Ruggable Users - anyone have a Roomba?
Pam A
4 years ago
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Built in for Roomba? Other floor cleaning thoughts
Comments (13)Why don't I think I want a full-fledged vacuuming system? Because I HATE vacuuming. Hate it with the red-hot fire of ten thousand suns. I despise it. While a built-in system might alleviate some of my hatred, I don't see it disappearing. I'm planning to have little carpet in our new house -- just an area rug for the living room and MAYBE carpet in the bedrooms. I can't see building in a whole system for that small bit -- not when a Roomba can do it for me. In contrast, I don't mind sweeping; thus, I'm thinking I'd like to have the kick-open dustpan thing . . . but I know I will not vacuum unless forced to do so. What's the phrase? Know thyself. As for toe-spaces under cabinets. No, my Roomba is too tall to fit under my current cabinets. However, I'm not sure I want toe-kicks in my new house at all. I am not quite 5' tall, and I'm investigating the idea of omitting them altogether -- I definitely wouldn't mind my cabinets being a few inches shorter. I've been reading on the internet, and people seem to be very split on the subject of whether these are necessary! I don't expect any electronic gadget to last forever, but it can always be replaced. However, this is a good point: Nothing of this sort should be built for one specific machine; rather, it should be built with the idea that it'll eventually be replaced or upgraded. A toe-kick drawer kind of thing was what I had in mind, but I couldn't find such a thing online -- do you know where you saw the picture? The only things I saw were kind of like curtains (or dust ruffles) that hid the machine. As for pushing her own way out (well, I'm not sure whether mine is male or female -- we're not that well aquainted yet) . . . no. The start button is on top of the machine, so I would need to pull it out and push the button. That is a very good point and one I must puzzle through....See Morenew and have some questions
Comments (13)Thanks for all the great feedback and warm welcomes, everyone! I'm really excited to hear from other large families, too, because you guys get how important function is (not that the rest of you don't, but we are definitely in a different category than families with 2.1 children!) ;o) Regarding the refrigeration questions, I forgot to mention this in my OP, but we are keeping our current refrigerator (a 5 year old wide-by-side - 27 cubic feet) and will be getting a deep freeze. They'll be kept in the basement in a secondary kitchen/laundry area. It won't be the most convenient, but especially at times like holidays, I'll have the space I need for everything. We're also considering an under-cabinet fridge which would just be for milk. I'd love refrigerator drawers, but I don't think I can carve any more out of our budget. I've gotten really good at weekly menu planning and I basically buy just whatever we need for that week's meals, but I always have to make mid-week milk runs. Our big new pantry and the spare refrigeration will mostly be there to help me take advantage of good deals and buy loads of milk! Plus, we have a large storage room in our basement that's entirely devoted to food storage. acountryfarm - I would LOVE to see pictures of your kitchen! Do you have them posted somewhere? rhome410 - thanks for offering to help with the 3Ds. I would be happy to pay you something for your time. We live in a very rural area, and the nearest kitchen designers are 2 hours from here. We could have gone to the local building center, but didn't feel good about having them do all the work when we weren't buying our cabinets from them. I will email you what I have. rmkitchen - we were looking at your kitchen the other night, and I guess I should confess I'm totally stealing your Roomba garage idea. ;o) That's just too cool! Your kitchen is beautiful. And cosmo_nj - one day at a time! :oD The funny thing is, I used to say I didn't want kids. It was a HUGE deal for us to decide to have a third child, and we always say that it was the fact that #3 turned out to be twins that led us down this road. After they were born, we adopted 8 more amazing children. :o) It's wild, but lots of fun!...See MoreNeed help choosing robotic vacuum/mop!
Comments (21)I don't have area rugs with fringe so the Roomba handles them pretty well, I pick up the smaller ones by the door that I use to keep the dogs from tracking in from the yard. Low pile is fine - I don't let it run on one rug that I have that has long loops, I'm sure it would stall. I understand if you have black rugs or rugs with dark edges the Roomba won't go over them because it thinks it's a drop (like a step). It uses a sensor to watch for stairs and such and will stop when it gets to them. To elaborate on the Scooba a bit more for those who are curious, yes, it does a wash more than the Braava which only pushes around a damp cloth. You set it up to clean a "small room" or a "large room". It has a water reservoir to which you add cleaner. The cleaner is not sold in my area so I buy off Amazon. BestBuy is supposed to carry it but not my local store. iRobot also has it on their web site. It doesn't take much cleaner - I only add a small amount to the water. The I set up my lighthouses/virtual walls to keep it in the area I want scrubbed (and obviously not on the area rugs). It runs around a bit to get a feel for the space and then it starts - it lays down a thin film of water as it goes, it vacuums and puts down the water, goes back and forth and in circles, using the brushes I suppose, then it goes back and vacuums up all the left over water. So the floor is pretty dry by the time it shuts off. It's a bit entertaining at the end as it shakes itself off, kind of like a dog. You then dump out the water from the dirty side of the tank, rinse it out and pull out any hair. You can then add more water to the clean tank and top off the cleaner, and recharge it. I found it does need another small area rinsed out or you will get an error code, but easily done. The dirty water is noticeably dirty so it is doing something to clean the floor. As I mentioned, the manufacturer warns against other cleaners. and other users have posted that the unit will fail if caustic cleaners are used, as it will damage the unit. I have sprayed windex on the floor ahead of it with no issues. It's not a perfect solution as you will still need to damp mop your baseboards and tight areas occasionally, but I do like it for my bathroom and I have on occasion used it on my engineered wood, but I follow it with an old towel and wipe up excess water so the wood does not absorb it. If you, or your family members have long hair, I would definitely recommend doing a quick vacuuming or Swiffer run first to pick that up before running the Scooba, as it will pick up hair and then you will be very unhappy pulling it out of the reservoir and brushes. It is also not very quiet so don't think you can run it while you take a nap....See MoreDyson Cordless Vacuums
Comments (37)recordaras - both my Miele upstairs & downstairs canisters have the electric motorized carpet head and they work quite well. We have some faux oriental rugs in the kitchen, made of olefin (well, they are in the kitchen LOL) that grab and hold dog hair like nobody's business. My old beloved Hoover Wind Tunnel upright can't even pick it up. So I usually rub the carpets with sole of my shoe to get the hair or ball up, then hit it with the upright. Yesterday, I used my Miele canister carpet head and OMG the stuff came right up! Our son needs a new vac and put it in his Xmas wish list. I really wanted to get him a Sebo 'Felix', but there are no authorized service centers nowhere near him. No way is he going to ship anything anywhere for repair or whatever, especially with the long hours he works. So we bought him the Miele canister that Costco has online. I hope he likes it! * * *. It is so nice to have a support group for my vacuum cleaner addiction. All seven of them. LOL!!! Each one has a dedicated job. The best of the lot is the Panasonic canister vac I bought 30+ years ago. That motor refuses to die! It has lived in the basement/garage for ages and has even sucked up crud from the bottom of an outdoor grill. Kenmore bags still fit it, it takes a lickin' and keeps on ticking. (and if you are of a certain age, you will remember that old commercial.... :-))...See Morebowser24
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