We are now the proud owners of a robot, thanks to a fantastic trade I made recently – a photo session and some cash for a like new Roomba!  We had been considering purchasing one for some time but just couldn’t pull the trigger due to the hefty price tag, so when I saw one on a local buy/sell page I offered a trade and the woman selling agreed.  Luckily, the model she was selling is designed for pet hair and she still had all the accessories and manual for it.  

It’s been interesting to see how we’ve all adjusted to having a robot in the house.  The hubs and I often catch ourselves welcoming Roomba when it enters the room we are in or complimenting it for docking itself when in need of charging even though we know it’s just a machine.  We’re just friendly like that I guess.  I do find it funny that the Hubs refers to Roomba as ‘she’ while I say it’s a ‘he,’ but either way I’m really enjoying not having to vacuum as often.

The fur babies were not quite as excited about the new intruder.  Luna wasn’t quite sure what to make of it and would watch from a distance, then run off if Roomba got too close for her comfort.  The dogs on the other hand thought Roomba was a fabulous new toy that they should play with by jumping and barking.  They were pretty frustrated when Roomba ignored them and continued on his cleaning mission.

Now that its been a few weeks, they’re no longer excited about it.  In fact, now it’s often the fur babies who ignore Roomba.  He can bump into the furniture where Luna is napping and she barely even opens her eyes!  The dogs have given up trying to get Roomba to play and usually step right over him when he’s in their way.

Although he’s a bit louder than I anticipated he does a pretty good job of picking up all the pet hair, which is a big improvement for my allergies and makes me feel like the house is cleaner overall.  Granted he doesn’t get everything so I still vacuum once a week, but I no longer have to cover every square inch of the house.  Instead I focus on the corners and edges where Roomba sometimes misses spots.  Now that we’re back from traveling I just need to program his schedule so he will clean and charge all on his own and I don’t have to remember to turn him on each day.

Do you use a Roomba or similar product?  I’d love to hear any tips or tricks you might have, especially if they make life even easier. 🙂