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!

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