Opinions on Roomba Discovery Vacuum

We've got a Kirby and a Roomba (regular red one) and a Scooba. The one thing I have to worry about with the Roomba (or any vacuum for that matter) is that I have to "pre-flight check" the floor for small toys and string, etc. before I vacuum; you get a lot of tears if you vacuum up the Barbie shoes by accident. With the Discovery model, I'm afraid that I might not get that "pre-check" done before it takes off.

Still, it forces me to tidy up once in a while and get the girls' clothes and toys off the floor. We've got three cats, one of which is VERY long-haired, and the Roomba is full of cat hair DAILY now. Since it goes under couches and beds (but a regular vacuum doesn't) it picks up lots of hair from the favorite hiding places.

I've heard lots of great things about Roomba. Can you borrow theirs for a day and see how it does with the hair?

I don't have a Roomba, but while visiting my cousin's house, my 18 month old son accidentally started hers and was TERRIFIED of it. He ran to me, crying and screaming. I felt so bad, and gave up any hope of ever owning one! I'd visit someone with a Roomba first, just to be on the safe side ;)

I love it!! I got one for carpet for my daycare and we use it daily and the floor looks better than the hoover we use to have.
I would pay any amount for time it has saved me.
any questions e-mail me at ____@____.com

I have two labs and the dog hair is truly out of hand -- no matter what the season. The problem I found with my Roomba (got it for Christmas last year) is that the compartment that holds the dirt/hair/whatever else it picks up is very small. And once that compartment is filled, the Roomba automatically quits. So for your average household, where the Roomba is picking up small particles of dust and dirt, this product is fabulous. But for someone with pet hair, I wouldn't recommend it. The pet hair fills up the compartment much too quickly to be really useful.

We had a Roomba about 3 years ago (so I'm not sure if they've made improvements since), but it did not do a wonderful job cleaning up our 2 dogs' hair (tile & laminate flooring). I expected it to be something I could start while I did other household chores, etc. It was loud, it seemed to miss entire sections of the room, and it would leave big clumps of hair periodically as it moved along. After awhile, I found that it was easier to just get the regular vacuum out and spend 10 mins doing a quick vacuum instead of being annoyed by the Roomba! I think it's probably a nice "between vacuum" product if you don't have alot of pet hair!

T.:

All I can tell you is that my son got me a dyson for mother's day. I too have 90% hardwood/ an aussie and two cats!. I love this vacuum.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com