Roomba - AKA Fred

We call him Fred.....My sister in law introduced us to her amazing friend Bob and I immediately knew that we wanted a friend just like him.   My husband's birthday was approaching and I thought that I would surprise him with a new friend.  Usually we do not splurge for items such as the Roomba, but I just had to.  I brought the Roomba home and wrapped it up for my husband.  He was surprised and he seemed very happy that he got the Roomba.


What You Get

For just under $200 you get 
** The iRobot vacuum unit 
** 2 battery operated virtual walls
** Power Supply Cord 


The Unit

The iRobot vacuum is a round unit.  It is approximately 3 inches high 13 inches in diameter and weighs a little under 10 pounds.  When you bring your Roomba home it will take an initial 16 hours of charging time before you can begin to use it.  You can use the Roomba practically anywhere in your house except on stairs.  He can easily go from tile floors to carpet without hesitation.   

The unit has three cleaning modes:  Clean, Spot and Max.  

Clean - is just as it states.  When you select Clean the Roomba takes off and cleans your room.   He goes in one direction and will bump into a wall or furniture then turn on its own and takes another path.  The Roomba doesn't make even cleaning paths but scattered paths.  Your room is clean after about 15-30 minutes (depending on the size of your room) but looks like you went crazy with your vacuum.  

Spot - When you select Spot, the Roomba cleans a specific area.  It starts circling in a small area and keeps enlarging its circle for about 5 or 6 turns and then it starts closing the circle again to end up in the small area it started.  If you want to have fun you can do spot cleaning all over your carpet to make crop circles in your carpet.  hehe 

Max -  I still haven't figured this feature out.  One would think that Max would mean maximum power or something maximum.  When you turn on the unit and press the Max button the unit starts making a circle.  Instead of closing the circle and start back in the Roomba takes off in one direction to start its regular cleaning course.  I have not noticed anything great about this feature. 

The Roomba can also spot dirty areas.  While it is cleaning he might notice a spot that needs extra attention.  It will turn on a little blue light and circle the area until it gets clean.   I really think this is a cool feature, it lets you know that the Roomba is really working.  


The Virtual Walls

These are two small battery operated units that have infrared beams that you put on the floor to keep the Roomba confined to a certain area.  They each take two D batteries that are easy to install.  When the Roomba gets close to the beam/virtual walls he will stop and turn moving in another direction.  


Cleaning the Unit

The Roomba has a small canister that the dirt accumulates in.  It is easy to remove and easy to clean.  I usually clean one room and then empty the canister and then recharge the unit before going onto another room.  The Roomba comes with a filter that has printed on it replace every 1-2 months.  You can find the filter for about $15.00 for a pack of three.  I have not replaced my filters even though I have had it and have been using it since July.   The filter is removable from the unit and it is a paper filter on plastic.  I simply spray the filter and remove the dust/dirt then let it dry completely before I replace the filter in the unit.

Overall thoughts:  This is the best $200 I spent.  Although the Roomba is not a replacement for our vacuum cleaner, it is a nice in between vacuuming spot cleaner.  Also he is very entertaining to watch.  My grandson likes to put his toys on top of the unit and watch him carry them away.