An update on a review of the iRobot Roomba from 2008.

I thought it about time to see how well these little time-savers might be working out for people. One fair indicator of how well a product is being received is to see if Amazon stock it and what reviews there may be. And indeed, you can buy a Roomba from Amazon and there are some useful reviews to help you decide whether such a contraption may be for you, or not…

It seems that such a machine would work well on either carpet or wood flooring with rugs, including those with fringing, but perhaps not a good idea for shaggy rugs – and certainly not those we sell, being especially sumptuous!

Will I buy one? Well the cheap vacuum purchased when I moved in is a great disappointment, so I will be comparing closely with a Dyson (my vacuum of choice previously).   Though I’m not sure what the cats might make of this wee machine pottering about the place…

Fringed rugs – irresistable to a cat; be aware that if you buy a fringed rug, your cat is going to be very pleased with you for providing this length of toy for them to play with.

Also having a loop-piled rug is not a good idea. It can be absolutely heartbreaking to buy a beautiful new rug and to find that it has been severely damaged by your cat within just a few days of purchase.

All cats will sharpen or stretch their claws, and all healthy cats will find a fringe an irresistible target.

This advice would also apply to furniture and to other textile materials in the home such as curtains and cushions.

So we suggest cat owners avoid fringes and loop-pile rugs

The modern Spring rug

from £69, including free delivery as always.

Definitely a rug to consider when doing the girl’s bedroom this summer.

Hallway runners, which already have beautiful whipped finish edges, are ideal when butted together and look wonderful when finished with brass stair rods. The ends of the hallway runners, when butted together, should be turned under to create a stairway runner length which will display a very impressive, smart bordered finish.

Mind you, having a rug on a wooden floor must be much more of an issue.

I asked Des at Majestic Rugs for his suggestions:

Smaller rugs are the more likely to cause slipping on a smooth floor, or to creep on the surface of a carpeted floor. There are a number of products available on the market to prevent this, but the most practical and easy to use, is probably the Anti-Creep/Slip spray methods which are now available.

I know that there are underlay products available, but you have to buy the correct underlay for the sub surface of the floor, and you must then cut this to size or buy multiple pieces for larger rug sizes.

The Anti-Creep/Slip spray method is easy to apply by following the manufacturer’s guidelines, and will allow you to uplift and to reposition the rug as required. This method is also suitable for other home products such as doormats, kitchen mats and bathroom mats. I would recommend customers to visit CYBERGOLD UK LTD – they have a nationwide product distribution network and can recommend local retail stockists to customers.

Any other ideas welcome…