My husband is, um, let’s say a little particular about floors. Add to that the fact that we have two little humans in our house and you can imagine the tension that may exist on a regular basis. So, the Roomba® 805 Vacuuming Robot seemed like a perfect Christmas gift! The reality is, we have many years of kid messes ahead of us and a long time before we have the extra time in our schedule. It was our hope that the Roomba would be one answer to one small, but consistent dilemma in our house.
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Roomba® 805 Vacuuming Robot Features
- Just press CLEAN or schedule Roomba to run up to 7x per week.
- Roomba works on all floor types
- At just 3.6” tall, is specifically designed to fit under most furniture, beds and kickboard
- Auto Vacuum/Recharging
- 2 Virtual Walls included
- AeroForce Technology
- Self Adjusts Floor/Carpet
- Includes 1 Additional Filter
First Impressions
When we first tried it out, my husband was not convinced. The Roomba has a very irregular pattern and does not seem to be efficient at all. Initially, he didn’t think that it really worked but when we emptied the basket that collects all of the debris he was happily surprised with all of the dust, lint, crumbs etc. that it collected. At that point, he was open to giving it a trial run. After a few more trial runs, he was convinced that it was a good purchase and something that was positive for our family.
Pros
So the upside is exactly what we were hoping for. It works and so we don’t have to! We can set it and forget it and when we come back, it’s done the work while we were off taking care of other responsibilities. The Roomba has good suction and gets up a ton of lint, dust, crumbs, etc. This is a huge plus if you have an inside pet. It’s also great if someone in your house has Asthma…the less dust the better! We also had a great experience using it on both our hardwood floors and carpeted areas. Another plus is that the Roomba can get under beds, tables, sofas etc. (depending on furniture height). How often do you vacuum under your bed or sofa?!? Again, another great way to get rid of dust that’s lingering in your home! The Roomba is easy to move from one room to another or one floor of the house to another. We use it on all three levels of our home. If you have an open concept house or a larger room, the virtual walls are great to barricade areas where you want the Roomba to focus its effort. We use the virtual walls to encourage it to tend to just the dining area (remember we have young kids).
Cons
The cons are few and far between. This is a convenience product, so all of the cons have to do with convenience. As I mentioned with our first impression, the Roomba is not efficient. It can take 30 minutes to clean the same space I could clean with traditional vacuum in 10 minutes. Also, like I shared before, it leaves a random pattern. This doesn’t matter on wood floors, but it may be important if you have carpet- depending on your personal preference. Lastly, the Roomba can get stuck and stop on the job. If you have furniture that is close to the height of the Roomba, it might get stuck. If you have a cord that isn’t plugged into the wall, it could get caught up in it. If one of your kids accidentally leaves a sock under your bed, it might get wrapped around the roller. (not that this is a completely hypothetical example and has NEVER happened at my house 😉 )
Tips
We love our Roomba and use it regularly. We have a few tips that we’ve implemented to help optimize the Roomba as a tool for our family.
- We plan ahead- It’s best to use it at a time when you don’t need to be in the space. Some families use it when they go to bed, some use it when they are going out, we use it when we’re in a different space e.g. kids are playing in the basement or upstairs getting ready for bed.
- Move chairs and barstools- In order to make the job as easy as possible for the Roomba, we move our chairs and barstools out of the way. The Roomba has the technology to get through and around these, but it can take more time, so we try and make it easy so that it can be more expedient.
- Use the virtual walls- It’s our preference to have the Roomba focus on smaller areas. So, instead of doing our entire open concept main floor, we have it focus on the dining area, then the living room, then the kitchen etc. It seems to figure out the space better and be more effective/efficient. The virtual walls can be used to wall off the space.
Bottom Line
The Roomba was a great purchase. It’s a tool we can use to help with daily maintenance at our house. It enables us to focus on other priorities while helping our house to look clean. It’s a great tool for those that have young kids where there is a constant stream of crumbs on the floor or art project leftovers. If someone in your house is “particular” about the floors, the Roomba can help alleviate the daily tension that may exist from the crumbs of everyday life!
Do you have a Roomba? Let me know what you love about it. Are you considering getting one? What questions do you have?
Nice! I’ve been curious about the Roomba! Thanks for the info!
I have heard people love the Roomba! I also thought the irregular pattern was weird but people say it works! Thanks for the thorough review and info on your experience!
I’ve always been so curious about these little machines! I actually don’t mind sweeping and vaccuming! My daughter likes to “help” too. But the convenience of the roomba is intriguing!
We have a golden retriever (all the shedding) and the roomba was a total life changer for us!! So glad y’all love it!!
I have always wanted a Roomba! Maybe the hubs will be convinced now! We have a little one and 3 indoor pets. I could use a roomba!
I have way too many pets and I have been considering getting a Roomba to help fight the hair. I am gonna have to bookmark this review for later to read it again before I make the decision.
I’ve always wondered if the Roomba worked. Such a great review. The virtual wall option sounds perfect. We have three boys, so this might be going non-stop in our house!
Wow! My husband and I have actually been looking for something like this for our house! Thanks for the review.
I’ve been debating getting one, so this review is really helpful! It does more than I thought, which is great.
I’ve always wondered if the Roomba would work for our house because we have two dogs and I imagine the fur messing it up. I love the concept of it. My sister has one and loves it. I also fear our dogs were be petrified of it!
We’ve been thinking about getting a Roomba! With small kids, there seems to be a trail of crumbs everywhere in our house.
It is my DREAM to own a Roomba one day to help us stay on top of all the dog hair in my living room!
I’m actually pretty surprised by how effective my Roomba has been for our wood floors. It’s also pretty incredible how gentle it is on the floor. We got a hardwood floor refinishing recently and the Roomba hasn’t hurt the new look at all! I understand the cons you shared, but I really can’t say enough good things about the Roomba.