are robot vacuum cleaners any good?

wdah

i'm thinking about getting a cheap robot vacuum cleaner (maybe £100 or so) because i hate vacuuming with a passion. are they any good? i wouldn't expect it to work miracles, but at the same time, i don't want to be throwing money away.

Lisbon

I gave this answer to someone else a day or two back:

I have an iRoomba Robot vacuum cleaner which is exceptionally good with pet hairs (and a lot more fun than normal ones!). I bought mine from Lakeland because I was very dubious about a 'robot' cleaner and wanted to be able to return it if necessary. That was three years ago and it has been fantastic ever since.

See http://www.lakeland.co.uk/24607/iRobot-Roomba-650 for the current model on sale.

Whether the cheaper models are worth having is another matter - I suspect you get what you pay for.

imho

I had the iRobot 560 and it is excellent for any floors apart from carpets.I took mine to India and used it in a apartment i had there and when i left i gave it away.I had only paid £45 for it from a charity shop and was nearly new.It was marble floors in my apartment and i used to just set the timer on it and go out for the day and come home it would be back in its base after cleaning the whole apartment.I tried it at home on carpets and wasnt that impressed.

wdah

Thanks guys, that's really helpful.