iRobot 530 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, White
by iRobot
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List Price: Our Price: $287.99 You Save: $12.00 (4%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $177.98 (click here) Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot 530 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, White
Customer Review: Impressed is an understatement
Summary: 5 Stars
I had my eye on one of these Roomba's for quite some time, and it wasn't until I saw a great sale that I decided to take the plunge. I couldn't have been happier with my purchase.
I unpacked the contents of the box, and inside was the Roomba and a few cables, documents, and maintenance components. At first glance, the Roomba was a bit larger than I had expected (it fits perfectly inside a 12 x 12 floor tile). The documentation said to let it charge overnight before using. I did so, and anxiously woke up to use it the next morning.
This little guy totally blew me away! It cleaned my entire first floor without any hesitation. When it was satisfied with the work, it quickly edged its way back to the charging dock. I sat there and watched it the whole time. In short - it cleaned my floors perfectly.
Here are the pros and cons:
PROS:
- Left my floors very clean
- Battery charge lasts a long time
- The unit is easy to clean
- Lighthouse perfectly unit keeps the Roomba confined to one area for 25 minutes
- Works well when traveling over rugs or mats (1/2" or less)
- Amazing ability to clean corners and around the legs of a table
CONS:
- Can accidentally close itself inside small rooms by pushing the door closed (lol, happened in my guest bathroom a few times)
- Acts funky when cables are left on the ground (it may get caught and sometimes may fail to get loose)
- It may incorrectly gauge the space under a couch or table and may get trapped (doesn't happen often, but it does happen)
Customer Review: Buy Smart
Summary: 5 Stars
The key is to buy a protection play. We've been the happy owners of a 530 for over a year now, and cannot imagine life without it. We have one old dog and two cats that shed hair at an impressive rate. My wife had to sweep and/or vacuum daily to keep things from getting completely out of hand, and this was very hard on her back. I wasn't very optimistic that the Roomba would clean well and also navigate the various rugs, chords, shoes, etc. laying around our house. But after hearing a friend's rave review, I bought one from Best Buy. After about a week, my wife put away our expensive vacuum and has rarely brought it out since. Not only does it eliminate physical labor, but it does a fantastic job and the house stays cleaner than it did before. I turn it on when I leave for work, and when I come home for lunch, it's done its job and is usually on the home base, fully charged, ready to clean another part of the house when I go back to work. Luckily, I purchased the extra protection plan, which I've found to be the absolute key to happy living with the Roomba. As you will see when you read other reviews, these things aren't built to last forever. In fact, we are on our 4th one now, and none have lasted longer than 6 months. When it breaks down (the brushes stop turning or the vacuum konks out, etc.), I just box it up and take it back to Best Buy, and so fair they've just swapped it for a new one. And yes, I have to empty it out after every use, but that doesn't bother me in the least. In fact, I'm always kind of interested to see what it has found!Customer Review: Great improvements over 400 series!
Summary: 5 Stars
First let me tell you that I own two Roomba's. I originally bought the Discovery Sage model a few years ago. I recently bought a 530 model. I would highly recommend the 530 over the 400 series even though my old Roomba still works fine.
I have hard surfaces all throughout my house to eliminate dust due to my son's allergies. I also have two short hair'd dogs that shed like there is no tomorrow! Both of my Roombas work great but the 530 has improvements that make it superior.
The virtual walls in the 530 don't have a screw over the battery door!
The 530 has a larger dirt pale.
The 530 has a sensor that slows him down before he hits things.
The 530 has a voice in addition to the beeps (although the uh-oh beep in the Discovery is charming).
The 530 has a "Dock" button so you can put him down and he docks himself (even though the Discovery will dock automatically when his battery runs down).
The front wheel on the 530 swivels and does not collect hair like the Discovery Sage (400 series).
BOTTOM LINE - Go with the 500 series over the 400 series for sure (Just don't tell my older Discovery Sage I said that since he just finished my basement!)
The Roomba is higher maintenance than a regular vacuum. I don't mind since we love both of our little hard working buddies (named "Romba" and "Murry"). If you have hard floors and don't mind giving them a little TLC, you'll love them. If you have lots of carpet and want a low maintenance vacuum, you'll be returning it pretty quickly.
Customer Review: Delighted!
Summary: 5 Stars
I didn't really want a Roomba, but my inner techie did, and so we ordered one. In the space of a few weeks and a few cleanings, Roomba has been transformed from "want" to "need." It's cute, it's high-tech, it's fun to watch (better than 90% of what's on TV), and it works. We live in the desert, which in some seasons coats our floors, our furniture, and ourselves with dust, some of it incredibly fine. And we have a Labrador retriever, who generously donates great quantities of hair wherever he goes. Some of his hair is no doubt on the space station. And we have brick floors, with a couple of oriental rugs and several Zapotec throw rugs. Roomba makes the floors shine, removing more dust, I swear it, than a mop; it negotiates the fringe on the orientals with aplomb. It does have difficulty with the throw rugs -- they're too light, so it tends to move them rather than crawl up onto them. Some double sided tape or velcro will probably fix that problem. We bought the 630 -- with invisible walls but no lighthouses and no scheduling -- because we don't need to clean floors in the whole house in one session, and we are home most of the time and don't need to schedule cleanings while we are away. Roomba picks up dog hair extremely well, it gets dust in places our vacuum cleaners can't easily reach, and it tells you when it is having a problem (not often) and what to do about it. It even tells you when it needs cleaning and what to clean. It may have a "plan," like the robots on Battlestar Gallactica, but I'm convinced it's for my own good.Customer Review: Maintain it and you will be very happy
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had the 530 model for about two weeks now and we are very happy with it. The first time I ran it, it went under our bed and I could only imagine what it was picking up. Needless to say, we needed to empty the bin immediately, and run it a few more times because it did a very effective job of cleaning. So here are my key points:
1) You should clean out the dust bin after each use. Believe me, its not a big deal, but every machine (regardless of its purpose) that is well maintained runs better. We have two cats and its amazing how much hair is underneath the couches, dressers, etc.
2) This will keep the floors looking freshly vacuumed, but you probably still want to keep the old one around and run that every few weeks for a deeper cleaning. The roomba is surprisingly strong, but its suction is still less that a traditional vacuum cleaner.
3) The ability to turn this on and walk away is something that you can't describe. Its just great.
4) I came home one night and my roomba had not returned home to her charging base. I called in a search party and found her underneath the bed with a sock stuffed in her brushes. I can't imagine what she must have gone through as she battled to return home to her charger, but never made it. The lesson here is get all clothes and other things off the floor just as you would a traditional vacuum cleaner. They can handle themselves very well with rugs and other items, but not small clothing items.
A great product.