As I seem to be doing domestic appliances at the moment -
I see Dyson have just announced their new 360 robotic cleaner thing. No price announced but I'll bet it'll be £999.
Sister has one - a Roomba - and waxes lyrical. Wife thinks it would be a silly gadget that will never be as good as a human doing the job, so why bother.
A little poke about Amazon reviews for something a bit more affordable (about £275 ish seems to get you in the sensible ballpark) leads to maybe a Roomba or perhaps the interestingly named Neato.
Reviews there reveal many who thought like wife before buying but think like sister now they have bought. Well, people always justify expensive purchases to themselves.
I appreciate those who don't work may have more time for vacuuming, and those who do may have none, and some may employ someone to do it, so it's a bit horses for courses.
So - anyone got one, or thought about it? Any real use?
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My brother had a very expensive Samsung robot vacuum cleaner which he raved about at every opportunity. To be fair, it seemed to work well for him, living in a big flat with wooden floors it could be relied on to go about its daily business while he was out.
Unfortunately, the day came when his cat left him a large, moist, and steaming turd as a trophy. The robo-vac accidentally ran over this and over the course of the day basically spread a wafer-thin layer of **** over the entire floor area of the flat. It helpfully went back to its charging station to top off the battery several times during the job.
He no longer has a robot vacuum cleaner.
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I just spent half an hour mowing round other people's cat **** on my front lawn, so I really appreciate that little story!
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Nice story, and only adds to my ever-growing conviction that cats (sorry Pat et al) have absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Thu 4 Sep 14 at 11:53
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They don't bark or slobber and are smart enough to go for a walk by themselves.
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>> cats ... absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever.
Oh I don't know; they have their uses
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXl13m5CQsE
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>> Oh I don't know; they have their uses
>> www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXl13m5CQsE
>>
I want one! It could tackle the herring gulls which **** on my car.
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>> Nice story, and only adds to my ever-growing conviction that ROBOT VACUUM CLEANERS
>> have absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever.
Fixed it for you.
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>> Nice story, and only adds to my ever-growing conviction that cats (sorry Pat et al) have absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever.>>
Shame on you.
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I've yet to find a person with a kinder nature of more personality....
Pat
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>> I've yet to find a person with a kinder nature of more personality....
I was delighted to read that Pat, until I realised you meant the cat.
:)
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Perhaps I live in an odd house, but as ours has a mixture of hard floors and thick pile rugs, not to mention the odd step, I'm not too sure how well it would work. I imagine a Dalek would be similarly thwarted.
I think I'd rather have a cat.
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I suppose both make low humming noises, both cost something to run and both have to have their mess cleaned up. The advantage of a cat, of course, is that it's generally someone else that has to do the cleaning up, whereas the advantage of the robot is that it doesn't kill and torture stuff.
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"the advantage of the robot is that it doesn't kill and torture stuff"
Give them time.. :-)
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The robot will follow the laws of Asimov; I've yet to find that which as far as the neighbour's cat and flowerbeds are concerned, has him off.
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:-)
There was a discussion on R4 yesterday about Asimov's laws, but the worry seemed to be that not everyone might program them that way. Shocking, but plausible...
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>> "the advantage of the robot is that it doesn't kill and torture stuff"
>>
>> Give them time.. :-)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHhZK-g7wHo
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>> I imagine a Dalek would be similarly thwarted.
They can levitate these days.
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Difficult to dominate the universe on casters, I guess.
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>> Difficult to dominate the universe on casters, I guess.
>>
It's brain-power that counts. Advanced robotic vacuum cleaners will gradually become the masters, like cats and their purported "owners". You will be the one doing the running around, the vacuum cleaner will be sitting humming in the best spot, issuing instructions.
There's a lovely old-fashioned computer game called Zoo Tycoon. You start off by thinking that you are managing a zoo, but in the end you are hard-pressed to keep up with all the terse demands of the animals.
"Klipspringer No. 85 needs more food" was my favourite.
The first warning sign will be when your robot cleaner announces that it needs a mate.
Then they will need a larger cupboard.
And so on. Domination? - easy !
Last edited by: Cliff Pope on Thu 4 Sep 14 at 13:41
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My limited experience of Dysons is that they live up to their slogan of not losing suction by having very little to start with. We have a 12-year old Kenwood that uses paper bags and sucks as hard as it did when new. It cost £25 and the bags are available on Ebay for 50p.
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Dyson, Bose, Apple - all triumphs of marketing.
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>> Dyson, Bose, Apple - all triumphs of marketing.
>>
Don't forget BMW, Mercedes, AUDI, MINI, Land Rover, etc.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Thu 4 Sep 14 at 14:57
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I think so. Funny how, after several goes with ‘bagless’ cleaners, reverting to one that puts all the carp into a paper bag ready to throw away (and that doesn’t create a dust cloud when you chuck it in the bin) seems like a stroke of genius!
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>> I think so. Funny how, after several goes with ‘bagless’ cleaners, reverting to one that
>> puts all the carp into a paper bag ready to throw away (and that doesn’t
>> create a dust cloud when you chuck it in the bin) seems like a stroke
>> of genius!
Similar thought having just emptied dust cup on Dyson and then deciding it needed servicing. Dust cup and the 'cyclone' bit inside needed thoroughly washing in hot water. Guess rest of job involving filters, removing hair etc from brushes and lubricating bearings etc would be same on bagged jobbie.
I didn't buy the Dyson either. My Mother had it for several years before deciding, as she does with lots of things, that it was no longer up to snuff or 'broken' and replacing it with a new 'better' and even more expensive one.
As with plenty other things she's asked me to take to the tip it just needed a bit of TLC. Airpath cleared of obstructions, cyclone and dust cup cleaned and filter washed it was, if not good as new, picking up far better than Electrolux we had and with bonus of being half the weight.
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"she's asked me to take to the tip it just needed a bit of TLC"
I'm the same with cars.. :-)
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Vacuum cleaners originally had cloth bags which you had to empty with the ensuing cloud of dust when you had the messy job of emptying it. Paper disposable bags were seen as a great leap forward which indeed they were.
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>> Vacuum cleaners originally had cloth bags which you had to empty with the ensuing
>> cloud of dust when you had the messy job of emptying it.
On moving to my first home, albeit shared, in 1980 I was gifted my Grandmother's 1948 Hoover Junior. The cloth bag still smelled of the coal ash that dominated her household's dust when cleaner finally blew up c 1991.
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My mother's Goblin cylinder vacuum cleaner had an interesting feature. You could attach the hose to the exhaust end of the cleaner and use it with a paint sprayer attachment!
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>> On moving to my first home, albeit shared, in 1980 I was gifted my Grandmother's
>> 1948 Hoover Junior. The cloth bag still smelled of the coal ash that dominated her
>> household's dust when cleaner finally blew up c 1991.
>>
I can't see any of todays vacuum cleaners lasting that long no matter how much you pay for it. My mother had a Hoover Senior as a wedding present in 1959 and that lasted into the 80's.
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>> I can't see any of todays vacuum cleaners lasting that long no matter how much
>> you pay for it. My mother had a Hoover Senior as a wedding present in
>> 1959 and that lasted into the 80's.
And in those days cost over a weeks pay, the replacement you buy today will cost a days pay.
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I use an old cylinder electrolux sometimes for a quick sweeping of the Rayburn flue, as an interim measure in lieu of a proper sweeping.
I don't bother letting it go out - the machine copes with hot soot, sparks and flames seemingly without complaint. The canvas bag appears to be heat-resistant.
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Robot vacuum cleaner - Fursty Ferret
