House cleaning

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Nikki J

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PALS
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Pretty sure this is an issue for most if not all households with PALS. Most PALS can't do it and CALS have no time or energy for it.

I have recently purchased two floor cleaning robots a vacuuming one and a mopping one ( does dry mop, damp mop and wet mop). The vacuum can even be controlled from my phone! I think there might be a version of the mopper that has that feature too.

I have found them so easy I run the vacuum several times a week for the pet hair issue

Already today the mopper has done 2 bathroom floors , a tiled entry way and is currently mopping the kitchen floor. I have spent less than 5 minutes total setting it up and moving it around

obviously there are many more things to house cleaning but taking the floors off the list has really helped me
 
Nikki, thanks for this post. Once I finally get the contractor to pull my carpet and put down the new flooring, I think I’ll do exactly the same thing. It’ll no doubt freak Heidi (the dog) out, but she’ll adjust.
 
The cat was a little suspicious at first but now she just ignores them. She is stoic but timid if that makes sense and I don't believe she was ever truly frightened. Hopefully Heidi will do fine
 
I second this recommendation. The robo vacuum we have has a nifty little spinner brush that gets right onto the crease between baseboard and carpet. To do the same with another type of vacuum would mean hands and knees and a toothbrush by hand. Ours is an older model with a small dust reservoir that needs changing frequently, but newer models are way better! Having a vacuum that wanders the house with no supervision and even puts itself away when it's done is pretty neat.

With regards to pets. It's a sales feature as far as I'm concerned. But we are awful people over at our house. The footage online of a cat in a shark costume riding a roomba never fails to give me the giggles. Our old dog would try to stare the vacuum down and wouldn't get out of the way- and the vacuum was forced to incorporate "dog shaped object" into its mental map of the floor on occasion.
 
Thanks for the helpful posts. I had been wondering about these types of vacuums and entertaining the idea of getting one. We have a long haired dog and 3 short haired cats. I imagine in our case the dirt/hair reservoir would have to be emptied frequently?
 
I empty it every time- takes a moment. I think if it is full it redocks itself and probably announces why. Not sure. Full disclosure: if things are out of control when you start you may have to invest time into cleaning brushes after running it at first. Now that I am caught up it is not an issue.

My household has 2 long haired creatures. The cat and me!
 
One item to keep in mind, I had a facebook post come across my feed. There was a gentleman who had a roomba and a puppy. He had his set to run at night while they were sleeping. Well the puppy had, had an accident and the roomba ended up spreading the accident all over the house. Much carpet cleaning ensued, and one runner had to be tossed. Just be sure before it runs, that no pets have had poop issues. It cracked me up, while at the same time I really felt for the man. I "know" poop issues. :) Anyway, forwarded that along to my 2 SIL's who have them and dogs.

Hugs,

Sue
 
Sue, I seem to recall reading something about that too! As a person who has woken up to a dog that has been sick in the night, that's a full on nightmare situation. No one needs a vacuum that paints like Jackson Pollock using puppy diarrhea as a painting medium.
 
Nikki,
Which brand(s) do you have?
 
This is awesome Nikki - I never considered this. We have a lab, a real hair dropper lol and two mini dachshunds that will probably attack it. They attack the broom, vacuum cleaner, anything at their level that remotely threatens them. These machines sound amazing! I'm going to check them out.
 
Kim, both are Irobots. The vacuum is the second to lowest of the line. I got that because of the wifi option.

The mopper is the smaller one. I debated that and was prepared to buy the bigger one as well. The little one is good at tight small spaces ehich means it is good at getting around the bathroom. The bigger one would not have done well around the base of the sink or toilet. Three of my moppable areas ( foyer and 2 baths ) are small and it does all on one charge.

The kitchen is big and I thought it would be too much for the little one but it manages. Initially it left little dirt tracks at the sides of its path in the kitchen. It does not any more. I think initially the dirt level and size combined was too much for it but now it can handle it. It does not gleam exactly but it is decently clean. Maybe in time it will gleam as it is still improving.

If you have all moppable floors you might need the big unit. I have carpet everywhere else

The mopper takes pads and the company sells disposable ones ( same idea as swiffer). I got microfiber pads from another place

Sue although I can run the vacuum from anywhere I only run it when I am around. A stray furball would not be pretty either. Initially even pet free households should supervise and make sure there is not a stray cord or other obstacle. First run it unplugged my modem!

Mary I have found it does ok now with pet hair though your Crew drops more than my one I suspect. As I said at first there was a lot of hair tangled in the brushes but If you start off up to date on vacuuming that might not happen.
 
Thank you, Nikki.

I have all tile with no thresholds so 2,000 sf. of tile. I have someone clean every other week. They are the same girls who have cleaned for me for the past 15 years. They commented on how much dirtier this new condo is and especially the floors. That's because two people live here and lots of beach sand gets tracked in. Plus, I used to clean a lot in between their visits. Last time I had to tell them to clean under my bed because the time before, they forgot. I ended up crawling under and doing it myself......not a good idea and I paid for it the next day.

I'll check out the different models on Amazon and look for sales on Black Friday.
 
A plethora of helpful bits here!

I want one of those floor robots, that would be nice. We had one cleaner who was a great person but a mediocre cleaner. Trying someone new tomorrow. The cleaning I do kills me now, just no time. I still do my cat box room and it hard. Tonight was a Brian shower night and all I can say is TGIF. Working all day then that just seems like a lot with the fussy household bits.

I am impressed with the consideration some of you are giving their homes. Under the bed? Hats off to you!
 
Just an idea here, if you sign up for e/mails from Bed, Bath & Beyond they will occasionally send offers of 20% off of any one item. I purchased a Shark vacuum @ 20% off and now this thread has me interested in one of these iRobot / Roomba floor cleaners. Last year I purchased my first ever automatic pool vac because I didn't have the time required to maintain the pool. What a revelation! I'm just sorry I waited so long! If the automatic room vacs are half as good as my pool vac I will be thrilled.

I do have a question tho ....... will these robot vacs stop at an open ledge? We have an open stairwell to the basement and there is no trim on the edge of it.
 
They are supposed to and you can get sensor towers to block an area on the same level. Or block it physically with something. I have used a waste basket on its side
 
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