# Roomba: Godsend or gimmick? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 24, 2007, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181 "2007-06-24T02:10:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/1 "2007-06-24T02:10:51Z")
Pretty much says it all. It seems like on the Roomba boards the folks talk about spending a lot of time cleaning/monkeying with them to keep them working. If so, what’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![skotjamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@skotjamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skotjamb)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/2 "2007-06-24T02:18:15Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Wanderer] Pretty much says it all. It seems like on the Roomba boards the folks talk about spending a lot of time cleaning/monkeying with them to keep them working. If so, what’s the point? [/QUOTE] Why is this in GQ? There can’t be a definite answer. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/3 "2007-06-24T02:19:44Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=2640925](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=2640925) ETA I didn’t read any of those, I just know that we’ve gone over it a few times. I believe the results where pretty well mixed. IIRC it depends on what you want it to do vs what it acutally does. Fr’instance…if you have to vacuum once a week, it won’t eliminate that, but it may bring it down to once a month, or so I read. ---
**Author:** ![skotjamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@skotjamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skotjamb)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/4 "2007-06-24T02:29:48Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=2640925](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/search.php?searchid=2640925) ETA I didn’t read any of those, I just know that we’ve gone over it a few times. I believe the results where pretty well mixed. IIRC it depends on what you want it to do vs what it acutally does. Fr’instance…if you have to vacuum once a week, it won’t eliminate that, but it may bring it down to once a month, or so I read. [/QUOTE] Plus, that link is useless unless you are a paying member. If you are going to post a link leading to multiple links, post the multiple links instead. Of course, if you were trying to be a shill for the PTB on the SDMB, then never mind. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/5 "2007-06-24T02:33:43Z")
Off to In My Humble Opinion. **Gfactor** , GQ Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/6 "2007-06-24T02:53:39Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] **Gfactor** , GQ Moderator [/QUOTE] Okay, first of all – I go away for a week, and they make you a _moderator_?!?! What happens if I go away for a month?? **Happy** , my old roomba was donated to a friend who thought it sounded “cool” to try. In my experience, because the roomba is more akin to a broom than to a vacuum, if you _need_ to vacuum, the roomba doesn’t really actually advance your ball, so to speak. I didn’t find that I spent a lot of time monkeying with the roomba; instead, I found I spent a lot of time vacuuming up after the roomba because it didn’t pick up any of the dirt/pet hair, etc. That said, my sister (the neat freak) loves her roomba. She “only” vacuums once a week now because of it – when they leave for work in the morning, they set the roomba going, and then change rooms for it when they get home at night. I don’t know how much time they spend fussing with it, but if she weren’t already married, she’d marry the roomba. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/7 "2007-06-24T03:32:57Z")
[QUOTE=Campion] Okay, first of all – I go away for a week, and they make you a _moderator_?!?! What happens if I go away for a month?? [/QUOTE] I’ll have taken over the Shire. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/8 "2007-06-24T03:44:22Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] Off to In My Humble Opinion. **Gfactor** , GQ Moderator [/QUOTE] Hey! Nobody said you could move shit _here_. Sheesh. fer cryin’ out loud newbie gq mods sheesh 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/9 "2007-06-24T09:56:51Z")
My problem is we have a lot of gritty dusty dirt being tracked into the house. The floor will look clean but the minute you go barefoot your feet get covered with this stuff and it tracks all over. It even gets in my bed. This wouldn’t be for major cleanup, just to keep the floor from being gritty all the time. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2007, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/10 "2007-06-24T12:39:34Z")
Roombas won’t suck the deep down grit out of carpet, but the do an excellent job of cleaning pet hair up. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/11 "2007-06-24T12:50:04Z")
How ‘smart’ are they? Do they get stuck in corners, behind the TV a lot? Will it sit there a beep all day, or will they shut down if it’s not rescued in a certain amount of time. We always seem to have gym bags, a pair of shoes or the odd tool laying out (or all of the above). How does it cope in an environment that changes? ---
**Author:** ![Miscue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@Miscue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miscue)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/12 "2007-06-24T13:53:30Z")
We’ve got one that was given to us several years ago. It’s great for pet hair, is pretty smart, and overall works fine for light cleaning. I just think it’s creepy when it bumps into my feet under the table, and the way my wife talks to it like it’s real. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/13 "2007-06-24T14:50:48Z")
[QUOTE=enipla] How ‘smart’ are they? Do they get stuck in corners, behind the TV a lot? Will it sit there a beep all day, or will they shut down if it’s not rescued in a certain amount of time. We always seem to have gym bags, a pair of shoes or the odd tool laying out (or all of the above). How does it cope in an environment that changes? [/QUOTE] The older ones were kind of dumb, and needed a lot of pre-roomba proofing of the room. They’d get stuck quite often. The newer ones are much better. If they get stuck, they sort of kick themselves up and reverse direction. They don’t do well with shoes because they will tend to suck in the laces, and then try to drag the shoe around. If they get too confounded they emit a little beeping cry, and then shut down. I vote godsend though. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/14 "2007-06-24T15:31:03Z")
I love mine. I pick up anything that could get in the way, though - the dog beds, shoes, throw rugs, etc. all come up before I set it to clean a room. Electric cords need to be picked up off the floor too. I think if you’ve got deep pile carpet, it won’t be able to do a very good job but it does great on our short pile carpet and bare floors. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/15 "2007-06-25T01:48:19Z")
We have bare wood floors with a very flat rug in the living room. It has fringe on each end. Any problem there? There is also a small aluminum trim strip where it transitions to the tile floor in the kitchen and bath. Can it make it over something like that? ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/16 "2007-06-25T02:28:53Z")
[QUOTE=Happy Wanderer] We have bare wood floors with a very flat rug in the living room. It has fringe on each end. Any problem there? There is also a small aluminum trim strip where it transitions to the tile floor in the kitchen and bath. Can it make it over something like that? [/QUOTE] Tuck the fringe under the rug and there won’t be a problem. Roombas like to suck up fringe. But, again, no big deal, it will stop itself when it realizes that it’s stuck because it can’t drag the whole rug around! Little strips between rooms don’t seem to be any problem Also, I’ve noticed roomba owners tend to call their roombas “roomba” rather than “the roomba”. For some reason it becomes like part of the family and loses the article! ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/17 "2007-06-25T18:14:40Z")
We LOVE ours. I think you have to be a certain kind of person though: 1. Not anal-retentive 2. Hi Opal. It does it’s job in a mostly _random_ fashion. This bugs the OCD, and it doesn’t always get everything. This ALSO bugs the OCD. As an IT geek from way back, and a father of two really messy boys, the roomba is a stellar addition to the family. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/18 "2007-06-25T21:47:31Z")
I wouldn’t quite say the cleaning pattern is ‘random’; there’s a method to its madness. This page has a [video](http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=124) (under Cleans Your Whole Floor) showing a video of how the thing eventually vacuums the entire area. IME it is excellent for hard floors, and the new models are greatly improved. I had a 2-year old Discovery, and when the gears went out, Irobot sent me a replacement (free of charge!). This newer one is more efficient, the programming seems smarter and it’s much quieter. As per the ‘fussing’ - I run mine about 3 times a week (indoor Laborador :rolleyes: ). I keep spare paper filters, and once a week I use the air compressor to blow out the filters and the machine. I love my Roomba. My Hubby’s dog and I were on a path of mortal conflict - then Roomba saved the day. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/19 "2007-06-25T22:14:03Z")
Some of each. It’s great for doing large swaths and keeping pet hair to a manageable level. We use it 2-3 times a week downstairs (hardwood) and the other one (yes, we have 2!) once a week upstairs. We do “roomba-proof” the rooms. But then we also have to ferret-proof and dog-proof things on a regular basis, so it’s just basically another animal in the house. The cleaning can be a little tiresome (I spend 15 minutes picking hair out of the brushes about every 3rd run). But it beats vacuuming/sweeping everything by hand (for which you have to move furniture, anyway…so there’s uncounted “vacuum-proofing” you use on a regular vacuum cleaner, too). We still need an old-fashioned vacuum for our area rugs (roomba sometimes can’t get up over the edge) and for the carpeted stairs. If iRobot made a Roomba stairbot, I’d buy it in a second. (Are you listening, iRobot?) ---
**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:** [June 26, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181/20 "2007-06-26T01:12:22Z")
> [@toadspittle](#): > > If iRobot made a Roomba stairbot, I’d buy it in a second. (Are you listening, iRobot?) I think [this](http://www.irobot.com/sp.cfm?pageid=138) model could be made to do the trick. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roomba-godsend-or-gimmick/409181.md?page=2)