I got robots! This may not qualify as home improvement exactly but it has improved my home.

I got a pair of bots from irobot, one that vacuums and one that mops. These things really work. I think they may do a better job than I do just because they go over the floor many more times than I do. I had just vacuumed and was amazed at how much it picked up.

The vacuuming robot will do three average rooms,(850 sq ft), before it gets "tired" at which point it finds it's base and goes to sleep,(rechages). You can even program some models to do your house very day while you are at work. It does carpet and hard floors both and it tells you when it's full too. Other than emptying the dirt bin you may never have to lift a finger to have clean floors again.


I have only used the mopping bot once so far but it did a great job and leaves the floor nearly dry.

I got the pair on a one day special for about $400.00 and I had to share how happy I am so far. If you need a vacuum you should check these out.

The ones I got were the irobot "roomba 535" and "scuba". Now if there were just a real good lawn mowing bot I could almost forget house work entirely! Here's a link http://irobot.com/ where you can watch a video.

We havea roomba. Haven't used it in a while. They make it look good, but still did our regular vacuuming.

The reveiws of the first generation models were not so good but I think they worked the bugs out now. Time will tell but so far I am impressed.

I should be clear. Ours did a good job, but based on the air flow, it can't go deep. But, it was really nice to run when we needed a touch up. We were happy with the performance.

How does the mop one work?

We had one of the early ones, and it did OK, but not great. First, it wasn't completely automatic like the ones today. You had to set it up and turn it on. Second, the battery life seemed pretty short, and third, the dirt cup was pretty small.

Other than that, it did an OK job cleaning. I'm betting the newer ones are really good.

They're here and ready to assimilate us.

Husqvarna Robot Mowers


Even a solar version from Husqvarna. Not sure this one is available in the US yet.


Or even these ones seems ready to take over the world.

Neighbor at the lake has one of the Mowers
Neat to watch.

Wow! Now that is cool.

SB,the mopping bot works great. It will do several average rooms before it needs charged although it only holds enough solution for about 250 sq ft. The only drawback is that my tile is almost perfectly level with the carpet so it does not recognize the carpet. I will need to buy a couple more infrared towers to keep it contained since our house is very open. The towers act like an invisible fence.

Yes, this newer model has a much improved design. The dirt tray is bigger and it has a more powerfull suction motor. It also has a better way of dealing with pet hair which was apparently a problem with the earlier models.

We bought a Scooba mopping robot for my mom's birthday at the end of July. She hates housework and loves the robot. She named it Dobby, after the house-elf from the Harry Potter movies.

(I don't think it punishes itself if it messes up....)

I have one, it doesn't work every day but it does vacuum and occassionally mops. I paid much more than $400 and the yearly maintenance is expensive. My version doesn't cut the grass but that is OK, I still love my wife.

How does it move the kitchen table and chairs to mop under them?

How does it vacuum in those tight corners?

Kids, they might be more expensive but they clean properly.

You show me a kid that cleans properly and I'll show you a liar.

You're welcome to come over any time. My wife (not me) trained both our girls properly. They get down on their hands and knees to scrub the floors; no mops allowed. Vacuum the corners and under everything.

We pay for their college, car and gas; and our house is clean.

Ah, that explains it. Girls! I don't think there is anything stinkier than a teenage boy. If you don't believe it come on over and I will let you smell the room for yourself.

We have a 2 year old roomba named Rosie, after the robot on the Jetsons. She was used daily at first, now not so much. We're trending back toward the old vacuum cleaner -- Rosie is just too finicky and not thorough enough I'm looking forward to improved technology in this field.

This one seems to do a good job, but I have nothing to compare it too as far as the older model goes.

I turned it on when I left for work this morning and when I came home it was back on it's base ready to go again. It had quite a bit of junk and dog hair in it that would not have gotten picked up yet so that's a plus. I will still use the big vac also but in between uses this is a help.

It leaves tracks on all the carpet and it appears to cover all the floor pretty thoroughly for what that's worth.

The floor mopping one does a great job on the floors but I have to say that it does not recognize where the tile ends and the carpet begins. I will need to get a couple more of the little tower things that tell it where not to go before it is safe to leave unattended. It works well enough that I will get them though.

They aren't perfect yet but they are a big help and the day is coming when they will be a part of every house. I can see how the sensors will be hidden in walls to tell them where they are in the house and you will program them just like you do your sprinklers or DVR. They may even clean themselves.