Review of iRobot Roomba: The Robotic House Maid

We've had our eye on the vacuum that will clean for you for quite some time. The iRobot Roomba was it's name, and when it first came out, $500 was not our game. So with time, the robot vacuum improved, and the price did too.
We got ours for $199 on sale. A bargain, but at the same time I worried...was it junk?
WELCOME HOME BABY BOY!
The Roomba need to be charged before we could put him to good use, and see what this hype was all about. To be honest it is the thought of this vacuum doing the work for you, but deep down in my mind I kept thinking this whole concept was garbage. It would break and die in a week or so, and that would be that. $200 down the drain.
It took about 6 hours for our Roomba to fully charge up. Once the green light went on, we pressed CLEAN, and we were greeted with a doo doo doo doo doo doo chime. The chime is enough to bring a smile to your face every time you set him to go cleaning.
His round shape made me wonder if he would get stuck in corners, and would need help getting out. However our iRobot proved me wrong, he needed no help. All he needed was you to press CLEAN.
We also assumed he would break easily because to be honest, the vacuum did not feel like the most sturdy thing in the world. The Roomba was actually quite rickety feeling. Once it got to cleaning though we realized this thing was a bull, and could take quite a beating.
OUR MODEL-
The Roomba 4150 does not come with a wall or a self-charging dock, so the price is a bit more affordable. There are other models that come with laser walls ensuring your Roomba does not fall down stairs, or leave rooms you want it to clean the most.
The self charging dock is a neat feature that you can buy separately. Once your Roomba begins to go low on batteries it will position itself up on the self charger. Pretty neat, but pricey. Besides the thing cleans the house, so plugging it on manually every now and then is not much of a task.
SIZE:
The iRobot is about 13 inches in diameter, and just about 4 inches tall. It weighs about 12 or 13 pounds. It fits easily in the closet or, better yet, store it under the couch out of eye sight.
At our house we leave him out, for bragging rights. Hehe!
The Roomba has a sensor bar in the front of it. It is basically like his face. This sensor is used to sense objects. The Roomba will hit into walls, and turn around to avoid it.
At the bottom of Roomba there are his spinning brushes, this particular model comes with an extra set of brushes. However we've had ours for months and have not had to replace them. So long as you clean them out every now and then, your vacuum will run without problems or needs for brush changes.
Roomba will suck up anything, so if you have socks, or clothes lying around, do the thing a favor and pick them up. This is how you jam the vacuum, and pulling out socks and clothes are bound to eventually ruin the vacuum.
MAIN FUNCTIONS:
The Roomba has 4 main cleaning functions, all with unique features:
SPOT:
You can pick this button to have the vacuum focus on one area. If you see a dirtier spot on the floor, Roomba will focus on it for quite some time if you press this button.
MAX:
This function can be set if you want the Roomba to clean until it's battery is dead. It is sort of unnecessary to pick this function because the clean function is all you really need.
CLEAN:
The Roomba will clean the room for approximately an hour before shutting itself off. This is about all the time the Roomba will need overall.
POWER
Umm.. it shuts it on and off.
KEEP YOUR ROOMBA CLEAN!
You should clean out the Roombas dust bin every time you use it. A clogged bin will only release dirt into the carpet, so be sure to check it frequently. Also be sure to clean out the bottom brushes regularly.
WHATS GREAT ABOUT ROOMBA:
Roomba has been a blessing, we can turn him on and leave the house, and come home to clean carpets and for such a small vacuum this one sure can suck. I mean that in a good way too. Not only that this vacuum is bag-less, you no longer have to go out and purchase expensive bags for your vacuum.
The Roomba can also withstand a pretty good beating without breaking or malfunctioning.
WHAT'S NOT SO GREAT?
Even though the Roomba can take a beating, it does not mean your belongings can too. Basically what I'm trying to say is that if you have an unstable end table or piece of furniture, the Roomba will knock it over, and could cause breaks. When you first turn on the Roomba in a room, watch it at first to see what items it will knock over, and take care of it.
The Roomba is also pretty loud. I don't care how many people tell you it's not, expect the same noise racket from this little thing, that you would a larger vacuum cleaner.
The Roomba also has issues getting from wooden or slate floors onto carpet mats. You may have to lift it up, or it will go around it.
OVERALL:
iRobot Roomba 4150 is like having a robotic maid in the home, and we honestly could not enjoy him more. Even with his bullying ways, it's a great vacuum for those on a tight time schedule.
Our next purchase is going to be the Scooba. The sister cleaner to the Roomba. This bad boy washes floors!
RECOMMENDATION:
I couldn't recommend this one more. Its an easy, inexpensive way to get your home clean without any physical labor on your part. Just sit back and watch as he does it all without breaking a sweat.
GET ONE:
You can purchase this model, and other models online at the official iRobot site at www.iRobot.com