Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We just got our iRobot Roomba 650 Vacuum Cleaning Robot for Pets. It was simple to setup and charged in about two hours. We have run it once downstairs and upstairs. THE PLAN The plan is to run it during the day upstairs and to run it at night downstairs. The first problem we noted is that the schedule only seems to allow one time per day. This is ok since we have to carry it upstairs for the day runs. So, we just start it as we live in the morning. When we return, we put on the charger and let it clean at 2AM downstairs. OBSERVATIONS The upstairs (approx. 1000 sqft) is a combination of wood floors, tile in the bathrooms, scatter rugs (bath style and oriental). Roomba did a good job covering an awkward area. We captured a full bin of hair from the dogs. The only problem is that it got caught in the toilet area after it managed to close the door on itself. It found out that it was too short to reach the handle to reopen the door. Roomba was able to clean under the bed and sofa. However, it was unable to get under the night stands and dressers. This was unfortunate because the floor and fur is still very visible. (We will have to consider replacing the furniture that we bought a month ago. I can see it is going to be a pain to clean under whether we have Roomba or not). The downstairs (approx. 800 sqft) is all tile with scatter rugs (bath, entry and orientals). Roomba was able to get under the counters in the kitchen, under the sofa, the dining room chairs. Once again we captured a full bin of fur. Downstairs we had a few problems. Roomba managed to catch itself on a rug. Roomba announced that it needed help. It was also able to move a very light side table and an empty plastic dog dish. The bin was full of fur and even captured some large dog food nuggets. Roomba was also able to maneuver through electrical cords. We did absolutely no preparations before starting Roomba. LIMITATIONS Roomba does not do windows, stairs and areas that are shorter than itself. INITIAL CONCLUSIONS We are pleased so far. The machine does a good job collecting fur in open areas and low areas that are taller than Roomba. We will have to consider how to handle the light furniture and lighter carpets. We will also have to determine how to ensure that open doors stay open if we want it to roam unrestricted. If you are a micro manager, you will have problems with how Roomba gets the job done. If you are results driven manager, you will find that the Roomba does a good job. It gets where it is designed to get, and it does a thorough job. Roomba does its job. Don't worry about how it does it. ONE WEEK CONCLUSIONS (11/23/2012) Roomba has been busy. We run it about 8 hours per day. We collect 4 full bins of fur every day! Neither my wife nor I imagined how much fur our dogs generated. We just moved from a home that was primarily carpeted to hard surfaces. It is not like they are big dogs. We regularly strip our dogs (pull fur with a comb). We are more than both pleased by the purchase. Even if we had a maid, we would still run Roomba regularly. I don't think a daily maid service could keep up with Roomba's vacuuming or our dogs fur production. It (or perhaps I should say we) does occasionally make a mistake. It has eaten two usb cords and a couple of loose threads on some oriental carpets. THIRD MONTH CONCLUSIONS (2/15/2013) Roomba has not been needed as much. I would guess he gets about three hours of work a day. Once a day downstairs and twice a day upstairs. My wife and I agree that it has been a good purchase. Two unexpected consequences: our HVAC filters stay clean much longer and dusting need not happen as frequently. Roomba looks a little battle worn with superficial scrapes. However, the battery is still going strong. We spend almost no maintenance time. Every time we move Roomba, we empty the bin. We have had to do some major maintenance (more than five minutes) a couple of times. Long hair seems to collect and requires a careful unwinding. (We are all short haired except my daughter who visited at Christmas). The filter requires a little cleaning for optimal efficiency. Sometimes Roomba decides to complete the job under the bed or under a sofa. So, I have to call her. She is about as good as our deaf dog about coming when called. If we confined her to a single room, she would be much easier to find. She is infatuated with bathrooms. She still forgets that she can not reach the handle to open the door after she closes it. We try to remember to close the bathrooms before she begins her work. FOURTH MONTH Conclusions (3/6/2013) Roomba has taken a beating over these four months. She has lots of scratches. We have lost our edge second whisker. I bought one of the replacement packs with filters, brushes, rollers. The battery is still going strong. Roomba is getting a little senile. She'll drop her dust bin and keep going. So, she is just sweeping around dust. I think we need to do a thorough cleaning to make sure the latches catch properly. We are still very happy, and our house stays much cleaner. NINTH MONTH Conclusions (7/31/2013) Should Roomba die after the end of the warranty period, we would buy one again. I would be disappointed, but we could not live without it. If anything it is more important than ever, one of our dogs has Cushings and loses fur by the handful. THREE YEAR Update (10/26/20916) Roomba has had a battery change and new sweepers, etc. I do have to complain that she has no respect for fine art. A picture wire broke and an original oil painting fell from the wall. Roomba managed to get over the frame and onto the picture. However, Roomba was frustrated that she could not get out of the picture; so, she cleaned the picture very thoroughly. Not only did she get the dust, she took a fair amount of paint. However, we did not punish her. You should not let toddlers play with fine art.