Roomba vs central vacuum

[lsw9658]

I'm trying to decide which would be better for our Bounder - a Roomba or a central vac. We have two small (very hairy!) dogs. Any suggestions?

[FlyingDiver]

Do you want to spend 10-15 minutes vacuuming yourself, or do you want the robot to spend an hour doing it while you're gone? We have a Roomba, and I wouldn't want to run it in an RV unless we were gone (or outside). Just not enough room to maneuver. Roombas do a good job, but they're slow. You also need to empty the bin pretty much every time you use it - they don't hold all that much. But then again, neither do the central vac bags used in RVs.

[litlgeezer]

I bought a Roomba a few years back for our house. It was very entertaining for us, our guests and our two Bichons. It's in my junk storage room now, because of some type of error that shuts it down after a few minutes. I figured out that a bottom piece was defective (according to online forums with same problem). It would cost about $200 to replace - near the cost of a new unit.
However, while it was operational, I did enjoy the novelty of it. I agree that the trash has to be dumped frequently. The unit was especially good for seeking out dog hair balls that seem to congregate in unseen areas. But, then dog hair was a problem when dumping the trash bin. The hair tended to wrap around the multiple rollers and had to be pulled out. One other note, it was good only for light vacuuming.

[jpharley]

This is just my opinion, but I would purchase a quality stand alone vac if you have a place to store it. I seem to recall reading that the standard central vac does not do a great job of picking up pet hair and then you have all that hose and attachments to store. Our upright stores in our clothes closet with no issues and does a fine job of cleaning our multiple floor types. Like most things, it is personal preference and our manufacturer was surprised when we eliminated the central vac option.

[MSHappyCampers]

A central vac will have several times the cleaning power of the robots!

[Oldkarphart]

If you want a toy, get a robot.
If you want to clean, get a vacuum.

[89sandman]

Another vote for the stand alone. Got a good laugh about the Roomba though, thanks for that.

[twogypsies]

Definitely not a Roomba. Our daughter got one for Christmas one year. It gave us all some laughs but it did a horrible job - especially with the dog hair.

Central vacs aren't very powerful either for lots of dog hair.

I would recommend a vac that is meant for dog hair. Our daughter ditched her Roomba and her new vac (I think it's a Eureka upright) is geared for dogs. It gets that hair up effortlessly.

[DGBPokes]

We have Roomba in our sticks and bricks. We love it. Programmed to run three times a week when we are gone. Yep the stand alone vac sucks harder......but the Roomba does a better job. You say no way. When we run our vac ( once a week ) it is done in maybe 10-15 minutes. The little Roomba goes over it, and over it, and over it, and over it for an hour, three times a week.

I dump it every time after it runs, I can tell you the fuzz, dirt it accumulates is more than in our stand up vac after six months. Running it 3 times a week, the dirt on the carpet is " still on top" rather than ground in for a week before the vac gets run.

The secret is keeping it clean. A relative had one, but didn't take care of it and it failed in a couple of months. I dump it every time it runs. Every 3-4 weeks take it a part and clean it good with the air compressor, thoroughly clean the brushes, and wipers.

P.S. We have a house dog.

[SarahW]

I did not care for the Roomba at all. It worked OK in a room without a lot of furnishings, but in most of my rooms it spent most of the time backing up and trying to avoid chairs, etc. It also had trouble with rugs on a wood floor. I would not buy another robot vac.

[Selah]

I've seen several,comments that central vacs do not have much power. I don't know what brand they are referring to but our InterVac has far mor power than the typical compact stand alone. Unless your willing to store a full size stand up, a GOOD central vac will do and it's a lot easier to store. We even have a power brush for ours.

[Speedjester]

I have a central Vac system.. And travel with (3) 150lbs Rottweilers ... We vacuum everyday and the central Vac does a fantastic job.. I change the bag every 3-4 days ..wife loves it compared to the Kirby we use to use..

[Bamaman]

We bought a Shark Navigator cordless vacuum cleaner at Bed Bath and Beyond for $98 minus a $20 coupon from the internet.

It is absolutely the best kitchen item we've ever owned. My wife uses it every few minutes in the camper--every time a grand kid walks through. It's so light and effortless to use at home too. Our house is immeasurably cleaner with it around.

[Dutch Star Don]

No matter what anyone thinks of the Roomba, it can't vacumn your furniture, engine dog house or anything else that dog hair gets on that isn't on the floor.