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Roomba vacuum cleaner?

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BostonCharlie
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Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by BostonCharlie »

Starting January I will be a bachelor again. TLDR: it's an amicable, no-fault divorce that my wife wanted. So I am now the primary housekeeper. Or, as I prefer to call myself, the Dude Battling the Forces of Entropy. When I vacuum, I put on workout tunes and imagine I'm at the gym -- it works. I am slowly becoming a master of spot removal. Door mats are now held to a higher standard.

But am I missing a trick? These Roomba robot vacuums have been around long enough that there must be something to them. The deal side of this is that eBay has 15% off refurb. stuff here (exp. 12/18), and it includes Roombas.

Update to include direct link to the Roomba mfg. eBay listings. The code from the promo above is PURCHASECR15:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/irobot/m.html? ... pg=&_from=

Any other floor cleaning tech suggestions?

Thanks!
Last edited by BostonCharlie on Wed Dec 16, 2020 5:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by TheJohnP »

Sorry things didn't work out with your soon to be ex.
At least it is good to hear that things are amicable.

As far as vacuums go, my wife used to do vacuum repair/sales, and she highly recommends Meile Canister vacuums.
https://www.mieleusa.com/e/canister-vac ... -1016468-c

That's what we use.

Then again, she likes the idea of a Roomba but hasn't found one she's interested in.
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by BostonCharlie »

Thanks for the thoughts and for the tip. I never considered a canister vacuum. I guess it is on wheels and you tug it along as you go? I see the ease of having to move just the wand back and forth, and it could get (completely) under couches and such.

I see that there are a number of Miele canister vacuums in this eBay promo (here).
TheJohnP wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 3:59 pm Sorry things didn't work out with your soon to be ex.
At least it is good to hear that things are amicable.

As far as vacuums go, my wife used to do vacuum repair/sales, and she highly recommends Meile Canister vacuums.
https://www.mieleusa.com/e/canister-vac ... -1016468-c

That's what we use.

Then again, she likes the idea of a Roomba but hasn't found one she's interested in.
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by MoT »

BostonCharlie wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 3:55 pm Starting January I will be a bachelor again. TLDR: it's an amicable, no-fault divorce that my wife wanted. So I am now the primary housekeeper. Or, as I prefer to call myself, the Dude Battling the Forces of Entropy. When I vacuum, I put on workout tunes and imagine I'm at the gym -- it works. I am slowly becoming a master of spot removal. Door mats are now held to a higher standard.

But am I missing a trick? These Roomba robot vacuums have been around long enough that there must be something to them. The deal side of this is that eBay has 15% off refurb. stuff here (exp. 12/18), and it includes Roombas.

Any other floor cleaning tech suggestions?

Thanks!
I'm sorry to read about the split, but I'm happy to know it's amicable. That seems to be quite rare.

All I really know about Roomba/robot vacuums is to not get one that'll track dog poo all over the place.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/st ... ptastrophe
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by watchpalooza »

Sorry you are forced into a new beginning. I hope your “new normal” stays healthy and brings happiness. Regarding vacuums (or any appliance), it is hard to go wrong with a Miele (best vacuums, dishwashers and clothes washers). Generally my experience with Roomba and the like has been fairly negative. They are a great idea, but just not there yet. For smaller spaces and light to medium intensity cleaning, the dysons and their clones do work very well, bring a lot of convenience, and have pretty decent power and battery life. We just bought this one:



For heavier cleaning or large spaces, the corded canister vac still has the edge.

P.S. - If you are chasing some perspective on things, I can recommend this book....fun quick read, and very good at breaking down what it means to be happy in the **** of life:

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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by BostonCharlie »

watchpalooza wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 4:34 pm Sorry you are forced into a new beginning. I hope your “new normal” stays healthy and brings happiness. Regarding vacuums (or any appliance), it is hard to go wrong with a Miele (best vacuums, dishwashers and clothes washers). Generally my experience with Roomba and the like has been fairly negative. They are a great idea, but just not there yet. For smaller spaces and light to medium intensity cleaning, the dysons and their clones do work very well, bring a lot of convenience, and have pretty decent power and battery life. We just bought this one:



For heavier cleaning or large spaces, the corded canister vac still has the edge.

P.S. - If you are chasing some perspective on things, I can recommend this book....fun quick read, and very good at breaking down what it means to be happy in the **** of life:

Thank You for your thoughts and recommendations. I think the most painful part is behind me and I feel optimistic for 2021.

It would be cool to make a harness for the canister so I could wear it on my back, like something from GhostBusters, lol.

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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by BostonCharlie »

ManOnTime wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 4:20 pm
BostonCharlie wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 3:55 pm Starting January I will be a bachelor again. TLDR: it's an amicable, no-fault divorce that my wife wanted. So I am now the primary housekeeper. Or, as I prefer to call myself, the Dude Battling the Forces of Entropy. When I vacuum, I put on workout tunes and imagine I'm at the gym -- it works. I am slowly becoming a master of spot removal. Door mats are now held to a higher standard.

But am I missing a trick? These Roomba robot vacuums have been around long enough that there must be something to them. The deal side of this is that eBay has 15% off refurb. stuff here (exp. 12/18), and it includes Roombas.

Any other floor cleaning tech suggestions?

Thanks!
I'm sorry to read about the split, but I'm happy to know it's amicable. That seems to be quite rare.

All I really know about Roomba/robot vacuums is to not get one that'll track dog poo all over the place.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/st ... ptastrophe
Lol! Thank you for your kind words. After hearing some other people's stories I am very thankful that ours has gone smoothly and peacefully.
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by Sussa »

Sorry about your split. Hopefully brighter days are coming soon.

I have a six-year old Roomba but don’t take full advantage of the scheduling feature. There were plans, then we worried about it terrorizing the domestic creatures.

Pros: set it and forget it. Unless the room is exceptionally fur-covered, I can start it, close the door, and it does it’s thing. It is good at fitting under furniture, especially beds.

Cons: the dirt canister is pretty small and can fill quickly. When this happens, the Roomba chimes a sad tone and you have to go find it, empty the canister, and restart its adventure. Requires more maintenance than a standard vacuum. I have to remove the beater bar, spiral brushes, and track ball about once a month for cleaning. I also have two cats and a dog, so YMMV. It will get tangled in any cords on the floor.

Overall, if you’re willing to program it, it’s good for keeping things clean day to day. But you’ll probably still want an upright or canister vac for thoroughness.
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by watchpalooza »

BostonCharlie wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:50 pm
Thank You for your thoughts and recommendations. I think the most painful part is behind me and I feel optimistic for 2021.

It would be cool to make a harness for the canister so I could wear it on my back, like something from GhostBusters, lol.

Image
Just remember....
58E1B49C-816A-4297-8198-F764B59E9AA2.jpeg

Some options:
D8F1284E-2BEE-4406-978B-94D32D116A25.jpeg
https://www.unoclean.com/Clarke-6-Quart ... 10010.aspx

9AA5208C-E8DC-495F-A644-406876506A2F.jpeg
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/protea ... 07119.html

D1FC5389-5616-44E6-B8BF-E58BC4B609F5.jpeg
https://www.thevacuumfactory.com/produc ... um-pb1001/


Also, going mil-spec or commercial is a surefire way to get a solid performer. Here is a list of the “10 best commercial vacuum cleaners”: https://10bestcarpetcleaners.com/best-c ... al-vacuum/
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by BostonCharlie »

Sussa wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 9:55 pm Sorry about your split. Hopefully brighter days are coming soon.

I have a six-year old Roomba but don’t take full advantage of the scheduling feature. There were plans, then we worried about it terrorizing the domestic creatures.

Pros: set it and forget it. Unless the room is exceptionally fur-covered, I can start it, close the door, and it does it’s thing. It is good at fitting under furniture, especially beds.

Cons: the dirt canister is pretty small and can fill quickly. When this happens, the Roomba chimes a sad tone and you have to go find it, empty the canister, and restart its adventure. Requires more maintenance than a standard vacuum. I have to remove the beater bar, spiral brushes, and track ball about once a month for cleaning. I also have two cats and a dog, so YMMV. It will get tangled in any cords on the floor.

Overall, if you’re willing to program it, it’s good for keeping things clean day to day. But you’ll probably still want an upright or canister vac for thoroughness.
Thanks for the mini-review. Our own little upright seems to need monthly maintenance, so I am getting used to that. I was initially thinking of it as either/or, but it makes sense that a Roomba would still be complemented by a heavier vacuum -- hopefully at longer intervals. The fact yours is six years old is heartening. Would you say that the Roomba's brushes help keep a carpet from looking crushed? Would you say yours is a base model or one of the fancier models? Thanks again!
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by BostonCharlie »

watchpalooza wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 1:50 am
BostonCharlie wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 8:50 pm
Thank You for your thoughts and recommendations. I think the most painful part is behind me and I feel optimistic for 2021.

It would be cool to make a harness for the canister so I could wear it on my back, like something from GhostBusters, lol.

Image
Just remember....

Image

Some options:
...
Lol. There are some interesting options -- more than I expected. Digging this Batman-style utility belt:

vacuum_utility_belt.jpg
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by Sussa »

BostonCharlie wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 5:29 am Thanks for the mini-review. Our own little upright seems to need monthly maintenance, so I am getting used to that. I was initially thinking of it as either/or, but it makes sense that a Roomba would still be complemented by a heavier vacuum -- hopefully at longer intervals. The fact yours is six years old is heartening. Would you say that the Roomba's brushes help keep a carpet from looking crushed? Would you say yours is a base model or one of the fancier models? Thanks again!
It's a 650, which I think was a mid-tier model at the time. We don't use it in any room where there's high traffic carpet or rug, so hard to say if it keeps the carpet from looking crushed. It's not great on mid- high-pile, but I cannot overstate how much pet hair we deal with and that's probably a big factor. After 6 years, the battery life isn't what it used to be, but that's to be expected I suppose. It needs to be recharged after every (let's say 10'x10') room.
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by pgcity »

Sorry to hear on the closing of a chapter in your life but I wish you the best in starting of a new one [mention]BostonCharlie[/mention] .

I have 2 Roombas, one is the 860 and the other is the 980 model. Get them if they're still available as they've been in market now for a while and they're well sorted. No idea on the newer s9/i7 series so check the reviews on those. The 8xx/9xx series are easy to clean and maintain and have higher suction power compared to lower end models.

Have had the 860 for 5 years while the 980 for about 3 years. You can get compatible 3rd party Lithium-Ion batteries when the originals start dying on you. The 3rd party batteries double the run time from 1-1.5 hours to about 2-3 hours. You can find replacement brushes, filters etc on Aliexpress and/or Ebay too at lower prices compared to the original Irobot replacement parts.

In terms of operation, the 860's movement is random and the longer it runs the more area it covers but it will miss some spots.

The 980 is smarter in that it maps the area out with no missed spots. It can be even be remotely turned on over a Wifi connection from anywhere in the world. Once it finishes cleaning, it sends a status update.

I have laminated flooring and don't use carpets so unsure of how good it is at handling carpets. The 980 has a carpet boost feature which i've never tried. The only thing that seems to confound both models are electrical cables, wires and such. You need to move them out of their path. One more thing you'll figure out quickly is all the spots they can get stuck underneath furniture. Lastly, the 860 can sometimes gets lost and doesn't return to base when the battery is low. The 980 has never missed the charging station. Good luck.
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by BostonCharlie »

watchpalooza wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 4:34 pm ... For smaller spaces and light to medium intensity cleaning, the dysons and their clones do work very well, bring a lot of convenience, and have pretty decent power and battery life. We just bought this one:



...
This cordless Dyson has Nerf-gun chic. The expression "weapon of choice" comes to mind ;-)
dyson.jpg
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Re: Roomba vacuum cleaner?

Post by BostonCharlie »

pgcity wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 7:35 am Sorry to hear on the closing of a chapter in your life but I wish you the best in starting of a new one @BostonCharlie .

I have 2 Roombas, one is the 860 and the other is the 980 model. Get them if they're still available as they've been in market now for a while and they're well sorted. No idea on the newer s9/i7 series so check the reviews on those. The 8xx/9xx series are easy to clean and maintain and have higher suction power compared to lower end models.

Have had the 860 for 5 years while the 980 for about 3 years. You can get compatible 3rd party Lithium-Ion batteries when the originals start dying on you. The 3rd party batteries double the run time from 1-1.5 hours to about 2-3 hours. You can find replacement brushes, filters etc on Aliexpress and/or Ebay too at lower prices compared to the original Irobot replacement parts.

In terms of operation, the 860's movement is random and the longer it runs the more area it covers but it will miss some spots.

The 980 is smarter in that it maps the area out with no missed spots. It can be even be remotely turned on over a Wifi connection from anywhere in the world. Once it finishes cleaning, it sends a status update.

I have laminated flooring and don't use carpets so unsure of how good it is at handling carpets. The 980 has a carpet boost feature which i've never tried. The only thing that seems to confound both models are electrical cables, wires and such. You need to move them out of their path. One more thing you'll figure out quickly is all the spots they can get stuck underneath furniture. Lastly, the 860 can sometimes gets lost and doesn't return to base when the battery is low. The 980 has never missed the charging station. Good luck.
Thank you for the wishes and for the detailed information. Great tips on the 3rd party parts, esp. the bigger batteries. Helpful to know about the 980 never missing the charging station -- some Amazon reviews on other models cited that as a problem. iRobot does have a refurb 980 in the eBay sale (here) for $255 after the promo.
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