A Post That Deliberately Sucks

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Slope of Hope is obviously not a site that does consumer product reviews, but I want to make an exception this time regarding the iRobot Room 880.

I’ll start by saying I’m a bit of a neat freak. I like things clean and orderly. But I’m also, shall we say, thrifty, so I don’t want to pay a housekeeper to show up too frequently.

A number of years ago, I bought a robotic vacuum cleaner from the relatively new company iRobot. It did OK, I guess, but it was really nothing that special. After a few weeks, I pretty much just shelved it, because it was too weak to provide any true cleaning power. I pretty much wrote off iRobot as a gimmick for years and years. I didn’t want to bother trying again.

A couple of months ago, I finally treated myself to the top-end vacuum robot, which is the model 880. In spite of my lame-o experience with the iRobot vacuum many years ago, the reviews of the new model were so positive, I decided to give it another shot.

Well, I’m a fan now. This thing is terrific. It does a fantastic job, and – – maybe I’m crazy – – but the ability to press a button and have something perform labor for me free of charge and without complaint is a really nice feeling. It’s sort of like having a slave without one iota of guilt (although, queerly, I still rush to the Roomba’s aid if it ever gets stuck somewhere, since I do feel kind of sorry for it when it starts beeping).

In any case, if there are any fellow Felix Unger types out there, I heartily recommend the 880, which you can get from Amazon for less than $600 (I paid over $700, but a recent price drop has made it even more attractive). Happy cleaning!