[HopeydaFish]

A few months ago I asked OOT if anyone owned a Roomba, and asked for reviews. I'm a lazy bastard, and the idea of having a robot do my vacuuming for me was right up my alley. I finally bought one last week when I saw them on sale ($299.99 CAN).

My review:

Positives: I'm quite impressed by it so far. I was worried that it would constantly get stuck under things, or in corners, but it's very good at getting itself unstuck when it gets it tight areas. I was also impressed by the fact that it can detect areas that are dirtier than others and will spend extra time cleaning those areas. It also has spinning brushes on the corners that will grab dirt that's close to the walls and push it into its suction area. It's also not as noisy as the typical vacuum, so you can watch TV while it does its thing in the same room. It's also neat that it will return itself to its base station to recharge once it has finished cleaning the room.

Negatives: You need to spend a bit of time making the room "Roomba-friendly" before you set it loose. If you have plants who hang onto the ground, lots of loose wires, floor mats, or anything small enough to get sucked into the Roomba, it will inevitably get sucked in. The Roomba covers every inch of the room multiple times, so if something in the room is small enough to get sucked in and screw up the Roomba, the Roomba will find it. Also, the suction power is not tremendous. It's adequate, and it makes up for the lack of suction power by going over every inch of the room multiple times, but it doesn't get deep into the carpets like more powerful vacuums would do. The Roomba is good for daily maintenance, but if you're a clean-freak, it won't be enough. Obviously, the Roomba can't do stairs, either.

Anyway, if you're a lazy bastard like me, the Roomba should go on your Christmas wish list. It's well worth the money, even if it isn't perfect.