Roomba?

[beavismom]

Roombas are on clearance at our Target. What can anyone tell me about the 400 and 440 models? Are they worth having? Thanks!

 

[Ava]

We had a Roomba (don't remember the model # as it was a couple years ago) but ended up getting rid of it because it just didn't work for us. We have 2 cats; the Roomba would get full of cat hair quickly, or the brushes would get jammed often, so we didn't feel it was saving us any time/effort vs using a traditional vacuum. If you don't have any pets it might work for you.

 

[ceecee]

How much?

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Our Roomba is just OK. We have to replace the battery pretty much annually (about $30 or so on Ebay), and it only does 1 room at a time before it needs to be recharged. We really loved the Scooba floor cleaner, though. Too bad that it died and was unfixable. We only had it for like a year when it died and we didn't really use it that heavily. These products are great in theory but aren't very robust IMHO. I would buy the Roomba if it were under $50, perhaps.

 

[beavismom]

How much?

DH picked them up, but I think the 440 was $100 and the 400 was $60.

 

[sbell111]

We love our older Roomba. We start him up before leaving the house and come home to a vacuumed carpet. You can't beat that.

 

[MeekoB]

Our Roomba lasted only a year. It was tempermental and frankly a pain to deal with. Liked the idea of it, but I don't think it is a serious product. More like a toy.

 

[ratlenhum]

I have the 400 series. It's 3 years old and I just replace the battery for the first time. I run it every few days in my son's room for about 10-15 minutes and his playroom for the same. I don't use it in my room because our room is cluttered with furniture and the poor thing would never navigate around here. When it's done in my son's room and play room I shut all the room doors and stick it in the hallway. It wanders around the rest of the house until the battery dies. On the days where I don't put it in those 2 rooms, I just let it wander around the rest of the house until the battery dies and it does a great job. I still have to do a quick sweep in the kitchen each day, and a big vacuum in the living room/dining room/hallway once a week but I'm happy with it. We have a cat and it gets up all the hair and the litter no problem. Just make sure you clean the filter each time you empty it.

 

[*Seanaci*]

My neighbor had a roomba...hated it. She said it didn't clean the floor as well as she had hoped...and malfunctioned more often than not.

My sister also had a roomba...and she ended up getting ride of it because it malfunctioned.

 

[skip323]

I love...loved...my roomba. Haven't used it in awhile but keep on swearing that I am going to start up again. I have an older model...no real bells and whistles but it does it's job. I purchased mine on clearance at Target about 3 years ago.

Though it isn't the greatest at picking up things it is definitely better than nothing! When I first purchased mine the recommendations from others (like on disboards) was to use it during the week then use your regular vacuum cleaner once a week. That is my preferred way to use it! We have 2 dogs and running the roomba each day really, really helped! Then we pulled out the regular vac once a week. The biggest thing with the roomba is that you have to clean it after every use (and this is where I finally got lazy). The roller brushes need to be cleaned off. The chamber, of course, emptied. and occaisionally using a compressed air can to blow out hair and dust really makes a difference. We have not changed the battery. Once it stopped working and I just cleaned everything really well....it started working again!

It is super nice if you have allergies and need to clean up. I use it to run under my bed 'cause I am not the type to move my bed and vacuum.

I also have a scooba. I don't like it as much as the roomba.

 

[Swimalie]

We had/have a roomba. I think it's the 550 model. My husband gave it to me in 2006. I loved it but about 6 months ago it stopped going forward. It only goes in reverse and won't clean any more. Before that, we loved it for our main floor and basement. We rarely used it for the upper floor because it would get stuck. One day my husband is going to try to repair it but in the mean time, I bought a Dyson.

One thing I recommend is getting the recharging base. http://store.irobot.com/product/ind..._102308&s=D-StorePrice-IRBT&parentPage=family It is great to start it up and come home to it being on the base charging.

 

[quagmire0]

I actually picked up a 400 yesterday at Target for $65. Was VERY disappointed. Charged it overnight last night and tried it in our living room/kitchen this morning. Neither rooms are large and the box even says it cleans two adjacent rooms. It basically ran around for 30 minutes (maybe), got some interesting spots under tables and chairs and behind the couch, but totally missed the middle of the living room floor. Then it ran up on something and started beeping. I thought it may be because it was stuck, so I put it down in an open area and tried turning it on again and it started beeping again. I assumed that the battery was low and it had to be charged. I packed it back up and will be bringing it back to Target today. A nice idea, and a great price, but really poor performance IMO. It may be better to purchase the $199 model they had marked down to $99.

 

[semo233]

LOVE, LOVE MY ROOMBAS! I have one for upstairs and one for downstairs. With an 80lb white labrador shedding almost constantly, they help me keep up with the fur bunnies in between vacuuming. I think I have two of the 530 models and I just have to remember to press the button to start them before I leave for work in the morning.
I have heard of people saying that thiers only lasted about a year, but mine has lasted longer. With all the fur, it is really important to clean the machine out well each night.

 

[Katy Belle]

Consumer Reports says Roomba is more a novelty item rather than a serios vaccuum.

 

[sunnyday123]

Consumer Reports says Roomba is more a novelty item rather than a serious vaccuum.

My Mom has one, and she said the same thing. She has no pets, it's just her and my Step-father and she doesn't even use it because she said it's more of a hassle than anything.