iRobot Roomba, Really?

OK so I know this is primarily a photography blog. Most folks come here for photo stuff…I think. But for me life is much more than just imagery. Hell I’ve written about ebike lights, toolboxes, my late Mom….it is after all my blog. So it means I can write about whatever I want and if you don’t wanna read about it, you don’t have to, do you?

I own my home in the Bay Area, one of the most expensive places in the world in which to live. And I plan to die here since I never plan to sell. So I keep up my place, I do the vast majority of housework, cleaning toilets, showers, the yard, laundry and yes vacuuming. Even though my girlfriend lives here her division of labor is cooking, albeit has somewhat dropped off. Since I travel for 50 percent of my work, doing chores is not something I look forward to when I’m home.

One of the things I really like are freshly washed towels and vacuumed carpet. I just like the way freshly vacuumed and clean carpet feels on my bare feet. But hauling out the vacuum cleaner, plugging it in, moving furniture, etc. isn’t something I’ve enjoyed. But I pay that price for a clean carpet so my tootsies can be happy when they get to walk on freshly vacuumed fiber. Weird maybe, but WTF I’m weird anyway.

So about four months ago a friend of mine was in town from Dallas to do a concert. He’s the co concertmaster at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and we’ve become friends. We shared some talk about what’s been going on in our lives and he mentioned that for Christmas his parents bought him a “Roomba.” “OMG” I yelled,” I’ve wondered about those things but have never known anyone who has one. Plus they’re damn expensive!” He laughed and said he didn’t know anything about the cost, but loved his. He then showed me the app on his phone that shows how it can be scheduled, its vacuuming history, etc. Boring as shit stuff to most, but for me I was intrigued.

So we said our goodbyes and I went home and immediately searched Google for reviews of remote vacuum cleaners. I found this Consumer Reports review and decided on a Roomba 890 based on Nathan’s recommendation and their review. Man they’re expensive, ranging from 400 to 1000 bucks! So I did what I usually do, I looked for refurbs or “Like New” returned units and guess what? A model 890 was available for under 400 bucks so I took the plunge. Amazon has such an amazing return policy I figure if it didn’t work for me I could return it.

The Roomba 890 arrived, I installed the app on my Android device and I was off to the races. I named my 890 “Maria” (which is my gf’s first name (hehehe) and started her. But before all of that I vacuumed my entire house to see what if anything Maria would collect on her maiden voyage. What I noticed is she goes around my home (a single story place) without any seeming rhyme or reason. She got stuck in my bedroom walk in closet when she closed the door behind herself. She sometimes becomes confused in my bedroom having to navigate around all of the light stands and studio crap I have piled in there too. But most times she eventually finds her way out.

After her first voyage I was shocked when I opened her dust bin to find a lot of stuff! Remember I had just vacuumed the entire place so I expected very little to be collected. It may be due to the fact that she can go under furniture where my regular upright has trouble fitting. Or I’m just a shitty vacuum operator! One of the coolest things is how she collects long hair in her rotating brushes. It all gets pushed to the ends so when I remove the brushes to clean them the hair is easy to remove. I don’t have pets, but my gf has long hair. I have a shaved head so it’s certainly not mine. Cleaning her is very easy and I use my compressor to blow out all of the dust when she’s done.

80 percent of the time Maria finds her way back to home base and docks to recharge. In the 20 percent when she can’t find her way back she runs out of battery life and just stops where she ran out.  My feet love being on freshly vacuumed carpet, even more so when I don’t have to do the damn vacuuming. My gf thinks I’m crazy, but I could care less. She’s not the one who ever vacuumed the place! On a flight home from Seattle she sat next to a woman who works for Amazon. And as luck would have it she was the one in charge of the vacuum devices division! She told my gf that ‘if you can afford it’ the Roomba line is the best one to buy.’

And just like with all things my gf believes what other people say way more than me. Is Maria worth the price? That’s up to each individual, but I’m happy to pay a bit more than a normal vacuum to eliminate a tedious chore, yet enjoy the feeling of clean carpet under my feet. Having my cake and eating it too…a rarity!

Maria has found a permanent home here. I love her. LOL!