Roomba Time!

I took my Roomba out for a spin last night. Figured out pretty quick that I should just put the piano bench in another room and I can't go too far because it can (and will) get itself stuck under the corner of the couch. The dog ignored it until it came over to the couch and then she kind of freaked out.

Roomba

All in all it did a pretty good job. I didn't use the virtual wall, because it was in the box way over in the next room, so I blocked room off with random stuff (by the stairs) and my dining room chairs at the other side, which the Roomba doesn't fit under. To start with I was worried it was going to blow around as much hair as it picked up but needn't have. It managed to get around the piano and bench (after I pulled it out a bit) but it would have been faster without the bench in there. I might want to move the rocking chair out of the room, too, since the Roomba can't get under it all the way; yesterday I just moved it to block the least amount of wall possible. Somewhat amusingly, it kept trying to climb up into the book case. I don't have a base for the shelves and the lip is low enough the Roomba attempts it before hitting the books. The base of my couch is smaller than the box, so there's a space (like at the bottom of cabinets) that is just a little too short for the Roomba; it got stuck twice at the corner and I had rescue it.

I didn't take a picture of the bin and filter because it was kind of gross (I really don't understand those vacuums with the see-through bin - who wants to see what they've sucked up off the floor?) but it got most of the hair off the floor. The only things it didn't do well was right at the edge of the rug where dirt got "stuck" because (I guess) the beater was too high since the wheels were on the rug; I don't think this will be noticeable if one is standing or even sitting on the couch, just lying down. Besides, I read my book and rubbed the dogs ears while my floor got cleaned - what do I have to complain about? At least until Mom borrows it semi-permanently.