16 out of 16 people found this review helpful.
Doesn't clean well compared to a shop vac or Electrolux
Date of Review: Nov 12, 2007
The Bottom Line: I had high hopes that it would do a better job but if you just don't care that much, it's easier than vacuuming yourself.
Just about any vacuum (an inexpensive shop vac) will do a better job, but as traditional vacuums do, it requires you vacuum with it.
The iRobot cleans without you, for the most part. However, this most recent of versions bangs into all the furniture despite saying it won't, and it eats the tiny mini cords (but not the usual size ones for your TV, for example). It stops, hidden under a coach somewhere, saying "uhoh!" and you get to go chase it down and figure out where it is, since it only signals it's in trouble once. Once you figure where it's trouble points are (the tiny cords), you can use the lighthouses to keep it away from them. But then, you only have a pair of lighthouses, and so keeping the Roomba in one room is not an option if you use it to block it's access to cords or other "uhoh!" obstacles.
Right now it's making banging noises and this is the newest model, not supposed to charge into furniture. I purchased this from Costco, and I think it was $250 but may have been $299 ALTHOUGH I can't imagine spending that, I may have had a fit of crazed impulsive purchasing.
It needs cleaning after every vacuum. It can't get to corners, its tiny spinning brushes are more like dust swatters than brushes. I misses major spots in the open areas of the room. It doesn't clean tassels on my rugs at all, and I have two different wool rugs (one has tassles) and their deep colors show the dust/dirt/cat hair, and so after my cleaning lady comes, those are clean. Not so after iRobot. Even if I repeatedly spot clean the area, using the spot clean option on the machine. I'm considering setting up for daily cleaning, just to see if it can manage to clean the whole floor in a five day effort. It runs out of power after getting my livingroom/dining area sorta clean, but keep in mind my above stated issues with it. If you don't care about deep vacuuming the rug, this is a decent upkeep machine, so far. It is definitely better than nothing at all.
I can see where this would be great if you had no other options, and I'm trying it out as an "in-between" cleaning lady visits, since she visits twice monthly and I have fluffy cats. The vacuum seems to pick stuff up and get full, but it does an average job overall, like my ex-boyfriend did with dishes. I wouldn't eat off those things, I used to say they were "pre-caloried" for his convenience (he was always trying to gain weight). The Roomba leaves some vacuuming to be desired, so my cleaning lady will always feel needed.
