iRobot Roomba Sage For Pets Review

My home is always filled with animals--cats, dogs, and birds.  I run an animal rescue so there are always fosters here in addition to my 3 cats and 2 parrots.  Sometimes the total number of animals is a reasonable 6 or 7.  And there are times like today when the number is, well, a lot.  You may think that I'm crazy for filling up the house with them but wait! It gets better! I have severe asthma... and I'm, um, highly allergic to cats.  Have you finished laughing yet?  Anyway, I survive with allergy meds, asthma meds, daily pillowcase changes, and daily vacuuming.  Because I am always so busy with the animals, my boyfriend bought me a Roomba Sage For Pets for my birthday.  He figured that it would cut down my cleaning time and possibly give me a few minutes to sit down and talk to him.  He was right and it did.  I absolutely love it and am tempted to buy another one... but I don't think I'll be able to talk him into it since our house is just a 3 bedroom ranch.

This Roomba is extremely easy to use.  All you have to do is place it in the room that you want cleaned, turn it on, and press the "clean" button.  This little vacuuming robot will zoom around the room in random directions to eventually clean all of the floor.  When the Roomba is finished with the room, it will end the cycle and dock itself back onto its charger.  (We got a free self-charger with our order at IRobot.com) This machine also has two other settings: "spot" which will cause it to circle over one area and "max" which will allow it to clean right up until the battery is empty.  When you use it on the "clean" setting, the battery lasts long enough to clean 2 or even 3 average sized rooms.

There is a regular Roomba Sage model and then the "For Pets" model that we have.  The Pets model has an "easy clean brush" and a brush-cleaning tool to help you remove the wads of fur that get twisted around the brush.  I believe this model is about $20 more than the regular Roomba Sage.

Roomba Sage For Pets has no problem zipping around on both area rugs and carpets and can easily make the transition from one surface to another.  The only thing I've ever seen it get stuck in is the space between the door and storm door.  I avoid this problem by closing the door before I run my Roomba in the front room or kitchen.  If the robot gets stuck or sucks up something too large, it will immediately turn itself off and emit some sad beeps to alert you about the problem.

This vacuum does a very nice job of picking up pet fur, dirt, cat litter, and other assorted debris.  I don't feel like I need to go back through the room with my Dyson after running the Roomba.  The only thing it cannot pick up are the large pieces of wood (from demolished toys) around my macaw's playstand and the Nutriberries that I give the birds as treats which they sometimes drop onto the floor by accident.  I really don't have to "pre-clean" any areas before running the Roomba Sage For Pets except those around the birds. 

This vacuuming robot is not inexpensive but it's worth the price to me because it allows me to do something else while it is vacuuming a few rooms.  While the Roomba is cleaning the floors, I can scoop litter boxes, scrub crates, and wipe down the birds cages.  I can't remember what it was like to live without my Roomba Sage For Pets but I suspect that I was more tired at the end of the day than I am now.