your house is occupied 24/7 it's probably not a great idea.
Oh, I always run mine while I'm home! It's so entertaining to watch the dog alternate between running from it and trying to decide whether to challenge it. And it's even more fun to tie a dog treat to the Roomba and watch him try to retrieve it.
I recently heard that Roombas often freak family dogs out because they don't know where they stand in the pack order. Here's a new "creature" that doesn't seem to follow orders or help the family pack. A tip from a dog trainer was to let your dog see you "disciplining" the Roomba to re-establish pack order.
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See, I wasn't spending much time vacuuming either -- but I always felt bad about NOT doing it. I don't want to accept that a nasty carpeted floor is okay.
That's what they're really selling. Nobody is going to buy a $400 vacuum that doesn't really work very well. But they will totally buy a $400 absolution so they don't have to feel bad about not doing housework.
Mine works great for everyday dust and dirt -- it's unfair to say it "doesn't really work very well". And, no, it's about actually getting the vacuuming done instead of putting it off, putting it off. I like a clean floor, and this does it automatically.
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I recently heard that Roombas often freak family dogs out because they don't know where they stand in the pack order. Here's a new "creature" that doesn't seem to follow orders or help the family pack. A tip from a dog trainer was to let your dog see you "disciplining" the Roomba to re-establish pack order.
I hadn't thought about it from that point of view! He isn't overly traumatized, by any means, and it genuinely does entertain us. Before you think we're totally heartless, when we run it, we do leave the pocket door into the next room open 8-10" -- enough for him to escape, if he chooses, but not enough for the Roomba to get into that (linoleum -- no vac needed) room.
If it becomes an issue, I can see "disciplining" the Roomba . . . but wouldn't the dog think we're lax disciplinarians when the Roomba never obeys, and we don't force the issue? We were pretty strict with him when he was a pup, and now he's a well-behaved critter. Would he think we care for the Roomba more than for him? I suspect I'm attaching more thought to the concept than would the dog.
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The Mint is totally silent so the dogs ignore it. They sniffed it a few times while it was moving but that's it.
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I recently heard that Roombas often freak family dogs out because they don't know where they stand in the pack order. Here's a new "creature" that doesn't seem to follow orders or help the family pack. A tip from a dog trainer was to let your dog see you "disciplining" the Roomba to re-establish pack order.
I hadn't thought about it from that point of view! He isn't overly traumatized, by any means, and it genuinely does entertain us. Before you think we're totally heartless, when we run it, we do leave the pocket door into the next room open 8-10" -- enough for him to escape, if he chooses, but not enough for the Roomba to get into that (linoleum -- no vac needed) room.
If it becomes an issue, I can see "disciplining" the Roomba . . . but wouldn't the dog think we're lax disciplinarians when the Roomba never obeys, and we don't force the issue? We were pretty strict with him when he was a pup, and now he's a well-behaved critter. Would he think we care for the Roomba more than for him? I suspect I'm attaching more thought to the concept than would the dog.
You could just command the Roomba to do what it normally does anyway. "Roomba, Sit!" when you stop it. "Roomba, Clean!" when you turn it on. "Roomba, Crate!" when you put it away.
The hardest part would be keeping a straight face.
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We (briefly) had a Roomba (because: pets). We thought we loved it... except it really scratched the floor. Every time it did the bump and turn, you'd get these circular scratches where the front wheel drug itself across the floor.
We worked with iRobot tech support and took their suggestions. (Replacing front wheel, covering front week with electrical tape.) ... Those did not work.
I think I might could have hacked it to make it work, but by the time we fiddled around with it and dealt with iRobot... we were at the end of when Amazon would take it back, so we returned it.
Bottom line: if you have a glossy type floor (ours is stained concrete)... they may scratch.
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We've had a Roomba for at least 6 or 7 years. On our second one as the last one had a sensor crap out on us. Its name is Ein.
We have hardwood and tile floors with low pile rugs and it works beautifully for keeping up with the day to day crap. I actually kind of enjoy combing out the brush (I'm a bit OCD) so the maintenance doesn't bother me.
I have cats. We use crystal litter which means that there are tiny little shards of crystal that get tracked all over our house and I like to go barefoot so the roomba is run several times a week to pick up the litter and the hair/dust. I also have a very expensive vacuum (Riccar - USA made, comparable to the Miele) that we drag out about once a month since that is the actual deep cleaning machine. The roomba is to pick up the dust buffalo and litter and crap that gets tracked in the house. And I don't regret it one bit.
Sure, it's a luxury, but I absolutely love it and saves me time and I also still get a kick out of the beep doodle sounds when it's finished and I do say "Good boy" after it docks itself. And we've also noticed that if you go over to where it's charging and listen... it sounds like it's freaking breathing! :D