Excuse me while I praise my undying love for my new friend, the iRobot Roomba i3+. Despite what my cat might tell you, the new Roomba 3 is amazing. This is a device I never know I needed until I got it and boy does it make my life easier.
The iRobot Roomba i3+ is an all new wi-fi connected robot vacuum with automatic dirt disposal. Meaning, you don’t need to clean it every time you use it. Since moving into my new house, my loving girlfriend and I have been at a stalemate as to who cleans the floors in the house. I don’t like vacuuming or sweeping and I’ll be damned if I do it. Enter our new third wheel, Mr. Robot. No longer do I have to do manual labour in my new home to clean the floors. I can rely on the Roomba to clean up my mess for me. Popcorn kernels on the floor from the night before, don’t worry hun, Roomba’s got it. It’s only been a few weeks but I’m starting to develop feelings towards the machine. I believe I’m developing Robosexuality for my device.
Getting the Roomba up and running was a quick painless process that took less than ten minutes. I had him up and surveying my place for a mess much quicker than I would have imagined. Upon downloading the app and setting up my personal account Roomba was ready to explore and make my domain, his bitch. He can conquer my 1100 square foot condo in around an hour and half to two hours depending on the messiness level.
Inside the packaging are two AllergenLock Bags that are said to capture and trap 99% of pollen and mold. These bags and filters are on the pricey side (a 3-pack is $19.99 USD plus $47.99USD for the filter 3-pack, which will need replacing every 4 months), so it’s something to think about when buying this unit. These bags are said to contain 4 layers of allergen blocking material to trap 99% of pollen and mold. I would have liked 5 layers but I’m happy with 4! This is a bad joke but it does do what is most important – block the smell. I keep mine in the bedroom and have 0 problems with smell. The device has an Automatic Dirt Disposal that empties itself for up to 60 days so you won’t be changing your device manually all that often.
So how does it work? I can’t emphasize enough how impressed I am by Roomba. It’s a miracle worker. The i3+ will work its way around your house mapping it out using the tracking sensors to figure out the perimeter of your home as well as various surfaces. I for example have carpets and hardwood and it had no problem working its way over both in the same stride. It also ducked underneath my furniture cleaning up whatever it can with no hesitation. The unit is a little chonky so he can’t get everything, but much like the Little Toaster he tries his best. Roomba also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant as well as supports IFTTT and scheduling. I currently have my Roomba to come out everytime I leave the house to go boxing three times a week.
Despite owning a cute as a button cat I am still allergic to her and I’m not a fan of pet hair all over my place. The Roomba has dual multi-surface rubber brushes that have no problem sucking up all Greta the cat’s unruly hair. It’s advertised that Roomba sucks up to 99% of all cat and dog allergens from the home. I have no way of proving this but I mean I’m breathing easier and I don’t see stray hairs all over the floor anymore.
I asked Greta the cat for her thoughts on the device but she was oddly silent on the matter. I believe it’s only a matter of time before they become friends. I’ve noticed she’s much more tired when I come home from Roomba doing his thing as she stalks him around the house like prey waiting for her moment to pounce.
Now you’re probably wondering if it will kill you? Well I don’t know 100% for sure. Robots could in fact take over at any time but for now the Roomba seems to be getting along very well with myself, my gf and my cat. Tomorrow’s a new day but for now I can rest easy knowing my floors are incredibly clean. I will say, my foot was in the way while sitting at the table the other day and Roomba did run over it. It didn’t hurt but it sure made me want to avoid its clean the next time it goes for a spin.
My once dirty floors are now always clean. Because of COVID I am rarely outside the house so I schedule Roomba to explore my halls when I am out. This way I can avoid the only problem I have with the device. When it self-empties itself after a job well done, it’s loud. Not jet engines loud, but loud enough to want to plug my ears. It’s Dylan gone electric loud. Loud enough to be annoying and not something I want on during a Zoom Call. It’s not the end of the world (despite what it may sound like) and thankfully it’s over in around 30 seconds, but those 30 seconds are what I’d call annoying. A small price to pay for how well it works otherwise.
My one other gripe with the device is that you can’t tell it where to go. It has to figure that out on it’s own. The roomba will only do your entire house and give extra love to dirty areas, but you can’t just have it clean, say your kitchen or bedroom. It has to do the whole house. If you want a robot vacuum that you have more command over the higher end Roomba’s would be your best bet. A quick hack to make it get to a room faster would just be to shut the doors to everywhere you don’t want it to explore.
Having iRobot Roomba i3+ around has been incredibly practical and efficient. It’s well worth the price if you want to avoid vacuuming your house. I honestly don’t have a reason to do it manually anymore. Now when my partner and I manage to leave the house for a few hours we can come home to a semi-cleaned home. Sure we could have done it ourselves, but instead we can tackle other chores and just enjoy ourselves. The Roomba 3+ might be more than you want to pay and not have all the bells and whistles of a higher end Roomba but it sure does make my life easier. Now if only I iRobot could make a microscopic one that does my dusting I’d be set for life.
