Robot vacuums?

**Cdubmpdx** · 12-13-2018, 12:16 AM

Originally Posted by BobMc

Looking for Christmas gifts for the wife and I've kinda fixated on one of these. Have they improved over the years? Our house is pretty hectic and our shit is typically in a state of non-cleanliness. The wife thinks these are a waste of money and thinks it won't do the job around our typical laying about of stuff.

Myself, I'm fine with a robot cleaning overlord no matter how efficient. Thoughts?

Great for wood floors. We have a cat and a dog that shed a lot. Our Roomba does an awesome job of keeping dust and hair off the ground. It does require maintenance every week or two and you have to empty the bin everyday. Also have to pick up clutter such as dog and kid toys. But navigates furniture and table legs very well.

The biggest downfall is when the cat pukes it drags it all around the house. We have managed to avoid dog poop but if this is an issue know that it creates problems and is a nasty biotch to clean out the machine and floor when it happens. Otherwise it's a lifesaver. We never sweep just mop or clean one a week, maybe once every other.

Also doesn't work as well on longer carpet but sufficient for daily cleaning. Still requires a good vaccuming once a week or two.

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**neufox47** · 12-13-2018, 08:48 AM

I’m on my third or fourth. Is it perfect? No. Is it way easier than breaking out the vacuum and does it reduce the number of time you need to use a real vacuum? Yes. I walk around barefoot a lot and I hate the feeling of any dirt on the floor so we run ours every other day usually. First floor is about 1800 sq ft and it amazes me how much dust it picks up even when the floor seems pretty clean.

Think of it as a sweeper more than a vacuum. Hard floors are it’s jam. Carpet it is mush less effective on.

Yes they are much better than they used to be.

**oftpiste** · 12-13-2018, 09:01 AM

I've thought about one of these too. I have wood floors with various rugs around the house. Old oriental rugs and long shaggy ones. Will it successfully navigate transitions from floor to rug etc.? Sure seems like those would present a challenge.

**AK47bp** · 12-13-2018, 09:26 AM

Love my roomba. As mentioned above it can get stuck under things that are a certain height Like a tv stand or coffee table. I have a routine where I take about 30 seconds to move around some things before I turn it on. It will jam under my tv stand sometimes so I just shove a stuffed animal under there so it can't get stuck. Cords on the floor like a cell phone cord it will suck up and get stuck.

I have 2 cats, a fur ball shedding dog and a toddler and I only run the real vacuum once every 2 weeks and my place is pretty clean.

Get one.

Also works really good on my carpet too.

**AK47bp** · 12-13-2018, 09:36 AM

Oh and don't EVER watch your roomba work. It will drive you fucking nuts. Turn it on and leave the house or go to bed. It's not quiet enough to just run while you chill in the general area. The cleaning patterns and where it goes make no sense.

**zartagen** · 12-13-2018, 10:16 AM

I find it funny that most people posting on here about how they love their roomba also say they vacuum every week or two. Soooo, not really effective apparently.

**AK47bp** · 12-13-2018, 10:27 AM

Versus vacuuming every 3 or 4 days. It's not a total replacement for a vacuum it just triples the time in between when you need to vacuum. This is all assuming you like clean floors.

**Beaver** · 12-13-2018, 10:47 AM

I had a Roomba, it was noisy AF. Eventually the gears in the spinning brush stripped, that might have been part of it's noisyness. I had it for about 5 years, it worked. I replaced it with a Deebot, this thing sucks like a vacuum should and is very quiet. I've needed to take it apart and clean the sensors once in the first 6 months. The optical sensors worked great initially and it didn't run into everything but now the lens the sensors look through are dirty and it hits to sense then turns. Mine was going in backwards in circles because it thought it was running into something. There is an optical sensor in it that the bumper pushes an obstruction across when the bumper hits something, after a while one of mine wasn't clearing the sensor after the bumper rebounded so I trimmed the plastic obstruction piece about 1mm and it works perfect now.

**babybear** · 12-13-2018, 10:54 AM

Originally Posted by AK47bp

Versus vacuuming every 3 or 4 days. It's not a total replacement for a vacuum it just triples the time in between when you need to vacuum. This is all assuming you like clean floors.

agree-

Originally Posted by zartagen

I find it funny that most people posting on here about how they love their roomba also say they vacuum every week or two. Soooo, not really effective apparently.

I'd vacuum once or twice a week prior (2 dogs, woodstove etc) and the robot decreases the frequency needed. That's good enough for me.
the robot keeping up during the week also decreases the amount of hairs on your clothes etc too

**t-the-east** · 12-13-2018, 10:56 AM

I’ve been eyeing a Roomba lately too. It was asked on page one and vaguely answered - I have an older house with a lot of hardwood floors, but there’s 4 or 5 different height changes anywhere from 1/2” to 1”, will this thing go up and down these height changes? There is a piece of quarter round molding on the transitions, so it’s not like a 1” lip, it’s a rounded transition...

It’s amazing how much hair builds up from a dog and a cat. I was looking at the $300+ dollar one that’s rated for per hair...

**babybear** · 12-13-2018, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by t-the-east

I’ve been eyeing a Roomba lately too. It was asked on page one and vaguely answered - I have an older house with a lot of hardwood floors, but there’s 4 or 5 different height changes anywhere from 1/2” to 1”, will this thing go up and down these height changes? There is a piece of quarter round molding on the transitions, so it’s not like a 1” lip, it’s a rounded transition...

It’s amazing how much hair builds up from a dog and a cat. I was looking at the $300+ dollar one that’s rated for per hair...

I bet it would be fine on at least the lower transitions. I can set up a test for mine tonight and report back. vacuum obstacle course!
although we have the Shark version not roomba

**t-the-east** · 12-13-2018, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by b-bear

I bet it would be fine on at least the lower transitions. I can set up a test for mine tonight and report back. vacuum obstacle course!
although we have the Shark version not roomba

Haha that would be awesome! I’ve read a ton of reviews online but can’t seem to get a straight answer. Let me know how it works out if you get a chance. Thanks!

**Supermoon** · 12-13-2018, 11:18 AM

I really like the idea of one, but then I hear horror stories about dogs having an accident in the house and then the roomba spreading dog shit all over your house

**schwerty** · 12-13-2018, 11:26 AM

Well shit. I read through some of this thread and dropped 700 bucks on a fucking robot vacuum for my wife. This thing better work. Is it even ok to give your spouse a vacuum for Xmas? She already cleans too much. Wonder how this will go over.

**AK47bp** · 12-13-2018, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by t-the-east

I’ve been eyeing a Roomba lately too. It was asked on page one and vaguely answered - I have an older house with a lot of hardwood floors, but there’s 4 or 5 different height changes anywhere from 1/2” to 1”, will this thing go up and down these height changes? There is a piece of quarter round molding on the transitions, so it’s not like a 1” lip, it’s a rounded transition...

It’s amazing how much hair builds up from a dog and a cat. I was looking at the $300+ dollar one that’s rated for per hair...

1 inch high and it will definitely bounce off and not go over it. Not sure if the little ramp would work. I'd say a quarter inch height max, maybe. Buy one from target and if it doesn't work return it.

**iceman** · 12-13-2018, 11:35 AM

Good (and quite funny at times) article on robots from a recent New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...to-love-robots

**Beaver** · 12-13-2018, 11:42 AM

I'll be an outlier, I never vacuum. This little fucker does all my vacuuming for me. My Deebot has suction almost liek a real vacuum cleaner, way better than my Roomba had.

My Roomba stopped picking shit up so I took it apart to fix it and discovered the parts needed were about $150 so i said fuck it and tossed the parts in a box. I haven't gotten around to recycling Roomba so I'm thinking i might set him free to wander a walmart parking lot one morning.

**t-the-east** · 12-13-2018, 11:45 AM

Originally Posted by schwerty

Well shit. I read through some of this thread and dropped 700 bucks on a fucking robot vacuum for my wife. This thing better work. Is it even ok to give your spouse a vacuum for Xmas? She already cleans too much. Wonder how this will go over.

$700!? Damn. You may have screwed yourself on that one. Probably should’ve checked with KQ Claus first, but that’s like the equivalent of getting her a mop isn’t it?

Originally Posted by AK47bp

1 inch high and it will definitely bounce off and not go over it. Not sure if the little ramp would work. I'd say a quarter inch height max, maybe. Buy one from target and if it doesn't work return it.

Good call, I guess most places it would be easy enough to return if it can’t do the transitions

**::: :::** · 12-13-2018, 11:45 AM

roomba was no match for our dog fur
it was more work than it was worth so we no longer use it

**lake_effect** · 12-13-2018, 12:06 PM

What models are you guys using? I have a Lab and half hard floors, half carpet. The wife has asked for one but I didnt think it would work worth a shit.

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**AK47bp** · 12-13-2018, 12:15 PM

It will work with lab fur and your floor setup. I have a double coated dog that sheds tumble weeds of fur and it works.

I have the old $3-400 roomba model. They have ones now for pet hair.

Just checked. I have the 650 model.

**babybear** · 12-13-2018, 12:16 PM

i went with the shark version vs roomba/irobot bc I was skeptical of how well it would work and the shark was more like $300-400 vs the roombas being a couple hundred more generally.
I’ve been happy with mine and we’ve had for about a yr.
My house is only around 1100-1200 sq ft though and all one level so that is an advantage

**Garth Bimble** · 12-13-2018, 12:24 PM

Mrs. Bimble got a cheap one from Amazon, it's called a Debot or Deboot or some thing like that and it's a POS. Had to send one back already. the replacement sucks with dog hair and since we have 2 dogs that's an issue. Another problem is the sun. We have vaulted ceilings with large windows and if the sun is shining through them onto the floor the vac can't handle it, it will either get stuck in the sun lit area or not go there at all. It's easier just to vacuum by hand, IMHO.

**LegoSkier** · 12-13-2018, 12:32 PM

Fuck robot vacuums. What i-robot really needs to work on is a roof robot. Something that lives on my roof and will get all the pine needles, leaves, pine cones, and branches off. It also needs to continually get rid of the moss growth. Bonus points if there is a gutter cleaning option. I would pay serious money for one of those.

**LightRanger** · 12-13-2018, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by LegoSkier

Fuck robot vacuums. What i-robot really needs to work on is a roof robot. Something that lives on my roof and will get all the pine needles, leaves, pine cones, and branches off. It also needs to continually get rid of the moss growth. Bonus points if there is a gutter cleaning option. I would pay serious money for one of those.

Gutter guards, homie. I'm probably getting them next year after obsessively blowing my gutters out at least once a month since we bought our new place in May. (Fires got me jumpy.) Thankfully my roof is easy to get onto, but law of averages has me not wanting to be up there so much. My folks have had guards for 15 years and love them. Sierra Foothills. 40-50" average rainfall and a fair amount of oak and pine debris. Work great.