Roomba Irobot Cleaners under consideration

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gnfb

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#184064 9-Nov-2015 12:41

Thinking of buying a secondhand Roomba or RD2 vacum if thats what they are called

Hit me with the relevant

to be used in a small 1 level apartment

Which USED models are good / bad

pitfalls

cheers

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RogerMellie

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#1423646 9-Nov-2015 12:50

I wouldn't bother - you still have to empty and clean them. Used to have one, it was forever getting stuck or going over the same spot again and again.

I believe the tech has improved and it may well (ideally) learn & remember the layout of your apartment, but AFAIK my first point still stands. You still have to empty and clean the bastids, and it pays to be fastidious about it (taking the rollers and brushes out) as otherwise they can be pricey to repair.

meesham

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#1423652 9-Nov-2015 13:05

RogerMellie: I wouldn't bother - you still have to empty and clean them. Used to have one, it was forever getting stuck or going over the same spot again and again.

I believe the tech has improved and it may well (ideally) learn & remember the layout of your apartment, but AFAIK my first point still stands. You still have to empty and clean the bastids, and it pays to be fastidious about it (taking the rollers and brushes out) as otherwise they can be pricey to repair.

I agree with this, ours just sits in the cupboard now and we use a normal vacuum cleaner.

davidcole

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#1423664 9-Nov-2015 13:12

Was a personal bug bear of mine that they didn't empty themselves. But I noticed in harvey normans the other day one that went into a dock that seemed to suck the waste out....now we're talking.

I don't believe it was a roomba but another brand.

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Kickinbac

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#1424285 10-Nov-2015 12:24

I heard a story about these recently, don't know if its true or not but seems plausible but apparently a cat crapped inside and the robot vacuum cleaner spread the mess throughout the house!
It's kinda funny unless it happened to you. The reason I heard about the story was straight after RWC final we found a trail of cat poo trodden through our carpet by little miss 4 year old. We reckon all the yahooing and shouting caused our cat to crap itself inside (never done it before) which was then stood in and distributed. My rugby world cup victory celebration involved cleaning carpet! One of our guests mentioned the robot vacuum story.

jmh

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#1424293 10-Nov-2015 12:34

I have a Roomba and have used it periodically on and off. First, it doesn't get the floor as clean as other cleaners I have used, e.g a dyson. Second, you have to pick everything up off the floor for it to cover the area. Sounds silly until you recall that you use the vacuum cleaner nozzle to move stuff around. Also, it can be temperamental. Google around and you will find a lot of people with breakdowns. Having said this the European support (I was in the UK at the time) was superb and I got a brand new replacement. Not sure if this is the case in NZ.

One benefit is that it does get under most beds easily, and I like that you can leave it and go into another room. It's quite noisy though if you are trying to watch TV while it runs.

Final benefit - it's really funny watching the cat/dog wonder what the hell is going on.

If you are the sort of person who doesn't leave stuff on the floor, get the one with a timer to come on every day. In a small flat/apartment that would probably be a good solution. It could run just before you get home from work. Also, I would recommend new, so you can get a warranty. I think the risk of break down is probably quite high. Other brands might be different - I haven't looked into those.

SQLGeek

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#1424361 10-Nov-2015 13:26

I imported the iRobot 880 2 years ago. It’s been on a timer twice a week and works great.

It was especially good when we were in our small house, we have since moved to a 2 story house so just need to remember to move it upstairs and push go.

A cheap robot is never going to be as good as a human with a good vacuum. It’s all about reducing the work you need to do, it will not eliminate it.
When it eventually dies, I will buy another one as it’s been well worth it.

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reven

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#1424364 10-Nov-2015 13:29

I have a 780, love it. Yes you have to empty it, yes it occasionally gets caught/stuck somewhere (mine runs twice a week, and this happens maybe once every 3-4months). no it will not replace your vacuum, you will still need to do that (just not as often).