iRobot Roomba 530 Robotic Vacuum with Virtual Wall – $159.99

Saturday, October 1, 2011

All dogs go to Heaven

This Roomba won’t love you the way a dachshund will, but it also won’t break your heart the way a dachshund will.

Yes, I know, I know. This iRobot Roomba 530 Robotic Vacuum with Virtual Wall cannot fill the emptiness left by my dear dachshunds, but that’s okay. I can’t go through that much pain again.

Of course it’s great for cleaning dirt, debris, dust, and allergens out of my carpet, and sure its ability to detect dirtier areas of the floor is wonderful. Honestly, though, what I appreciate the most about the Roomba is that it senses and avoids stairs and other drop-offs and returns to its self-charging Home Base® to dock and recharge. It shows a quality I always looked for in my dachshunds but never seemed to find: the will to survive.

I can trust the Roomba not to lick the inside of a toaster, like Vincent liked to do, or lick another dachshund while he licked the inside of a toaster, like Claudette liked to do. I can trust the Roomba not to somehow roll my 40 pound weights into the deep end of the pool, and I can trust my Roomba not to then dive after it, trying and failing to bring it to the surface, like Lennox. And I can trust this Roomba not to wander off into the street, like Pierre did, only to get hit by a car, my car, thrown into drive by Terrance, another one of my dachshunds. He just kept driving. The car was found, abandoned just outside of Dayton, Ohio, so Terrance may still be among us, but it is hard to find any joy in this as he is not by my side.

The Roomba won’t greet me when I get home from work, won’t run up to me and lick my knees, won’t curl up with me on the couch while I watch my shows. But I can trust it to be there every afternoon, which was more than I can say for my dachshunds. I’ll always love you and miss you Richard, Tootz, Martine, Opie, Marcel, and Dirk. And Florence and Pat and Yolanda and the other ones that I named Pat and Gregory.

And Tiger and Topher.

Also, Maurice.

Authorized for SquareTrade Extended Warranty

Warranty: 90 Day iRobot

Condition: Refurbished

Features:

• Efficiently vacuums dirt, debris, pet hair, dust, allergens and more from carpets and hard floors
• Counter rotating Bristle Brush and Beater Brush work together like a dustpan and broom
• Sturdy Bristle Brush digs deep into carpet fibers to grab dirt, debris, pet hair and more
• Powerful vacuum sucks large and small debris into the large, bag-less bin
• Fine filter traps dust, pollen and tiny particulate inside the bin
• Cleans the whole floor, under and around furniture, into corners and along wall edges
• Detects dirtier areas and spends more time cleaning them
• Spot Clean provides quick clean-up of spills and concentrated messes
• Automatically senses and avoids stairs and other drop-offs
• Simple operation—just press the Clean button and Roomba does the rest
• Automatically returns to its self-charging Home Base® to dock and recharge between cleanings
• Faster counter-rotating brushes with improved design pick up more hair and debris and are easier to remove and clean
• Improved filter captures more dust and allergens while a larger bin holds more debris
• Improved anti-tangle technology keeps Roomba from getting stuck on cords, carpet fringe and tassels
• Improved sidebrush makes Roomba even more efficient at cleaning edges and corners

Additional Photos:

• Underbelly
• In Home Base with Virtual Wall
• Virtual Wall
• Package Contents
  

In the box:

• (1) iRobot Roomba 530
• (1) Virtual Wall 
• (1) Self-charging Home Base
• (1) Power Supply (3 hour charge time)
• (1) Rechargeable Battery
• (1) Filter

Woot! – One Day, One Deal