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.

 

[dmccarty]

Cotton,

Its high praise that the Roomba can clean up the hair from a GSD after a bath.

Thanks for the info. I guess this might have to go on the buy list.

Later,
Dan

 

[Richard]

My GSD gets a hot shower weekly and when it's cold outside we bath him inside.

Weekly??!!!

Our vet told us to not wash them that much (my wife WOULD). Said something about the oil needing to replenish and we had to wait something like 3 days after a bath to put their Frontline on and then if we bathed them again too soon, it would decrease its effectiveness.



Have you noticed any issues with that?

(my wife would be jealous that your GSD would smell all purty & fluffy all the time)

 

[Soundguy]

I have to agree 1000% with randy.

We bought a scheduler in feburary.. thank goodness we bought the extended service contract. i think we are on our 5th one now... They work OK as soon as you get them.. then performance starts to degrade and then after about a month.. it starts having problems with docking.. or strange errors like 'thinking it sees invissible walls and runs a strange pattern thru an empty room like it is feeling its way down a baseboard.

get motor errors and the little side sweeper will quit.. or fall off.. etc... By 2 months.. it's ready to box up to get another one.

We empty it any time we walk by, it it finds some hair or other bit that winds around it's wheel.. we remove it.. we service the filter, and otherwise keep it -very- clean.

It seems to get the docking problem about 4-6 weeks into life.

Our first model they said had some non updated software so it was sent in for an update.. 2nd model they said had a bad dock.. sent us another one.. etc.. etc. In reality.. they are just high priced junk and a curiosity.. not very practical. And it's not like our floors are very dirty.. we have tile throughout 100% of the house, and no area rugs. We mop 1x per week. I swear it can be setting there charging.. the little power lamp blinking, and then the 2 green leds onthe base flicker and go off, and then it stops charging.. go nudge it with yor foot and it is fine.

90% of the time it gets lost and dies without being able to find base. Our house is mostly open with not much furniture. Ironically 50% of the time we find it dead.. it is within 3' of it's base.. out of power...

On 3 occassions they have had to send me small screws or other parts tot e 'beater' bar that fall out .. I have come home to see a small trail of parts then a dead robot.. where the beater bar broke a bushing and let the bar and trap door come off.. or the little sweaper on the side drops a screw, sucks it up, and then the brush drops off.. jambs the beater bar, and then it just seets there beeping...

Irobot MUST be a gov't contractor... that's the sad quality of their work...

Soundguy

 

[ragkar]

As I've only had the little fella a week I can't speak about how it will be in one or two months. But in that week I've used it about fifteen times. My waitress this morning has been using hers for a year and a half with no problems. Another waitress says hers is two years old and still running like new. Matter of fact, my Roomba is running right now. "Hey Buster, keep it quiet down there and stop running into things."

If both green led's go off (that includes the power to the dock led) then the problem is either the power brick or more likely the ac cord or plug.

Failure to complete a clean cycle is probably due to a deteriorating or not fully charged battery. If you're having troubles with the power brick/cord/etc that may account for it's not being fully charged.

The dock uses an infrared lighthouse to guide the mobile unit back. Do you clean that also? If power fails to the dock, the lighthouse lamp goes out and the mobile unit will just sit there until it times out.

I can't understand how the microprocessors or program would deteriorate. Unless -- you are using anti-virus protection aren't you? You do have backups for the Roomba? I hear that Hoover sells a good backup.

 

[Cottonhawk]

Dan,
Your welcome. Our Roomba is doing a much better job than the unit belong to Soundguy.
Richard,
Our GSD is a well trained Schutzhund dog. He is primarily an inside dog other than field training, exercise, and few other things he does outside. He is also extremely spoiled by my wife .... a hundred pound lap dog! He's had his weekly showers ever since he's a puppy. His fur has always been fluffy, shinny, and pretty. No oil or any other skin problems. When it's warm outside we wash him in area we wash and gloom our horses. When it's cold outside we shower him in our master bathroom and Roomba cleans it up nicely afterward. We do not use Frontline. We use a product called "revolution", administer once a month usually after one of his showers. Here is one of his pics .......

 

[Cottonhawk]

Sorry, forgot the pic....

 

[jbrumberg]

Cotton:

Nice looking dog. My 90 pound GS female is not that photogenic, probably because she's embarrassed - she only gets bathed and groomed at the kennel during our twice a year vacations. She is a closet coach and bed potato when we are at work.

Jay

 

[MikePA]

Ironically 50% of the time we find it dead.. it is within 3' of it's base..

Oh, the humanity! Dead within 3 feet of home!!

I picture the Roomba, pieces falling off, slowly, clawing it's way towards the base. "Must......make......it.....home." Then the sound of a PacMan dieing reverberates through the house, bouncing off the tile floor, as a little puff of dust is expelled from the Roomba and its LEDs go dark. Yet another Roomba Road Kill story.

 

[dmccarty]

Oh, the humanity! Dead within 3 feet of home!!

I picture the Roomba, pieces falling off, slowly, clawing it's way towards the base. "Must......make......it.....home." Then the sound of a PacMan dieing reverberates through the house, bouncing off the tile floor, as a little puff of dust is expelled from the Roomba and its LEDs go dark. Yet another Roomba Road Kill story.

That was funny! Course its not funny if its YOUR Roomba!!!! Glad I was not eating or drinking when I read the post!

Hey, maybe with the writers strike in Hollywood you can get a temp job for as a SitCom writer!

Later,
Dan

 

[Soundguy]

If both green led's go off (that includes the power to the dock led) then the problem is either the power brick or more likely the ac cord or plug..

It aint the base or the brick.. had both replaced by themselves twice.. and now that we are getting the unit replaced every 2 months.. we are getting a new base/brick every 2 months. The problem is that the contacts on the base don't reliable touch the bottom of the robot. As i said.. nudging with your foot makes it work.

if it was a continual probelm of getting bad bases / bricks.. considering we are on our 5th one now.. shouldn't they be getting this right?

Ac plug is fine.. tv works good .

Failure to complete a clean cycle is probably due to a deteriorating or not fully charged battery. If you're having troubles with the power brick/cord/etc that may account for it's not being fully charged..

We never start it till it's lamp is gree.. ( not the yellow or red when it is slightly discharged.. or really discharged ).. battery can't be bad.. we get a new battery every time the robot goes in.. that's 5 new batteries plus the one they sent us originally back when we got a new base/ brick in the very beginning. As with the base.. i can't imagine I'm getting abad battery 5-6-7 times in a row.

The dock uses an infrared lighthouse to guide the mobile unit back. Do you clean that also? If power fails to the dock, the lighthouse lamp goes out and the mobile unit will just sit there until it times out..

Yes.. we gently wipethe IR port ont he bas and the tower ont he robot every time we empty the tray.. which is every time it runs... of course you have to go look for it.. cuz it NEVER makes it back anymore. in fact.. when it does make it back, the wife and I figure it must have been an accident.

I'v emailed their tech support so many times they don't respond anymore and just keep telling us to take it in for a new one when the old one stops working... The people at sears ( where we bought it ) see us walking in with the box, and they just go grab another one out of the back room.. they don't even ask what/how/why anymore...

In the beginning they gave us info like to re-orient the the base.. make sure it isn't near furniture. make sure it is on a non skid surface.. make sure this.. make sure that.

It's just a poorly concieved unit IMHO... I men heck.. i've got tile.. that or wood floors should be the easiest thing for one of those robots to clean... no rugs.. no carpet.. nada..

Soundguy