Roomba!

A robot that vacuums for you? No, this isn't a dream, it's true! I love my Roomba!

There are many to choose from, from the very basic model in the $119 range, to this model (mine, pictured) which is in the $149 range to a $300+ model that comes with more options and accessories.

I wanted to start with this one because it was a small investment compared to the rest. (I was actually shopping for a carpet sweeper; this was a much better option) So far, I love it! This model comes with a charger, cleaning tool (for cleaning the roller), virtual wall (D battery needed for this, it keeps Roomba either in, or out of an area you choose), and an extra filter. The more upscale models come with many more goodies. There's even a model (called Scooba) that washes floors.

I don't have the same run-time as some of the many reviews I've read (carpets tend to require more power than hard floors, which is understandable), but for my purposes, it's better than I expected. It's a robot that vacuums for me so I can do other things. It's a great time saver. I'm thrilled! This means instead of weekly or bi-weekly hours spent tiring myself out lugging a heavy vacuum around, this amazing device maneuvers itself around and does the hard work for me.

It can't do under tight spaces or tight corners. It can't do walls and ceilings. It can't do stairs. Obviously. For that you'll still need to use your regular vacuum. It might also have trouble going from one room to another if there is a height difference (a ledge/divider to maneuver over or a high carpet pile to climb on from a hardwood floor). It's a little louder than I expected for it's size, but it's certainly tolerable and quieter than my regular full size vacuum. Sometimes it can get stuck on an area rug (with more power drain required to try to get on or off it; tassels will get stuck, as with any vacuum).

When Roomba is stuck, it will make musical sound. I call it a 'toodle.' There's a different sound for each event.

Roomba can avoid stairs. It has a handy built in carry handle. It stops automatically when picked up. Roomba can spot clean (hit the Spot button on this unit and it will circle and clean in a concentrated three foot radius). It can clean a single room at a time, better than allowing it to roam free to do it's thing (in my experience). If left to roam free, Roomba will clean, but it might need a recharge and, if it needs a recharge it might run the same pattern again. My advise is start it somewhere else after the recharge. Then it will run a different pattern. Works great. If left to roam on its own, Roomba will roam from room to room to room, and do so until either your floors are clean, or it runs out of juice.

If you confine Roomba to a single room at a time (use the virtual wall), Roomba will roam and do its thing until it either cleans the room (in which case it will toodle, the status light will be green, and the battery light will be green), or until it abandons its mission (toodle, yellow status light) or runs out of power (yellow status light, red battery light).


I do enjoy allowing Roomba to roam, and watching (which defeats the purpose, watching Roomba go, instead of doing those other things I should be doing), it's fun! But I've found that Roomba can do a better job for me (for me, instead of my having to do it), if I pick up all the (small, movable) obstacles from the floor, set up the virtual wall to keep Roomba in one room at a time, and then letting it go. Between rooms, if the light changes from green to yellow (or to red), I'll recharge, and then move Roomba to the next room. (With the self-charger unit, and the scheduler, you could schedule your Roomba to clean, then to charge, and then to clean again... oh, the possibilities!)

One important thing to be aware of... Once Roomba had thoroughly cleaned my rugs, it started sucking up carpet pile. All vacuums do this, but I didn't vacuum daily with my regular vacuum. It's very very tempting to run Roomba daily but because its good at what it does (vacuuming!), I don't need to run it daily on my carpets, no matter how tempting and how entertaining I find it. Once a week or less is enough. On hard floors, sure, no such worries. If the hard (wood, tile, vinyl, etc.) floors need daily cleaning, I have no problem running Roomba daily.

Help Roomba do the best job for you by cleaning the roller often, and emptying the dirt chamber after every use.

The first time you run Roomba and empty its dirt chamber, you'll be amazed at how much dirt it picked up. I was. It really cleans. (Did I mention the serial port for hacks? It is a robot after all.) I love my Roomba!

I've only had my iRobot Roomba for a few weeks. I plan to buy more filters and maybe the self charger and scheduler (I'm still debating about it, it's so tempting). In the meantime, I plan to make use of my recaptured time and try to spend it taking care of other things while my Roomba Red does this particular thing--for me. Yay!