# I love my Roomba, but why does it have to be such a delicate little blossom? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 28, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124 "2011-10-28T21:42:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/21 "2011-10-29T18:58:08Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > On her head, right? Women don’t turn into some kind of hirsute were-mommas, do they? Pffffhahahahaha. Yeah, on her head. To my knowledge, my wife didn’t grow fur. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/22 "2011-10-29T19:24:21Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > On her head, right? Women don’t turn into some kind of hirsute were-mommas, do they? Some can - the [linea nigra](http://pregnancyandbaby.sheknows.com/pregnancy/baby/Whats-my-line-All-about-the-linea-nigra-4210.htm) can be just pigmented skin, or it can be hairy in some cases. And without googling, I’d bet that some women get (more of a) moustache during pregnancy too 🙂 (apologies for continuing the hijack!) ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/24 "2012-12-11T02:55:25Z")
Loved it at first, but it jams so easily I stopped trying to use it. Mind, I have a dog and I suspect that if I did not it would be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/25 "2012-12-11T03:22:49Z")
My Roomba 560 is still going strong after daily use at 18 months old. It vacuums every day while I am work right on schedule. It gets tripped up loose objects and cords from time to time but I spend about 90 seconds a day tops with the care and cleaning her (I call it Shirley). She cleans the hell out of my place and I barely even have to dust anymore. The main problem now is what to get her for Christmas? ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/26 "2012-12-11T03:25:46Z")
Mine has generally held up(5 years). Of course, one time it locked itself in the bathroom and started beating it’s head against the toilet…:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/27 "2012-12-11T17:04:28Z")
I had set mine up more than a year ago but then it got lost under the couch, but for the last few weeks since we had the floors redone we’ve been trying it again. Mixed results - it usually knocks the fireplace screen over and gets trapped under it, but we have three cats and a dog and the hair situation is much better. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/28 "2012-12-11T17:15:03Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > …one time it locked itself in the bathroom and started beating it’s head against the toilet…:dubious: Hey, don’t blame Roomba - we have all done that at some time or another. I remember after eating some bad Mexican food - but that is another story… Ours is starting to weaken. We still use it occasionally for a quick tour - but it just ain’t working as well as it used to. Oddly, the floors are cleaner after it finishes, but the little dust bucket is almost empty? Is it eating the dust and dirt?! ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/29 "2012-12-11T17:33:55Z")
For those who have both Roombas and cats, how well does your cat cope with an autonomous, self-propelled vacuum running around, given how badly most cats cope with ordinary uprights? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/30 "2012-12-11T17:39:22Z")
Eh, they’re wary of it but they just walk away. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/31 "2012-12-11T17:44:46Z")
Why do you all have the vacuuming Roomba? Why not the much sturdier sweeping version of the Roomba, the Dirt Dog?[It](http://www.amazon.com/iRobot-110-Dirt-Workshop-Robot/dp/B000OQAMOO) gets better reviews on Amazon then the Roomba. Roomba gets 4 stars, Dirt Dog gets 4,5 stars, and is is especially good on walk-in sand and pet hair. And it has a bigger dustpan, too. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/32 "2012-12-11T17:51:24Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > For those who have both Roombas and cats, how well does your cat cope with an autonomous, self-propelled vacuum running around, given how badly most cats cope with ordinary uprights? We only use our Roomba in our bedrooms with the door shut and the cats outside. But the sound definitely doesn’t freak them out nearly as much as a regular-sized vaccum does. We’ve had a couple of problems with our Roomba chassis, both related to the “bump sensor”, I think. On one occasion it was under warranty, and on the other occasion we had to buy a new chassis. “Bee-booop…clean Roomba’s brushes!” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/33 "2012-12-11T18:03:33Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > \ I spend about 90 seconds a day tops with the care and cleaning her (I call it Shirley). Don’t call it Shirley. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Methyl\_Ethyl\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Methyl_Ethyl_Death)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/34 "2012-12-11T20:42:07Z")
I’ve owned mine for 6 months with no problems so far, but I only run it once a week and have no pets. It’s a Model 620 in case anyone was curious. His name is Jarvis. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/35 "2012-12-12T00:10:52Z")
there are youtubes of cats riding the Roomba. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/36 "2012-12-12T02:10:53Z")
> [@Sarabellum1976](#): > > If they would make one that 1. could handle pet hair, 2. wouldn’t need to be frequently cleaned out with sharp utensils, and 3. wouldn’t constantly break, I’d definitely buy one. I’m hoping that someday they’ll cross-breed a Roomba and a Shop-Vac. Otherwise, it would be litter more than entertainment for my dogs. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/37 "2012-12-12T04:45:34Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > there are youtubes of cats riding the Roomba. The one with a load of kittens on it, with a kitten falling off every time the Roomba bumps into it, is hilarious. I think that a human put the bunch on the Roomba, and let it go, to see if the kitties liked it. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Gnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_gnomer/32/3466_2.png) [@Miss\_Gnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Gnomer)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/38 "2012-12-12T08:14:06Z")
I have a Neato - and it copes really well with pet and human hair. I rarely (maybe every couple of weeks) have to clear out the brushes and I’ve only taken it to pieces once in about 2 years. Mine is currently having issues with getting lost … but I think I just need to pull the battery and clean the sensors a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/39 "2012-12-12T12:34:59Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > there are youtubes of cats riding the Roomba. I’ve seen some of those, but figured those were unusually relaxed kitties. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124/40 "2012-12-12T23:21:19Z")
They’ve programmed Roombas to play [Pac-Man](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHtX2JwZAY). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-roomba-but-why-does-it-have-to-be-such-a-delicate-little-blossom/601124.md?page=1)