For the floor and surfaces, I have a weekly cleaning schedule where I dust, sweep, swiffer, mop and vacuum in an attempt to keep the home as allergen free as possible. That said, there are some weeks that get skipped (laziness, too tired from work, insert an excuse from my endless list of excuses here) though I don’t think I’ve gone as far as more than three weeks without adhering to my cleaning process because the dust and specs on the floor would bother me too much.

But despite my best efforts, the floor doesn’t stay clean very long. I can almost find a dust bunny right after I just did the whole cleaning routine (or a day after). Where do they come from! Some of the floorboards have gaps and cracks and that doesn’t help as dust falls into them and then gets kicked up later on.

I have been wondering about the Roomba for a few years now but just couldn’t justify spending that kind of money on a small little cleaning device that may be too loud for the neighbors downstairs!  (I don’t want them pounding on the door to complain while I’m not home.)  Plus I don’t know if I trust having the robot on while I’m not home. Would it actually turn off or turn on? Would it rip up or trip on any wires on the floor (I have a lot of wires all over the floor for the fan, the printer, etc).

I was looking at the Roomba 780 and then reading this post about the Roomba and it sounds enticing. But is it worth the money? That’s A LOT of money to spend on a tiny vacuum.  Is this just going to sit in the closet after a few tries? My biggest worry is the noise.  I’ve heard that some models are pretty loud and we’ve got thin walls and floors here (as I hear the kids upstairs running around the apt day and night- BUMP THUMP BUMP THUMP).  The second worry is does it actually clean well and is it going to require a lot of maintenance. I would be annoyed if it jams often or breaks after a few uses!