Raving about the Roomba by iRobot

LOVE the Roomba! We've had three different Roombas by iRobot. As technology progressed, so has their product, adding new features as their product evolved. Each addition to their product has improved it in some way, to make it either more user friendly, or to improve its cleaning ability.

The Roomba features scheduled cleaning times that you can program for the days and times you wish to have it clean. I set it to clean when I am not home. Setting it to go off daily keeps the floors clean and dust free, with minimal effort by me. The owner effort involved includes maintaining the brushes by keeping them free of hair and animal fur, cleaning the dust bin, cleaning the dust sensors, and the air filter. That may seem like a long list, but it isn't daily maintenance and can be done when the Roomba tells you to do so. You will want to check your Roomba every few days to see what maintenance it requires. It will take you far less time than it would to take you to vacuum the entire house or floor you have it set to clean.

To me, the purpose of the Roomba is to clean the floors while you clean/dust the rest of the house. Be warned! The Roomba is mesmerizing when you first get it! I spent a lot of time watching the Roomba when we first got it, enthralled by the job it was doing, rather than dusting or cleaning the kitchen. It took a while to get the full time-saving benefit from it, but that is just me. Also a good reason to schedule cleaning while you are at work or out shopping.

Loving our Roomba so much, I got it for my father and stepmother for Christmas. I was hard pressed to think of a gift that they didn't already have and that was useful, and thought the Roomba was a perfect way to make their lives easier. My father is getting on on years, and I worried about him lugging a vacuum up and down stairs. I got the Roomba for his basement entertaining room, figuring he could use it strictly in that area where they do a lot of entertaining.



Not tech savvy, I think my father thought it was just a gadget his computer geek daughter sent. I know my stepmother felt that way. After they saw it work - and yes, they watched it mesmerized! - it was no longer a gadget but a welcomed relief from the vacuum they had to use and carry up and down the steps. Mission accomplished! My father would call me with stories about having to crumble pretzels on the floor to demonstrate it to guests who were curious about how well it worked, or when his paper delivery person walked in the house when they saw it working through the door and said, "I have to get one of those!" One thing both my father and I noticed was that if you run it after you have used the vacuum, it will still find dust and dirt the vacuum missed, making the floors feel cleaner if you are walking in bare feet. Most importantly, it helped make his life easier. That was worth every penny when you are not nearby to help your parents out on a regular basis.