The Proof Is In the Pool

If there was ever any doubt as to how effective 'Huey,' our Hayward Pool Vac Ultra was at doing his job in the pool, maybe these two photos will set your mind at ease.

Because the pool was too cold for several days, or weeks, I never ventured into the pool. There were some other problems like the main pool pump has been sucking air through a minuscule crack in its case (that I can't find), and other things like the solar heater pump not working, etc., etc.

Anyway, suffice it to say, that the pool didn't get the attention lately that it needed. As a consequence, we had an algae bloom that grew quickly. I dosed the pool with algicide. That was fine, but I needed to be able to vacuum the detritus from the algae to make the bottom and sides of the pool appear pristine once again.

Since the pump was sucking air, when it shut off, it tended to blow Huey off his hose, which meant I would have to go into the water to retrieve him and reconnect him to the hose.

The dead algae left an even coating over the whole bottom of the pool and the sides as well. I decided I needed to let Huey do his thing, and since he was working and showing how well he worked, I thought it behooved me to take a photo or two to show just how well he was working.

Huey Hard At Work

Yes, I still have to go around and brush down the pool sides, and hand vacuum the spa and steps, but that's like an hour job for the whole thing.

Different View, Still Working

After all that, I have to backwash the filter to get rid of the dead algae that becomes trapped in the filter. But, as soon as all that's done, it'll be all pristine again.

A Little Help Around the House

Boy, it sure would be nice to have someone to help keep things neat and tidy around the house. Something that would be consistent, manage it's own time and not bother us too much. Lord knows, we're busy enough as it is. Something that could...

Robby Helping Around the House

Well, maybe Robby might be stretching things a bit much. Maybe something a bit more domestic is what we have in mind. How about something that was just focused on keeping the place clean. That's good enough for starters...

Rosie, Perhaps?

Probably not quite that advanced, but Rosie's a step in the right direction. Maybe something that's not going to stretch the technological bounds quite so much. Something, oh I dunno, maybe a little smaller than a breadbox, that will do one thing, and do it well...

Something like a Roomba. Why that's it. We just happened to have friends who have a Roomba, and they've been kind enough to loan us the use of theirs for the weekend. Just to try it out and see if something like this is for us.

This is Colleen's little pet, iRobot Roomba, Spot. He or She, is all charged up and ready to go for it's second day of cleaning.

Spot, Charged and Ready to Go

Right about at the stroke of noon, Spot sang a little tune (I guess to let us and all the animals nearby know that she/he is about ready to begin the workday). Right away, Spot took off and began industriously cleaning the bedroom - especially under the bed.

Of course, this new activity requires supervision. Nelson figured he was the one who most frequently goes under the bed, the couch, and just about anything else, so he nominated himself to supervise Spot. Here he is, doing a magnificent job of it too.

Nelson Closely Supervising Spot

Apparently, we have become infected with hitekitis. I think it all started because Huey, our pool-cleaning cabana-boy robot just was so cute, and did such a good job, that the closer we looked at Bruce and Colleen's iRobot Roomba, named Spot, the more we could see similarities between the two.

Huey cleans the pool in a random pattern, if you can call it that. And that's pretty much how the Roomba works as well. So, like I said, the more we looked at the Roomba, the more sense it made for us. Then, Colleen loaned their Roomba to David and Elizabeth to try out. This led directly to their ordering a Roomba of their own. All this suggested that we should try out Spot and see if we needed such a selfless household servant as well.

The end result is, we have Spot for the weekend, and we're giving him/her a good tryout. I think it's a done deal. I guess I had better begin perusing Ebay and Amazon for a reasonably-priced refurbished version of Spot for our very own.

I've got to get out of the way. Spot is trying to clean the office as I type and he/she doesn't take kindly to anyone getting in his/her way.