iRobot Silver 4150 Vacuum

Really Works! Works Well! A true time saver., July 16, 2007

Let me start off by saying that I'm a cleaner. I have two hairy dogs, a four year old and allergies to dust, so I'm constantly cleaning. My Dyson vacuum quite literally stays plugged in all the time. I like a deep down clean. I had seen the Roomba for years and thought it wasn't for me.

Well, while researching the Scooba (also a...read full review Let me start off by saying that I'm a cleaner. I have two hairy dogs, a four year old and allergies to dust, so I'm constantly cleaning. My Dyson vacuum quite literally stays plugged in all the time. I like a deep down clean. I had seen the Roomba for years and thought it wasn't for me.

Well, while researching the Scooba (also a fabulous machine) I decided to go ahead and get a Roomba if only for my kitchen floor. My dogs stay primarily in the kitchen and there's always a ton of hair in there. I have to vacuum every day. I thought I'd just give the Roomba a try. I figured it would clog up with hair in 5 minutes and die, but it didn't. I have a 200 square foot kitchen and the thing cleaned and cleaned until I finally it needed the filter cleaned out (about 45 minutes later) I can't blame it, there was two days worth of dog hair on the floor. If it can handle that, it can handle anything.

Next, I set it loose (on the same charge, no less) on the upstairs carpet which is approximately 800 square feet. It cleaned the living room, bathrooms, hall, bedroom and even under the bed! I was quite impressed. It never got stuck. I followed it around to make sure it didn't have any problems and it never did. It went over area rugs, thresholds, & bathmats.

I think some people get confused and think that the Roomba is a like a vacuum and then they get disappointed. It's a more of a sweeper. It will get surface dust, hair, crumbs and debris. If you want a deep down vacuum you'll have to pull out your old upright. But if you want a daily sweep up this is the gadget for you.

With that being said, I have to give Roomba props for it's level of cleaning. I have 5 year old carpet, it's the low grade stuff the builders install, and Roomba still does a nice job combing the carpet. I can see where Roomba has been because it leaves those nice little brush marks we compulsive cleaners love. Although I'm sure that will vary depending on your carpet.

I can't vouch for Roomba's longevity since I've only had it one day. It does seem to move more freely on hard floors than carpet. I don't know if carpeting puts more strain on the motor or not. That could be a factor in longevity. But for now I'd have to say that this little gadget is a time saver and worth 5 stars. It does what it is designed to do and it does it rather well.

The only thing I would recommend is that you get the one that returns to the base charger when it's battery is low. That is a nice convenience. That way you'll always have your Roomba ready to use.


Definately worth the money. A true time and labor saver. Now, maybe I'll have time to work on my messy garage.

Hope this helped you make your decision.
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Works well except for a few flaws, December 29, 2007

I just got this Roomba a few days ago and I have found some really good points and a few bad points. For me, the good points outweigh the bad b/c my house really is much cleaner with very little effort. But if you're a perfectionist, this may not be the best thing for you.

Good Points:
1. Super easy to use - just plop it down...read full review I just got this Roomba a few days ago and I have found some really good points and a few bad points. For me, the good points outweigh the bad b/c my house really is much cleaner with very little effort. But if you're a perfectionist, this may not be the best thing for you.

Good Points:
1. Super easy to use - just plop it down and off it goes.
2. Cleans well - I have a dog and I hate vacuuming so the Roomba is a huge help. It does better on hard floor than carpet, though.
3. Spot cleans - nifty little feature where you can tell it to just clean a small area and it will spiral around a few times.


Bad Points:
1. Other electronics can interfere with its operation. The Roomba works like a dream in every room except my living room, where it basically acts like it's gone completely haywire! It spins in a circle for 40 minutes, plows right through the virtual walls, and climbs up my TV (and gets stuck) instead of just turning around. I think it's because I have a wireless router in that room.
2. A lot of hair or carpet fuzz can be difficult to clean out of the brush, and you have to keep the brushes clean all the time, but they do give you a special tool to help with this.
3. It can get stuck on wires or oddly shaped furniture/obstacles so if you turn it on and leave, it may get stuck within 5 minutes and never clean the room. I usually turn mine on when I'm puttering around the house with other things.

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Roomba Fought My Living Rom, And My Living Room Won, July 15, 2008

I think this machine has potential, and could work for some people. I think you have to be a "neat" person already for it to function ideally.

I don't have a lot of clutter, but I have hardwood floors and a rug in the center of the living room and a dining room set with chairs, tables, etc., but in a smaller space (the dining room is ...read full review I think this machine has potential, and could work for some people. I think you have to be a "neat" person already for it to function ideally.

I don't have a lot of clutter, but I have hardwood floors and a rug in the center of the living room and a dining room set with chairs, tables, etc., but in a smaller space (the dining room is connected to the living room). So I had to "rescue" it a lot. It would get temporarily hung up on the edge of the rug (which has a higher pile), but would, if you gave it enough time, correct itself. Sometimes it would interpret the rug as a wall, I think, and this would lead to it getting "stuck" in certain areas of my living room (cleaning the same few square feet over and over again). I know it does go over its path a few times, but this really was a situation in which it was seeing the rug as an obstacle.

It did a good job picking things up, but couldn't get into all the nooks and crannies I would with a canister vac. So, if I used Roomba, I'd have to have another vacuum for those areas. I also found that I had to move my furniture around a little, and *everything* had to be picked up off the floor. When I vacuum, I just go around these things, but Roomba would be confused by them (things like my daughter's infant swing and play pen).

It also lost its charge rather quickly. It took two charges for it to clean my living room, and the room is not that big (maybe because it had to do so much thinking to get around my stuff).

Also, after these two cleanings, it took me about 15 minutes to clean the brushes (so I could return it). Overall, I spent MUCH more time creating an environment in which the Roomba would work, and maintaining Roomba (plugging it in to charge, cleaning brushes, dislodging it when it got stuck on something (it beeps to warn you when it's actually stuck on the corner of something)) than I would have spent vacuuming the room myself.

That said, if I had all hardwood floors or all carpeting, a more spacious abode with furniture more spread out, it would be a nice tool to have IN ADDITION to a regular vacuum. It really does do a decent job of getting dust and pet hair up and getting into some nooks and crannies. I'd give it a try to see if it works in your environment, but if you do have a smaller space, multiple terrains (rugs & hardwood), and aren't already very neat, or have kids and their things around, it may be more of an inconvenience than a convenience.

I also think it might be good for someone with disabilities that made it difficult to use a push vac. Even though some bending over is required, it's not as much PHYSICAL labor as vacuuming (more time-labor though). It would function to keep things relatively clean enough until someone else could come over every few weeks and help with more detailed cleaning. For this person, though, I'd get the more expensive, self-docking model. I would consider the more expensive model for my mom, who has trouble with her knees and bending over, lots of pain, etc.
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A good little robot, May 28, 2007

The rumba is a great little device; the only thing that people should be aware of is the fact that it takes about 5 times as long as it would take a normal person to clean 1 room. As long as you are patient and don't try and wait for one speck of dust on the floor to be sucked up by roomba (this will drive you nuts) you will be a roomba lover as...read full review The rumba is a great little device; the only thing that people should be aware of is the fact that it takes about 5 times as long as it would take a normal person to clean 1 room. As long as you are patient and don't try and wait for one speck of dust on the floor to be sucked up by roomba (this will drive you nuts) you will be a roomba lover as well. An added benefit is that it will really vacuum under things that you wouldn't bother to like beds and small tables. On average I would say that roomba vacuums about as well as the average person. Worth the money if you aren't a fan of housework. minimize

Good Idea - Needs lots of attention, February 4, 2008

My wife and I have a love hate relationship with "Roomba". We purchased our first 4 years ago and found that it's wonderful for cleaning under some furniture and the beds where other vacs do not easily reach. The initial robot broke after about 18 months and Irobot replaced it free with a newer model, the Sage. This robot lasted about another...read full review My wife and I have a love hate relationship with "Roomba". We purchased our first 4 years ago and found that it's wonderful for cleaning under some furniture and the beds where other vacs do not easily reach. The initial robot broke after about 18 months and Irobot replaced it free with a newer model, the Sage. This robot lasted about another 18 months when it would not charge the battery, even a new battery and even after I called technical support and learned about holding down the power button. Technical support sold us a new robot for a hundred dollars plus shipping and this time it did charge our new battery. The vac then proceeded to run off the top out our stairs, something the other robots did not do, and broke. Irobot was nice about it and sent us a new robot for free, given that the other one had been used for under an hour and we paid to send them the broken unit back. The new one seems to work fine.

To purchase this vac you really need to want to devote some time to caring for it. It always needs to be emptied and the brushes and under carriage parts need cleaning frequently. This is definitely a high maintainence device. It is not for nothing that there is a roomba users group with considerable technical information and if you search ebay and the web you can find lots of stores selling batteries, some of which you can assemble yourself! They even provide the special screwdriver for the screws used in the battery.

The new robots seem to have fewer problems with dirt affecting the wheel sensors and maybe the treads don't fall apart so easily. So in spite of everything, our "roomba" does get under the difficult to reach parts of our carpeted bedroom - a really good thing

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