Tell me more ×
Home Improvement Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for contractors and serious DIYers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

I'm trying to select a robotic vacuum that will cleanup my apartment on daily basis (3 cats is a lot :) ). Which one should I try? I was thinking about iRobot but with no mapping mechanism they seem rather dumb for me.

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

We have a small apartment with wood floors and one cat. The iRobot Roomba 560 works well if we run it daily, but the bin needs to be emptied every couple of days, and the brushes need to be cleaned at least once a week. With 3 cats, I imagine it may overwhelm the Roomba's capacity.

On the other hand, the new 700 series models have a higher capacity vacuum bin, and we just bought this new bin for the 560. In theory this can hold more cat hair and the stronger motor sucks more of the hair off the brushes and into the bin. We'll see over the next few days how much of a difference this makes...

share|improve this answer
Thanks! So it works ok when roomba moves around in circles, right? What about battery lifetime - how often do you have to charge? – Nikolay R Apr 28 '11 at 11:08
We normally set it to run while we're out. It seems to go for about an hour, and then it goes "home" to its charging dock, so we've never had to deal with the battery running out. The movement patterns are pretty random, and it's not shy about vacuuming the same area multiple times, but by the end it seems to get pretty much 100% coverage. – Daniel Dickison Apr 28 '11 at 17:20
Thank you! Now I'm ok with iRobot :) – Nikolay R Apr 29 '11 at 10:12

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.