SOMEBODY HAS TO VACUUM

We Just Met, but I’m Already Falling in Love With My New Roomba Vacuum

She has flaws, but very few

Two vacuums I gave away Photo by author

I bought a Roomba vacuum in 2005 or maybe early 2006. At first I thought it was pretty good, but over time I became disenchanted. It would get itself stuck frequently, and was difficult to clean. Eventually I either sold it or gave it away.

My wife freaked. “Another vacuum? Another $600 toy? Are you crazy?” Guilty as charged. But I promised to return it if I didn’t love it. She muttered for a while longer than is usual when I buy Stupid Stuff.

Sometime in 2014, Roomba introduced its 880 model, which supposedly was much improved, so I bought it. It was marginally better, but still annoyed me. I joked about some of that in a Medium post (actually written in 2014 at a now defunct site; moved it to Medium in 2020):

Are Roomba Vacuums Self Aware?