iRobot 500 Series Roomba Vacuum-Cleaning Robot with On-Board Scheduling
by iRobot
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot 500 Series Roomba Vacuum-Cleaning Robot with On-Board Scheduling
Customer Review: I-ROBOT 500 Series Roomba Vacuum-Cleaning Robot with On-Board Scheduling
Summary: 5 Stars
I-Robot Roomba Vacuum cleaner is an absolutely great product. I want another one! Originally, started using this in the main house, with hardwoods and area rugs, but moved it into the Master Bedroom and bath (a large space), and I don't want to give it up in there. Our bed has the low rails so our regular vacuum cleaner does not go under the bed. However, the Roomba goes under the bed and gets lots of dust and dirt, and I no longer wake up in morning with ALLERGIES. I think running this vacuum has created a MORE DUST-FREE ENVIRONMENT FOR SLEEPING.
Note: it does get tedious, sometimes, if one has pets. We have a cat plus a lab who sheds like crazy, and the pet hair was filling up the I-Robot vac rather quickly. Solution: I finally closed the door to keep the pets out of that carpeted room and much better (didn't have to empty the vac as often). That would be the only downfall--that if you have lots of pet hair, and you don't want to empty the vac often, you may not enjoy this product as much as I. I took the vac upstairs to tackle the carpeted rooms up there yesterday, and having one up there would be a great addition.
With all our daily pet hair, though, I have found that just "swiffering" the hardwoods is the best for the hardwoods part of the house, because when Roomba would go from hardwoods up to the area rugs (which are quite thick), it would leave a pile of hair on the rug...that was only because it was so full of pet hair! The best part: the I-Robot is schedued to clean, and when I return, the carpet is cleaned, with the lines across it from vacuuming, the I-Robot is back in the charger, and I have been free to tackle other projects rather than vacuming!
Customer Review: Great Automatic Robotic Vacuum! Highly Recommended!
Summary: 5 Stars
The iRobot Roomba 550 is exactly what we were hoping for in a robotic vacuum and it works much better than we expected. We had set our expectations low since we owned an older model some years back that, while it worked well as a vacuum, just wasn't quite "there" because it would get stuck easily and couldn't find it's way back to the charger. We decided to give the new generation Roomba a try when it was featured on an Amazon Gold Box sale.
The Roomba 550 works great as a vacuum and does a good job at covering the entire floor. Since it is automatic and somewhat random, we schedule it to run overnight and use the virtual walls to direct it to the rooms that need it most. If there is an area that needs spot cleaning, we use the iRobot - Roomba Remote (sold separately) to guide it to the right location. Letting the Roomba run by itself has significantly reduced the need for us to use the conventional vacuum, except for when guests are coming over.
As a vacuum, the Roomba does a great job getting up dirt and cat hair. The bin is fairly small, so it really does need to be emptied after every use, especially when our cats are shedding. The more advanced features include virtual walls which can be used to block off rooms, better obstacle avoidance (hasn't gotten stuck yet), and self docking when the Roomba needs recharging.
Highly recommended! We liked it so much that we bought a second unit for our small business which, again, we let it run overnight so the floor looks nice and clean when we open the shop in the morning (one less thing to do :-)
Customer Review: I love Roomba
Summary: 5 Stars
So far Roomba is exactly what I expected. I have not tried it on carpeting, my house is tile and laminate flooring. I have a cat and I was vacuuming twice a week to keep the fur tumbleweeds at bay. Now Roomba vacuums twice a week. My cat is absolutely terrified of it and doesn't seem to become any less terrified after multiple uses. It is not quiet, not something you want to run while you are watching tv or eating dinner, but it is not too loud either, much quieter than a regular vacuum.
I have the 550, which allows you to schedule it, very nice and simple to do. It came with 2 lighthouses, 3 or 4 would be better, but I have figured a way to work with 2 just fine. I would say that it runs for about 1 hour to 1.5 hours before it finds its way home to recharge. Cleaning it is easy and it is recommended that you clean it after every use, but I clean it once a week and that seems fine. I am amazed everytime at how much it picks up.
It is built well and is more durable than I expected. The wheels allow it to climb over door jambs easily. I have read that there are issues with the spinning brush that brushes dirt along walls and furniture into the open to be sucked up breaking, but mine has not broken. I have probably only used it 6 or 7 times so far, so we'll see if that becomes an issue.
It is also fun to watch. I find myself following it around or "checking up" on it while it is working.
I got it for a phenominal price as a special on Amazon and used a gift card for a portion of the purchase. At this point I am very pleased with Roomba. It does exactly what I bought it to do.
Customer Review: Well worth the investment
Summary: 5 Stars
I have lots of allergies and require a very clean house. Before HEPA filters they were so bad I had to pay someone to come in and vacuum the house for me because I couldn't deal with the dust. I vacuum, sweep and mop at least weekly, and have mostly hard surfaces, so I thought my floors were fairly clean.
I was wrong! The Roomba 560 picked up a horrifying amount of dust and hair on its first five runs (I had to stop and clean the bin and brushes three times during each of the first four cycles; the fifth cycle required only one intermediary cleaning). It deals just find with electrical cords, rug fringe, and door jambs and threshholds. I have been using it daily since I received this and after a few days I can already see a huge difference in the cleanliness of my floors. I won't be surprised if my HVAC filters don't last longer, too (the ultra-fine ones have barely any dirt on them after a year with the previous state of cleanliness in my house).
While I wouldn't rely on the Roomba in a single pass for my in-laws coming to visit, by using it daily you will see a marked improvement in the cleanliness of your floors. I expect that I will have to pull out the "regular" vacuum far less often now. It's not a replacement for a regular vacuum, but it's already pulled up far more than my regular vacuum does and continues to get dust, dirt, hair, and more on each pass.
If you have spindly or dainty furniture, get it out of the way (just put it in another room and shut the door). Otherwise the Roomba may knock things off of it as it gets pretty determined at times!
Customer Review: A skeptic made into a believer.
Summary: 5 Stars
Eight months ago my teenaged son suggested that this was exactly what his mother needed to make her life easier. Having sold vacuums for a year while I was in school, and understanding the principals behind cleaning floors, especially carpet, I was skeptical to say the least. How could a machine of this small size generate the air movement and the carpet agitation, sufficient to really clean?
I read the reviews about the side brushes breaking and needing to be replaced, and wondered if this was such a good idea. Well he pressed on - the gadget side of him winning out - and it was purchased and given to my wife as a gift.
I am glad that he had the vision to see just how useful this tool would be. It is easy to use, saves time, allowing multiple cleaning tasks to be done at once, and it cleans REALLY WELL. We have a commercial grade Electrolux vacuum and I have intentionally set the Roomba to clean a room immediately after cleaning it with the Electrolux. I do not know were the Roomba extracts the extra dirt from, but it always returns at least 1/2 full with dirt and dust from deep within the carpet. They both pick up the dog hair and the surface dirt, but the Roomba seems to be able to dig deeper. Perhaps it is just the extra time which the Roomba will spend on the room verses the once or twice over which a human operator will give.
After 8 months we are still on all our original brushes, including the side brush, and the Roomba is used to clean nearly every floor inch of a 4500 sqft house, at least once per week.
I am a believer.