Robot Vacuum and financial decisions/justification

[ktgrok]

So, we now have twice the square footage. We have 6 pets - the dogs are 55-95 pounds each, two have longer hair, one is part husky so you can picture that shedding, and then we have 3 shedding short hair cats. 

I have ADHD and tend to not notice dirt - I'm like that woman who has the Slob Comes Clean podcast/book. 

When we moved out of the old house I was HORRIFIED by the dirt/hair in corners, under furniture, etc. Plus we all have allergies (not to pets), and my niece is allergic to cats so would like to keep up on vacuuming for when she comes over. (she used to have a cat, so not horrid allergies as long as she doesn't pet the cat, but still)

The dogs are not allowed upstairs, where the carpet is, as they decided when we moved in that it was "indoor grass" and were pooping on it. Plus, just don't want to deal with them on the carpet. One cat goes upstairs a lot, one sometimes, one never. 

Downstairs is tile and vinyl (wood plank style LVT). 

I have an ANCIENT roomba (500 series, they don't make it anymore) that I've been using downstairs, but it can only do one section without needing to recharge and me dump the bin. And it is the "dumb" kind that bounces around randomly so takes forever to clean a large room, and recently got stuck on my elderly dog's tail. I also need a new side brush and am not sure I can even get one, will have to check. 

I'd like to upgrade to something much "smarter" and therefore faster, with a self emptying bin. Otherwise I'm back to manually doing one room/section at a time so I can empty the bin. 

To buy the newest Roomba with obstacle avoidance (can detect cords, dog poop, etc in real time) with the auto empty bin is 699 right now (on sale, up to nearly 900 elsewhere). OR they have a "membership" where you basically lease one, for $29 a month with a 2 yr commitment. That membership includes using a brand new robot (if you stop paying the robot stops running) but also replacement bags for the autoempty thing, filters, etc which are automatically sent to you before you need them, PLUS a "VIP" warranty that includes accidental damage - so if we break it we get it repaired or a new one sent for free. After two years you will pay about the same as the purchase price, but you have to keep paying since you don't own it. that's the "con". On the "pro" side it includes that warranty, vs me buying similar warranty on square trade for a hefty sum. 

I'm honestly looking at it as sort of like paying a housekeeper, more than buying a vacuum. Am I crazy to be justifying this? The thing can map multiple floors so I could move it upstairs a few times a week, or just retire the old dumb roomba to upstairs. The spaces are smaller up there, so it being "dumb" doesn't matter as much if I'm just doing a room at a time. 

There are cheaper ones, but not with the same level of obstacle avoidance or not with the auto empty bin. 

But $29 a month to pay someone/something to vacuum for me seems reasonable, even if I don't end up owning the vacuum at the end of it. 

Discuss!

[Carrie12345]

i don’t think you’re crazy at all.
(Says the woman with a robot vacuum, hand vacuum, and two cordless vacs for 1100sf, no kids in single digits, and no shedding pets at the moment. Plus a regular carpet cleaner and a steam machine despite only 2 carpeted bedrooms. AND a shop vac that comes out fairly regularly.)

I can’t wait to shop for a new/additional robot vac!

[JustEm]

I personally don't enter into contracts that have multi year commitments. So, for me it would be either buy it outright or don't buy it. And I have had two Roombas that have died within the first year of use so I am not a fan of them. But I don't have experience with the model you want

[Bambam]

To me, the only way to save money is not to spend it on things that are not absolutely necessary. 
You have a vacuum (didn't you have another post about buying a new one for this house?) - so set up a schedule. You vacuum on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Your 9 yo vacuums on Tuesday and Friday. The 8 yo vacuums on Wednesday. The 21 yo vacuums on Saturdays.  This is also useful in you are teaching your children how to keep the home clean. 

[Guest]

Under the conditions of your home, I would do the rental. I have had Roombas since…I don’t know, 2003? And the aggravating things are 1) emptying, 2) setting up the room, and 3) maintaining the thing over years. It would be hard for me to consider spending so much to own it but the rental seems worth it to me. After a few years, they need maintenance and work poorly compared to an upgrade. Seems better to me to not have to ever worry about disposal/who wants it. 

[ktgrok]

45 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

I personally don't enter into contracts that have multi year commitments. So, for me it would be either buy it outright or don't buy it. And I have had two Roombas that have died within the first year of use so I am not a fan of them. But I don't have experience with the model you want

Actually, the dying thing is sort of what appeals about the rental/membership/whatever option - if it isn't working they send a new one or fix it. 

[ktgrok]

26 minutes ago, Bambam said:

To me, the only way to save money is not to spend it on things that are not absolutely necessary. 
You have a vacuum (didn't you have another post about buying a new one for this house?) - so set up a schedule. You vacuum on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Your 9 yo vacuums on Tuesday and Friday. The 8 yo vacuums on Wednesday. The 21 yo vacuums on Saturdays.  This is also useful in you are teaching your children how to keep the home clean. 

Not a bad plan! It definitely needs to be vacuumed daily, Roomba does better under all the furniture than we can, but having everyone help is a good plan. The cordless vacuum I got was specifically so they can help with vacuuming more, in fact. 

[JustEm]

Just now, ktgrok said:

Actually, the dying thing is sort of what appeals about the rental/membership/whatever option - if it isn't working they send a new one or fix it. 

I understand that.  But at the end of the 2 years you do not own the vacuum and only get to keep using it if you continue paying. If you don't have faith that a vacuum has at least a 2 year life expectancy it isn't a vacuum worth spending your money on whether it is owned or rented

[marbel]

Aer you comfortable committing to $700 for 2 years use of a vacuum?  Would you buy a $700 vacuum that you knew you would only be able to use for 2 years?

I do agree that the fact that they will repair the thing if it breaks during the term is very attractive.  If I had the amount of floor you have, and the challenges of all that pet hair + young children, I'd probably consider it if the product was very good and useful to me, and it freed up time better used on other necessary tasks/activities (homeschooling, earning $$, exercise, other homemaking tasks). 

[PeterPan]

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

buy the newest Roomba with obstacle avoidance (can detect cords, dog poop, etc in real time) with the auto empty bin is 699 right now

I would just buy the newest Roomba. In fact, buy two! Instead of paying for a lease and not owning it at the end, buy two. That way you can clean your new big house twice as fast.

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

I'm honestly looking at it as sort of like paying a housekeeper, more than buying a vacuum.

Yes, the roomba is cheaper than a housekeeper and a great investment. But why the lease? I don't see the advantage. 

You don't need the warranty either. It's a hearty little device that survives fine and they know you aren't likely to end up needing to make a claim. Use that money instead to buy two new roombas.

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

retire the old dumb roomba to upstairs. The spaces are smaller up there, so it being "dumb" doesn't matter as much if I'm just doing a room at a time. 

While you could do this, you would be happier with a new one. New house, new roomba. You're at a very busy stage of life and you'd like the convenience to set it and have ALL the upstairs get clean, shazam. Sell the old one to someone who will be blissfully happy to have it.

 

[MeaganS]

I bought a Roborock vacuum a few months ago. It is a smart one we can control with an app (set up zones, see where it vacuumed, etc) and it works really well. I have an old roomba and an old cheap off-brand one as well. We have a fairly large house that is all on one floor. This new Roborock can do about 3000sqft on a charge. I'm thrilled with it. And it cost $350 on sale. There was a version with a self-emptying bin that was $100 more. Dd5 has the daily chore of emptying the roombas, so that didn't tempt me.

So I would say, the roomba rental service wasn't worth it to me, although I did look into it. I could buy 2 of ours for the cost of 2 years. 😊

Edited November 16, 2021 by MeaganS

[Ellie]

1 hour ago, Quill said:

Under the conditions of your home, I would do the rental. I have had Roombas since…I don’t know, 2003? And the aggravating things are 1) emptying, 2) setting up the room, and 3) maintaining the thing over years. It would be hard for me to consider spending so much to own it but the rental seems worth it to me. After a few years, they need maintenance and work poorly compared to an upgrade. Seems better to me to not have to ever worry about disposal/who wants it. 

I guess I'm not the only one who does that. 🙂 I pick up throw rugs, chairs (because I know the robovac can clean around them, but then there are small unvac'd spots all over the floor. I have 8 dining room chairs.), and the kitchen trash can. Also, my robovac keeps getting stuck under the sofa. I've tried putting little cork pads under the sofa feet to raise it up just enough, but it still gets stuck...sometimes. My next move is to get pool noodles and put them on all sides. I don't let it do my office because it runs out of juice. And it takes over an hour to do 1000 sq. ft., because back and forth and back and forth.

[prairiewindmomma]

Vacuuming the floor is a start, but you also need to be vacuuming the furniture and dusting the house to keep the pet hair under control. I think it’s a gap in thinking to think this = a cheap housekeeper. It doesn’t. It only solves the hair on the floor issue. It doesn’t solve the hair everywhere else issue. You need to be setting aside time to vacuum the furniture, dust, etc. in addition to the other cleaning. 
 

Six pets and six people in a house is a lot. I think I would focus more on making sure you’re booking time into your schedule for cleaning and having your kids participate also. For us, cooking, dishes, laundry and cleaning totals 2.5-3.5 hours a day. I can weave some tasks around other things, but there really is a fair bit of time that I have to set aside to keep up with things. 
 

I would work on the rest of that cleaning plan and then think about the Roomba.

[gardenmom5]

1dd has the snazzie programable one. (they can see where it's been on the mapping program on the phone.   they (1ds lives with her while, he's finishing his MS) actually have two - one for upstairs, one for downstairs.  1ds has been installed smart switches (programmable on his phone) to go with the smart light bulbs he bought so the roomba can see when it goes at 3am.  (they're both nerds.)

her medium dogs have hair - not fur.

 

[marbel]

Another thing about repairing or replacing it if it breaks - what is the down time with that?  Are they getting a new one to you within a day or two, or are you sending the broken one out and waiting for it to come back? If there is a wait, are they extending your term to account for it?  

I'm just thinking, if the thing breaks and it's gone for 2 weeks being repaired, that increases your cost/use. Maybe over 2 years it wouldn't amount to much; I don't know how reliable they are.  Would you be getting a new unit, or a reconditioned one? 

[Scarlett]

I would not do the rental even though it sounds appealing at first.  I have a Eufy that was a gift and it works really well IMO.  I am trying to use it daily because of the pet hair and we only have 2 dogs and one cat.  

I currently have the Eufy and a Shark corded and a Bissell corded.  I am really really focusing on using what I have instead of buying new.  You just bought a new cordless right?  Try using it on a very set schedule of daily.  I haven't got to daily yet.....but I am close.  It is just a habit I never had before but I realize I need it because of the extra pets.  

Maybe buy yourself a new robot vacuum in a few months.  And look at less expensive brands....and decide if you really really need self emptying and all that.  

[Soror]

I'm not a fan of renting anything, especially not something like a small appliance. If I was buying something I'd look into one that has a better warranty or purchasing a separate warranty. We have been trying to buy things that are known to have a longer lifespan, that saves me time buying and replacing it and saves things from the landfill. :Disclaimer: I only own1 corded vacuum cleaner. I detest the idea that more and more things are seen as necessities. So, I'd vote no- it is justifying a want as a need. 

[JustEm]

Also, if you are viewing it as a cheap maid then that still holds water if you buy it so that shouldn't be in the pro list for leasing it. So, really you want to lease it for the peace of mind if it does break.  And for me that just comes back to if I can't trust a vacuum will work for 2 years I'm not spending money on it period

[Clarita]

I've thought about getting a roomba, but I'm so bad at cleaning that really I need a housekeeper. A housekeeper will pick up your clutter and put it somewhere to vacuum the floors. The roomba I still have to prep the room and after the room prep I might as well vacuum myself. I do have a scooba that I do like and use (but again still struggle using it with a tight routine). 

If I were to get the roomba I'd just buy it out right. Same as with posters above if a vacuum breaks within 2 yrs or if those replacement bags are going to be that much money it's not worth it either way. 

[ktgrok]

3 hours ago, PeterPan said:

I would just buy the newest Roomba. In fact, buy two! Instead of paying for a lease and not owning it at the end, buy two. That way you can clean your new big house twice as fast.

 

Buying 2 is not in the budget right now. Buying one is a stretch, with the holidays, two houses still, etc. 

3 hours ago, Ellie said:

I guess I'm not the only one who does that. 🙂 I pick up throw rugs, chairs (because I know the robovac can clean around them, but then there are small unvac'd spots all over the floor. I have 8 dining room chairs.), and the kitchen trash can. Also, my robovac keeps getting stuck under the sofa. I've tried putting little cork pads under the sofa feet to raise it up just enough, but it still gets stuck...sometimes. My next move is to get pool noodles and put them on all sides. I don't let it do my office because it runs out of juice. And it takes over an hour to do 1000 sq. ft., because back and forth and back and forth.

The newer ones with LIDAR are much faster - more like 20 minutes instead of an hour, supposedly. Also a huge appeal to upgrading. 

[ktgrok]

 I looked at Roborock, and like theirs, but only one of them has obstacle avoidance, and that one doesn't have a self emptying bin. And the obstacle avoidance is how it will not attack my elderly dog, lol. (plus avoid cords, etc...but not attacking my poor old dog is a huge plus). 

At least, I think that is what i need. Maybe regular LIDAR would notice the dog? I will contact the companies and find out!

[TechWife]

I’m on team roomba. Being able to schedule the vacuum is fantastic. We run it three times each week.  Our house hold is hard floor almost everywhere, three adults, two cats, asthma and dust allergies. 

[PeterPan]

59 minutes ago, Clarita said:

I'm so bad at cleaning that really I need a housekeeper. A housekeeper will pick up your clutter and put it somewhere to vacuum the floors.

I found that when I got the roomba it made that process easier. I prep one room (pick up, swiffer dust, etc.) while the roomba is running in another. So basically I've cloned myself. If I had two roombas, I could get even more done! 

Having the messes on the floor is a kid thing, a strategy thing. It doesn't do much good to pay someone to do what your kids need to learn to do. I get it, cuz my ds13 covers every rug in my house (and I'm not kidding) with all kinds of lego/playmobil/kapla block creations that are so cool that he does NOT want to take them down. So I get the battle. But really, that's a mental health, we're really going to do this, have a routine and just plan it and do it thing. 

 

[PeterPan]

13 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

Buying 2 is not in the budget right now. Buying one is a stretch, with the holidays, two houses still, etc. 

The newer ones with LIDAR are much faster - more like 20 minutes instead of an hour, supposedly. Also a huge appeal to upgrading. 

Ooo wow, fast is good! Do they have an inbetween model without the auto empty but with the speed, etc.? I shake out my filter every time to make it last longer, so to me the auto empty wouldn't be decisive.

And yes, if money is tight just buy it and be done with it, no lease. I have a friend with that model and dogs and she loves it. Mine is a dumb version from several years ago. It's the bomb on solid surface floors. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by PeterPan

[Acadie]

I'm not weighing in with an opinion so much as a question--is there an option to buy the Roomba you want with a good warranty?

We had to replace a couple basement dehumidifiers that were supposed to be good quality, and finally realized that this was one appliance where  purchasing the warranty really made sense. Naturally, that's the dehumidifier that has lasted 8 years and counting...

 

[MeaganS]

Yeah, I actually find that having the Roombas makes my life so much cleaner. When we have them, every night before bed we do a quick straightening up as a family. It takes 5 mins or so. We call it getting "Roomba Ready." Then we run them right when everyone goes to our rooms at night. It keeps our house straightened up so much better than when we aren't using the Roombas and I don't have the motivation to pick up nightly (like when we were remodeling our kitchen and our house was chaos for a year). 

The Roborock I have has LIDAR and it is awesome, especially compared to our old bouncy ones. This is a pic of what it did last night. You can see how straight its lines are and that it can see the obstacles (like our sectional and kitchen chairs). But yeah, it doesn't have emptying bin. We run it nightly and have to empty it every 3 days or so. But I do have my 5yo do it and she loves doing it, so not a huge issue for us. She is also in charge of returning the vacuums to their charging stations if they get stuck somewhere. We have no pets so the only hair is from the 5 females of the house, so I'm not sure if dog hair would significantly increase how often it needs to be emptied.

I will say, I don't think it is faster. As you can see, it took 2 hours to do about 1150sqft. But it is much more efficient in the time it did run. It covers every inch it can reach in that time rather than wasting battery bouncing about. So you could probably get away with running it less often. All that to say, you may not need the top of the line Roomba. A less expensive option might do what you're looking for. It's definitely worth researching.

Edited November 16, 2021 by MeaganS

[DreamerGirl]

We have two roombas. One for upstairs, one for downstairs.

We even bought one of those exclusive moping ones.

We have wood and tile.

2 adults, 2 kids, no pets.

Before that DH and I were cleaning, sweeping, mopping by hand. We had maid service come regularly, say once in 3-6 months.

We were diligent.

We do believe in teaching children. Sweeping, mopping and so on. Just like we teach them to hand wash though we are very much dishwasher users. Our kids have chores. But for both DH's and my sanity because taking care of an almost 3000 sq feet house was taking up time, we bought them. 

We still have to dust from top to bottom, bathrooms to wash and so on. Having a Roomba is not a free pass on housework or even not teaching kids chores. It just lessens one more thing you have to do and even when we clean much of it is done for you. Just like owning a dishwasher does not spare one from even hand washing dishes.

Our house is not perfect, but cleaning is manageable. Pre-roomba, occasional maid service. Post Roomba. No. It has been very much livable though we live here 24/7.

Now if someone could invent a dusting robot....

 

[ktgrok]

23 minutes ago, MeaganS said:

Yeah, I actually find that having the Roombas makes my life so much cleaner. When we have them, every night before bed we do a quick straightening up as a family. It takes 5 mins or so. We call it getting "Roomba Ready." Then we run them right when everyone goes to our rooms at night. It keeps our house straightened up so much better than when we aren't using the Roombas and I don't have the motivation to pick up nightly (like when we were remodeling our kitchen and our house was chaos for a year). 

The Roborock I have has LIDAR and it is awesome, especially compared to our old bouncy ones. This is a pic of what it did last night. You can see how straight its lines are and that it can see the obstacles (like our sectional and kitchen chairs). But yeah, it doesn't have emptying bin. We run it nightly and have to empty it every 3 days or so. But I do have my 5yo do it and she loves doing it, so not a huge issue for us. She is also in charge of returning the vacuums to their charging stations if they get stuck somewhere. We have no pets so the only hair is from the 5 females of the house, so I'm not sure if dog hair would significantly increase how often it needs to be emptied.

I will say, I don't think it is faster. As you can see, it took 2 hours to do about 1150sqft. But it is much more efficient in the time it did run. It covers every inch it can reach in that time rather than wasting battery bouncing about. So you could probably get away with running it less often.

Not sure how the size bins compare, but with my old fashioned roomba I have to empty the bin pretty much every time it does a room. So it is doing my family room now, and I am sure it will need to be emptied after that (and need to be charged) before it can do say, the living room. So unless they are bigger than before I don't think it could do the whole downstairs without manual emptying of the bin. 

My main love of robot vacuums is getting UNDER the bookcases, console tables, etc. Those places that fur hides when I vacuum by hand, only to roll back out in tumble weeds when my back is turned 10 minutes later, lol. It also gets edges SO nicely. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by ktgrok

[Scarlett]

I am going to stop reading this thread because it is making me want to get an upgrade! LOL

[PeterPan]

29 minutes ago, ktgrok said:

getting UNDER the bookcases, console tables, etc.

I have a sofa that the roomba won't go under, so I use a swiffer fully extended there. But that's hard flooring, not carpet.

[Clarita]

6 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Having the messes on the floor is a kid thing, a strategy thing. It doesn't do much good to pay someone to do what your kids need to learn to do.

In this household it's not just a kid thing. The strategy part we've been working on. Our current house cleaner doesn't put our stuff away. She puts all our clutter into a box so she can clean our house and we have to take the stuff from that box and put it away. 

The joke in our house is cleaning isn't rocket science; if it were it'd be easier.

[TechWife]

6 hours ago, PeterPan said:

I have a sofa that the roomba won't go under, so I use a swiffer fully extended there. But that's hard flooring, not carpet.

Maybe this will help - we put our couch on the felt furniture sliders. It raises it up about 1/3” and the roomba has clearance. We did this for the couch in the living room (on laminate) and the sectional in our home theater (on carpet).

When we ordered some new furniture earlier this year, roomba clearance was one of our criteria when we picked the legs for the furniture. It’s doable. 

[ktgrok]

10 hours ago, TechWife said:

Maybe this will help - we put our couch on the felt furniture sliders. It raises it up about 1/3” and the roomba has clearance. We did this for the couch in the living room (on laminate) and the sectional in our home theater (on carpet).

When we ordered some new furniture earlier this year, roomba clearance was one of our criteria when we picked the legs for the furniture. It’s doable. 

Yes, we are shopping for new couches and I said flat out I will only consider stuff Roomba can get under, lol. 

[TechWife]

3 hours ago, ktgrok said:

Yes, we are shopping for new couches and I said flat out I will only consider stuff Roomba can get under, lol. 

FYI - Lexington scales their furniture. You can get higher legs without also raising the seat height. We are getting a Bristol sofa from them.

 

[TechWife]

I received an email from irobot today - they are starting their Black Friday Sale already.