Household robots

JonathanRyan

JonathanRyan

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Anybody using a Roomba/Scooba or similar? Do they actually work? Anything you wish you'd known before you bought them?
 
We have a very old Roomba. Must have had "him" for about 8 years. For me, it doesn't replace my vacuum cleaner or brush. I'll often still sweep floors but maybe get Roomba to give downstairs an extra going over when we go to bed or maybe just put him to work in the kids rooms.

Stripping down and cleaning brushes is something you need to do regularly. I have long hair that wraps around the brushes. It's quite good for just setting off before you go out for the day if you don't have motion sensitive alarms. Ours is old so I can't comment on a current model. I would love the mop version but we have underfloor heating so the water would dry up before it could be sucked up.

(Yes, we refer to Roomba as "he" or Roomba, even the kids use his name)
 
Although he's 8 years old, he's had parts replaced. I think we're on 2nd battery and a sensor strip was replaced. All easy enough to pickup on eBay and YouTube tutorials for talking you through repairs.
 
Thanks. I'm getting really suspicious that none of the brands have any kind of money back promise. Spend £500 to find out if they actually work or not :)
 
Not the sort of thing that I would get but would love to see what the cats made of it :D
 
We contacted a company, I have no idea who, about the mop version. They said we could return if it is was no good on our flooring but we decided against buying one.

They do work but your floor needs to be very clear. They can sometimes beach themselves. One day it'll happily cross the rug, another it will get stuck. But I went out earlier and it cleaned my living room, kitchen and out into my open plan hall/ diner and did there too. When I came back he was back on his dock charging.

Cats freak out at first, then just ignore it. Sadly our new kitten decided against riding on Roomba.
 
I love the way it stays on even though it hits the kitchen unit and jolts round.
 
We have had about 5-6 roombas over the years. Not because they kept breaking but the wife upgraded every time a new one came out.
Our current one we have had for a few years. Like has been said, it doesn't replace the vacuumn fully, but it certainly cuts down on the amount of times full vacuuming is needed.
The good thing with roomba is they are modular, so any part can be replaced if it does break. I need a new brush motor in mine as its starting to wear and has caused the front spinning brush to go a bit wobbly. About 2 minutes work to replace and about £20 for the part. Just had to buy a new battery too, but to be fair we stopped using the roomba for a long time and it was just sat there not being used.
We had one of the very first versions and they have certainly come a long way, but so has the price. Over £800 for the top of the line one now! Our first was about £250.
 
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