Author Topic: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?  (Read 37812 times)

couponvan

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Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« on: October 27, 2014, 05:52:59 PM »
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.

Fodder

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #1 on: October 27, 2014, 06:00:18 PM »
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. 

coffeelover

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2014, 06:00:34 PM »
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.

plantingourpennies

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2014, 06:06:30 PM »
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.




olivia

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2014, 06:15:47 PM »
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.

scrubbyfish

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2014, 06:29:49 PM »
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!

chicagomeg

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2014, 06:50:28 PM »
Dyson is coming out with a robotic vacuum next year, might be worth holding out. It's so fucking sexy...

https://www.dyson360eye.com/

olivia

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2014, 07:00:54 PM »
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.

couponvan

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2014, 07:01:49 PM »
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.

MayDay

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2014, 07:02:55 PM »
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. 

chicagomeg

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2014, 07:03:48 PM »
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!

couponvan

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2014, 07:06:32 PM »
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.....

1967mama

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2014, 07:09:21 PM »
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!

couponvan

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2014, 07:11:20 PM »
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.

couponvan

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #14 on: October 27, 2014, 07:12:51 PM »
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!

couponvan

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #15 on: October 27, 2014, 07:14:40 PM »
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....

HappierAtHome

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #16 on: October 27, 2014, 07:24:30 PM »
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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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #17 on: October 27, 2014, 08:10:16 PM »
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.

scrubbyfish

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #18 on: October 27, 2014, 08:30:12 PM »
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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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #19 on: October 27, 2014, 08:35:50 PM »
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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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #20 on: October 27, 2014, 08:43:12 PM »
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.

dragoncar

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #21 on: October 27, 2014, 08:44:26 PM »
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.

Fodder

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #22 on: October 27, 2014, 08:57:50 PM »
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.

sol

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #23 on: October 27, 2014, 09:07:04 PM »
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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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #24 on: October 27, 2014, 09:53:46 PM »
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?

taekvideo

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #25 on: October 28, 2014, 04:53:31 AM »
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.

ZMonet

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #26 on: October 28, 2014, 05:24:17 AM »
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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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #27 on: October 28, 2014, 05:45:31 AM »
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.

Rickk

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #28 on: October 28, 2014, 06:22:43 AM »
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.

Dyk

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #29 on: October 28, 2014, 06:59:28 AM »
<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.

FarmerPete

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #30 on: October 28, 2014, 08:29:18 AM »
Wow, just wow.  Train your kids to vacuum.  Problem solved.  $400 saved.  Congrats.

Greg

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #31 on: October 28, 2014, 08:46:51 AM »
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.

orbix

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #32 on: October 28, 2014, 08:54:03 AM »
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.

windypig

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #33 on: October 28, 2014, 08:54:42 AM »
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?

scrubbyfish

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #34 on: October 28, 2014, 10:10:23 AM »
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 :)

BlueMR2

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #35 on: October 28, 2014, 10:20:06 AM »
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.

scrubbyfish

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #36 on: October 28, 2014, 11:00:35 AM »
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?
« Last Edit: October 28, 2014, 12:55:12 PM by scrubbyfish »

Goldielocks

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #37 on: October 28, 2014, 11:06:58 AM »
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!)


Mrs. PoP

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #38 on: October 28, 2014, 11:14:00 AM »
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! 

RelaxedGal

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #39 on: October 28, 2014, 11:29:22 AM »
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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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #40 on: October 28, 2014, 11:51:32 AM »
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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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #41 on: October 28, 2014, 12:07:14 PM »
     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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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #42 on: October 28, 2014, 12:17:17 PM »
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!

VirginiaBob

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #43 on: October 28, 2014, 12:23:07 PM »
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.

couponvan

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #44 on: October 28, 2014, 04:25:43 PM »
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.

couponvan

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #45 on: October 28, 2014, 04:30:15 PM »
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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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #46 on: October 28, 2014, 05:37:09 PM »
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.

Icecreamarsenal

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #47 on: October 28, 2014, 07:50:27 PM »
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.

dragoncar

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #48 on: October 28, 2014, 08:31:08 PM »
2roomba4me

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Re: Roomba 4 Xmas? Do they really work? Is this facepunch worthy?
« Reply #49 on: October 29, 2014, 01:08:29 AM »
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!