So, anyone got an iRobot Roomba or other robot vacuum cleaner?

Caporegime
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So I have a flat and looking to get this. As a single man I cant be bothered to hoover more than twice a week with the dyson so hoping this will save me the effort. What seems to be the general consensus between these 2. I want it to do the kitchen (hard lino stuff) The rest is carpet and consists of the Living room with sofas it can go under and then the bedroom and hallway.

So iRobot Roomba 880 at £ 650 or the Neato botvac 85 at £450

So far im edging to roomba based on reviews but im not sure its £200 better.

Any particular logic behind choosing only the most expensive Roomba? :confused:
 
Soldato
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The fact that every review of it says the older ones are pretty crap compared to the new one with the anti tangle brushes and that it has 50% more suction. That and if I am going to try it I might as well get the latest one :p
 
Caporegime
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The fact that every review of it says the older ones are pretty crap compared to the new one with the anti tangle brushes and that it has 50% more suction. That and if I am going to try it I might as well get the latest one :p

No reviews say the old ones are crap, you're reading all the marketing spiel and choosing to interpret it that way. The older models are also proven performers, as a bit of research would show you.
 
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Man of Honour
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I've just ordered the Neato BotVac 85. Will arrive tomorrow and I will come back with how I get on. This model has a bigger tray, filters and side brushes so I'm hoping it does a decent job. I also live in a bungalow so this is perfect!
 
Soldato
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I expect this will be a bit of a game changer..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6ReNFlxqJc
So I was interested in this coming out too, but I'm not sure I like the size of this machine. I have a Roomba and for me one of the best features of it is its height - it goes under the beds, the kick-space under kitchen cabinets, under wardrobes etc, which makes a big difference by eliminating the 'dust reservoir' in the house. This beasty looks the height of a normal dyson cyclone arrangement (+ a bit), so isn't going to get into half of the places Roomba can manage. The clever navigation is a plus, but if it can't do everywhere in the first place, what's the point? It's probably also going to be double the price, so I definitely remain to be convinced.
 
Caporegime
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So I was interested in this coming out too, but I'm not sure I like the size of this machine. I have a Roomba and for me one of the best features of it is its height - it goes under the beds, the kick-space under kitchen cabinets, under wardrobes etc, which makes a big difference by eliminating the 'dust reservoir' in the house. This beasty looks the height of a normal dyson cyclone arrangement (+ a bit), so isn't going to get into half of the places Roomba can manage. The clever navigation is a plus, but if it can't do everywhere in the first place, what's the point? It's probably also going to be double the price, so I definitely remain to be convinced.

If the Dyson does not fit under these places then it's an automatic fail.
 
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Soldato
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Do you guys have two (ignoring Chipperhead with his four :p)? One for upstairs and one for downstairs?

I'd love stuff like this but my house is only a two up to down and while it would promote me to keep things off the floor, I'd still need to dust the skirting boards and vacuum the stairs. Not sure if I can justify it for something that normally takes me 45 mins every two weeks.
 
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Man of Honour
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Looks good to me, Looks like it should pick up a lot more. Don't think height would be an issue for most people.

I bet it's prohibitively expensive though.
 
Caporegime
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Looks good to me, Looks like it should pick up a lot more. Don't think height would be an issue for most people.

I bet it's prohibitively expensive though.

The height would certainly be an issue for many people. Roomba is designed so that it fits perfectly under 99% of furniture... that Dyson won't. Considering how much extra coverage that gives the Roomba and how much extra dust it will pick up as a result, then it's obviously of importance.
 
Soldato
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Stripped mine down this afternoon, couldn't believe how much fluff had gotten into the bearings. Would definitely recommended doing that on a regular basis to keep it from failing!

Absolutely, I followed a guide on youtube and the amount of fluff and dust was unreal.
Anyway I need to introduce another member to our family, scooba the floor mopping robot.
It's absolutely fantastic, the water is black when you empty it after it finishes.
I've also modified both of them with thin rubber strips at the front to avoid any tiny scratches on delicate furniture and kitchen appliances.

IMG_20140906_135721.jpg


These have really been a life changer for us, living next to the beach and having a dog, it was a constant never ending daily battle of sweeping and mopping the hard floors.
Also I'm really pleased with the roomba on carpets, I can't recommend them enough :)
 
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Caporegime
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Absolutely, I followed a guide on youtube and the amount of fluff and dust was unreal.
Anyway I need to introduce another member to our family, scooba the floor mopping robot.
It's absolutely fantastic, the water is black when you empty it after it finishes.
I've also modified both of them with thin rubber strips at the front to avoid any tiny scratches on delicate furniture and kitchen appliances.

IMG_20140906_135721.jpg


These have really been a life changer for us, living next to the beach and having a dog, it was a constant never ending daily battle of sweeping and mopping the hard floors.
Also I'm really pleased with the roomba on carpets, I can't recommend them enough :)

To be fair, the Scooba doesn't get such great feedback.
 
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