I have no pets and hardwood floors and the Roomba does an excellent job. My only complaint is that it has completely lost its ability to go "home" when it's done cleaning. (The contacts on the base station need to be lined up manually with the ones on the Roomba.)

Not totally accurate. The fire equipment is fine with fires caused by Lithium Ion batteries (Which are mostly found in consumer products) but cannot deal well with Lithium Metal batteries (The ones found in professional broadcast cameras and the like).

Thanks, ND. I couldn't quite get my head around the difference from the articles I read.

I'm really afraid of getting a roomba because I have a feeling Owen would try to perform and autopsy on it while my back was turned.

I really want to get a Roomba (2 dogs, 2 cats -- you do the math), and I got a gift card to Best Buy from my mom and stepdad for Xmas. But I was looking at reviews online, and the unfavorable reviews are making me leery.

I don't have one Steph - but you have hard wood floors now? Even if you only used it in the bedroom I ma guessing it would help keep up with the hair and dander

I think there's a "pet hair edition" Roomba with a specialized brush and a more powerful motor.

The best thing about the Roomba, IMO, is that it's a robot and therefore never gets bored halfway through vacuuming and decides to watch a DVD instead. This alone makes it better for me than a standard vacuum cleaner, even if it's not as powerful at sucking up dirt.

Even if you only used it in the bedroom I ma guessing it would help keep up with the hair and dander

That's why I want it -- we keep the bedroom closed off, actually (and it still has carpet [don't ask]) -- for the living room/dining room/kitchen trifecta of pet hair. That whole area is rug-free, although the pet hair could be woven into a rug.

I try to vacuum every other day, although the floors honestly could be vacuumed literally every day.

(Of course, the black and tan coonhound needs to be groomed in a BIG way; that would probably cut down on hair issues by half. But it would be fun to get a Roomba just to see what the pets do.)

When all the carpet is gone from my house, a roomba goes on my list. I hate to vacuum. and DH used to do it more, but now the noise bugs his ears and he has to put on ear phones to do it.

When all the carpet is gone from my house, a roomba goes on my list.

Most of the unfavorable reviews are due to poor durability (small pieces breaking, crappy battery life). So I'm waffling. The Boy thinks no on the Roomba (but then, *he* doesn't vacuum, either, so I think his vote doesn't count).

the black and tan coonhound

A fellow coonhound owner! Awesome! They can shed quite a bit. We brush/comb ours at least once a week and that helps; however, I would swear she sheds enough for 2 dogs.

A fellow coonhound owner! Awesome!

He's a great dog, incredibly smart -- I think if he had opposable thumbs, he'd take over the world. This is Kato.

I would swear she sheds enough for 2 dogs.

Lord, yes. He needs to be groomed big time. (Also, yeah, we should brush him -- a friend who used to be a dog groomer said to just do it for 5 minutes when we let him outside; that way the hair won't be in the house. Great idea; we're just bad at follow-through.)