I have wanted a robotic vacuum for years, but the price tag has always been the main deterrent. In past years, when my Christmas money started burning a hole in my pocket, I would spend hours looking longingly at the Roomba, and then quickly close my Amazon browser before my mouse-clicking hand could override my brain. This year, however, I came across a Groupon too good to be true, and I jumped at the chance to finally purchase my very own little cleaning robot.
When Bob arrived, I noted how thorough the packaging was...it included everything I could imagine a vacuum would need, and more. Replacement parts, a concise owner's manual (because let's face it, I don't have time to read anything thicker than a Llama Llama book these days), cleaning tools, and even a little screwdriver! I'm easily impressed. Once I did the few things needed to get Bob ready, I plugged him in to charge, reluctantly waiting until the next day to test him out.
Why such excitement? Well, I'm not ashamed to say this; our house is dog-friendly. That means dog hair is constantly everywhere. Piled in the corners, woven through the strands on our rug, and even occasionally floating in our drinks. It's the price we pay for having 2 high-shedding dogs. And while we wouldn't trade them for anything, I do get sick of the hair. No matter how much we vacuum, we can't seem to stay on top of the daily furmageddon. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I knew he had the potential to be life-changing!
On his first run, he did manage to run into just about every single thing in our entire house. Many times. But he's a fairly quick learner. And he cleaned under my couches! UNDER MY COUCHES!! That alone was worth the price for me! He goes along my walls, cleans under tables and chairs with relative ease, and manages to find his charger when he is done cleaning (usually after about 45 minutes). No matter how many times he has cleaned during the week, his dustbin is always surprisingly and disgustingly full of dust and hair. We mainly have tile and wood, but he did just fine on our patterned rug and carpet once we blinded him. The diagonal lines apparently made him think he was going to fall off the edge of something; this prompted a pretty hilarious jig all over the living room before I finally decided to rescue him. He is a little louder than I thought he would be, but nowhere near as noisy as our Dyson. The dogs give him a wide berth, and Addison follows him around watching him clean, which is an added bonus. How do you think I'm getting time to write this review?! ;-)
He does have a few drawbacks. He doesn't always clean every spot that I think he should, and sometimes I catch him going back to a certain spot over and over, which is a little annoying. I find that if I just let him work without watching him, I am a lot happier. As long as the dustbin is full at the end of his run, I try not to nitpick. After all, after just 4 hours, I can put him to work again!
If I had it to do all over, I would purchase him again in a heartbeat. To all of our future visitors who prefer their environments hair-free, you're welcome!
Meet Bob. I just love his shiny red color!
This is Bob's dustbin today after Erik vacuumed just last night with our Dyson. Full and dirty!
