I was actually looking at this the other day when browsing through floor cleaning products on amazon. I guess it is hard for me to see this being very effective considering the size. Also, the benefit of an automatic machine like this would be to run it every day - but I don't really think your floor needs to be washed that often.
I think I've decided on the regular Roomba for floor upkeep, and then just traditional mopping (maybe later I'll invest in on of the upright floor cleaners).

I feel this is another thing you really don't need in your home! Plus, mopping, sweeping, etc. is great exercise. And then we wonder why more and more Americans are over weight. Are we so lazy we can't sweep and mop?!

Is there anyone who swears by this or the roomba? I'm always dazzled by their space-agey good looks (and something that cleans up for me!) but I've heard that they can be temperamental - getting stuck in furniture, missing places, etc. There are some seriously amazing vacuum cleaners at that price point so if these little discs aren't all they're cracked up to be I would love to know.

I swear by the Roomba. I've had one for a few years. I bought it on eBay for $100 bucks when I was having really bad allergies and felt like sweeping was making them worse. The Roomba does a better job than sweeping but not as a good a job as a thorough vacuuming. The beauty is that I can run it every few days while I'm walking my dogs or heading to the gym ... robbmn, it's just a little too loud to sit on my butt and watch tv while it runs.

The Scooba seems pretty silly to me though with the $400 price tag and proprietary cleaning gunk. I'll stick to my terry cloth map.

I love my Roomba! I bought it when I just got tired of sweeping up kitty litter every day. It does a great job on my floors and I pad around barefoot all day so I can tell. It's not super-powerful, but since it goes more often than you would vaccuum or sweep, you still get the same amount of junk off your floor. My floor doesn't crunch anymore, and it even got all the litter out of the cracks between my floorboards. Sadly, Seigneur Gateau is gone from this world, so now I only use it once or twice a week. It's the first and only vaccuum I've ever owned. I'm not into the Scooba either -- I just don't mop that often.

robbmm -- I don't sweep, but I don't own a car or a dishwasher either. I walked two miles to the store earlier today and carry my groceries and laundry up two flights of stairs. I can delegate this one chore, you know?

I love my Roomba. I live in a loft space with wooden floors, and I have a wool shag rug which, while I LOVE it, sheds like you wouldn't believe. With the Roomba I can set it on its merry way when I leave for work, and it'll be fresh and recharged when I get back. I don't use it to vacuum the rug itself--I rely on it to pick up all the stray rug fibers that otherwise make their way across my floors. Does a great job and meets my expectations handily.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Roomba. It's true that a full size vacuum does a more thorough job. But, for me, it's not about the difference between Roomba and a regular vac--it's the difference between doing nothing and having Roomba do it. If I can let the Roomba loose, I maintain a decent level of clean. Every so often, I haul out the full size vacuum cleaner for a more thorough job. And it's not about exercise, which I get plenty of - the big vacuum exacerbates a condition I have in my hands.

I'm keeping an eye on the robotic mopper (since my Roomba is so divine) and expect the price to drop and for it to improve. I don't really have major mopping tasks either, so I can wait a long while.

robbmn, a little judgemental aren't you?

I get plenty of exercise, but would rather work out doing things that don't exacerbate my allergies (severe dust mite allergy, and moderate cat dander allergy). I have two cats that are part of my family, so I've been looking for solutions that will allow me to keep them. But, since they are long haired cats, even one day without sweeping makes me apartment look like a tumbleweed storm hit the wild wild west.

I'm glad to hear that people here with cats have had a good experience with the Roomba.. i think it sounds dreamy!

To the cat owners, how does the roomba handle cat hair?

darlyn,
My cat (dearly departed) coexisted very well with the Roomba. She was not scared of it, as with the big, thunderous vac, but always wary. She was rather curious about it and liked to be above it to keep an eye on it.

Here's an amusing epinion on Roomba:
http://www.epinions.com/content_168622395012

robbmn,
I think the backlash against you was excessive.

This certainly does seem like an unneccesary gadget- but apparently it won't make you lazy since you still have to clear the room for it, and still sweep and/or mop anyway (according to the epinions site.)

But then again, I, like heather, have proved willing to live with dust bunnies until they're large enough to trap insects!

We bought a Roomba and ended up taking it back (tip: buy it from Hammacher & Schlemmer, they have a lifetime satisfaction guaranty). It did a fine job on the rugs (low shag) and the hardwood floors, but totally choked going between the two. If it was on the floor, it would bump into the rug, and not go over it. If it was on the rug, it would get stuck on the edge and have a heck of a time getting out of the jam (all the while dumping dust out onto the edge of the rug). I think if we just had hardwood, we would have kept it, but it just didn't work in our setup.

I have two of these, and sang their praises for the first year. However, contrary to everything I've said about these robots, DO NOT BUY a Roomba or a Scooba. THEY ARE PIECES OF JUNK and I'm so irritated at that company right now. They don't do out-of-warrantee-repairs, you have to buy a whole new one. They don't last more than a year. GARBAGE. But they do make for fun videos with cats. If you have a cat you want to humilate, get one. Otherwise, don't.