We have a Scooba. This is what you can expect in the future. We've had one of these for a few years and, in general, we like it. We only use it for our kitchen. At the beginning of 2008 the battery went bad and I contacted iRobot about it because the new ones are $70.00 and I felt it was too expensive considering the length of time we had the unit. Well, the one they sent me (free except for me shipping the old one back - which I appreciated) just died. I called them again to see if they would give me a reduced price on a new one. Nope. Replace it since it only lasted two years? Nope. Trash can! We will be cleaning our floor by hand from now on. $35.00 a year for maintenance is too high, especially when you consider the exorbitant cost of the cleaning fluid, and the initial cost of the robot. Over the long haul these are a ripoff. I guess I've learned my lesson. Now I have to find someone that will buy all our cleaner...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my floor robots! I have a couple of Roombas and a Scooba. 1) Do they really know how to navigate so as to not keep retracing their "steps"? They do retrace their steps to some extent. I used to worry about it, now I just let them do their thing and see the results at the completion. 2) Does Scooba leave any standing water? No. A little bit of dampness to dry, about five minutes. 3) Scooba's so small. Don't you have to keep refilling? I have one that goes for nearly an hour, I refill it once during that amount of time. 4) Has the Clorox cleaner been ok for your wood floors? Sorry, I don't have wood floors. 5) They're really expensive. Worth it or no? I LOVE, LOVE my Roomba. I really LIKE my Scooba. If I could only have one, it would be the Roomba. 6) Any mechanical problems? Like a wonderful pet, they are great but do require some care. I empty my Roomba each time it runs (I have five boxer dogs) and I clean its brushes about every three runs. Maintenance is easy and takes a few minutes. Beyond that any problems I have had (few) have been quickly repaired by iRobot sending me a new part. 7) If they get stuck and you don't notice it right away, do they eventually turn off? Yes, they call you first (beep, beep). If you ignore them, they turn off/wait. 8) One of my issues is pet hair; any probs there? Well, I have five dogs, LOTS of hair even though they are boxers. I don't mind paying for something that works, but these days, it seems like everything I buy is a cheap piece of you know what. If you belong to Costco, they sell the Roomba and are VERY good about returns. Also, Hammacher Schlemmer offers a Lifetime Unconditional Guarantee on EVERYTHING they sell, and they sell iRobot products. I wish I had known about them before I bought through Home Shopping Network. There is a Roomba chat sight where many people have bought and had their units replaced through Hammacher Schlemmer. You can see the guarantee on their home page. I would no longer be without my Roombas! Here is a link that might be useful: Unconditional Lifetime Guarantee

I absolutely love mine. I'm an RE assistant so I'm on the computer constantly unless I'm doing something for the kids or trying to cook a meal, etc. Having things like vacuuming, or washing the floor, weighing heavily on me while I worked stunk. I can't even tell you how nice it is to have the room where the cats hang out, and have their food & litter, be vacuumed for me while I work. The one I have is programmable so it can start without me having to do so. When it is done it returns to its docking station and charges itself up for the next go. The other rooms don't get as dirty as quickly (no litter), so when I need'm to work in one of them for me, I give him a lift, plop'm down, he goes to work, and I go back to work. I had ordered the Scooba first because we have so much tile, and the floor scrubbing was much harder on my back than vacuuming (although vacuuming is a close second!) and we were so pleased with it, we went for the Roomba. No complaints here. I will say, I don't think it could've handled the heavy duty vacuuming a few days of my cats furry tumble weeds require. So DBF gave the room a good going over with our Dyson first, and now the Roomba does the daily maintenance. Any furniture I purchase from here on out will be done with my little helpers in mind. I'd love it if they could just zoom right under the couches like they do tables/desks/beds etc.

If you like following one day sales, check out Woot! online shopping. They have a very good reputation. They even have a discussion board where you can ask questions about Woot! or about the products sold. The descriptions of the products are written with humor while still being informative. http://www.woot.com/ Here is a link that might be useful: Woot!