Any Roomba users out there? Reviews?

[mattkime]

I was curious what Roomba owners thought of their Roombas. I

How well does it clean?
Does it need to recharge frequently?
Does it need to be emptied frequently?
Does it get stuck a lot?

Is it worth the money?

[olnacl]

More a gimmick than a workhorse, IMHO. I have one and use it about once a week - I don't bother with the scheduler. It does a good job on my living room on a single charge, then I do the dining room on the next day and bedroom on another day. I still have to move furniture for it to clean effectively and to give it a less cluttered path so it's not constantly trying to get out of dead ends (between dining chair legs, for example).
Bottom line is that you can do an equal or better job with a conventional vacuum in less time overall.
I empty it every time I use it.
The pattern it leaves on the carpet is unusual to say the least.
I would not rate it a necessity.
On the other hand, I have a Scooba for cleaning my kitchen floor and that's the best toy I ever bought. I hate getting out mop and bucket and even though it takes a bit of time to rinse out when finished, I scrup the kitchen floor much more frequently that I ever did before I bought it. I go barefoot much of the time and you can feel how clean the floor is after it runs. My floor is sheet vinyl, so I can't speak for users with tile floors, but I suspect it might leave dirt in the grout lines. Perhaps another user would care to comment on that aspect - or not - you did just ask about the Roomba, didn't you?

[decocritter]

I always figured it was gimmicky. One of those items like dustbusters, dirt devil brooms, george foreman grills and cheap clothes steamers.

It would seem most folks have way too many obstacles for this thing to do a good job


Very few vacuums work well anyway, most just get the superficial light dust.

I really want a miele cannister.... it is my dream Vacuum. I have an older Panasonic cannister, and it has been very good. I also have a Delonghi broom vac, that is good for everyday quick vacuuming.

It seems that guys like them more than women,

[space-time]

I have one and we use it about once a week, usually when we are not at home (out 2-year old and Roomba are not the best friends).

It pulls a decent amount of dust and hair from the carpet.

I once vacuumed with the upright and then let Roomba do the carpet again and at then end of the job the Roomba was empty, proof that the upright did a decent job. I plan to do the opposite sometimes, let Roomba do its thing and then come with a clean bag in the upright and see what I pick up after Roomba, but so far I haven't done the test.

Overall it's not bad. I would agree with olnacl, it is not a necessity, but for me it is a nice help since I don't have time to vacuum as often as I'd like and Roomba fills in the gaps quite nicely.

Also it goes under the couch and other places where I cannot reach without moving furniture, on the other hand misses corners and other tight spots where the upright also does not fit, but at least I can reach in there with the attachment hose.

I got my Roomba in June, the battery still holds a good charge, but I read that after a while you have to get a new battery pack, or at least rebuild the battery pack with Sub-C NiMH cells, and you can get higher capacity, 4500 mAh instead of the OEM 3000 mAh.

look for more info here:

http://www.roombareview.com/chat/

[testcase]

Consumer Reports wasn't impressed.

[martinbc]

I love mine ........

I have a loft so it can roam the whole apartment on the max setting. It runs every other day. Since I have 2 cats there is always a lot of cat hair in the bin.

The battery is now (after 2 years) really bad and I just ordered a new one.

I clean the rollers and empty the bin and the filter every time.

It cleans good .... not as good as my Miele. It recharges after it is done, so it is ready to go again,

It sometimes get's stuck on a wire.

Yes, it is really worth the money.

Martin