[uujudy]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

UUJudy, thanks for all the great comments. Your post was very descriptive and your comments about the noise the Roomba makes .. very funny.

The Roomba website has about ten different models listed, and a couple of the robots are (supposedly) for pet hair. I'm wondering what model you have. Also, the website said Roombas are programmed to avoid cords, etc. But I didn't believe it.

I'm not sure there is a Roomba in my future after all.

I'm not sure what model I have (I left it in Utah). It's about 2 years old, and the battery needs to be replaced. I wondered about buying a new battery ($75) or just getting a new, improved Roomba. The Roomba is programmed to avoid stairs, but I don't know how it would avoid cords. Because it will go underneath furniture and into hidden areas (sofa, tables with tablecloths to the floor) I am very careful about getting the lamp cords out of its way. It came with an accessory to keep it from going into another room, but I never installed it -- I put a barstool blockade in the doorway.

The Roomba has a little spinner brush that sweeps the pet hair out of corners and into its path so the hair can get swept up. Maybe the new pet hair models have a larger spinner or a larger debris container? My container can get filled with cat hair before it's finished sweeping the kitchen. (Gosh, I sound like a slob! I really do try to keep the kitchen floor swept! It's a BIG kitchen. The spinner will pull out things that are just underneath the grill on the refrigerator where cat hair and stray bits of cat chow often hide).

As I said, the Roomba has good points and bad points. It works great on bare floors. If you plan to use it mainly on hard floors, you'll be satisfied with the job it does. It can work on carpet, but it has to work harder so the battery charge doesn't last as long. And since it's not a vacuum it doesn't pull dirt out of the carpet -- it just sweeps lint and crumbs (and cat hair) off the surface of the carpet.