Page 3 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 36

Thread: Robotic vacuums

  1. #21
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    12,889
    I only run mine under supervision

  2. #22
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    5,478
    DD has one and programs it to vacuum in the morning before leaving for work. She has tile and wood floors only and the pet hair accumulates quickly without it. Never heard of any complaints. I imagine my cats would be terrified of it but her pets just ignore it as if it was another creature in the house.

  3. #23
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    12,889
    The dogs get used to it. One time my old deaf dog decided to take a nap on it. That did not go so well)

  4. #24
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Offshore
    Posts
    11,477
    How noisy are the Roombas in action? I had this fantasy vision of it sorta-quietly vacuuming the main floor while I am downstairs in my office.

  5. #25
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    12,889
    Total fantasy)

  6. #26
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Offshore
    Posts
    11,477
    I finally took the plunge this week, and got the latest Roomba i7+.

    My motivation was simply that this house is quite large, and is currently inhabited by just myself and my 110 pound Bloodhound, who sheds quite a bit. While my standard of housekeeping is "moderate", I was falling behind, especially with the vacuuming, as I recently dislocated my elbow on my dominant arm, and my old-school vacuum cleaner weighs a ton.

    The i7+ has a charging base that has a large bag and a vacuum in it, which empties the dust bin of the Roomba when it is full. The bag is alleged to be sufficient for 30+ emptyings. I had previously hesitated even considering the Roomba technology as I was expecting to constantly have to babysit it to empty bins.

    This is not the case, with the new model it auto-empties. Within a day it learned the geography of my home, and I can tell it to clean a specific room and it marches off and does so. It comes back to its base when full, or when low on battery, and then gets back to work when it is able.

    It isn't terribly loud compared to my "real" vacuum cleaner, it claims to have more powerful motors than the previous versions, and also be a bit quieter. It doesn't particularly bother me, especially as I can have it clean rooms I am not in.

    My big complaints are the high cost, and that the battery is only good for 45ish minutes on my carpet, so it does end up coming back and then taking an hour to recharge between sessions. I think this won't be an issue if I simply issue it a room-by-room schedule.

    It seems able to navigate obstacles that I would have guessed would have confused it. It claims to have a more sophisticated set of cameras/sensors/processors than previous models. Certainly watching it decide where to go convinces me it has some brains inside.

    Housecleaners here cost $25-$30/hour, *if* you can find someone, and if they are reliable. It takes me about 30 minutes myself to vacuum just the main floor of my home, which I was doing twice a week because of the dog fur and the pollen/dust/allergy issues. So the cost of this will be paid off in 1/2->1 year, compared to hiring out the work. And I simply wasn't having enough time to keep up with things.

    My new routine is to take the dog outside for a few minutes and deep brush him every day, which he loves, let the robot do the vacuuming, and perhaps use the real vacuum cleaner now-and-then if needed.

  7. #27
    Senior Member KayLR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    SW Washington State
    Posts
    2,756
    Thanks for the review, Bae. I'm still thinking about getting one.
    My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!

  8. #28
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    12,889
    I have it do one room at a time. I use the devices that come with it to make that happen.

  9. #29
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Offshore
    Posts
    11,477
    Quote Originally Posted by KayLR View Post
    Thanks for the review, Bae. I'm still thinking about getting one.
    I was totally unconvinced, until it showed up and I got to watch it in action. I think the earlier generations would have been a great disappointment to me - the key feature here in this house is the auto-emptying business, and just how clever it is about mapping the house and sneaking into really quite tricky spaces.

    Now also after a day of running it off-and-on, I can measure different interior air quality, so it is holding up on its filtering claims, which is nice. Hoping this will help during the upcoming pollen season. Assuming winter ends.

  10. #30
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    12,889
    Mine can’t empty itself. That’s a great feature.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •