Roombas and Scoobas, oh my!

[kbond]

So, basically, I'm considering getting these tools as I'm really sick of our floors not really being all that clean, and I feel too pregnant to actually do much about it. (My DH will clean the floors about once a month and that's it.) I'm also anticipating that when parasite #2 is born, I will feel even less inclined during the first year to keep the floor cleaned but will have an ever increasing desire/compulsion to do so that I won't manage, and then, there will be guilt.

Do you have a roomba or a scooba? Has it changed your life? Do you have any regrets?

[Coconut Chronicles]

I love my roomba and scooba. I do tend to use the roomba a lot more than the scooba though.

[Jaxinator]

Love love love the roomba!! In fact, I just finished vacuuming the kitchen
I don't have a scooba, but if I have a lot of floors that need mopping in my next house I will get one.
Seriously, it's so great, you set it to vacuum at night and in the morning the floor is all clean and the roomba is charged, ready to go for the next spot.

[Ola_]

We have a roomba and two dogs that shed a lot. I heart my roomba. DH is in charge of cleaning it out which is even better for me. At first we had to do quite a few passes to get it clean (hadn't vacuumed for a bit before we got it) but as long as we do it regularly now it takes much less to maintain it. DH says it does a better job than our regular vacuum did too.

Plus I love that it goes under the bed, coffee tables, and other stuff that I normally would not be inclined to vacuum under because it would require moving furniture.

[bezark]

I've been seriously considering getting both for a while now. The main level of our house is 1,500 square feet of hardwood and there just aren't enough hours in a day to keep them as clean as I'd like.
Can the Roomba be used on hard floors? Can it go from the hard floor onto an area rug? I'd hate to have to roll up our massive jute rugs every time I want the house vacuumed.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by bezark

Can the Roomba be used on hard floors? Can it go from the hard floor onto an area rug? I'd hate to have to roll up our massive jute rugs every time I want the house vacuumed.

We have carpet upstairs and hardwood floors + a couple of rugs downstairs. Our roomba can do all of the above and it has no problems with transitions between area rugs and hardwood. Now the first time you run it I would watch it just to make sure, but I think it should be fine.

[Jaxinator]

Mine has trouble going onto area rugs, even the fairly low welcome mat we have.
You wouldn't have to roll them up, if it can't get on it will vacuum around it.

[kbond]

How about clutter? How clear do your floors need to be?

[Jaxinator]

I always pick up the floor clutter. Some things, like big boxes, or the garbage bin, I don't bother moving.
I guess it depends on what you have. For instance, if there's a stable stack of books that won't tip over the Roomba will just work around it.

[*Lisa*]

I love our roomba. It will go around most clutter, though you do need to pick up anything that could get stuck (last night ours tried to pick up a bead necklace, and that stopped it). We used to have a scooba, but it broke. I think we'll be getting another one at some point--it worked well for us when we used it.

[somelady]

Roombas rock! It doesn't do quite as good a job as a real vacuum I'd say, but since you can run it just about every day in the end you're better off.

Clutter is something of a problem. Though less than I had thought. We've got toys strewn around and it goes around the piles, so if the pile is dense enough that stuff isn't getting on the floor or moves enough that the roomba gets in there sometimes you're all good.

DS (21mo) is currently enamored with ours. He barely lets the poor thing recharge. Our floors are a lot cleaner than they might be otherwise though

One thing to take note of is that the different price levels mostly pertain to battery size and thus the amount of area you can do. So if you have a decent sized place you'll probably need one of the pricier models.

[Jaxinator]

For anyone interested woot.com often sells refurbished Roombas. I just saw one on there for $179. It's worth a look if you want one.

[dbsam]

regarding the scooba...
Is it difficult/gross to clean after using?
How large of an area can it handle on one tank?


I vacuum and wash my kitchen floor daily (sometimes hands and knees, other times Hoover floormate, and lately just 'spray and scoot'). The scooba sounds great. I have two very furry dogs but a pp said it was fine with dog hair. I don't like cleaning the floormate if I don't vacuum first and assume this w/b similar. If you don't vacuum first, are you cleaning out wet food and hair from the scooba?

The Roomba also looks great but we have a central vac system that does a great job and the canister in the garage needs to be emptied very rarely which is nice. However, dragging around the hose is a PITA. So I need to decide which is less convenient...dragging around a hose or emptying the roomba.

There are so many models to choose from!

[sunnysandiegan]

We have both and them both! Got them both on woot a year or two apart (roomba $149+5s&h; scooba $99+2.5s&h - split order).

The Roomba works best when you run it frequently. I have it clean our kitchen twice a week and the other rooms once a week each (downstairs only). It is busy 4-5 days a week and our floors always look nice. We have all cork flooring on that level and the edges show the cat fur and dust whenever I slack off on running the Roomba. Some area rugs are okay to leave down and others need to be picked up. The key is if the rugs stays put or rumples. We have both and I only pick up the ones that rumple and the Roomba gets stuck on. As others have said, it does a good job of going around piles/items if they are secure type items. Loose items will either get pushed around or sucked up, depending on what they are. It isn't magic, though, so don't expect it to be.

The Scooba does a light pick up of dry debris right before it sprays down the liquid cleaner (I use plain hot water, but you can use vinegar and water or the Scooba cleaner). Cleaning it out is not gross to me and is super easy. You just rinse out the two rubber-plastic contraptions. Stuff doesn't build up or have any crevices to get nasty in on those two pieces. I also remove the brush piece and rinse that off and leave everything to dry. If you do it every time, it is quick and easy. If you leave it to build up, the section between the two squeegee parts on the brush piece can get a little icky. It runs for 45 minutes on one tank and the battery lasts for two tanks (on my model). I can do my kitchen on one tank (12x14, I think) and the powder room and foyer on another tank (downstairs on one charge). I can also do the upstairs bathrooms on one tank (I mix that in with one charge). I clean after the complete charge cycle is done, not after each tank unless I am only doing one tank that day.

Both items do a good job if you plan to run them frequently. They aren't perfect and shouldn't be compared to hands&knees mopping or a central vac. The way I see it is this: If you are cleaning regularly in depth, then these tools probably aren't going to give you the same level of clean. However, If you are NOT cleaning regularly in depth, then these tools will give you a new level of clean and appreciation for "robots".

[kbond]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I think I'm pretty much sold even after reading a lot of the negative reviews on Amazon. (Most of those sounded like people who didn't want to regular maintenance on the robots.) Now, I just have to save up the money to afford them.

[Ola_]

Not sure if you have a Costco membership (or know someone who does) but that's where we got ours from. It's not the latest model (1 back if I recall correctly) but it's still great and they have an excellent return policy.