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Ghoser777 · Dec 21, 2007, 10:21 PM

The Roomba is that auto house floor cleaning robot made by iRobot. I keep reading online reviews that say that the side brushes keep getting broke. Has anyone had any experiences with the roombas? Have you had the side brushes break?

moonmonkey · Dec 22, 2007, 09:24 AM

If anyone has opinions on the Scooba too, it would be useful to me.

alligator · Dec 22, 2007, 10:21 AM

I had one and it worked well. If I bought another one, I'd get the one that you can schedule and that self-charged. My wife wanted to sell ours because the NiCd battery eventually wore out.

KeyLimePi · Dec 22, 2007, 01:36 PM

I've made it pretty clear that this what I want for my birthday (in ten days). If I get one, I'll let you know how I like it.

TheMosco · Dec 22, 2007, 04:00 PM

Wellington Grey -- Miscellanea -- I Love My Roomba

makes me laugh.

subego · Dec 22, 2007, 04:19 PM

Pros:

Personality: it's really hard not to anthropomorphize it. Pets are... 'entertained' by it.
Hardwood: If you have lots of hardwood flooring and not too many rugs, the Roomba is perfect
Honest-to-goodness robot who does work for you: who hasn't wanted that?

Cons:

Loud: even though it has a small motor, the thing is too tiny to effectively dampen vibrations. Our full size Dyson is quieter (or at least produces a less irritating sound).
Rug fringe: Mortal enemy of the Roomba.

Lastly, go through the effort to get one from a place that has a good MBG or replacement program. They have a tendency to die on you.

P.S. We never used ours on the carpet. I can't see that working very well compared to a normal vacuum, especially if you have pets.

Chongo · Dec 22, 2007, 04:24 PM

Roomba Review - Roomba & Scooba Reviews, News, Coupons & More!
My life with Scooba | CNET News.com

I LOVE ROBOTS · Dec 22, 2007, 08:05 PM

I own 2 Roomba Sage's and the original Scooba. I have never had any of the brushes break off on my Roomba's. I have the docking station which is great, because when Roomba has finished cleaning the room it docks itself so it can recharge for the next use. When I first got my Roomba years ago, it had some problems. It was discovered that the Roomba programming was faulty. I Robotics sent me a tool to plug into my Roomba that automatically reprogrammed the Roomba. I have not had any problems since that time.

I did have a minor problem with my Scooba. The water would not dispense to clean the floor. I Robotics had me apply a turkey baster over the nipple to the water inlet valve. After a couple of squeezes on the baster, it worked fine. Apparently, dirt sometimes dries in the valve and clogs it up. Now Scooba comes with a tool to use instead of a turkey baster that does this job.

What ever you do, I would not purchase a Roomba or a Scooba without an extended warranty. They are Robots and they can have problems. If you do not have an extended warranty and your Roomba has problems, it can be costly. I received a new Roomba under my extended warranty when it was having the programming problems I mentioned above. My second Roomba had the same problems. At that time lots of people were having the same problems with their Roomba's, but I Robotics didn't fix any problems after the warranty was over, even though it was a common problem. I was lucky though, after my second Roomba had the same problems, I Robotics discovered the programming problem and send me the device to fix it.

I love my Roomba's and my Scooba. They have cut down my cleaning time to 50%. I would never be without one again. I plan on upgrading to the 580 eventually. I want to make sure I Robotics has worked out the bugs before I buy one. Remember, buy the extended warranty. It's worth it just in case you have problems.

torsoboy · Dec 23, 2007, 03:49 AM

Originally Posted by subego

Rug fringe: Mortal enemy of the Roomba.

Supposedly this isn't a problem any more: http://www.irobot.com/video/roomba50...ssel_tech.html

RAILhead · Dec 23, 2007, 10:39 AM

I cannot tell you how freakin bad I want one of these. I had pretty much forgotten about them until this thread, and now that all we have in our home is wood and tile, it seems like a no-brainer. I just wonder how long it would take to do 3800 sq ft? Can it do that much while I'm at work? How do you know it gets every room? Does it shut itself off if it gets stuck?

subego · 05:27 PM

Originally Posted by RAILhead

I just wonder how long it would take to do 3800 sq ft? Can it do that much while I'm at work?

I'm thinking it could handle about half that. When it's done, it'll go back to it's charging station. I don't think (but I'm not sure) you can tell it to go back out again after it's charged.

Originally Posted by RAILhead

How do you know it gets every room? Does it shut itself off if it gets stuck?

It uses some sort of algorithm to make sure it covers everything. It's a surprisingly good one, and it's really what gives the Roomba its 'personality'.

If it gets stuck, it runs an 'unstick-me' routine where it rotates a bit, tries to escape, rotate, escape, etc.

If it can't pull that off in a minute, it makes a sad beep and shuts down.

@pplejaxkz · Dec 23, 2007, 05:22 PM

I have seen this thing on so many infomercials. For some reason I just don't think it'll clean that well. I've actually just recently seen it in the stores and it looks like it doesn't have that much power to it.

subego · Dec 23, 2007, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by @pplejaxkz

I have seen this thing on so many infomercials. For some reason I just don't think it'll clean that well. I've actually just recently seen it in the stores and it looks like it doesn't have that much power to it.

You don't need that much power on a hard floor. It works really well under those circumstances. The difference afterwards was noticeable, and it was completely full of dust bunnies, grit, and secessionist fibers from our welcome mat.

torsoboy · Dec 23, 2007, 06:07 PM

If you are looking for one and don't want to spend a ton of cash on it, Woot : One Day, One Deal (SM) sells the refurbed $300 models for $99 a couple of times a month. Some people don't like refurbs, but it is a smaller investment to test it out than plunking down the $300 for it.

I LOVE ROBOTS · Dec 24, 2007, 02:19 AM

Originally Posted by subego

Pros:

Personality: it's really hard not to anthropomorphize it. Pets are... 'entertained' by it.
Hardwood: If you have lots of hardwood flooring and not too many rugs, the Roomba is perfect
Honest-to-goodness robot who does work for you: who hasn't wanted that?

Cons:

Loud: even though it has a small motor, the thing is too tiny to effectively dampen vibrations. Our full size Dyson is quieter (or at least produces a less irritating sound).
Rug fringe: Mortal enemy of the Roomba.

Lastly, go through the effort to get one from a place that has a good MBG or replacement program. They have a tendency to die on you.

P.S. We never used ours on the carpet. I can't see that working very well compared to a normal vacuum, especially if you have pets.

I use both my Roomba Sage's on Berber Wool carpeting. They do a beautiful job of cleaning our carpets. If you have a high pile carpet you may have problems, but not with a low pile carpet. Believe me, there is not a vacuum out there that cleans as thoroughly as a Roomba. I wouldn't be without one.

I LOVE ROBOTS · Dec 24, 2007, 02:27 AM

Originally Posted by RAILhead

I cannot tell you how freakin bad I want one of these. I had pretty much forgotten about them until this thread, and now that all we have in our home is wood and tile, it seems like a no-brainer. I just wonder how long it would take to do 3800 sq ft? Can it do that much while I'm at work? How do you know it gets every room? Does it shut itself off if it gets stuck?

I have both tile and Berber Wool carpeting. I also have the Roomba Sage's as I have mentioned before. The new Roomba 500 series does have a scheduler that takes the Roomba from room to room to clean it and then back to the base to recharge. If the Roomba doesn't clean a room or malfunctions, it will turn itself off right where it is located. As far as not completely cleaning the last room scheduled, I would schedule the last room first the next time around. It is easy to tell if Roomba has cleaned my carpets or floor. I live in the desert where we have lots of dust and dirt.

Kerrigan · Dec 24, 2007, 03:03 AM

Are you working for Roomba or something?

jokell82 · Dec 24, 2007, 09:18 AM

Anyone have one of these with a pet? I'd love to have one that ran either daily or every other day to seriously cut down on the amount of dog hair in my house.

Cadaver · Dec 25, 2007, 06:09 PM

The Woomba™

nonhuman · Dec 25, 2007, 06:41 PM

How does it deal with door jambs? Can it cross them, or will it only work if the floor is flat all the way through?

wallinbl · Dec 26, 2007, 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by jokell82

Anyone have one of these with a pet? I'd love to have one that ran either daily or every other day to seriously cut down on the amount of dog hair in my house.

Yes. Have a dog and a cat. The dog sheds a ton, but the cat doesn't. Our floors are all wood and tile, so you can see the hair just sitting there, unlike a rug, which would at least hide some of it. The Roomba has been great. Have to remember to empty it out from time to time.

jokell82 · Dec 26, 2007, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by wallinbl

Yes. Have a dog and a cat. The dog sheds a ton, but the cat doesn't. Our floors are all wood and tile, so you can see the hair just sitting there, unlike a rug, which would at least hide some of it. The Roomba has been great. Have to remember to empty it out from time to time.

I may have to pick one of these up then. My dog sheds like CRAZY.

SirCastor · Dec 26, 2007, 10:47 AM

I love my Roomba. We haven't been using it this month because I can't figure out how to get it to avoid the Christmas tree. Other than that, it works great. We've set it on tile floor and the two different types of carpet we have in the house (this is the Sage model).

As others have said, it doesn't look powerful. It's not. The Roomba does not replace vacuuming. What it does to is make your floors look nice and reduce the amount of vacuuming you need to do.

I don't like cleaning it, but the new models are much easier. They're all but dishwasher safe

RAILhead · Dec 26, 2007, 10:49 AM

I still can't find a firm answer anywhere regarding the Roomba remembering what it didn't finish. Let's say that I have 5 rooms to clean, and a single charge only lets it get to 4, so it goes back to the dock to refuel. Once it's charged again and the schedule kicks-in, will it remember to go all the way to that far room and clean it?

funkboy · Dec 26, 2007, 12:04 PM

The Roomba is great. The new model deals with two big issues of the previous generation:
1) Will not get caught up in rug fringe
2) Will not smack everything so hard with its bumper, but will instead slow down as it detects it is coming near the wall

I have the previous generation one and like it a lot - will get the new gen someday when the first gen dies out.

Railhead,
I somewhat doubt the Roomba is smart enough to remember it did not get to the fifth room. However, I have a scheduler but rarely use it, and instead just press Max and let it do its thing. The scheduler function may make it smarter...

Nonhuman,
It will likely go right over door jams. Mine goes right over the curved poles on my keyboard stand.

turtle777 · Dec 26, 2007, 07:56 PM

I'm a big Roomba fan. Use it about once a week on every room, it's just great.

-t

RAILhead · Dec 26, 2007, 08:16 PM

So how do you get it to clean EVERY room? Do you have to pick it up, tote to a room, let it go, and hope it stays in there before moving on?

SirCastor · Dec 26, 2007, 09:16 PM

Originally Posted by RAILhead

I still can't find a firm answer anywhere regarding the Roomba remembering what it didn't finish. Let's say that I have 5 rooms to clean, and a single charge only lets it get to 4, so it goes back to the dock to refuel. Once it's charged again and the schedule kicks-in, will it remember to go all the way to that far room and clean it?

No. It does not know where it has been or where it hasn't. It actually doesn't even know where to find it's charging station. The Roomba (as other people have mentioned) uses a mathematical algorithm to clean a room. The algorithm only functionally works on a room of a specific size or smaller. The Roomba is essentially blind (well, it does have an IR or something sensor for wall following). It may pass over the same spot several times before getting to the one spot it hasn't gotten to. It has no method for determining it's relative position in the room.

There are more advanced Robot vacs out there that do this. I believe the Trilobite by Eureka does this... but it's price runs an order of a magnitude more than the Roomba.

The newer-fancier Roombas feature a system called 'Lighthouse' technology which involves setting up beacons throughout your house allowing the Roomba to determine where it's been and where it hasn't.

Edit: how to get it to do every room.
1) easy/annoying way:
Pick it up and move it, press button.

2) Easy/expensive way:
Get yourself a lot of virtual walls, and schedule them to turn out at certain times.

3) The way many people end up doing it/expensive:
Get two roombas, setup a virtual wall between them.

There are other solutions. You can program the Roomba yourself. The interface is open and documented.

AngelaBaby · Dec 26, 2007, 09:25 PM

Get off your butt and spend 20 minutes vacuuming your own carpet

RAILhead · Dec 26, 2007, 09:59 PM

Wow, you can vacuum 3800 sq ft in 20 minutes? Is one of your jackass super powers?

alligator · Dec 26, 2007, 10:50 PM

It's not about how much time Roomba saves, it's about having your own Jetson's robot to help around the house. It's a fun toy. It cuts down on real cleaning, but doesn't eliminate it. You still spend time fiddling with Roomba to empty its container, set up virtual walls, pick it up when it gets stuck, etc.

As we go through life, we need things that are fun to play with, and Roomba is one of them.

torsoboy · Dec 26, 2007, 11:53 PM

Originally Posted by RAILhead

So how do you get it to clean EVERY room? Do you have to pick it up, tote to a room, let it go, and hope it stays in there before moving on?

Most people with many rooms to clean buy multiple Roombas and each of them clean 2-3 rooms (with lighthouse technology).

funkboy · Dec 27, 2007, 01:18 AM

For people with multiple floors, I've heard of people with a Roomba per floor...

turtle777 · Dec 28, 2007, 02:51 AM

Originally Posted by RAILhead

So how do you get it to clean EVERY room? Do you have to pick it up, tote to a room, let it go, and hope it stays in there before moving on?

I do separate Roomba runs, one for the office, one for the living room / kitchen, and one for the bed room / hallway.

-t

Kerrigan · 03:24 AM

I have never actually cleaned anything. I have a fleet of roombas (23) that clean my cookie cutter mansion. Whenever my furniture smells funny, I just pour febreeze on it. I only buy paper dishes and chuck them out of the window, where my Robomow chops them up into confetti while it mows my lawn 24/7.

I have never had to work either, because I have a fake website that generates google ad revenue and a macro refreshes it 900,000 times a day. I make $250k/year.

See, modern inventions have taken care of everything.

RAILhead · Dec 28, 2007, 08:29 AM

Uhh...okay.

Were you in Drama Club in High School by any chance?

itai195 · Dec 29, 2007, 03:51 PM

Late to this thread...

I bought my wife one of the new roombas for Christmas and it is great. Yes, it does get stuck sometimes, you do have to clean it every couple days, and it doesn't totally eliminate the need for a more thorough vacuuming/mopping. However it keeps our floor pretty clean throughout the week and I haven't seen any tumbleweeds of cat fur blowing around since we got it, so it's definitely an improvement for us. I haven't tried it much on carpet yet, but it does seem to clean our area rug pretty well. We have a pretty large, open, but oddly shaped downstairs area and I have it clean 5 days a week while we're gone. It hasn't gotten stuck on any door jambs, power cords, or rug fringes but it does sometimes die before making it back home.

RAILhead · Dec 29, 2007, 04:01 PM

Was it the 580 model?

MallyMal · 07:04 PM

Why am I envisioning one of these guys jumping out from behind your couch and shooting your Roomba?

itai195 · Dec 29, 2007, 06:41 PM

Originally Posted by RAILhead

Was it the 580 model?

I bought the 560. IIRC all it's missing is the remote.

turtle777 · Dec 29, 2007, 10:49 PM

Originally Posted by itai195

Yes, it does get stuck sometimes

My Roomba has gotten stuck ONCE in about 9 months, running about 3-4 times a week. Is your room so cluttered ?

-t

Cold Warrior · Dec 29, 2007, 10:55 PM

Im in ur carpet, clogging ur Roombaz.

turtle777 · Dec 29, 2007, 11:05 PM

Oh, btw, there is a really good Roomba / Scooba forum out there:

Roomba, Scooba, Looj and iRobot Verro Community - Roomba Review

A lot of knowledgeable people, good tips and stuff.

-t