babysitting the Roomba

My Roomba hasn't been working very well lately. It would vacuum for about a couple of minutes, then stop with some of the indicator lights blinking. When I pressed the "clean" button on the remote, it would work again.

So I've taken to check on it using my lounge security camera. I have a wireless cam set up high in our lounge, and it overlooks most of the area.

The screen sits next to my 4 screen setup in my downstairs home office, and it's easy for me to check whether the Roomba is still going - or whether I have to go up and reset it again. Fortunately it seems to be working for up to 10 to 15 minutes at the time now, but just in case it doesn't, I'm able to keep a beady eye on it. (OK, since I wrote this it has been a trooper - carrying out the full 40 min clean without stopping).

You can see it arrowed in the photo above. When it disappears behind the sofa and I don't see it for a while, I turn the webcam sound on and listen for it.

One day I'll send it in for servicing, but the main problem is that my second backup Roomba isn't working either. In their favor, I have to say that of the 5 Roombas I have owned, they all seem to work quite well for up to a year, and I use them each day. It's certainly worth the $599 a year (the cost of a Roomba in our country), to replace a cleaning service or the time we spend vacuuming our house ourselves.