I bought a top-of-the-range iRobot Roomba several years ago, and it was an expensive mistake. I don't know if they've got any better since, but it doesn't pick up pet hair, despite the claimed 10x extra suction. I still use it sometimes upstairs (like Mullah Nasrudin eating chillies he bought by mistake, because he's "eating his money"), but by the time I've cleared the floor first and afterwards emptied the Roomba (the bin is very small) and then cleaned it up every time, I think it would be easier to use a normal vacuum cleaner - which I can then also use to do edges, narrow bits the Roomba can't get into, cobwebs up high and the grooves in the secondary glazing. Every time I empty the Roomba, I brush the filter with a toothbrush, dust off the "bin full" sensors (as I had a lot of trouble with it not reporting when the bin was full - and don't get me started on why it even has an option you can select so it keeps vacuuming when the bin is full!) and take the rollers out and clean them. In fairness, I think our house (very large with lots of carpet and hairy residents) is just the wrong application for it. My asthmatic son had one in a flat with a fair amount of laminate floor, and he programmed the Roomba to vacuum while he was out at work and it was brilliant. But, cute though it is, it doesn't work for me. Perhaps my expectations were set too high by my robot lawnmower (a Husqvarna) which is absolutely brilliant and has been positively life-changing. Anyway, I bought a Sharp corded upright just before Christmas, to replace my 10-year-old Dyson, and so far I've been very pleased with it. But it's all horses for courses.