Roomba Vacuum – iRobot Roomba Vacuum

Lowest Price

: 149.95

Brand

: iRobot

Model

:

Reviewer: Denise P. Hull| Date:2009-06-11

My household consists of 3 dogs (one of which is a Husky), a toddler, a husband, and myself. As you can imagine my floors can get very dirty very quickly. I bought the Roomba Silver and then found the Roomba with the self-docking feature at another store. I bought the second Roomba with the intention of returning the first one. My husband and I decided to have a "clean-off" to see which Roomba worked the best. They worked so well we kept them both!

Let's start with the cons...
1. The brushes have a removable bushing on one end. If you are not paying attention, it is very easy to loose the bushing when you are cleaning out the Roomba. The brush doesn't work without it. I had to dig through a very smelly trash can to find it one day.
2. If you have pets that shed a lot, you can count on emptying your Roomba after every use. Not a big deal, unless you forget to do it.
3. If you use your Roomba primarily on carpet, you can plan on buying another battery in about 6 months or so, depending on how often you run it. Of the 2 Roombas we purchased, one was used on carpet and the other mainly on hardwoods. The battery in the one used on the carpet died after about a year. The other is still going strong.

Neutral...
1. The self-docking feature is nice, but not absolutely necessary. The Roomba without the docking station occasionally ends its cleaning cycle in inconvenient locations, like under the bed, but it isn't that big of deal.
2. The Roomba is a sweeper and does not have the suction or capacity to clean deep down like an upright. I still break out the upright once a week for a really thorough cleaning. Do not expect to never vacuum again...

Now the pros...
1. The Roomba has a side brush that gets all of the stuff that accumulates where the baseboards and floor meet. In fact it does a better job in getting in that groove than my upright!
2. It goes where the upright can't. I love the fact that it vacuums UNDER the bed and other furniture.
3. The Roomba is "smart". It doesn't fall down the stairs. It can easily go from hardwoods to carpet to tile to throw rugs, etc without getting stuck. If it detects an extra dirty spot it will focus on that area until it is clean.
4. No more pet hair tumbleweeds! When my dogs are shedding during the change of seasons, I run my Roombas every day. I turn them on in the morning right before I leave for work and I come home to a clean floor with no effort on my part.

I absolutely love my Roombas. My friends and family have been so impressed with them they have purchased their own! I have saved so much time it definitely makes them worth the price.

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Reviewer: M. Durochez| Date:2009-06-07

We have really enjoyed and are very pleased with this product. We would recommend it to others.

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Reviewer: Christine| Date:2009-05-07

For copious amounts of pet hair on hardwood floors (cannot comment on carpet as I have none), Roomba Sage has to be the ABSOLUTE BEST BUY I have ever made in my life. Seriously, it did save my sanity. I do not mind vacuuming, it is not my least favorite chore - but EVERY SINGLE DAY? No thanks. I was afraid to spend the money...times are tough right now...will it work....will it be worth it? I decided that I'M worth it. So I took the dive. I never should have worried....

Does Roomba get every single nook and cranny? No. Does it get under every single piece of furniture? No. It DOES, however, get those fur bunnies that accumulate every day. You know, the ones that suddenly appear out of nowhere as soon as you finally get to sit down and watch TV??

Regular vacuuming of extremely hard to reach areas is still necessary, but SO much less often as the bunnies are sucked up before they get there.

I foster pets and currently have three dogs - one being a HUGELY shedding Akita - and five cats. Needless to say, lots of fur, lots of paw dust. I have owned Roomba Sage for only about two months, and have used it every day on a 12'x24' room with no problems whatsoever. No clogs, no breakdowns, etc. (Will re-review in about 1 year regarding longer-term durability.)

It is incredibly quick and easy to clean - less than 5 minutes. Lay out upside down on a sheet of newspaper. I gently use an old comb for wound hairs on the brush. (Don't forget the little wheel in the front - the only part that's a little tricky to get unwound. I use tweezers. And that only about every 4-5 uses.)

None of my animals are "afraid" of it, nor do they step on it. Great Dane jumps around it, Akita actually lets it bounce off of him. (He's so laid-back, God love him.) Kitties lost their curiosity after two days.

Charges quickly! I was so pleasantly surprised with that as I only clean one room at a time, and I let it run entirely out of power with every use.

Cannot comment on the electronic containment accessories - I simply use whatever I have around to block other areas. Move any cords and small items on the floor. (Big deal.)

Only one teeny, tiny downside: It is a bit noisy. So what? It is so well worth it you will not care one iota. Turn up the TV.

At first it's almost hard to do other chores while it's working, cuz you find yourself sitting there watching it work for you. It's a beautiful thing.

So RUN, RUN, RUN - don't walk - and pick up this little gem.

Sounds a little disturbing, but I named mine "Rudy". And I think I'm in love.

Review from Review from Amazon

Reviewer: A. Mason| Date:2009-03-18

I can vacuum while grocery shopping! I can vacuum while gardening! I can vacuum while at work!

Got this model for Christmas a couple of years ago. We spent a lot of time the first few weeks watching it run around in it's zigzag pattern - it's rather hypnotic. Just like everyone will tell you, this thing is really powerful but it doesn't do corners. It will suck up cords, so you have to tuck those away. Sometimes it gets hung up on the corner of a rug. It does a great job transitioning from hardwood to carpet to tile and does an amazing job weaving underneath the dining room table with chairs in place. And it will sense stairs, you don't have to block them off or anything.

We got two dogs a year later, and this little Roomba got used every other day. The dogs aren't too fond of it, but don't seem to mind as long as it's not headed their direction. A couple of months ago, got a Scooba and a newer model of Roomba, relegating this model to the basement (concrete floor). I lost the screw that holds the brushes on, which makes it less effective, but it still does a fantastic job of running around the basement picking up dust, hairballs, tacks, and bits of dog food.

Get one, it's worth every dollar you pay for it!!

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Reviewer: Doctor Bobbs| Date:2009-03-08

With the economy on the skids, I had to find a way to cut costs at the office. We let our janitorial staff go and started cleaning the office ourselves. Thanks to the Roomba vacuum cleaner, we can attend to our jobs while the little robot takes care of vacuuming.

We plan on getting an iRobot Scooba soon for the tile floor in the office. And we're saving thousands of dollars a year compared to paying a janitorial crew.

Review from Review from Amazon

Lowest Price

: 449.99

Brand

: iRobot

Model

:

Reviewer: E. Brooks| Date:2009-07-12

SUMMARY:

Surface Used: Tile Floors
Sq Ft Cleaned per Use: 1000 Sq Ft (3 Rooms separated by 2 lighthouses)
Time to Clean Each Room: 20-30 Min.
Pets: NONE
Maintenance: Clean after every use. Used Canned Air to save time!


USAGE/REASON FOR BUYING:

I have exposed bricks that produce a ton of dust on the floors. This requires me to sweep/vacuum daily. Roomba is pricey, however for my situation, Roomba is a very acceptable and reasonable alternative to having to sweep up the dust every day. I decided to pay for the convenience of not having to do it myself. I can only attest to the ability on floors, not carpeting.

PROS:

*Convenience. Roomba does about 85-90% of the work. Remaining % is for having to sweep hard to reach places as well as keeping items off the floor that could potentially get in the way.
*Battery life works for me. Cleans all 1000 sq ft and docks to charge.
*Cleans under furniture. No longer have to move couches or beds to clean thoroughly. (Thank Goodness!)
*Frequent cleaning = less dust = A+ for allergies.
*Haven't experienced problems with side brushes yet.
*Maintenance of the Roomba takes less than 5 minutes. I had a bagless vacuum prior that required far more maintenance than the Roomba so this is not a con for me.

CONS:

*Cost. Appropriate for those who are paying for convenience. In retrospect, would have considered lower model since I don't use the scheduling like I thought I would have.
*Lighthouses were DOA. Pro: Amazon replaced Roomba in 2 days.
*Roomba doesn't detect my dark colored furniture well. Smacks into it.
*Roomba doesn't navigate my area rug very well. Does OK with smaller throw rugs.
*Dock placement was trial and error. Took a couple of times before finding a good location.
*Can usually traverse cords, however on occasion, the Roomba will yank the cord and the attached product. Could end badly depending on the situation.
*For my Roomba to effectively clean in a less time consuming manner, I feel like I need to purchase an additional lighthouse (which is an added expense).


Suggestions:

1. Clean Roomba after every use for places 1000 sq ft and more. I like to use compressed air like what you use for laptops/keyboards, to blow out some of the debris.

2. Place the dock in a very open and central area where Roomba can easily find.

3. Invest in lighthouses for larger floorplans to allow for Roomba to clean (and finish) one area at a time before moving on to the next room. Otherwise it will take forever to finish.

Bottom Line: I think the convenience factor makes this product worth it. I don't desire nor have the time to clean my floors like they require. I'm satisfied with my purchase.

Review from Review from Amazon

Reviewer: Roseann Santella| Date:2009-07-09

I absolutely love the Roomba. It does a fantastic job and keeps the constant buildup of dog hair and tracked-through dirt in control on a daily basis. Make a few furniture adjustments and the Roomba is good to go unattended and returns to its docking station on its own. It's worth the cost. I haven't pulled out my ancient stand-up vacuum since I started using Roomba one month ago.

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Reviewer: M. Nichols| Date:2009-07-04

Wow - this is evidence that iRobot does its homework. Easier to clean than the old slide-out filter we had. Seems the cleaning is more thorough, and it appears to be 'smarter.'
We use ours during our RV trips as well as at home.
Even though this isn't the pet vac, it picks up the dachshund hair.

Review from Review from Amazon

Reviewer: Techie Lawyer| Date:2009-06-25

My Roomba Discovery has been acting up lately (after vacuuming my condo 3x per week for 3 years) and I reluctantly put down the cash for this new model. Wow, am I pleased!! First, and most important, this model is about 1/2 as loud as the Discovery, I was watching a movie yesterday while the Roomba was doing its job in the same room, could never have done that with the Discovery. Second, programming it is intuitive and a cinch. Third, the docking station works much better with a easier dock and more solid electrical connection (though you need to anchor the docking station down, I used two small pieces of 3M double sided tape on my hardwood floor). Fourth, the vacuum pattern seems to be smarter. Fifth the unit is easier on my furniture.

Couldn't be more pleased!!!

Review from Review from Amazon

Reviewer: S. Hopper| Date:2009-06-22

I received my Roomba as a gift from my husband 6 months ago and have been waiting to write my review. I read so many reviews before purchasing that complained about parts breaking and the machine not working after a few uses. So I wanted to make sure that my Roomba was going to live up to all of my expectations before finally submitting my review.

I have never had any problems at all with my Roomba. I think some of the problems I've read on here can be eliminated with these tips:

1) Roomba is not meant to replace regular vacuuming and I don't think they are built to be used every day. I use mine in between regular vacuuming, about 4 times a month in our 2 heavy-traffic rooms only.
2) Removing small objects and clutter from the floor before using Roomba will eliminate problems such as getting tangled and crashing into things. To me, picking up these items is part of cleaning anyway. If the Roomba is constantly running over things, that is bound to wear down its parts more quickly.
3) The lighthouses, virtual walls, and docking all work with no problems if you block Roomba off to do one room at a time. Letting it wander freely around multiple rooms will cause the battery to go down before it finishes and will cause it to wander forever before finding the docking station. I've never had a problem getting the Roomba to dock itself when in the same room with the docking station. And the battery always lasts long enough to do 2 rooms.
4) Clean the Roomba after each use. It only takes a couple of minutes, much less time than it would take to run a regular vacuum. This helps the Roomba and its parts run smoothly.

My favorite things about my Roomba:

1) I have back problems, so it cuts down on having to push and pull a big vacuum around (and the Roomba only weighs about 5 pounds)
2) It vacuums under the bed, end tables, etc, so no more moving furniture to clean.
3) I was very surprised and pleased with the amount of dust and particles it picks up. It has as much sucking power as my regular vacuum.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the performance of my Roomba and think it is worth the money. One more tip: the replacement filters are very expensive if purchased directly from iRobot. I was concerned about this since those have to be replaced every few months. But I found them on eBay at prices half of what iRobot was asking.

Review from Review from Amazon