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Housekeeping

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Original poster

I WANT A ROOMBA!

37 replies

Moodykat · 19/03/2011 11:58

Oh my days! Had never heard of such a device before and now I want one SOOO badly!
Have any of you lucky buggers got them? And do they work?

OP posts:
MadamDeathstare · 19/03/2011 18:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

vanillamum · 19/03/2011 21:01

Me too, I want one to and I am currently wiping old people's arses for a (shitty, haha) job to save up for one. I keep thinking, it will be worth it but my resolve is beginning to falter.

pinxminx · 19/03/2011 21:13

We have one and use it most days. It is great on all our hard floors, no idea how it would do on carpets. You do of course still need to vacuum tricky corners every now and then, but it is great at keeping the place looking respectable.
I usually stick it on when I'm going out as it is quite noisy and it is lovely to come home to clean floors. It is also handy if you spill something like rice or cereal on the floor, saves grovelling around with a dust pan and brush....

Original poster
Moodykat · 19/03/2011 21:45

It sounds like just the sort of thing a lazy slob dedicated housewife like me needs.

By the way, after clicking on the cat link, have you seen the amount of videos that feature cats riding on Roomba's?!

OP posts:
SquirtedPerfumeUpNoseInBoots · 20/03/2011 21:41

I love mine! Best thing ever! He is programmed to go round when I'm out, and he docks himself to recharge. All I have to do is empty his bin. Even gets under the sofa! Brilliant thing! I too have all hard floors, he's ok on rugs, but don't know about all carpet areas. My cat hates him.

SquirtedPerfumeUpNoseInBoots · 20/03/2011 21:44

Madam to clean him when he says he needs it, turn him upside down, and open the cover where the brushes are. They lift out, and long hair tends to get wound round the ends and stop him working. Just remove that and put the brush back. Good as new.

MadamDeathstare · 21/03/2011 12:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TrollyDolly1 · 21/03/2011 13:03

Oh, I had one .... I loved him but at Christmas we went to stay with relatives and ended up with our kitchen flooded. Rumba however still went about his daily cycle, stucked up lots of water and died! :( :( will be buying another, have you seen his friend scooba?

TrollyDolly1 · 21/03/2011 13:04

Oh, and our cat used to happily ride along on our roomba, he just had to keep his wits about him when roomba went under things!

silverfrog · 21/03/2011 13:08

oh yes, Herbie is a BIG part of my life Grin

as is his cousin, Scoobie (the mop version).

it is absolutely marvellous to MN while your housework is getting done Grin Grin

arfanarf · 21/03/2011 13:15

It's fabulous on carpets, the brushes pick everything up, especially good with cat fur.
Mine keeps breaking down though, and now it's out of warranty I need to find out how much it will cost to fix.
I do miss it.

Original poster
Moodykat · 21/03/2011 17:15

Fantastic news! It really might be worth buying one then?! Hurrah!

OP posts:
silverfrog · 21/03/2011 17:19

Moodykat - I have had mine for 3 years now (just treated him to a new battery pack and brushes Smile) and it has been really great.

I do still use my dyson occasionally, but not often (I originally got a roomba because dd1, who is ASD, has a huge noise sensitivity issue, and could not tolerate me doing the hoovering - it owuld even wake her from a deep sleep Hmm. so, it saved my sanity, as my house was minging before I got one!)

Buda · 21/03/2011 17:27

I love mine too. Although I think it needs some TLC at the moment as it didn't do a great job on Saturday. Kept stopping.

I have a large open plan ground floor and I have the 'virtual wall' thing so that it only does one bit as the space is too large to all get done at once. I tend to Roomba half, vacuum the other half and mop it and by then Roomba has finished its half! DH reckons it is not efficient. But I still love it!

We move back to UK this summer and will be in a normal house so I will be able to just leave it to get on with the floors in the morning while I walk DS to school and then walk the dogs.

It is fab at picking up dog hair! We have lots.

MmeLindt · 21/03/2011 17:31

oh, I have been after one of these for ages. I bought a cheapie one years ago in Germany and it was pants, so DH is totally against me buying one now.

Perhaps if I buy it and hide it under the spare bed.

MmeLindt · 21/03/2011 17:36

What one have you guys got?

Just checked my online website, and they have a Roomba 555 for CHF 368 (about £250). On special offer.

brimfull · 21/03/2011 17:37

had one and sold it on ebay
didn't get on with it at all
keot getting stuck somewhere or missing places
easier to just get the hoover out

bessie26 · 21/03/2011 17:39
Envy
LessNarkyPuffin · 21/03/2011 17:44

Cats. What the fuck. Seriously.

Buda · 21/03/2011 17:51

MmeLindt - I have the 531 I think. Got it from John Lewis. DH was Hmm but now he approves.

IShallWearMidnight · 21/03/2011 17:55

mine didn't like my rugs so I didn't use it very often, the the battery totally discharged and needs replacing for £50 Sad. Currently he's sitting sadly in the cupboard under the stairs, and I miss his little songs.

NotaMopsa · 21/03/2011 18:05

I have roombas and scooba. They are great but need a lot if tlc. Scooba is a pita - breaks all the time but I cannot live without him . Roomba is good but their batteries do die and they often start clicking and go much less effective.
When all's said and done if you have a busy life they are great BUT you will spend your life cursing them. Kind of 'can't live with them can't live without them scenario chez mopsa

GothAnneGeddes · 23/03/2011 01:42

It sings? Envy

silverfrog · 23/03/2011 07:46

yep, a variety of tunes from a sad "I'm stuck!" to a triumphant "Finished!"

it also talks to you in a really annoying voice if you haven't defluffed it in a while - a protest before going on strike, as it were.

they really are marvellous things, and I haven't had cause to curse mine at all.

NotaMopsa · 23/03/2011 16:59

the tunes are rarely good news!