Roomba!

I got one for Christmas (okay, it was the ONLY thing I put on my Christmas list....), and I absolutely LOVE it!

Anyone else have one of these little guys? Right now it's vacuuming my family room which is a laborous task I would just dread - but now, I can't hardly wait to put that little guy down and watch him buzz around the room.

Anyone have Roomba stories? Also, does anyone have a Scooba? I'm thinking of putting that on my Birthday list....

What is a Roomba?

It's a robot vacuum cleaner. loads o'fun.

I would love one - but can't imagine what my dogs and cat would think about it/do to it!

I was thinking the same thing Tigg I can see my 12 pound dog chasing it all around the room, butt in the air and barking like mad!

it would scare the cr@p out of my cats, i am sure. which would be fun for me, i suppose...

I wonder if it would fall down the basement steps and break... how does it know when to stop?

It stops and changes direction when it runs into an obstacle; a wall, a door, leg of a chair. I think you have to put a child gate in front of an open staircase, not sure.

isn't vacuuming a chick's job?

fixed.

thanks, hg.

More on Roomba and stairs....

It's actually cooler than I initially posted.....

1. there are 'cliff sensors' in the front of the Roomba that prompt it to stop and back up.
2. if the cliff sensor fails, there's a 'wheel-drop' sensor that detects the wheel falling below a certain level.

and, there's an additional piece of equipment, a virtual wall broadcast unit...

I may have to go and get one of those... thanks for the info!

maybe you should just stick to your job and continue vacuuming with an upright model, stop looking for the easy way out

LOL @ peepers! I have a cleaning lady, but the cats shed all of the time.

A friend of mine has one. She loves it! Works well on her hardwood floors as well as the carpeted areas. They have a lab and it really helps with the dog hair issues.

However I think they're kind of pricey at around $200. Also, there is a 'Scuba' which mops your floors on it's own. Don't own either, but with 3 dogs could really use the Roomba every day.

Wasn't there a SNL skit that spoofed this product?

I was thinking it would be worth the $200. I have a lab as well and her shedding right now is out of control!

I really, really want one...but I'm sure my heeler, if not the other 3 would destroy it. Maybe if I only ran it why I could do guard duty.

I hadn't heard of the scuba...what a great idea! Although I'm having a bit of trouble wondering how it could possibly do much good with the need for clean water and empty of dirty...I would have to really see how that one operated, I think.

any ideas whether a batha is in the works? I could use one so I don't have to get out of bed in the morning

Check this out...it's a cat and the Roomba

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ-jv8g1YVI

Yep... hi...wait for it...larious!

I have had a Roomba for a couple of years. Just had to buy a new battery as mine quit recharging. But it is great! I have a slight problem with it getting hung up where I have a spot of tile in front of my back door. My carpet is pretty plush and sometimes it just doesn't want to make the climb back up so I usually block it off. Great for pet hair. I especially like it after my kids have been home with all their animals.

the Woomba!

This would almost be perfect for a single guy if it had a few more features such as the ability do laundry, clean the bathroom, etc.

I have both the Roomba and the Scooba. Roomba currently doesn't work - it just goes round and round in circles. I'm afraid to find out how much it'll cost to fix. I like how it goes under furniture, etc to get the dog hair, never liked emptying and cleaning it out. It seemed to take as long to unwind the hair from the brushes as it would have to just use the traditional vacuum.

I like the Scooba - it does a great job! Corners are challenging for it, and it's a little noisier than I would like, but the convenience (no brushes to clean!) is well worth it.

hmdagal, can you give us a little synopsis on how the scooba works?

There are 2 bins in the machine - one is for the cleaning solution (you have to buy a special one for it) and water. The other is for the dirty water. It picks up dirt and stuff, too, so you aren't supposed to have to sweep before you use it. I generally use it in my laundry/mud room, which has tons of pet hair, so I do a quick Swiffer (or vacuum) first. Then you set up your virtual walls if you need to and push the 'clean' button. It does it's thing - takes a couple of hours - then lets you know when it's done, so you can empty and rinse the dirty water bin.

I only plug in the charger when I know I'm going to be using it, because if you leave it plugged in the battery dies pretty quickly, and they're expensive to replace. I learned that lesson the hard way!

that would be the 'wife' attachment, but be careful, it comes with extra nagging

Yes, but the Woomba keeps your "business" clean.

"lady business"

is that "code"?

if you have to ask....

Love my Roomba! It took our dogs about two weeks to stop barking and snapping at it. Now they don't even notice it! There's a clip on the Internet with a cat riding a Roomba!

Maybe I shouldn't leave mine hooked up to the charger. Maybe that's what caused my battery to go dead!