Talk me into buying a Roomba

[dwinnol]

or out of it. It's a lot of money at £380 minimum. I work full time, have 2 moulting dogs and 2 messy children, I need one, don't I?
Roomba

[4littleones]

The newer versions say they squeegy the floor. But I certainly can't afford top of the range. Can't really afford any but I am desperate to get this house nice and manageable! Heavily pregnant, back pain, tiredness and general busy Mum life = Anything to make my life easier will be my best friend!

Even if it leaves it wet though, I could put it on and then take DS to the park before picking DDs up from school, or when I go to toddler group etc.

[AlarmOnSnooze]

that's the way I look at it, 4littleones. It may not be perfect, but it provides a manageable/workable solution and eases life a bit (well, a lot).

you can always run it overnight too.

[4littleones]

Is it quiet enough to run overnight?? If it is then I think you have sold it to me!!

[Raptorrrethy]

I love my roomba. He even has a name
I have a dog who sheds hair constantly and I used to be so stressed about it. Now I leave the roomba to do it and I get great satisfaction from empting the reservoir and seeing all the dog hair packed in there

[4littleones]

Mine arrived today!!! I've put it on charge though and it's flashing an orange light around the clean button. Anybody know if this is normal?

I felt like a kid in a toy shop when it arrived but now a bit worried as it's second hand and it does say you shouldn't leave it uncharged and if it's not being used then the battery should be removed.

It also came with hair and dirt in

I am now wishing we bought new

[erin99]

Ours is like the perfect family pet - DCs fuss over it but it actually reduces my work instead of making more. The main point of it is that it motivates DC and DH to clear floors and vacuum. First child to tidy their room gets to put roomba etc. This is fantastic.

However it's not life changing. At the end of the day it takes a good half an hour to save 5 mins' vacuuming, and when I'm crisis cleaning I vacuum by hand for speed. We paid about £150 for ours (old model 500 something). £380 would be too much for me, but I haven't tried the newer models.

[Lioninthesun]

Has anyone tried the Aldi one? I saw they had one in their glass cabinet but no price next to it...

[4littleones]

first run with roomba today I set it to do my bedroom. Didn't think it was that dirty but roomba managed to find lots of dirt! I've put him back on charge and will use It again asap in other parts of the house. I'm impressed so far!

I am unsure weather to set up the base bit. I like the idea of him putting himself back on charge but not sure about having it stored at ground level with baby around and also don't really get how it all works yet really.

[erin99]

4littleones can you set it up under a chest of drawers or something? Ours is under the table in the playroom, though DC were past the baby stage when we got 'him'. I think the orange flashing light means it's charging.

[4littleones]

if It's under the draws how do you tell him to clean? also, thinking about it, surely he needs emptying every time anyway and therefore doesn't massively help by putting himself away as he would be full? Although guess it's handy If your out and can empty it when you get in.

[TheMightyMing]

Had one in Aldi a couple of weeks ago- their own brand of course about £180 I think?

[GoblinMarket]

yes they tuck away
i love them all but they are pita and break a lot

[4littleones]

goblin are you talking about the roomba or the Aldi one?

[GoblinMarket]

4 little ones - scoobas and roombas

[dwinnol]

Mine arrived yesterday and I'm in love. She's got a name already and is currently the most popular member of the house. She's found a lot of dirt I didn't know was here, she's done a brilliant job under the beds, and I came home to find the whole downstairs cleaned and her sitting in her dock charging. I can't stop looking at my clean floors!
Miraculous.

[erin99]

Yes I guess 4littleones, ours is under a Lack coffee table so easier access than under drawers. It's easier to let it dock itself rather than fiddling about with a recharger myself, and to start it I pull it out and press 'clean'.

dwinnol I'm glad you're so pleased! Keep the brushes clean - we find we need to keep the ends clear of hair or they seize up.

[4littleones]

mines on its second mission of the evening which Is my living room. It seems to be going on forever and there are certain areas I've seen it do St least 4/5 times. does it just keep going till it runs out of battery?

[4littleones]

ignore that he stopped eventually.

I've emptied it and then set it to do the kitchen and hallway! using the virtual wall for the first time. I'm amazed at the battery for a second hand one!

[LilyBobtail]

I'm desperate for a Roomba and have been lusting after one for ages. I'm a bit scared of wasting my money, though.

Can anyone tell me how they cope with long hair? Does it get tangled up and is it a problem? Also will they cope with hoovering a hard floor which has a rug on it or do they just stop at the rug? Are Roombas ok for hard floors? We have wooden floors and tiles downstairs and carpets upstairs.

[NinetyNinePercentTroll]

Ok. I get the noise thing if you have family members with noise sensitivities or if you are physically unable to use a trad vac (disability, bad back or whatever), but otherwise I really don't see the charm for the average household. It takes about 20mins to vac an average 3 bed from top to bottom (assuming you aren't moving furniture) inc stairs - I assume you still an old skool vac for those ?

Most folk aren't hoovering every room in their house every day, so running a trad vac around the ground floor of the average UK home takes minutes, even if you are doing it daily. The roomba isn't much of a timesaver really when you think you have to empty the tiny collection thing very regularly, move it from level to level in your home and still have do the stairs traditionally anyway?

If you get one, get it because you want something gadgety / novel, not because it'll save you time (it won't).

[NinetyNinePercentTroll]

Sorry, still use an old skool

[erin99]

lilbobtail ours is great with long hair - it does a better job on our bedroom floor with my long hair than a normal vac. But yes you have to de-hair the brushes regularly. And since I can rarely be bothered to clear the 127 items from our bedroom floor just to put 'him' on, 99% of the time I just use the normal vacuum over the high traffic bits instead. But he is great for motivating DC to tidy their bedrooms properly, and for DH to vacuum.

Don't know about hard floors. He copes ok with rugs but will sometimes flip the corners up and attempt to clean underneath!

[dwinnol]

My daughter has long hair and she's coped fine with it. And I have hard floors with rugs and again no problems. It really is the best £400 I've ever spent. I have 2 big moulting dogs so it takes much more than 20 minutes to Hoover my house. Yesterday I mopped all the floors for the first time in ages because they were already dust free. It really does help. Go for it.

[ShevelKnievel]

I LOVE ours we've had him a few years. I've often left him flat for a few days but the battery seems fine..?

[ggirl]

I had one about 3yrs ago but ended up selling it on ebay .It just didn't do the job properly (I'm not overly houseproud) and I ended up having to sweep hoover after it anyway.
Was always getting stuck somewhere (open plan downstairs) , quicker getting hoover out and doing it myself.
I have now got a gtech floor swweper which is fab for a quick tidy up.