Last year my uncle let me borrow his robot vacuum cleaner for my birthday. The intention behind this gift was to see if I would like one for myself. The experiment went well.

For Christmas, I received my very own robot vacuum. Now we are onto a new experiment in convenience and cleaning.

The subject of our experiment is Roomee.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_QYuSC76Ns5K6lML8zzTIuWtZ9D8JVp_/view?usp=sharing

Roomee is the vaccum’s name and she is very popular at our house. Everyone fights over who gets to push her buttons. All too often I find myself saying, “Stay away from the vacuum!” (Words I never thought I would utter.)

In the time we have had Roomee, I can honestly say she has been helpful. As with any experiment, there have been a few hang ups (mainly with Roomee getting hung up on my kids’ clothes that hide under their beds), but for the most part adding her to our family has been beneficial.

I really like how she picks up around the table and under the counter in the kitchen. The freshly vacuumed carpets in the living room and bedrooms make me feel like Martha Stewart. Having a debris-free rug by the front door makes me a homemaker rock star.

I know what you are thinking, “Where is the experiment?”

The experiment comes in the same form as any other scientific method.

Hypothesis: If I have a robot vacuum cleaner, my floors will be clean.

Independent Variable: our floors are always dirty

Dependent Variable: the amount of dirt on the floor, taking time to pick up the chairs around the kitchen table, remembering to turn on the vacuum

How will data will be measured: 

• number of times vacuum dust bin has to be emptied
• how much dirt I see on the floor

Findings:

• If I take time to pick up the chairs around the kitchen table, Roomee is much more effective.
• If I do not remember to pick up the chairs around the kitchen table, Roomee spends all of her time going circles around the chair legs and cleans much less space.
• If my kids have clothes on the floor, Roomee will attempt to eat them and I will find her all jammed up with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle t-shirt or something.
• If kids’ clothes are picked up, Roomee does not eat Ninja Turtle t-shirts or apparel featuring any other animated character.
• The 5 year-old is obsessed with emptying Roomee’s dust bin so I have not had accurate data to report on this measurement. (Don’t worry it will lose its novelty. I will have to empty that dust bin eventually.)
• Roomee moves from hardwood to carpet without a problem, however, it is MUCH noisier when she is vacuuming the hardwood. (The noise motivates me to start the vacuum when I am leaving.)
• If someone turns Roomee on, she cleans the floors.
• If no one turns Roomee on, the floors remain dirty.

Conclusion:

Having a robot vacuum helps keep our floors clean, IF:
we pick up chairs and clothes, we keep the cedar chest appropriate distance from bed frame, don’t mind a bit of noise, and remember to turn the darn thing on.

All of life’s opportunities offer their own findings and variables. Hopefully the endeavors you choose will help you live a life that has a little less dirt and a lot more time to feel like a rock star.

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. Roomee is not a trademark name. It is just my cute attempt at giving the vacuum a girlie sounding name because “vacuuming is woman’s work” (not a direct quote from this woman.)