Thank you for your quick response! I don't think we have an extra line in our pool. When it was put in back in 1973, there were two lines (plus the main drain). When we reopened the pool recently, the old pipes going into the shallow end were corroded and we had to close that line off. (We didn't want the pool guys to destroy our concrete apron while excavating). So we just have the one in the deep end. When my husband "manually" vacuums, we run the filter and he sticks the hose right into the skimmer. We were thinking of something that would operate without the filter. If we get a vacuum with a dirt bag attached, would we still need a dedicated line? Sorry if I'm asking stupid questions! I'm still learning how to maintain our pool (recently reopened) and am still getting familiar with pool jargon. Thanks! Mary

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.

I had to do a reset this morning on my vacuum. Yesterday, she started acting like a trapped animal, like she was having a panic attack. Forward, backward and circling in quick bursts, not seeing any objects, crashing into them. I cleaned all her wheels and brushes yesterday, docked her and hoped for the best this morning. No, she was still acting like a maniac so I held the "clean" button for 10 seconds til the letters "rst" showed up. Let go of the button, she made a new chime sound and she is all good again. This behavior could have been activated when I shut her in my bedroom Saturday and let her go til the battery light went amber. She felt trapped and she acted out : ). Happy New Year to all!

I am sorry to say that the eury is being returned. It is a definite fail for us. Pros: VERY quiet, low profile so it fits better under furniture, returns accurately to the base when finished, it doesn’t make annoying sounds like the Neato did, it’s fast, the battery seems very good. Cons: it doesn’t even have enough power to get over a very low threshold from my kitchen to living room (we give it a little boost with our foot and the it goes in a few feet and turns around and goes back into the kitchen. Grrr), it doesn’t have enough power to do the rug well, it’ll zoom right on by a dust bunny and never come back to get it, it has a very small dust bin but it doesn’t need to be emptied as often as it would if it was doing a good job. So, unfortunately, it’s back to the drawing board.