I'm trying to acquire gadgets that will do cleaning etc with minimal physical effort. :) Does anyone here own a roomba? Does it actually clean well? (I have Virgo.)
 

i do and i love mine. it does a better job than i ever did. and i've got some virgo myself.

Thanks.

I'd like to get one but was afraid that the "ooh I own a robot" would trump "this is a useful object."

I hear cats like to ride them. :D

Amazon sells them. You could earn Elsa some $$$.

how do those round things get into corners?

I have three planets in .  I have one and LOVE it.  I don't have to move the furniture for big cleaning jobs! 

Naturally, hubs the says it's for "lazy people".    I'm like, but you don't have to move the stinkin' furniture.

do they clean the corners?

how? 

hehe ... i've been sitting here wondering about corners too

there's a little brush that comes out the side a couple inches and pulls the dirt more in their path so it can be run over. that gets the sides of the wall pretty well and the corners somewhat. not perfect but not bad. a conventional vacuum is not perfect with corners either. they have a pattern they clean in, and when they bump up against something, they back up and re-direct. initially i was kind of surprised the random-looking pattern got  the whole floor, but it does if you let it finish.

there are also a few areas they have trouble. throw rugs get them stuck so i pick mine up before i run it, and cords on the floor must be picked up or blocked off. they have the little virtual wall things, but i found i never use mine. it's a lot easier to just put a throw pillow or something down on the floor where you want to block it off.

the one thing i would say is that it tells you to clean the brushes after every 5 runs or so. i have cats and mine needs to be cleaned of hair each time. 

my rugs are a lot cleaner since i started using it; i do it more often (i HATE vacuuming) and it gets under beds, under the couch, and lots of places i wouldn't ordinarily get. i think it's also improved my allergies because more area is getting de-cat-hair-ified.

i've had mine for two years now and will replace it when it dies without hesitation.  i am a gadget girl, so that might color my opinion, but i don't hesitate recommending them.

Yay!

I had never heard of one until this post, so natch...had to look it up and sure enough,

lots of kitties riding the highway on these.....aaaawwwww!!!!!      

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ-jv8g1YVI

Amazing! I've never heard of these before but I'm going to get one now