[Michlib-l] Roomba Responses

Fri Oct 16 16:10:24 EDT 2020

Here are the responses I received about the Roomba. No consensus (of course!).
Val Meyerson,
Petoskey
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Hi Valerie,
I have a Roomba at home, not at our library. I would not recommend it for a library.

1. It gets stuck all the time. I have to rescue the silly thing every few minutes, and it tends to go right back where it shouldn't.
2. It is LOUD.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
Best of luck on your research!
Tamara

I returned mine.  I bought it for my house and IT SUCKED!!  Seriously, it literally did NOT suck:)
Julie

Personal experience...I have one at home and I love it!  However, I do put my dining room chairs on the table 2Xs per week so that it gets under the table (I also have 3 kids - ages 8, 6, 4 - so getting under the table is a must!!)
If you have a kick space that isn't tall enough, it won't get all the way to the edges and so in my kitchen I still need to sweep along the cabinets to get the crumbs.
I dock mine in the center of our house (ranch style) and I have had one or two times when I noticed it went to the left, but never went all the way to the right side of the house.  I think it is our layout - it can miss the doorway into the right ½ and then it thinks it is done.  ??

You still have to empty it - I do mine daily, but for a library, depending on size and amount of dirt, it might not finish if the bin gets full.  That could be a concern as well.

You will likely have to run it after hours as mine is noisy.  I start it in the morning when I leave, so it doesn't bother me at all during the week, but on Saturday it can be annoying if I am trying to do something --- quieter than a normal vacuum, but just loud enough that I have sent it home a time or two because the background noise was making me nuts! :) :)

While it isn't perfect - I do really like it and it does a good job picking up on hard surfaces and carpet.  I made the investment after we installed wood laminate flooring because vacuums with brushes are not recommended and that was what I had.

Good luck!
Megan
Not that this helps but my mom has one and she loves it!  Her house though is not as big as the library.  It does make it around the chairs and furniture though.  It is fun to watch!

Debbie
Val - my daughter had the early one and now has a more advanced one - actually she has two, one for each floor of her house and she LOVES it!  I don't know about a library, but for her house it ROCKS and I have watched it many times.  It doesn't get stuck, and it will notify you on your smart device if it is full or something is wrong.  Yes, $$$, but she thinks it is worth it.

~Sheryl
Are you considering purchasing it for the library? I didn't think of that...

My parents received one several years ago and I think it's still kicking and pretty decent on dog hair.

Hi Val,

We have a roomba at our Mesick branch which is one room- a little less than 3,000 square feet. The roomba can't seem to handle it. It's docking station is behind the circulation desk and it hasn't yet managed to get out onto the floor on it's own. It just hasn't worked for us but maybe we're doing something wrong? I'd be interested to hear what others have to say.

-Tracy
Hi Valerie,
While we don't have a roomba at the library, I do have one at home. Robert (so affectionately named by my partner) is a cheaper model and often gets stuck. If you do decide to go the Roomba route, might I suggest going all in and buying the more expensive model that you can map a route on your phone. They also "learn" routes and dump their own waste, in the more expensive models.
Our Robert is the cheapest, and therefore the dumbest model. We often get texts exclaiming "Help! Robert is on a Cliff!" because he's sucked up a sock and gotten himself all cattywompus about the living space. He also has gotten stuck in a tighter area of our hallway because he can't map his way out. He's a lovely cleaning addition to the household, but in a professional setting, I would definitely recommend the more expensive (read: smarter) models.

Warmly,
Nicole Brobston

I purchased a Roomba a couple years ago (2017) during Amazon Prime days for my house.  It's still working great and I highly recommend it.
We have a very hairy dog and need to run it every other day.  It goes around furniture fine.   I did purchase the Virtual wall barriers to keep her in certain rooms/areas.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BDQZYX2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have a thick area rug that she has a difficult time with though.  She handles low pile rugs great.  You'd also have to be aware of cords on the floor.

I also purchased the extra parts for my Roomba model so that I can swap out the rollers, filters, etc. so that I can clean the dirty ones and still use the unit.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009W16DHC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I do not have experience using it in a public library setting.  This is for personal use.

Sheila Good
White Pine Library Cooperative

I can only tell you that my daughter just bought one and loves it. She lives in a small apartment with lots of stuff and it seems to find its way pretty well. She got one of the cheaper models - makes random paths and doesn't connect to her phone.

Deb Hemmye
Our Roomba is an e5 (e5150). Not an expensive model from what I understand. I did not devote much time to programming the Roomba when I took over the branch in February of 2020, as I had to prioritize some other issues. The we shut down for COVID in March. After the shut down things are in constant movement due to areas needed for quarantine and storage so I have not bothered with it. I plan to revisit it when things are less in limbo. I will say that the stacks did not seem to be an issue. Rolling chairs were a problem. If chairs went up at night it might be better. I am sorry I am not more help. I would think that in this situation, you get what you spend. I would imagine a newer more modern model will function better for you.

Ah, I'm sure we don't have the latest and greatest. It's bare bones....I looked. It's the 675. The issue we have is it gets stuck under furniture (dressers with open fronts at the bottom), on the rubber mat under our cat's water dishes, on Ikea metal chair legs that lie flat on the floor (this chair: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/images/products/tobias-chair-clear-chrome-plated__0727342_PE735614_S5.JPG?f=xl), etc. So we have to clear a room of all obstacles before we start it.

I have a Roomba 960 at home, in my bi-level house. It's not perfect, but it works better than I imagined it would. I have entirely hardwood (vinyl) floors. I think my experience would be similar to the business carpet most of us have.

It gets 85% of my cat/dog hair and dirt at home, but will occasionally miss tiny pieces of debris. It doesn't do corners very well, as in hair tumbleweeds get pushed into corners and not get sucked up. I have to physically pickup and empty it over the trash can after every session to stop loose dirt from falling on the floor. Every 3-4 sessions with our two pets we have to pull the hair out the rotors and transition manifold, which takes 5 seconds BUT is something that has to be done and your hands get dirty, if it's a concern. Otherwise you just pull out the container with the Roomba at the base and it will revacuum the debris, if you want. If a room has recently been clean and I want to touch-up, I can run the Roomba again and I don't have to empty it.

It seems to transition between rooms well. It goes over heavy rugs without issue. It stops at the bi-level and doesn't tumble down. The sensors I use to tell it not to go somewhere seem to work. It does a good job going around furniture, spinning 360° effortlessly, and you get a map of what was vacuumed after every job, like a little floorplan. I will say my parents have the same model and they have to pick up all their light-duty rugs (which libraries probably dont have) or it will bunch them up and get stuck. It does an amazing job of trying to carry on cleaning after sucking up a cat toy, but ultimately fails with a horrible death-rattle.

A thorough vacuuming is still needed every once in awhile to get the corners or places like the dining room table with a lot of chairs and legs to bounce between, small clearances (fridge, cupboards), behind doors. Overall a great buy and it makes cleaning at home a lot easier. 4/5 good device and will be investing into newer models in the future.

I did a lot of research before I bought mine. I'd strongly suggest you either buy a top of the line model or not at all--do not buy cheap. Do not buy the top of the line model with the self-emptying bay, as I heard those aren't perfected yet and don't work well. Bought mine at the $550 price point when it was on sale.

Hope it helps,

---
Christian Dunham | Director
Bullard Sanford Memorial Library

Valerie Meyerson, Library Director
Petoskey District Library

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