iRobot Roomba 618 Robot Vacuum - Good for Pet Hair, Carpets, Hard Floors, Self-Charging

I received this iRobot Roomba vacuum as part of the Spark Reviewer program. I was excited to try it because I had heard good things about these vacuums. I set up the docking station in my hallway, charged the Roomba for 3 hours as recommended, then pressed the "Clean" button twice to get it started. I put this in one bedroom at a time, so it could thoroughly clean the carpet, and I was not disappointed. The small dirt trap is easy to remove and empty. I would recommend emptying after each room. Of course, I have several dogs in the house, so it picked up a lot of dog hair and needed to be emptied more frequently. The Roomba ran for about an hour, then it automatically came back to the docking station when the battery power was low, for re-charging. It is easy to pause the Roomba with the press of a button, and then resume with another press. Has a carry handle on the top of it, so you can pause it and then move to another room without turning the whole thing off.

This is so great to have. iRobot does a good job designing their products. Most of the parts can be replaced by the owner. The owner's manual is well written and directions are easy to understand. It use to take me over an hour to vacuum. My house is 930 sq. feet and the Roomba was happy to vacuum the carpet in two bedrooms and living room, the ceramic tile in the hallway and bathroom and the vinyl tile in the kitchen. It also vacuumed two throw rugs. Sometimes something is not picked up but the Roomba does come back and get it. Cleans edges very well but corners are sometimes a problem. By watching it work you can see areas where things can be moved or blocked so Roomba can do it's job. It also helps to pick up wanted small items. Roomba will pick up small screws, coins and jigsaw puzzle pieces. Roomba does need a little TLC. You need to push the clean button to get it started to work. When it is finished working it goes back to the charging station on it's own. Dirt bin needs to be emptied, the filter cleaned and hair removed from the brushes. I always thought my floors looked cleaned until the Roomba came to work..