Roomba Review, Get One For Sanity!

[DearMissMermaid]

Last year when I bought this old 5th wheel it came with lots of white sculptured carpet. There was lots of intermittent work and repairs going on. It seemed no one would wipe their nasty shoes before traipsing inside!

The rig came with a huge upright heavy vac that I could barely more from level to level. No one did the vacuuming and the carpets suffered. Then I took some combined Christmas gift money and ordered the gadget of my dreams... a roomba vacuum cleaner!

I named her Rhonda and put her to work. Matter of fact, I make her vacuum all levels every day!

What a lifesaver. She is my favorite tool and I pamper her endlessly. It took the dog some time to make peace with Rhonda. Boy is he ever diligent to check the floor for snacks and crumbs before she sucks it away.

At some point I let Stanley Steemer bring life back to the carpets after the workman had tried their best to destroy them.

Any time I accidentally skip a day without Rhonda I feel terrible guilt. Sometimes I turn her loose in the living area when I go to bed. Mostly I run her in the main area while I am dog walking. Then when I come back, I move her from level to level.

My 5th wheel is on 4 levels, so I have to move her around. My housekeeping is now Rhonda friendly. I've tamed electric cords and I toss the dog toys back in their box before Rhonda drags them around. Poor teddy bear was being helplessly dragged around by his ear one day before I rescued him.

This has transformed my life. My carpets looks beautiful. Home smells clean. I was able to sell that huge hunk of vac that I did not like that gave me back aches.

I still own a tiny handheld vac leftover from motorhome days. I've rarely used it now. Rhonda can get aggressive and I've learned to check her dustbin before tossing it. She has sucked up keys, pills, spare change and errant screws.

I have to give her a haircut once a month as my long hair tends to wrap around her roller brushes.

I chose roomba by iRobot over the rest because they supply all the parts needed to give her a makeover if she wears anything out. She also scoots across the parquet floor in the kitchen and the throw rug at the entrance. I try to shake the throw rug often but Rhonda sucks out the ground end dirt.

In all the homes I have lived in, this is my first time with wall to wall carpet and this rig came with white.

Yesterday a neighbor stopped in and she said WOW, your carpet is gorgeous, you must slave away to keep it that way.  I said "Yeah, it's so hard to push that little start button..."  ;D

So if you are looking for the perfect gift for someone this Christmas, get them a roomba!

Amazon has them in all price ranges:

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_ss_tl?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=irobot

 

[SeilerBird]

I have it even better than owning a Rumba. I have a cleaning lady who comes in once a week and restores order to my mess. And she has nice gazumbas too. ;D

 

[Cooperhawk]

I thought I might purchase one of those for my DW for Christmas, but being a wise old married man, I asked her first.  NO! OK.

I was single for a long time raising my boys.  In fact I was single for 17 years.  I finally got a cleaning lady and boy was she a looker.  She came out in the Summer in shorts and a halter top and cleaned the house from top to bottom.  Course she was happily married and didn't fool around.  Man was she good looking!

Then after 17 years this woman came along who I couldn't pass by.  Smart move on my part, so we married.  Well, that was the end of the good looking cleaning lady.  That didn't fly.  Instead we now have a very nice but very sturdy Czech lady that come once every two weeks.  Oh, did I mention that The DW still works and the cleaning lady is my excuse for not cleaning the house.  See, I'm retired................

 

[Larry N.]

We've had a Roomba for a number of years (in the house, not the RV), and while it's good in so many ways, a more conventional vacuum still gets stuff the Roomba misses. The only real problem I see is that, over a couple of years or more the repetitious pattern (especially against the walls) gradually leaves wheel tracks. But it's nice to get most stuff picked up without having to break out a regular vacuum. But we DO run the regular one every so often, just to get that extra stuff. And yes, you must be sure that cords and such aren't where Roomba can "eat" them.

We have a couple of the "virtual wall" accessories (infrared, just like the homing function) to confine Roomba to a single room at a time, and that saves a lot of hassle when you have doorways in the room but no actual door (living room to hall and to kitchen, for example).

 

[thelazyl]

I didn't know my wife got one of these dang things for our home.  We live in the country so any whirring sound will wake me up.  I noticed a glow through our bedroom door.  The whirring and glow grew steadily louder and brighter.  I opened my safe and armed myself to confront the alien intruder.  I kid you not - that's what I thought it was.

The good news is we have a new Roomba.

If anyone wants a user Roomba for parts because it has a bullet hole in it - let me know.

 

[ArdraF]

We bought a Roomba several years ago because no vacuum can get under the beds.  "Jack" works his little heart out and cleans under the beds beautifully which helps my allergies.  It does the rest of the room too but I bought it primarily to clean under the beds.

ArdraF

 

[SeilerBird]

We bought a Roomba several years ago because no vacuum can get under the beds.  "Jack" works his little heart out and cleans under the beds beautifully which helps my allergies.  It does the rest of the room too but I bought it primarily to clean under the beds.

ArdraF

I don't have a Roomba but I can see now I must come up with a name for my vacuum cleaner. :

 

[ArdraF]

"Jill" died. 

ArdraF

 

[SeilerBird]

"Jill" died. 

ArdraF

How does one determine the sex of a vacuum cleaner. I looked mine all over and can't find any reproductive organs.  8)

 

[Larry N.]

How does one determine the sex of a vacuum cleaner. I looked mine all over and can't find any reproductive organs.  8)

Perhaps its a matter of perception? And its probably gender, but not sex.  : ;D Ask the folks who speak Spanish: vacuum cleaner is aspiradora, a feminine word.

 

[BruceinFL]

We have a Neato Botvac. His name is Cato. We punch a button on the phone and he does his thing. Afterwards he returns to the base and recharges himself. Haven't put him to work in the RV yet but now we will for sure.

 

[Oldgator73]

How does one determine the sex of a vacuum cleaner. I looked mine all over and can't find any reproductive organs.  8)

Uprights are male. Canisters are female. Any other kind goes both ways.

 

[SeilerBird]

Uprights are male. Canisters are female. Any other kind goes both ways.

LOL )

 

[DearMissMermaid]

We've had a Roomba for a number of years (in the house, not the RV), and while it's good in so many ways, a more conventional vacuum still gets stuff the Roomba misses. The only real problem I see is that, over a couple of years or more the repetitious pattern (especially against the walls) gradually leaves wheel tracks. But it's nice to get most stuff picked up without having to break out a regular vacuum. But we DO run the regular one every so often, just to get that extra stuff. And yes, you must be sure that cords and such aren't where Roomba can "eat" them.

We have a couple of the "virtual wall" accessories (infrared, just like the homing function) to confine Roomba to a single room at a time, and that saves a lot of hassle when you have doorways in the room but no actual door (living room to hall and to kitchen, for example).

Maybe you have a bad roomba. Mine doesn't miss a thing! It's evident in the dirt she picks up which is mainly nearly invisible fluff. Mine doesn't do a repetitious pattern. She seems to change her mind every day which way she wants to clean. Once in awhile I see a few tracks, but what with me and an active dog, the tracks vanish pretty quickly.

I figure the tracks are her way of letting me know she super cleaned!

Yes, I miss having a human maid. I did have one of those for many years and it was heaven on earth. She was a down islander and often sang while she worked. Always cheerful and thorough.  8)

 

[Larry N.]

The dirt the other picks up is deeper (much stronger suction), not something near or on the surface -- there's plenty to empty from the Roomba's basket after each run.  The tracks are mostly along the baseboards where it keeps trying to turn into the baseboard but, obviously, can't, and that's the pattern I meant, not out in the middle of the floor. It's good, but not perfect.