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Thu 6 Mar, 2008 06:56 am
Lately, I have been having a lot of back problems. I find that I am less inclined to drag around my vacuum cleaner. As a result, my house was beginning to become dustier than I would like.
I had been hearing about Roombas, those little robotic gadgets that clean floors for you. Always a bit of a skeptic, I started to kick around the idea of buying one. What the hell. I have a card at Costco, and if the thing didn't work out, I could always return it, as they have a very generous return policy.
Anyhow, I bought a basic machine of the latest (fifth) generation. And I LOVE it!
Basically, as I see it, the Roomba is a battery powered carpet sweeper (remember those?). It stays on a charger, until you are ready to use it.
It runs around the house, doing its thing. I like the fact that it will go under my bed, chairs and couches. It does take a lot longer than doing it yourself with a vacuum, but what the hell, you are NOT doing anything but watching the little robot weaving in and out of the rooms.
Does it clean as well as a regular vacuum cleaner? Of course not. There is no vacuum involved, just some brushes. But for what it is, and the savings to my back, it is worth every penny that I paid for it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roomba
What I find interesting, is that the same company that makes the Roomba makes robotic equipment for use on the battlefield.
You can get thir "mine sweeper" in several designer colors
Well, I bought the Roomba in March. I am returning it today. I have the 750, which is made for Costco. Theoretically, it is great. It went under my bed and my couch, (places that have rarely seen the business end of a vacuum cleaner.
The problem is that is is made in the shoddiest manner. The lttle brush that twirls around the edges, is made of plastic. Two of the spokes broke off. Thanks to Shoo-Goo, it was fixed, better than new. Today, I turned it on, and I knew that something was wrong. The Roomba went around and around in one spot, and refused to go anywhere else.
I give up. There were such wonderful advantages to the thing. I would have paid a lot more for it, if it were made to last.
I eventually found the maintenance to be more trouble than vacuuming.
Cleaning the brushes, constantly emptying the tiny dirt receptacle, etc.
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