Finally a robot for the home thats affordable!
Written: Oct 27 '02 (Updated Oct 28 '02)
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Pros: Cool to watch, Useful, Roomba's under beds! :)
Cons: Not a replacement for a regular vac (but does not claim to be)
The Bottom Line: Now you know what to buy the person who has everything! Allergy suffers have a great excuse to buy, it goes under the bed!
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| ashmason's Full Review: iRobot Roomba 3000 Robotic Vacuum |
Intro:
I saw the Roomba on MSN one day and knew I had to have one. I mean who wouldn't, a robotic vacuum cleaner! However I knew my wife would be less than thrilled about spending $200 on what she would see as a toy. Now we pay ourselves $50 each a week of mad money to go do with what we want, so I saved up for it. Once I had my $200 I admit I almost changed my mind.. it seemed a little silly. But then I talked myself into it for three reasons. 1. It was cool, and I am a big SiFi fan so the idea of a Robot was a big catch for me. 2. I am allergic to dust, and the one place that doesn't get vacuumed is under our bed. Roomba is the perfect solution because it only stands a few inches tall and will easily venture under there. 3. We have White Wings Maid Service come every two weeks, and my wife and I are too busy to vacuum in between. So a Robot would be a great solution.
Initial impressions:
Out of the box, it seems sturdy enough and looks like it means business. The virtual wall unit is a little cheap feeling, but once you get the two 'D' cell batteries in, it has a nice heft. Speaking of which, you have to buy those seperately, and you will need a small cross head screw driver to open the battery compartment. Instructions are very simple, slot the battery in, plug in the charger and wait for 12 hours :( Ok, lets put it on the kitchen counter to charge and see if my honey notices!
Oh, a point to note.... the instructions are not very clear on the battery charge indicator. It states a green light means fully charged. This means the light on the Roomba, not on the charger, which is also green and stays that way until charged, at which time it goes out.
Maiden Cleaning Voyage:
First up you have to Roombarize the room, fold tassles under, lift up cables etc. For me this consisted of lifting our sheepskin rug onto the sofa.
You put the unit down in the middle of the area and press the appropriate button on the top, S, M, or L for Small, medium or Large room, you get a perky little tune and off it goes.
This thing is actually fun to watch, it really is like something out of the movies where you see characters ignoring cleaning droids as they go about their business. It starts spinning in ever widening circles until hit hits something, then it feels it's way around the object and carries on. Of course this makes for better vacuuming too. It did get stuck a couple of times, once on a light weight mat in the kitchen, and once under the edge of the fridge. It beeps a gloomy help tone until you come help the little guy out. Yes I know... it's a dumb machine, but it really does seem to have a personality as it doggedly mooches around cleaning.
So how would it handle the stairs? Both my wife and I watched with interest as Roomba made a beeline for the top of the stairs, both expecting to see it take a dive off the top. It has this cliff sensing technology, but we were both disbelivers. Almost there.... tensed for a safety grab... Roomba stopped short, turned a little and danced along the edge confidently, WOW! :)
So how did it actually perform:
First of all, it takes far longer than a regular vacuum, of course it doesn't know where it's been before, so it does cover the same ground sometimes, and it doesn't get everything. It missed one or two spots, but it did grab a two inch dead leaf by one of the indoor plants. On completion of it's cycle, the dust bin was FULL, I was very surprised and so was my wife. The bottom line is it's about 80% effective, and it goes places where a regular vac doesn't without moving furniture, so thats a big plus.
I think it's going to fit in just fine with our lives, we will leave it running when we go to work in the morning, and move it around the house every other day or so. I am guessing each room will probably get the area's it doesn't reach the first time, on the second time and will be a great fill in between our cleaning service.
As for the battery..... Its done our living room, kitchen, dining area, hallway, office, spare bedroom, master bedroom and bathroom all in one charge. Most of this area is tile or hardwood, but the bedrooms and office are carpet. Put it this way, I am not rushing out to buy a rapid charger or a second battery. For ref our home is approx 1710 sq ft.
So what about the virtual wall? Good question, the batteries I had have been sitting in a draw for about 2 years, so did not appear to work. I didn't see a need to use the virtual wall yet, so did not rush out to buy more. I can tell you it has three settings, 0-3ft 4-7ft and 8ft plus. So I am thinking I may put it in front of the fridge next time on the lowest setting to keep it from getting stuck whilst we are out.
Looks/Ease of Cleaning:
The dust hopper slots in and out very easily. Then you just shake it out. Snap off the Filter, and shake that out too. Now some other people have pointed out that this is dusty, and yes it is... Two options, I used an old tooth brush to give it a 5 second whisk around the various openings and across the filter. Or I guess you could use a damp cloth to prevent dust. After Roomba had finished our bedroom the battery was low, so I flipped it over and noted some hair, fluff etc wrapped around the cleaning brushes, this took maybe a min to pick out, I figured I best do it now or will probably see decreased battery life and a bigger job later, may as well keep up to it.
So all in all, cleaning and readying for use the next day (after the twelve hour charge) took about 2-3 mins. Not a big chore.
What about looks, this is a vacuum cleaner folks! It's a nice clean (no pun intended) design in gray and silver, It's not ugly, but I couldn't call it stylish, I mean it's a disk with wheels.... Very modern and well put together.
Conclusion:
Is it worth the money? YES!
Does it do stairs? No :(
Will it last? Yes I think/feel it will, time will tell.
Will your spouse approve? Yes, once they see it in action, you can't help but fall for it, just show your skeptical other half the dust bin at the end of the cycle.
Is it a toy/gimmick? No, I think this is finally the beginning of the automation in the home we have been promised since the 80's. I can't wait to see what they come up with next.
Can I replace my old vacuum with it? Possibly... you could rotate the Roomba through your home on a daily basis and I think you should be fine, but how will you do the stairs?
Now everyone go buy one and make IRobot a success so they can come out with something else!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199.00
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Epinions.com ID:
ashmason
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Member: Ashley Mason
Location: Torrance, California
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 3 members
About Me:
Arrrgh, I'm turning into an American!
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