Robot vacuum cleaner

[ragkar]

I'm very happy with the Roomba 570 robot vacuum cleaner that I received last week. It's about the size of a stack of plates four inches high and all you have to do is press one button to get it to vacuum one to three rooms for about 35 minutes a room. And after it's done, it crawls back to its docking port and plugs itself in. You can even schedule it up to seven times a week.
It's very quiet and at that size will crawl under the sofa and bed to do its thing. They've sold 2 million of them so far.
http://www.irobot.com

 

[yzbdsbp]

I want one so bad!!! Think that's what I want for christmas!

 

[Redneck_Randy]

I returned 2 iRobot vacuums because they are noting but junk. The new 500 series has so many problems I don't have time to list them all. If you want to read about all the problems with the new series try this site.

Roomba, Scooba, Looj and iRobot Verro Community - Roomba Review

They've sold 2 million of them so far.

And 1.5 million of them have been returned.

 

[ragkar]

Wow Randy, you sure have had bad luck with them. But if you were able to get your money back, you should be happy.
With two million sold, if only one percent are lemons, there's a lot of grumblers (ie 20,000). And the grumblers are the most likely to post. What's the source of your saying that 1.5 million have been returned.
I guess I've run mine about twenty times so far. It keeps finding lint and hair and stuff that I didn't know was there. I've had a few problems with it getting stuck under a dresser due to the the width of the legs. And a few times it's failed to redock probably because the dock is on the rug rather than a hard surface as recommended. It's fun watching it missing a dock and then turning around, backing up and having a full speed run at it.
It's four inches high so it might have troubles with some sofa's. Of course you could put a 2" bed riser under the legs. It also sometimes has troubles with the fringe on some throw rugs. Just take the usual prevacuum preparation if necessary ie. move chairs, roll rugs and get electrical cords off the floor.
I like having it working on my master bedroom and banging up against the door and things. I'll yell out 'Hey Buster, keep it quiet in there!'. My favorite brag is when I go to breakfast and tell the waitress 'I'm vacuuming my living room right now' She'll usually say that my robot is doing it. "Yes, but I pressed the button!"
I expect I spend as much time watching Buster work as I would spend if I were vacuuming myself!
I think that it's a perfect gift for wives or bachelors that hate to vacuum. Now if only they had one that would clean windows.
Randy, thanks for the link. Here's another link for an irobot forum iRobot Home Robot Community

By the way, I'm vacuuming the living room as I type this.

 

[Richard]

My wife tried one of those (don't recall brand). It didn't work very well for us "in our house".

I seem to recall the fringe on some rugs being an issue as well as not being able to go under some things (couch?)

Regardless, she returned it and got a refund.

Not suggesting they may not work nicely for some folks.... just didn't work for us.

 

[Cottonhawk]

We got a iRobot for Christmas couple of years ago. It does real good job on our hardwood floors and excellent in picking up the hair from our dog and cats.

 

[dmccarty]

We got a iRobot for Christmas couple of years ago. It does real good job on our hardwood floors and excellent in picking up the hair from our dog and cats.

Now that post got my attention! You have a picture of a GSD aka a German Shedding Dog. Does the iRobot really work with a GSD? We have finished concrete floors and the dog hair really shows up. Carpet can hide the hair but not the concrete. We have been wondering if the iRobot would work with all of this hair. Our old vacuum could not deal with the output of a German Shedding Dog and two Goldens.

We bought a Dyson vacuum that could and does handle all of the hair but of course some one has to push the button and walk behind the dang thing.

Later,
Dan

 

[jbrumberg]

I have a 90 pound female GSD, a SC, and a long haired wife. We burned out the bearings on the first one as my wife did not know how to maintain it nor did she follow the Owners Manual use directions when I was hospitalized. We got a free replacement without any hassles . I get the job of disassembling and cleaning out all the hair after every use, but I rarely if ever have to clean the windows . It is amazing what the thing will pick up. It does save a lot of time and it really hassles the cat ! Jay

 

[ragkar]

The Roomba (model) made by Irobot uses four methods of cleaning. A vacuum, a fiber bristle brush, a rubber paddle brush and a propeller brush. The propeller brush is used to sweep out the cracks between the wall and the floor. Hey, I don't even do that.
A cute feature is that there is a microphone located near the rubber paddle brush to pick up the sound of particles (ie., really dirty spot). Then the roomba begins circling and really doing a good job at that location. I don't have pets but I do have a lot of hair that it picks up. On the forum that I cited above there's a location for users with pets to discuss their problems.
At $300, $350 and $400 it is pricey for the fifth generation Roomba's (ie. 530, 560, 570). The website doesn't make it too clear but the difference is the 530 doesn't have lighthouse technology that makes it possible to vacuum several rooms at a time spending about 35 minutes in each. The difference between the 560 and 570 is the accessories that come with the unit.
Depending on the condition of your floors, you may have to clean out the hair and debris every time at first. Thereafter you can go three to five jobs before cleaning.
Homeshoppingnetwork is selling the 530 for $250 but I poked around and there's no discounts for the other two models. Don't consider getting the fourth generation models (ie 400 series) as they are inferior.

 

[Cottonhawk]

Hi Dan,
When we want to have a room really cleaned, we just shut the door and let the Roomba do the job.
My GSD gets a hot shower weekly and when it's cold outside we bath him inside. After we dry him up, combed, and some blow dry, we have hair everywhere on the floor. iRobot will pick up all the hair on our hardwood floor better than I can ever do it.
I do empty the bin and clean up the unit every time after use.