iRobot Roomba 400 Vacuum Cleaning Robot - ROOMBA400

Haven't used it much yet, but I wanted to see the "steering algorithm" is action, and it looked pretty effective. I let it loose in a room with lots of furniture, and it managed to get around to most areas pretty quickly. I had one problem with a low gap beneath a table (it got wedged in because it just fit and by the time it "sensed" it couldn't go further, it was stuck - but then it just turned itself off after a few seconds and waited for help). So, it isn't perfect, but darn good.
 
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Fun- The vacuum is a ton of fun to watch clean. Kids and pets love playing with it. Somewhat Functional- This isn't going to replace your standard vacuum. It will, however, make you have to vacuum less often. It grabs most the loose stuff off the top and out of the cracks. It works especially well on linoleum and other sweepable surfaces,and does well in less cluttered areas. You will still have to do the pre-vacuum home inspection to pick up shoe laces and loose fabrics so they don't get caught up in the unit. If it gets stuck on a shoelace it will try to reverse itself a few times and then will stop and beep for help. It won't go off the stairs. It gets about 2 inches over the edge of any drop off and backs up. Lightweight things get pushed around the house (think empty shoeboxes, etc). The build quality is pretty good, but I wouldn't expect the vacuum to perform for more than a few years. I've been using it about 3 weeks.
 
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I mainly wanted this vacuum for my kitchen floor. I run it at night and then take 10 minutes to swiffer (mop) the floor in the morning and I have a nice clean floor for my kids every day. I have found its nice to run upstairs on my carpet occasionally so it goes under my bed and dressers.
 
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The cleaning isn't deep, it's a bit spotty, and this thing is noisy. But, for less than $100, it's a good buy for an unattended, quick clean. We use it to clean several rooms in between manual vacuuming.
 
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These 400s are little work horses. Much better than the newer versions on iRobot 5xxx. It came quickly from Buy.com.
 
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My roommates are not the types to clean up much and I'm not about to vacuum/sweep every day. I saw the roomba on buy.com and just had to have it; I've been wanting one for years! The first time I ran it (right after I swept) I couldn't believe how much stuff it picked up! Of course, I emptied the bin and ran it again right away and it still picked up a bunch, but considerably less. I also ran it everyday for a week and now I've taken it back to a few times a week. It did such a good job at getting into the corners where junk likes to accumulate.<BR><BR> I had an incident where ant traps that had been laid the day before got stuck under the roomba and it dragged them around and spread their goo everywhere. I don't fault the roomba, but I caution, make sure anything with a low profile is off the floor!<BR><BR> GREAT price, low maintenance; noisy, but that's the only con I have.
 
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I was very impressed with how quick and easy it was to get up and running. The vacuum works fairly well cleaning field areas of your carpet/tile/wood flooring without having to push around the vacuum/broom. I was not happy with how poorly it cleans along edges, there is this small brush that rotates and is suppose to sweep dirt away from the walls and into the vacuum, this may as well not even be there. The vacuum also has problems with ALL loose rugs (tassles or no tassles), the vacuum tries to suck them up, which just causes the vacuum to get stuck. Over all very happy with the product, but definite improvements need to be made. For now, just pick up ALL rugs before starting the vacuum.
 
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This is the lower end of the iRoomba spectrum, but performs really well nonetheless. A carefully placed line up of shoes serves to keep it from falling down the stairs - and it cheerfully zooms around, under couches, into corners - sweeping up the outside world that my two dogs and three kids manage to track in. It's also great on pet hair. I use it in our kitchen and family room areas - all hard floors so I can't attest to it's value for carpetting.
 
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What a nice surprise. I have a 900 square foot condo with all wood floors, and this little machine cleans it beautifully. I have wanted one for years, but the price kept me from buying it as my Dirt Devil was working just fine. We just finished a bathroom, and the dust with construction is unbelievable. The Dirt Devil finally died, and I picked up the Roomba at this great price. It was the machine that finally cleared the condo and the air at home. The best thing is while it's working, I found that it gets me in the mood to do the other housework as you feel like you have a new teammember in your cleaning department. Works great on Pomeranian/Eskimo dog hair too! Also it cleans the entire place on one charge.
 
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after my other roomba died after 16 or so months, i simply couldn't go back to vacuuming MYSELF! anyway, this model was cheaper and more basic than my previous model and it is accordingly not quite as powerful in some respects. bottom line, it cleans great, almost as well as its more expensive/complex cousin. it also cleans better than an upright if you are new to robot vacuums. (also, soooo much quieter). roomba is the best most life-freeing purchase you can make! this model doesn't come with virtual walls but i never used those anyway. the major con is that it gets stuck on thresholds, etc. and instead of bumping and backing away, as did my previous roomba, it spins its wheels and keeps trying to get up that hill. unfortunately, on my white carpet, it actually made some little skid-marks from this process. having figured this out, i accommodate it by blocking its trouble spots. because of the price, i can't complain. i tell everyone to buy one, i should get a commission!
 
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It sucks up a lot of dust and easy to clean. Pretty easy to use, just charge it up and let it run while you go to work. The downside is it takes 5-6 hours to charge up and runs for about an hour. It's a bit noisy if you are trying to sleep while it's running. Other than that, it's a great product.
 
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I purchased the Roomba for my daughter who probably would not vacuum nearly as frequently without it. Only complaint is that it gets hung up on area rugs and you should close doors to bathrooms and closets as it goes in and spends the entire time bumping into things. Other than those minor complaint, this is a wonderful item for those who hate household chores.
 
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The price was cheap enough that I got this on a whim for my wife's birthday, since she loves to keep the home clean and my kids love robots. She loves it even more than she thought she would! It says it only covers two rooms on a charge, but it seems to handle four just fine and runs for a bit over an hour on a full charge. It does a good job too, and she scrupulously empties and cleans it to keep it in good working order. <p> Especially considering that a good normal vacuum can easily cost twice as much, this is a great buy to use for everyday vacuuming. It doesn't come with a self-charging home base or any virtual walls, but those would just have been icing on the cake.
 
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