I bought a robotic vaccum cleaner!!!

[margecat]

It's an early birthday gift to myself. I am obsessive about cat hair on the floor. It drives me nuts. I have 10 cats, 2 with long fur. Go figure...I hate cat fur, yet have 10 cats...and I have to sweep every day (I have laminate and tile floors downstairs).

Here's the one I bought:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Neato-XV-12-Robotics-Automatic-Bagless-Vacuum/23340226#Product+Reviews

I'm also looking into the robotic mops. Oh, paradise on earth--if they work!

 (I know they are only made for cleanings in-between regular vacuuming and mopping.)

So, where's the robotic kitty litter box cleaner???

(The evil side of me can't wait to see the cats' faces when they see this thing for the first time!

)

 

[jcat]

Congratulations! That's something I keep looking at. :lol3: Have you seen this video? I think of it every time somebody mentions robot vacuums.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[margecat]

Thanks! Yes, I remember that video! Poor ducky! And I expect to see Loki, without the shark costume, doing the same thing. I wouldn't put it past the little lunatic!

 

[AbbysMom]

Cool! Give us an update on what you think of it once you get it. I'm curious. :nod:

 

[Winchester]

Neat! With our six cats, I'm a bit of a fanatic about cat hair, too. I've always wondered if they really worked that well, so I'll be waiting for your review. Good luck with it! It will be interesting to see what your cats do! 

 Mine would probably run screaming from the room! (I have wussie cats.

)

 

[kathyfromcanada]

 
Neat! With our six cats, I'm a bit of a fanatic about cat hair, too. I've always wondered if they really worked that well, so I'll be waiting for your review. Good luck with it! It will be interesting to see what your cats do! 

 Mine would probably run screaming from the room! (I have wussie cats.

)

Love to hear a review as well.

 

[stewball]

Congratulations! That's something I keep looking at. :lol3: Have you seen this video? I think of it every time somebody mentions robot vacuums.

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

The dog looks so miserable with his tail between his legs and a very sad fsce.

 

[petcrazy76]

I want one just to see my cats ride on it.

 

[margecat]

Well, I've had it a week now. I LOVE it!  I wish I had bought it sooner.

Here's a review:

I have mostly laminate and tile floors.  I took up the 2 oriental rugs a few months ago.  I do have wall-to-wall carpet in the master bedroom, though. I have 10 cats; two are long-hair, Maine Coon-types. Bear in mind that it is recommended that you still do normal cleanings in between using the robo vac. I think it would cut down on those, if used regularly.

I have used it just about every day on the downstairs floors. It picks up the cat fur very well.  It also picks up the scattered dry food on the tile floor. We keep 1 litter box indoors.  The cats scatter litter constantly. The robo vac also does a great job on that.

It sometimes misses a tuft of fur, but so do I when I sweep/vaccum.  If it looks as if it won't return to get it, I just pick it up, or kick it toward the vac.

It does corners well.  It will snug itself up against solid furniture, such as the wood trunk we use for a coffee table.  

When the battery runs down, it will turn off the vacuuming function, and drive itself to the charging station.  If you set it to do so, it will resume cleaning after it charges a bit more (about 30-60 minutes). You can set it not to resume cleaning automatically (you should, as it would will keep doing this ad nauseum!)  It's fun to watch it dock--it has a round back, and it wiggles its "rear end" up to the charging dock--like a person shaking their behind!

If it needs the dirt compartment cleaned out, a message appears on the the screen. It's simple to clean. It also has a small filter, similar to a Dust Buster one. You can buy replacements rather cheaply. You just remove the dirt cup, dump the mess, and snap it back in.

Today, I tried it on carpet. It did very well--just like a regular vacuum cleaner. It did miss a couple of tiny flecks of white paper up against the platform bed. It did get ALL of the cat fur, though!

PROS: Works great on cat fur ; if you have multiple cats, you'll like it

             The floors look a bit shinier when it's done; I don't notice that with the Monster Known as Vakoom --the "real" vac)

             It's great to have it cleaning while I'm doing another room, or just lounging (yes, I did pour myself a nice, icy-cold drink, put the tv on, and put my feet up. Good gravy, it was WONDERFUL.)

             I'm nutso about cat fur on the floor.  Having the robo vac makes it so much easier to keep my house spotless in between regular cleanings

             You can program it to vac at certain times, and also to spot clean (I haven't tried the spot clean thing yet).

             If using while not at home (programming it to clean at certain times), you may want to wait until you see how your pets react to it before doing so.

             Probably the most expensive cat toy you'll ever buy. 

  Mari likes it; she always comes out to follow it around. The others hide. Loki just stares at it from afar. When Mari gets in its path, it looks as if it's chasing                her!

CONS: A bit noisy, but not quite as loud as a regular vacuum. You get used to it.

             If you have a lot of cat fur (remember, I have 10 cats--so my situation is not typical), you'll need to empty out the dirt cup about every other use. It's easy, though.

             You should pick up small items on the floor before use, such as cat toys.  I think it would go around larger toys; yesterday, I saw it pushing a Bizzy Ball around--funny!  It must have found it under the recliner.

             You may need to pick up smaller furniture for it to clean well around it--for example, I use a tray table as an end table. It's legs are crossed, and the space underneath is too narrow for the robo vac to go through.

             However, I usually need to do this for Vakoom, too--so it's not a problem.

             Marge peed on it twice!  Guess she's not a fan? Or, maybe she it, and she's marking it as her property!

All joking aside, you have no idea how wonderful this thing is for me.  I sweep or vac downstairs very day when I come home from work.  It enables me to have a bit of leisure time I normally wouldn't have. I'd like to buy one for upstairs, as well. I also know that, if unexpected company is due to arrive, I can have it clean while I tidy up elsewhere.

I highly recommend this robo vaccuum.

I plan on getting a robo mop next month.  I'll let you know how that does.

And they actually make robo window cleaners, too! I don't think I have a need for one of those, though--the Windex wipes are used frequently (snotty-nosed cats!), and it's not a problem for me.

 

[AbbysMom]

I have mostly hardwood floors, but they all have area rugs. Do you think it would be able to negotiate from the floor to the rug ok?

 

[Winchester]

Oh wow. I want one! Thank you for your very comprehensive review, Barbara.

We only have six cats and my biggest issues around here are the cat fur (Muffin, especially, sheds a lot; even though she has a short coat, it is a very thick coat and despite all my brushing, there is blond fur in the living room and in the computer room) and the strewn litter (from the boxes in the bathroom particularly, but also back in the computer room. I probably end up vacuuming every other day, at least the living room and kitchen, but I'll often decide "Oh the heck with it" and come back the hallway into the bedroom and computer room, too.  

I had looked at the link you provided and I like that it goes under the kitchen cabinets. I wouldn't try to program it; I just worry too much about something happening when we're not home.  

I move stuff around when I vacuum....the piano bench, the rocking chair, the cats' toy box, things like that.

Our bedroom carpet is a higher, plusher carpet, but I think it would have no problem going from the hallway into the bedroom.  We hope to remove the bedroom carpet yet this year (hope to, anyway) and replace it with hardwood flooring and then use (washable) area rugs.

Like Karen, though, I wonder how it would do going from the bare floor to a rug? 

It's part cat as it shakes its behind! My cats all do that; it's hilarious to watch them. 

 

Thank you.

 

[margecat]

It does go from un-carpeted floor to carpeted floor quite well.  Even if it hesitates a bit at first, it eventually, at least in my experience, will right itself, and go over the hump. It reminds me of film footage I've seen of WWI tanks! 

: (look at approx. 30 seconds into the film, when the tanks dip into the trench, then extricate themselves)


(Hard to believe that next month is the 100th anniversary of WWI--when I was little, I actually knew a few very elderly WWI vets!)

 

[kathyfromcanada]

 
Well, I've had it a week now. I LOVE it!  I wish I had bought it sooner.

Here's a review:

I have mostly laminate and tile floors.  I took up the 2 oriental rugs a few months ago.  I do have wall-to-wall carpet in the master bedroom, though. I have 10 cats; two are long-hair, Maine Coon-types. Bear in mind that it is recommended that you still do normal cleanings in between using the robo vac. I think it would cut down on those, if used regularly.

I have used it just about every day on the downstairs floors. It picks up the cat fur very well.  It also picks up the scattered dry food on the tile floor. We keep 1 litter box indoors.  The cats scatter litter constantly. The robo vac also does a great job on that.

It sometimes misses a tuft of fur, but so do I when I sweep/vaccum.  If it looks as if it won't return to get it, I just pick it up, or kick it toward the vac.

It does corners well.  It will snug itself up against solid furniture, such as the wood trunk we use for a coffee table.  

When the battery runs down, it will turn off the vacuuming function, and drive itself to the charging station.  If you set it to do so, it will resume cleaning after it charges a bit more (about 30-60 minutes). You can set it not to resume cleaning automatically (you should, as it would will keep doing this ad nauseum!)  It's fun to watch it dock--it has a round back, and it wiggles its "rear end" up to the charging dock--like a person shaking their behind!

If it needs the dirt compartment cleaned out, a message appears on the the screen. It's simple to clean. It also has a small filter, similar to a Dust Buster one. You can buy replacements rather cheaply. You just remove the dirt cup, dump the mess, and snap it back in.

Today, I tried it on carpet. It did very well--just like a regular vacuum cleaner. It did miss a couple of tiny flecks of white paper up against the platform bed. It did get ALL of the cat fur, though!

PROS: Works great on cat fur ; if you have multiple cats, you'll like it

             The floors look a bit shinier when it's done; I don't notice that with the Monster Known as Vakoom --the "real" vac)

             It's great to have it cleaning while I'm doing another room, or just lounging (yes, I did pour myself a nice, icy-cold drink, put the tv on, and put my feet up. Good gravy, it was WONDERFUL.)

             I'm nutso about cat fur on the floor.  Having the robo vac makes it so much easier to keep my house spotless in between regular cleanings

             You can program it to vac at certain times, and also to spot clean (I haven't tried the spot clean thing yet).

             If using while not at home (programming it to clean at certain times), you may want to wait until you see how your pets react to it before doing so.

             Probably the most expensive cat toy you'll ever buy. 

  Mari likes it; she always comes out to follow it around. The others hide. Loki just stares at it from afar. When Mari gets in its path, it looks as if it's chasing                her!

CONS: A bit noisy, but not quite as loud as a regular vacuum. You get used to it.

             If you have a lot of cat fur (remember, I have 10 cats--so my situation is not typical), you'll need to empty out the dirt cup about every other use. It's easy, though.

             You should pick up small items on the floor before use, such as cat toys.  I think it would go around larger toys; yesterday, I saw it pushing a Bizzy Ball around--funny!  It must have found it under the recliner.

             You may need to pick up smaller furniture for it to clean well around it--for example, I use a tray table as an end table. It's legs are crossed, and the space underneath is too narrow for the robo vac to go through.

             However, I usually need to do this for Vakoom, too--so it's not a problem.

             Marge peed on it twice!  Guess she's not a fan? Or, maybe she it, and she's marking it as her property!

All joking aside, you have no idea how wonderful this thing is for me.  I sweep or vac downstairs very day when I come home from work.  It enables me to have a bit of leisure time I normally wouldn't have. I'd like to buy one for upstairs, as well. I also know that, if unexpected company is due to arrive, I can have it clean while I tidy up elsewhere.

I highly recommend this robo vaccuum.

I plan on getting a robo mop next month.  I'll let you know how that does.

And they actually make robo window cleaners, too! I don't think I have a need for one of those, though--the Windex wipes are used frequently (snotty-nosed cats!), and it's not a problem for me.

Thanks for the review. I will eventually buy one of these!

 

[betsygee]

Wow, that sounds pretty cool.  We have six cats here, too.  I sweep every day where the litter boxes are and hubby's a fanatic about vacuuming up all the cat fur around the house....sounds like the robo vac would be a great help around here.  Thanks for posting!  

 

[andrya]

Very cool.

l was looking at the Roomba. lt has what they call "cliff technology" so it won't fall down the stairs.

Do they all come with this even if it's not mentioned?

 

[margecat]

 
Very cool.

l was looking at the Roomba. lt has what they call "cliff technology" so it won't fall down the stairs.

Do they all come with this even if it's not mentioned?

I think they all do; at least the several that I checked into did. I didn't try it with my stairs, even though I did take it upstairs yesterday in order to vac the carpet. I just closed the bedroom door while it was working.

 

[betsygee]

Sooo.....still happy with your purchase?   I've been looking at different models and reviews since I saw this post!  How do your cats react to it--are they afraid of it or think it's a giant cat toy or anything?  I guess it didn't do any damage when Marge peed on it (that's funny!)

 

[margecat]

Sorry I haven't been online! Yesterday, I had an 11-hour day at work, all with the worst headache I've ever had, which is finally going away now---it took this long, even with many does of aspirin. I had nausea until now, too. 

Which segues into...how much I LOVE the vac!  I spent the afternoon on the sofa, trying to get better--while having Son of Vakoom doing the cleaning!

The other day, I had him going upstairs while I was getting ready for work. You have no idea how great that was! 

I really want another to keep upstairs, so I don't have to carry him. It's not heavy, just awkward.

The cats seem to be used to it. Loki just perches on something higher up, and watches it.

 

[margecat]

Guess what? I was telling my MIL about the vac, how much I liked it, and how I'd like to buy another one to keep upstairs. "Do you want one for your birthday?" 

That is so sweet and generous of her!

I've been carrying it upstairs and using it daily, so that will be wonderful. It only weighs about 14lbs, but it's kind of a pain to have to tote it and the charger back and forth each day.  I'll now have one downstairs permanently, and one upstairs permanently.

 

[margecat]

I caught it eating a plate of dry cat food tonight!  I was showing MIL how it works, and I forgot to take up the cat food plates. DH yelled, "Roomba is eating the cats' food!". It was so funny! The poor thing was sitting right on top of the plate, sucking up the kibble.