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navigator9

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If you're like me, and have pets, I'm sure it has crossed your mind a time or two that it would be nice to have something like a Roomba to take care of all the darn cat/dog hair. I can't tell you how many times I've had guests over and had a furball roll out embarrassingly from under some furniture. I've gotten to the point where I just say, "Oh, kick that back under and pretend you never saw it." And smile. But it is embarrassing. And I DO vacuum! But those hairy things are good at hiding apparently. So when I got an email from Amazon about a sale on vacuums, I thought I'd check it out. They had Roombas listed, and although a friend of mine had once bought one, and ended up returning it because it didn't clean well, that was years ago, when they first came out, and I figured they may have worked out the bugs since then. So I thought I'd take a look. I love to read reviews by people who've actually used the products I'm interested in, and it seems like many people buy a Roomba to deal with pet hair, forgetting that hair isn't the only thing our pets "deposit." There are even pictures of Roombas who've tried to clean deposits they were never meant to clean. I can't remember when I've laughed harder. I don't think I'll be getting one any time soon. Here's the review that cracked me up.


Top customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 starslove it with a caveat
Bywaylnderon November 4, 2016
Previously my wife and I read the post about someone’s Roomba trailing through dog poop. We laughed and didn’t think another thing about it.

Let me tell you how yesterday went. While at a training for work I receive a text message from my 10 year daughter. “Dad, please call me the floors are dead.” I assumed that auto correct had gotten involved and was trying to figure out what it had corrected from. Also in the back of my mind I assumed our 14 year old lab Dalmatian mix had passed away, only to be found by our daughter. I attempted to call my daughter with no answer and then called my wife. My wife had received the same text and had talked to our daughter.
Our lab is fine, our daughter was not. It appears that during our absence our 85 pound Band-dog mastiff had a bit of stomach distress. This in its self isn’t a big deal as pet owner we understand that periodically “poop happens.” What caused our very articulate 10 year daughter to become stymied was the fact that Rudy (our Roomba’s name) at 1415 hours started his tour of duty.
Our daughter entered the house at around 1430. Rudy had been diligently cleaning our house for 15 minutes give or take. It seems that he had made a bee line towards the piles of dog stomach distress and then gleefully in a poop filled rampage “cleaned” the house. I don’t know if dog excrement somehow is a super boost to Roombas (much like speed boosts on video games) or if Rudy somewhere deep in his programing has a code built in that basically states “if dog mess is found, crank all operations up to 11.” But it appears that in a very small bit of time he had somehow traversed into the master bedroom, the hall way, kitchen and of course the living room.
As any Roomba owner knows they travel in spiral patterns; they bump into walls and furniture and they stop and spin looking for dust or hair. This built in patterning is truly effective in the elimination of pet hair, dust and small bits of debris. This patterning also seems to mimic the path a three year old hopped up on red bull and given an open full paint can, would have. If you keep the afore mentioned three year old in mind and substitute poop for paint that is what we are looking at. Roombas also have a small propeller like, brush attachment. This attachment sticks out in front of the Roomba. Its’ original purpose appears to be reaching into corners where the round Roomba cannot reach. Unfortunately, this attachment also seems to have the ability to violate the known laws of physics by flinging poop in all directions, angles, around corners, inside locked cabinets, and oddly straight up in the air to hit a 12 foot ceiling. So give that three year old a fan and let them swing it around as much as possible.
So back to our daughter, as she entered the house she was struck by a smell that could only be described as Cerebos’s backyard after being fed Taco Bell and Jägermeister for three days. After the initial shock, she looked down, up and around and observed the poopy Pollock patterning on the walls. She immediately went further into the house, (where she got the strength of will I will never know) to find her phone to text her parents.
Before she could reach her phone, a poop flinging Rudy turned the corner and the chase was on. I don’t know what happen in the time between our daughter being spotted by the poop flinging Rudy and the text message, because she refuses to talk about it. She was able to stop the rampage by disabling Rudy and moving him to the backyard. After which she sent the text. I do have a theory on why she sent the “floors are dead” text. She being a normal 10 year girl has yet to witness anything close to the atrocity she saw. Given that she could only process the thought “the floors are dead.” In hopes we would call and she could articulate the carnage.
Back to my wife, I didn’t get all the above information until after the event. I was talking to my wife when she initially entered the house. All I heard was the garage door open, about 20 seconds of silence, a very soft “oh God” and then her telling me “it’s bad, I’ll call you back.” In her shock, she forgot to hang up the phone and for the next 5 or so minutes I could hear snippets of “How did it get there? Why, Oh man we might need to buy a rug, we just put in new floors, Oh God.”
I arrived home at around 1830 hours. Our house smelt of beach and cleaning fluid. My wife and daughter both freshly showered, both sitting down, both having only what can be described as a 1000 yard stare. My wife did say three words, “He is outside.”
I tried to take Rudy apart as much as light and my stomach would allow. As it stands right now some of his parts are soaking in a solution of bleach and water. I am hoping through the next week I will be able to thoroughly clean his outsides and insides.
So if I was to rate the Roomba I would highly suggest it others. We love the little guy, he has cleaned our floors without compliant, been a source of entertainment, and reduces our work load with our pets.
I do have to add one caveat. If you own pets only allow the Roomba to work while you are there. Or you will spend a week cleaning out at poop filled Roomba.
 
Poor guy! XD I agree that one should always only run the Roomba when humans are present. We have two, and we have never run them without first doing a sweep of the floor for obstacles and crap (so to speak).
 
I read that when I checked on a robot vaccuum at Amazon. My DIL and I had a big laugh about that one.
 
So glad you enjoyed it, I thought it was too good to keep to myself. It's something I'd never considered when I thought about owning one. And all of us who have pets know that sometimes they have accidents of one kind or another. The review section contains quite a few pics of this type of situation, and what the Roomba looks like afterwards. I'm sure if it happens to you, it's not very funny, but reading about it happening to someone else, is pretty hysterical, you have to admit. :lol:
 
It's because of stories like that and the associated pics that I'm really hesitant to get a roomba. We've got a dog and two cats. Thankfully, the only times any of them have pooped on the floor, we were right there to clean it up and it wasn't ...er, overly squishy, but my patron saint is Murphy. If we got a roomba, within a week it'd be trying to 'clean up' something like that. Very funny story, though as long as it's someone else telling it. :)
 
I never would have thought. That is both horrifying and hilarious!
 
I've had a roomba for something like 10 years. Its great at picking up all the dog hair. How'd have thought Rotties shed so much **** fur? Thankfully dogs live outside when we are not home and have never had an instance of Wombie eating anything he shouldn't. He does get stuck every now and then under the couch and even though they are not meant to get tangled in cords it does happen every now and then. Best investment though.
 
Now that the dog isn't here any more, I've been considering one of those because the cats don't usually leave messes...but oh man the mental image.....:mrgreen:
 
Now that the dog isn't here any more, I've been considering one of those because the cats don't usually leave messes...but oh man the mental image.....:mrgreen:

Really? Mine hork up hairballs pretty regularly. Granted, a hairball isn't going to cause the kind of unholy mess that poop will.
 
Navigator, I have tears in my eyes while reading your post out loud to my daughter, who's eyes are also leaking. Thank you for sharing. I'm so sorry about the mess, thanks to your very descriptive post I really can imagine.
 
Navigator, I have tears in my eyes while reading your post out loud to my daughter, who's eyes are also leaking. Thank you for sharing. I'm so sorry about the mess, thanks to your very descriptive post I really can imagine.

mommycarlson, the mess wasn't mine, thank goodness! That was a review of the Roomba on Amazon. And apparently not the only time it has happened. There are quite a few pictures on the review page of Roombas that have attempted to clean up dog/cat poop. Luckily for the writer, he had a good sense of humor. I'm glad he decided to share the experience, because it sure was good for a laugh! I laughed so hard I scared both the cat and dog, so I knew I had to share. Glad you all enjoyed it. :grin:
 
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