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Odd topic - robot vacuums - has anyone tried them?

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
I have no energy to vacuum. I do sweep areas with a broom but I am so frustrated looking at my floors and walking on crunchy stuff. Some of the newer robot vacuums seem more reasonably priced but I still don't want to pay for something if it doesn't work well.

Do any of you have one of these? How do they work? One reviewer mentioned the noise too since these take longer to do a room and I am somewhat noise sensitive.

Plus, if they are frustrating, I'll just stick with the broom. Any suggestions?

(I have mostly hard floors with one 5x7 rug in the living area.)
 

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
You know, I just looked at that thread and it dates back to Dec 2016.

There are a lot more models on the market now. (I can't believe how many new brands there are.) Has anyone an update on any of the newer cheaper models?
 

panckage

Senior Member
Messages
777
Location
Vancouver, BC
I have an old roomba in a 1 bedroom apartments. Works pretty good... But would not recommend if you have multiple floors or lots of cords and stuff on the ground. In that case I think it's more hassle than it's worth. Basically your place has to be set up properly for it to work well
 

Snowdrop

Rebel without a biscuit
Messages
2,933
You know, I just looked at that thread and it dates back to Dec 2016.

There are a lot more models on the market now. (I can't believe how many new brands there are.) Has anyone an update on any of the newer cheaper models?

Yes. Sometimes new technology does progress and updates may work better but sometimes a model a few years old has proved itself if it still works well and can be cheaper. And sometimes the price goes down with newer models for a time as the tech becomes easier to manufacture.
I don't have one myself.
 

Shoshana

Northern USA
Messages
6,035
Location
Northern USA
I have heard, that If you have a cat, it might scare the poor thing to death. :p:D

Also, I too, think that you must have all the floor space clear of stuff, wide open spaces work best, is what I heard.

But I do not have one, either, so I do not know what I am talking about, I admit. I just wanted to add my 2 cents . ;):D

:cat::woot::jaw-drop::nervous:

:D:rofl: I guess my 2 cents worth is worth about..... 2 cents! :)
Those vacuums do sound wonderful, if they do work!
:hug:
 

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
I like your 2 cents!! http://cnycentral.com/news/offbeat/man-cashes-in-on-pennies-collected-over-40-years

See!!! All this helpful input makes us rich!! so thank you, @Shoshana and everyone else who is responding!!!:D

I too think the robot vacs would be super to have if they work but don't want the added hassle if I have to babysit the thing. (Guess, I'll wait a little while.)



:)( No kitties anymore...but I wish. After our last one died I've visited some humane societies website almost everyday but this awful disease means I only have enough energy to take care of mom and me in semi-survival mode which is really disappointing because we've had cats most of my life.:cat::cat:)
 
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BadBadBear

Senior Member
Messages
571
Location
Rocky Mountains
I have one, works pretty well. You do have to keep stuff picked up. :) My medical records are in a binder so no worry of Hoovering them up.

The cats and dogs are OK with it. No one has died, except the older Roomba after a few years of cleaning up Aussie dog fuzz.

They do take a fair amount of maintenance if you have pets in the house - the dust bin is small and fills up quickly. As well, pay mind to the idea that some will NOT work on dark colored carpet. The Roomba will NOT work on my rug that has dark grey colors in it. They are fairly unintelligent that way. There are hacks to get around that, but too much trouble for my purposes.
 
Messages
71
Location
Metro Atlanta, Ga
@Judee, I Have an Ilife 4 vacuum and I love it...and yes I have a cat. He got used to it fairly quickly. I only use it about once a week. I mainly vacuum the kit, dining, living room, hallway area and close the bedroom and bathroom doors. From time to time I pick up the bathroom and close the door letting it clean there awhile.

I like it also because it 'sees' dust and cat hair, also my long hair that I don't see. It's not loud, more like a low hum. I don't mind emptying out the dust pan and cleaning the brush each week, a little job I can do sitting ( down.

The company has been great. The first one did not work right. It stopped wanting to do my area rugs (I have vinyl floors) but the company said not to worry , they would make it right and they did..sent me a new one and it has been fine for the last 6 or 8 months. Cost me $185.00
 
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Runner5

Senior Member
Messages
323
Location
PNW
I started wearing socks everywhere in my house and not going barefoot because of the crunchy gross stuff on my floors. My super OCD clean ancestors are rolling in their graves, but I just really don't have the energy to tackle anything but necessities lately. If you get one, give us an update, I would like to know how it works for you. :D
 

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
Oh, I wear slippers with plasticky rubber bottoms so unfortunately, I can hear and feel the crunching. :depressed::confused:
A lady at work once said, "I bet your house is spotless." I said, "Nooooo. I wish. I'm a neat-nic wannabe."
So I must at least give the impression of being OCD clean but it is all a smoke and mirror illusion thanks to ME/CFS.

I will let you know if I get one though. Thanks for making me feel better. It is forever nice to know I'm not the only one with this issue. :)
 

overtheedge

Senior Member
Messages
258
Having a robovac has made my life easier for sure, I got a Rollibot type two years ago, had good reviews, has little sweeper things around the front to collect stuff from spots it cant get into, but the main reason I chose it at the time was because of the UV light it has on its bottom to kill microbes. Don't know now how much that is really worth now though. I've never used a roomba so cant compare. Only have my own room to clean and only run it every month or so but my room doesn't seem to build up too much dust. Have to clean out the robovacs dust chamber about halfway through running it sometimes as it can fill up with filth and be unable to collect anymore.

Wish there were a good robot mopper but last time I checked there wasn't
 
Messages
90
Yes! We have a Eufy Robovac (about $200). It's "dumber" than a Roomba, and therefore cheaper, but it rates just as highly in terms of suction power and it's apparently the quietest one on the market. Because it just wanders around randomly rather than learning about your house layout, it can end up "obsessing" over one spot and skipping whole rooms, so it works best if someone is keeping and eye on it and redirects now and then.

It works well in our 2 bedroom apartment, which is all on one level and has wooden floors. I'm a bit of a neat freak, so my apartment is usually uncluttered. I just have to be careful that it doesn't choke on the cat toys. It's been great for my dust allergy!