This year we bought something we have always wanted. An iRobot Roomba. It was a necessary splurge and I waited until Black Friday and got a great sale price. I hope you are reading this curled up on the couch on Christmas Day, so in case a Roomba is still on your wishlist you can take advantage of after Christmas sales.
We got the
iRobot Roomba 770 (Pets and Allergies) and have been using it for a couple weeks. In our house, we have Pergo and tile floors downstairs and carpet on the stairs and upstairs. We also live in a very dusty area and our cat sheds a lot. Until the Roomba, we were Swiffering or vacuuming every damn day. Seriously. Zibby tracks a lot of kitty litter dust through the house and I hate walking on dirty ground with bare feet. Yes, I AM a princess! We spent a fortune on swiffer refills. Our extreme paper plate usage combined with all those swiffer sheets made a lot of garbage. We eat on paper plates with a clearer conscience now.
The Roomba has been a life changer. I run it every day and our floors are so clean! Now when Zibby's toy mouse rolls under the couch and I reach under to get it, it is not covered in dust bunnies. I used to hate shlepping the vacuum cleaner to the landing on the stairs to vacuum that area but now I just set the Roomba there and let it do its thing. I still have to use the upright vacuum for the actual stairs but other than that, the Roomba vacuums while I eat bonbons. I just press "clean" and it does then rolls itself back to the docking station. My barefeet are happy.
The Cons:
The Roomba is loud. Less loud than a non-robot vacuum, but loud enough that if you are talking on the phone, you might not be able to hear well. Just do not talk on the phone.
The Roomba will eat your thin cords, socks, or small pet toys left on the floor (common sense here), just like a regular vacuum. Pick up stuff before the Roomba starts. It will shut itself off it it gets stuck in a spot, so that is good.
I think the Roomba is great on wood or tile floors and great on carpet for daily use but if you have a major glitter spill, your upright vacuum will be better. The Roomba does have a spot clean option but I tried it on glitter on carpet and it was just eh.
My Bottom Line:
I love it. Use store coupons, sale prices, and free-shipping so you still have money left over for bonbons!
Note: Nobody paid me or gave me a free Roomba. Nobody even knew we wanted one. As always, this is my opinion on something we paid for that I was going to return if it sucked.
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