Rumba-do I want one?

[DawnM]

Do you have one?   What features do you like/need and why?

 

[BeachGal]

We broke down and bought a cheaper version, an Eufy, that vacuums willy nilly. Even though it doesn’t follow a set pattern, I love that thing.

I have it vacuum one room at a time. First, stuff on the floor gets moved up higher. Then I put the vacuum down and let it do its thing after closing the door. It is amazing how much stuff it picks up.
 

Pros: does a good job picking up dirt; super quiet!; charge lasts fairly long

Cons: it doesn’t do a set pattern but I’m okay with that

[regentrude]

We have a Eufy, but a fancier version than BeachGal has: ours does systematic lanes, goes around obstacles, returns to the spots it couldn't reach. It returns to its base when it's done. Was about $130if I recall; I wouldn't pay for a Roomba.

We have cats and love the robot vacuum. It's scary to see how much hair and crumbs it picks up.

Edited November 15, 2023 by regentrude

[Grace Hopper]

Every few years I consider one, but haven’t actually gotten one yet. How does the Eufy do along edges and under beds?

[regentrude]

7 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

Every few years I consider one, but haven’t actually gotten one yet. How does the Eufy do along edges and under beds?

Great. It has this little brush sticking out of the side and it turns, so it cleans edges wrll. It goes under my bed and under the lowest shelves which I raised so it can fit.

The only trouble spot are the kitchen cabinets that protrude but the gap is slightly too narrow and the eufy gets stuck.

[rebcoola]

We have an older one and I like it.  Based on what Ive seen the only newer feature I would want would be self emptying and that's mostly because we have a large house with 2 dogs. It wasn't a problem at our old small house.

[JustEm]

So, I have had 2 Roombas in the past and both broke within the first year of owning.  Luckily, I got full refunds.  I really did love them when they worked.  So much so, that when my really old vacuum broke last month I told my dh I was giving Roomba one last try.  This is mainly because we will be ripping up our carpet soon and laying wood flooring soon. If I still had carpet it wouldn't be worth it since it just doesn't seem to do a deep enough clean for my liking. 

This time we got a self emptying one and I'm so much more in love with it. I'm really hoping it survives because I don't know anyone else who has had such big issues with theirs.

[klmama]

How does self-emptying work?  

[katilac]

15 hours ago, BeachGal said:

We broke down and bought a cheaper version, an Eufy, that vacuums willy nilly. Even though it doesn’t follow a set pattern, I love that thing.

Same! Except mine is a Yeedi; it was less than $100, 

It doesn't matter where it goes, there is always dirt and fur to pick up. 

It doesn't completely replace vacuuming with an upright, but it helps one heck of a lot. I would be big mad if I bought an expensive one and it didn't do a good job or broke quickly, so this mix works for us. 

[Lady Florida.]

I have this one and love it. I've had a Neato, a cheap Roomba, and a self emptying smart Shark. None of them compare to my current Roomba i7+. It mapped quickly and easily (something that the Shark didn't do), I can set virtual no go zones on the app so there's no need for magnetic strips or barriers. I can also set favorites either for individual rooms or by grouping several rooms/areas. I don't use the schedule feature but it's there. It cleans well, has a feature where it goes back and forth over areas that have more dirt, and gets edges. The app lets me know when a filter or bag needs to be changed and shows the cleaning history. Overall, I'm really happy with it. 

ETA: It works with both Alexa and Google.

Edited November 15, 2023 by Lady Florida.

[gardenmom5]

1ds and 1dd each have the snazzy version.  They like them very much.  they're both geeks, and you can program them from their phones.  They will map, the house, and you can look it up.  They have a dock, and will park themselves for charging or dumping dirt.  They're programmed to prowl during the wee hours.

 

I had a cheaper one years ago, and it struggled to go from the hardwood to the carpet.   I'd be open to trying one again, dh doesn't want to.  Dh's concern is the number of table and chair legs. That my house is multiple levels is a bigger obstacle.  (1dd's is 2-story, and she has one on each floor.)
 
1ds currently just has a small apartment, but he likes not having to think about it.

[fairfarmhand]

Yes, op, you do want a roomba. It’s sorta like coming back to a hotel room and the maid has been there. I pick up rugs and cords before I leave and turn it on. 

Edited November 15, 2023 by fairfarmhand

[rebcoola]

Self emptying just has like a little garbage can looking thing on the charging dock so it can empty and go back to cleaning.  Obviously you have to empty the bin but it allows it to do largers spaces without it stopping somewhere because its full.

[klmama]

Thanks for the info. Our Roomba is quite old, but it still works well.  After it initially scraped some furniture legs, I did add the soft side of Velcro tape to it around the top and bottom edges to prevent further damage, and that has worked well.  

[historically accurate]

I bought myself a lower-end version with birthday money after waffling for years; it was 70ish?. I LOVE Mo - he has little brushes for whiskers that do the edges pretty well, and it does a fairly good job on our laminate floors (we don't have carpet). Middle DD runs him in a different room every morning.

[athena1277]

8 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

1ds and 1dd each have the snazzy version.  They like them very much.  they're both geeks, and you can program them from their phones.  They will map, the house, and you can look it up.  They have a dock, and will park themselves for charging or dumping dirt.  They're programmed to prowl during the wee hours.

 

I had a cheaper one years ago, and it struggled to go from the hardwood to the carpet.   I'd be open to trying one again, dh doesn't want to.  Dh's concern is the number of table and chair legs. That my house is multiple levels is a bigger obstacle.  (1dd's is 2-story, and she has one on each floor.)
 
1ds currently just has a small apartment, but he likes not having to think about it.

The table and chair legs is my concern too.  I need a mini version that can fit in the narrower spaces.

[Wildcat]

How do these little guys handle long hair? Does it get all wrapped up in a brush like with a regular vacuum cleaner or are they designed differently so it's not an issue?

Dh has said for years that I should get one but I worry about the long hair issue.

[JustEm]

33 minutes ago, Wildcat said:

How do these little guys handle long hair? Does it get all wrapped up in a brush like with a regular vacuum cleaner or are they designed differently so it's not an issue?

Dh has said for years that I should get one but I worry about the long hair issue.

It doesn't get wrapped op in the brush. It gets wrapped up next to the brushes on both sides so you pop the roller out and just slide the clump of hair off. It take roughly a minute

[Wildcat]

1 hour ago, hjffkj said:

It doesn't get wrapped op in the brush. It gets wrapped up next to the brushes on both sides so you pop the roller out and just slide the clump of hair off. It take roughly a minute

Ah, that doesn't sound too bad. Thanks.

[Anne]

How is the Rumba’s transition from hardwood to carpet?  I have hardwood everywhere, but I also have carpets everywhere…

Anne

[Lady Florida.]

1 hour ago, hjffkj said:

It doesn't get wrapped op in the brush. It gets wrapped up next to the brushes on both sides so you pop the roller out and just slide the clump of hair off. It take roughly a minute

Yes, this. It's easy to clean out the rollers and pop them back in.

5 minutes ago, Anne said:

How is the Rumba’s transition from hardwood to carpet?  I have hardwood everywhere, but I also have carpets everywhere…

Anne

I have both and it has no problem. You can tell by the sound that it "knows" whether it's on carpet or hardwood. Our bathrooms are tile and it handles them well too. It easily transitions from the wood in the hall to the carpet in our bedroom to the tile in the bathroom, and then back to carpet when it gets to the walk-in closet.

[Anne]

Thank you!  This is very helpful!

Anne