I recently purchased an iRobot Roomba. I tested it out and the results were good, so I purchased two more. I know have one of the mad little robots wandering every floor of my home.

I had avoided purchasing a Roomba because I could not imagine that a vacuum that small could be powerful enough to be useful — especially as this is the home of two long-haired cats and one long-haired wife.

I have been very pleasantly surprised by the power of the Roomba. It hasn’t had any trouble with the hair. It’s also much easier to clean than our large vacuum.

I purchased the “Roomba Scheduler Vacuuming Robot with Intelli-Bin.” The scheduler allows the Roomba to start automatically while we are sleeping or away from the house. Intelli-Bin tells me when the Roomba’s dust bin needs to be emptied.

Surprisingly, I haven’t made much use of either feature. I’ve been starting the Roomba manually and I’ve been emptying the dust bin before I start it.

This may be a result of how amusing it is to watch the Roomba work. The Roomba has no proximity sensor. It detects walls and other obstructions by bumping into them. Watching the Roombas work is somewhat akin to watching the Three Stooges. Plus, the Roomba’s will occasionally get themselves stuck on an obstruction — usually a cable that I have left carelessly laying around.

I’ve recently purchased the upgraded brushes specifically for pet hair. They do not appear to be noticeably improved over the basic brushes. However, there really is nothing at all wrong with the basic brushes.

In summary, I highly recommend the Roomba but you will be well served by purchasing the base model for significantly less money.