Splurge!
Posted 12/18/05
Watching the $400 Scooba robotic floor washer is like tracking a hurricane on the weather radar. It spirals methodically then seems to veer off course. But the Scooba's wanderings are carefully preprogrammed so it covers floors efficiently. Just fill the tank with a liter of water, press a button, and watch it clean with a special low-suds solution. Unlike regular mops, the Scooba doesn't push dirty water around the floor--and it sucks up the water after it cleans.
This story appears in the December 26, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.