Is There a Roomba Generation Gap?

The question to be answered in this Roomba Review is simple. How old is "too old" to operate a robotic vacuum cleaner? Is there an age limit? Let me start by saying that nowhere in the iRobot manual does it say anything like "Not to be used by persons older than 50ish". That's a good sign! The fact that iRobot obviously has enough faith in mankind to believe that all individuals (regardless of age) can benefit from its robotic products is a good thing. Notice I'm not mentioning the ages of younger folk. You and I both know that today's children are so advanced in technological skills that it's almost frightening. They learn at an earlier and earlier age how to operate such things as iPODS, computers, anything DVD or DVR related - and other gizmos that baffle many adults. So when we are talking about the generation gap as it relates to Roomba vacuum cleaners - it's clearly the "older generation" that will most likely struggle with this technology.

My Mother-in-Law's Roomba

And so, in my last Roomba review you were left hanging to see if my sweet 70ish mother-in-law would be able to conquer the generation gap and leap into using the futuristic cleaning device she purchased. Her new Roomba Scheduler arrived 11 days after we placed her order online. Not the fastest shipping in the world - but it arrived safe and sound with all the Roomba parts in tact.

Although she struggled to "find" the instructions, once she did she dove right in and did figure out how to get the battery installed and charged up. She didn't want to tell me exactly how she finally figured it out and I guess in the end it's irrelevant - as long as whatever she did worked. Good job Mom! I smiled as I heard her laughing at the reaction of her little dog as he interacted with his new robotic buddy. But her joy was short lived I'm afraid...

Want to buy a very slightly used Roomba Scheduler?

It saddens me to say that in the end, my mother-in-law must part with her Roomba. Not because she couldn't operate it. Not because she was "too old" to figure it out. In fact, it has nothing to do with her capabilities at all. Clearly there is NO generation gap. It's her choice of furniture style! Unfortunately, Roomba struggles to maneuver itself away from the Queen Anne's style legs of all her furniture. She spent way too much time "rescuing" Roomba as it tried to crawl up the legs of the tables and chairs in her dining and living room. She was not comfortable leaving the house while Roomba was running - which goes completely against the perks of even having one. Queen Anne's style furniture has small roundish claw feet and Roomba gets "stuck" and then is unable to free itself. Alas, she waited too long to tell me about this unfortunate situation and passed the 30-Day Risk Free Trial period.

So, I ask again - does anyone want to buy a brand spanking new/used Roomba Scheduler? Email me and we'll talk!

iRobot's® Roombas®

It doesn't get any better than this!

Top technology from iRobot® and Hammacher Schlemmer's lifetime guarantee -- it's a match made in heaven! When you purchase your Roomba Vacuum from Hammacher Schlemmer not only do you get the best product iRobot® has to offer -- you also get to take advantage of Hammacher Schlemmer's unconditional and unwavering promise -- their merchandise is guaranteed for life.

iRobot® Roomba Vacuums
It looks like iRobot® has cleaned house and is now only manufacturing the following floor cleaning robots (Models 780, 770, 760, 560 and 530). Narrowing the selection makes it so much easier to choose the model that will work best as it appears they have weeded out the models that people were having so many problems with -- which is a good thing! Only the best of the best are available for sale from our online merchant and they also offer an unconditonal lifetime warranty!

Roomba® Pet Series
Spend more quality time with your pet - while Roomba® does the cleaning for you! The Pet Series was designed specifically for pet owners who are fighting the war on pet hair, debris and pet dander. This little hair ball sucker covers 3 to 4 rooms on a single battery charge depending on what model you buy. It's large debris bins, anti-tangle technology, and other pet friendly features will do the vacuuming for you and your household of pets.

iRobot® Scooba
The Scooba® floor washing robot does it all: it preps by sucking up loose dirt and crumbs, washes, scrubs, and cleans up after itself, leaving the floor sparkling and dry -- and it does it all in one pass. One of the Scooba's best features is the fact that it'll scrub every spot on your floor an average of four times, ensuring a thorough cleaning. It even gets up beneath the edges of kitchen cabinets and under tables to clean where normal cleaning tools don't. It's the only mop you'll ever need!