Status as of last update April, 2012 (at the end): Batteries replaced with an affordable generic. Works great! Also generic filters work well.
Are you starting to think you might want to try a robotic vacuum cleaner despite knowing better? This post will be about my experience over time with one. Likely, it will not be the most helpful, outside of links, until I have had it for awhile. I thought I would update and share anyway as time goes. I will give my initial thoughts, the type of home it will be working in, the model, and various other input. The input on my actual experiences is a little further down if you need to skip ahead (have run it in every room as of this posting). I will make notes in the body of the post, as well, on whether what I researched actually holds up to actual use. So this site is still in the works. Updates will be added as time goes. This will be updated for at least a year, barring the unexpected.
The lead up: I always thought the idea of a little robot going around cleaning seemed like a splendid idea. Well, anything or anyone cleaning for me is a splendid idea. I will take what I can get. But when I first heard about Roomba, I was skeptical. And yes, it seemed like I should be. I had not heard much of anything good about them and the few I have seen in action, was lacking. Bad cleaning and they break easy. So I wrote it off and moved on. Years pass and then the other week I see them for sale in our local Bed Bath and Beyond. I grew curious and started to research them online. My thinking was that if they are coming out with new ones after all this time and all of the bad reviews, they might have fixed something. And I mainly started looking because I am a nerd and I was curious. Really, I cannot afford to go buy something like this and it turn out to be a gimmick. But darn it, I want something to clean for me AND a new toy!
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