I had 2 as gifts. One was a Scooba that mopped the floor. Don’t waste your money. They do a poor job at best and always find a way to get caught up in furniture legs. And they are not cheap.

 

There's really only one good choice.

 

I always wondered how she got rid of the dirt after sucking it up.

I don't think I want to know!

Also, I agree that household appliances, especially vacuums of any kind are really bad gift ideas for the wife!!!:Modified_

R

 

I had one of the Gen3 Roomba's.

As Dave says, don't waste your money. Got sick and tired of fighting with it all the time. Easier/quicker to grab a broom/mop.

If I got one as a gift right now, I'd re-gift it.

Craig...

 

I will go along with dlong. Always getting stuck somewhere. Daughter has one too and her cat hates it. She puts toys around it to trap it.

 

Cranky, I don't have any experience to offer regarding robotic vacuums. I am however a married pet owner and I see two possibly fatal flaws in your plan.

1) Buying your wife a household appliance for her birthday is a good way to whanged in the head with a frying pan. Looking at the CDC blunt trauma injury statistics, many are directly related to just such an activity. I'm not saying that's how your wife will react but it's a possibility.

2) YouTube is full of videos showing "Roomba meets pet mess" and they're not pretty. I don't know your cats, maybe they have cast iron stomachs and never puke up wet slimey hair balls. But if they do and the Roomba finds them your wife will not be impressed.

My suggestion is to find a local maid service and buy your wife a gift certificate for a couple house cleanings for her birthday. Pricier for sure but they'll do a better job, you'll be a hero for at least 5 minutes, and it's still cheaper than the deductible on an emergency room visit.

Good luck!

Frank

 

Ours can't handle ANY cords Gen 3 Roomba. We just bought the Shark, it actually vacuums in a pattern, the Roomba just made no sense. The scooba is really old technology. We nave the shark. Stoopid $$$ but she's happy. My Mom has Braava its also stoopid $$ but it works.

 

I manage a Best Buy and personally love the robot vacuum technology. We've had a robot vac for about 4 years now and love how clean the house stays with very little effort. No more dog hair stuck to the bottom of my feet!

First tip: Don't start cheap to "see if you like it." One of two things will happen. Either 1) you won't like the cheap one and will have wasted your money, or 2) you will like it but wish you bought a better one and will upgrade (in my case twice!) and will have wasted your money. Just start with a good one and enjoy it! Stay away from any no-name brands. iRobot and Neato are the only two worth looking at. Both companies make a great product and have great customer support. Shark is a recent entry into the game. While Shark generally makes great vacuums, they haven't been in the robot game long enough for me to give a solid assessment. I will say this: Shark is a vacuum company that made a robot. iRobot is a robot company that makes vacuums. iRobot has made Mars landers, bomb disposal robots, mine sweepers, and search & rescue robots.

Navigation: Get an iRobot i7 or s9, or a Neato D7 (we'll talk about the iRobot + models in a sec). These models use intelligent navigation to know where they are in the house. This gives them the ability to be sent to clean specific areas, like cleaning just the kitchen or the living room. They can also recharge in the middle of a job and resume where they left off if the job is too big to complete on a single charge. You can also create virtual barriers to keep the robot out of rooms or away from the Christmas tree. These models also clean in a deliberate back and forth pattern, while the cheaper one randomly "pinball" all over the place.

Power: The D shape of the iRobot s9 and Neato D7 put the brush right up front and allow room for more powerful motors. These two models do the best job of cleaning both carpets and hard surfaces.

iRobot + models: The s9+ and i7+ have a base that will empty the robot for you. The base can hold about 60 days' worth of dirt before you have to remove the bag and throw it away. This is a really cool feature if you aren't at home much or are just too lazy to empty the robot daily. However, the + feature does cost $200 more than the same model without it, so you have to decide if it's worth it for you. Personally, I've never found emptying the robot to be that big if a deal.



(Incidentally, I named my vacuum Rosie, lol!)

 

I manage a Best Buy and personally love the robot vacuum technology. We've had a robot vac for about 4 years now and love how clean the house stays with very little effort. No more dog hair stuck to the bottom of my feet!

First tip: Don't start cheap to "see if you like it." One of two things will happen. Either 1) you won't like the cheap one and will have wasted your money, or 2) you will like it but wish you bought a better one and will upgrade (in my case twice!) and will have wasted your money. Just start with a good one and enjoy it! Stay away from any no-name brands. iRobot and Neato are the only two worth looking at. Both companies make a great product and have great customer support. Shark is a recent entry into the game. While Shark generally makes great vacuums, they haven't been in the robot game long enough for me to give a solid assessment. I will say this: Shark is a vacuum company that made a robot. iRobot is a robot company that makes vacuums. iRobot has made Mars landers, bomb disposal robots, mine sweepers, and search & rescue robots.

Navigation: Get an iRobot i7 or s9, or a Neato D7 (we'll talk about the iRobot + models in a sec). These models use intelligent navigation to know where they are in the house. This gives them the ability to be sent to clean specific areas, like cleaning just the kitchen or the living room. They can also recharge in the middle of a job and resume where they left off if the job is too big to complete on a single charge. You can also create virtual barriers to keep the robot out of rooms or away from the Christmas tree. These models also clean in a deliberate back and forth pattern, while the cheaper one randomly "pinball" all over the place.

Power: The D shape of the iRobot s9 and Neato D7 put the brush right up front and allow room for more powerful motors. These two models do the best job of cleaning both carpets and hard surfaces.

iRobot + models: The s9+ and i7+ have a base that will empty the robot for you. The base can hold about 60 days' worth of dirt before you have to remove the bag and throw it away. This is a really cool feature if you aren't at home much or are just too lazy to empty the robot daily. However, the + feature does cost $200 more than the same model without it, so you have to decide if it's worth it for you. Personally, I've never found emptying the robot to be that big if a deal.

(Incidentally, I named my vacuum Rosie, lol!)

Yikes Stripes!!!! I checked Amazon for that S9+ Roomba, over $1000!!!!! Crazy for a robotic vacuum. You can get a Miele cordless for $699 which is much more powerful and control your own destiny and burn a few calories if you don't want to fart around with a cord. Nothing beats miele, nothing. I've had them all. Dyson weights 400 pounds. Shark is garbage. Eureka, Bissel , Hoover, whatever, nothing beats Miele. Buy once cry once. Uprights just dont have the manuverability of a canister.

 

We have a "DeeBot" - bought it about 4 years ago, and we *LOVE* it. At the time we bought it, it compared better than Roomba. Roomba certainly has the name, but they're not the only thing out there. We like our DeeBot so much that we gave them to my sister in law and our daughter - and they love theirs! I think we paid about $200 or so for them. Model N-79, but they now have newer ones.

 

Just be aware if you have a pet that may poop on the floor you'll get a smear job. Happened to a friend of mine.

 

I had a $300 one that had pretty good reviews on amazon. Didn't pick up everything, took too long to do its thing, had a tiny waste hopper and as noted, was always getting stuck. If you've got a cat, forget it. It will fill up with hair after doing 100 sq ft.

I got tired of supervising, cleaning and rescuing it, so it went into the trash.

 

My wife recently bought a Roomba (vacuum only) with some holiday cash from her mother. She loves it. We have an open floor plan in our downstairs, with a mix of wood floors and throw rugs. The Roomba gets held up on cables, dog toys etc. so some pre-cleaning is necessary. But we had to do that anyway to use the old-style vacuum. As I say, my wife loves the thing, has named it after a butler in a popular mystery series, and we are amazed at the stuff we take out of the robot's bin --- stuff which we apparently have been content to live with for years. So we are cleaner, my wife has less work, the thing navigates back to its own charging station, and it was paid for with "gift money." I think it cost around $600, which is a lot for a vacuum cleaner. But my wife's happiness and satisfaction? Priceless.

 

For $600 dollars you can buy a Meile Canister vacuum. The best. period.

 

Ordinarily, that would be my line, but in this case, I believe I said, "yes, dear." See, it was the autonomous nature of the thing that intrigued my wife rather than an opportunity to work with "the best."

And purchasing a better vacuum cleaner might have been interpreted as a critique of how she worked with the existing one. No sir! Hey, she doesn't tell me what kitchen knives to buy and I don't tell her how to vacuum. Works out well for everyone.

 

Kids got me a Yeedi for Christmas. It seems to work ok but has only found its way back to the charger once before the battery died. Also wants to start when I hit the volume down on the tv remote then has a hard time finding the charger again, so you end up shutting it off, but then it doesn't charge. Almost entertaining. I wouldn't give it too many stars.

 

You guys are killing me! Keep it up!

I appreciate the warnings concerning getting the wifey a vacuum cleaner but if you remember, I also got her a new set of snow tires and a washing machine, both of which went on her visa card. Love the Crunchy recommendation especially!

She wants a robo-vac!

Hey, what can I say, you can call me a romantic devil but some guys got it. Most of you poor basturds don't!

This one will be going on my visa card by the way.

Keep the recommendations coming, I am eating it up.

 

Roborock. They are getting excellent reviews all around and are much smarter than the others. Much more integrated and works with smart home, Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa.

 

I got the wife a $200 Shark a couple of years ago and we named it Robby after the movie robot. The reviews were as good as any of the others no matter what their cost. We also got magnetic tape to keep him out of places where he would get hung up. We haven't bothered to do the blu tooth thing and just push clean and dock to control him. He does a good job. Our grand daughter is a beautician and cuts our hair at our home. Robbie gets it all.

Sometimes I "assist" him by guiding him into another room using my foot. All our floors are laminate except for tile in the bathrooms and we keep those doors closed when he's working. Our daughter also has a Shark and uses it on laminate and tile but not on the carpet in their bedrooms.

 

We have 3 iRobots 690 and 670 series. Used daily. Had one 3 years now.

 

The huge advantage to a robo-vacuum is the fact that they get underneath things and clean better than any human operated vacuum will ever do - short of moving all the furniture. Yea, our DeeBot gets wedged under one couch with distressing frequency, I just pull it out and hit the "go" button. The other couch is higher, and it happily cleans under it without issue. Yes, the dust bin is small, but its large enough for one cleaning session, and the 'bot gets TONS of cat hair and dust up.

They don't do well on carpet.

Ours has some kind of WiFi connectivity - we've never bothered with it as it makes little sense, and it requires a "device" to use it in that mode. No computer connectivity, only "devices".

 

My Wifey bought me a Shark. [Actually for her] It is a stupid piece of junk. Gets stuck under one piece of furniture and can't get out. Get all your cords up as it will snatch lamps off the furniture. I use the magnetic strips to keep it in one room. If left to wonder, will get in a walk-in closet and can't get out. Sits in the charger all the time. Occasionally Wifey will run it. "Oh it is great." Well what about all the spots it missed. I will sit and watch for a few. It goes around and around sometimes. Sometimes it will run into a wall and then other times will turn inches before the wall. I am sure it is great if you don't have a lot of furniture and lamps in a room. My Wifey can fill a room with furniture, something in every corner and lots of lamps.

 

Yes, Dyson is a ton. Hateful to run. I use to have to do the vacuuming. Wifey said, "Your Dad did it for your Mom so you do here." Then Dr. said, "No." The twisting and etc. is causing your back to get worse. [have a bulged disc pinching nerves] Now she does it. Agree with dlong. If done right, better job if human does it.

 

Dyson is all marketing. They have a store on 5th Avenue. They do have some very cool airflow products. My daughter has their $400 hand held hair dryer only because she is a crazy nurse with more money than she know what to do with. They have some cool fans and room purifying products. Ain;t cheap and very rarely discounted.

 

I've been vacuuming for 50 years. It was my chore as a kid when I lived with my mom in an apartment and wall to wall carpeting was in vogue. I've used them all including Kirby. Anyone remember Kirby?? I have used almost all brands and my current Miele Cat & Dog is pushing 20 years old. Nothing even comes close. Not by a long shot. As another vacuum expert once told me, "It's not about suction, its airflow." Spend close to a grand on one of the higher priced Miele canister vacuums and you will never look back. And expect to pay $18 for 4 bags and around $40 for charcoal filter once a year. I get 2 months out of a bag and I have 4 cats and a dog. The bag acts as one of three filters. Any vacuum that does not have a bag is a waste of time. Your just sending all kinds of dust and dirt back into your environment.

 

I've been vacuuming for 50 years. I get 2 months out of a bag and I have 4 cats and a dog.

I only vacuum about once a month and have no cats (or a dog).

Do you make house calls, and what do you charge? (You can bring the dog if you want! :bthumb

R

 

If I didn't have the DeeBot, I'd go with a central vacuum system. I too have used 'em all, and they're all too heavy and cumbersome. Kirby was probably the best of the bunch, but have an older Dyson (pre-ball) that we inherited from my late father - it works very well, but is HUGE.

The only downside to the DeeBot is the stupid batteries - I hate battery operated equipment even on a good day, it looks like batteries last about 3 years in this one.

 

I consider myself a self proclaimed expert on vacuuming. Its a hobby of mine.

Oh, and never ever shampoo a carpet. Getting a carpet wet is the absolute worst thing you can do.

 

I consider myself a self proclaimed expert on vacuuming. Its a hobby of mine.

Oh, and never ever shampoo a carpet. Getting a carpet wet is the absolute worst thing you can do.

I'm far from an egg spurt but worse than spilling oil paint on it?
Carpet cleaning~ https://www.homeadvisor.com/r/carpet-cleaning-mistakes-to-avoid/

Rain Man just got over.

 

Watching battlebots and having fun thinking about what a two hundred pound bot of destruction would do to a Roomba!!!



R

 

VS

My money is on the battlebot!

R