iRobot 560 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, Black and Silver
by iRobot
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot 560 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, Black and Silver
Customer Review: So Much More Than I Expected
Summary: 5 Stars
I FINALLY received the Roomba 560 for a Christmas present this year and I have been soooo extremely happy with it. I thought it would just take vacuuming off my hands. But it does so much more than that. We live in an older house, one that has the feel of never being able to get it totally clean. Well, Roomba has faced and conquered the challenge. It not only picks up the surface dirt, but the brushes really pull everything out of your carpet and away from the baseboards and straight into the Roomba. The first time I let it do our bedroom, it wouldn't even make it through the entire room without needing to be dumped first. I thought we had mostly clean floors, but Roomba proved me wrong by how much it picked up! It was disgusting! Now, after having it around for a few weeks, it cleans our entire house (about 1400 sq ft) easily without needing to be dumped. It just had to get all that initial grime out of the floors.
I was equally impressed that it tells you (literally) when the brushes or filter need to be cleaned. And like previous reviewers say, the cleaning process is made really easy. I do plan to get the accessory kit just because it's a pain to have to stop the vacuuming to take the time to clean the brushes. With the extra brushes, my plan would be to always have a clean one ready.
It does pick up surface dirt on our laminate floors with ease, but I am much more impressed with the job it does on the carpet. Also, it goes over our rugs and mats with ease and vacuums them just as good. Even the older rugs that have threads or strings coming off of them! I was worried the first time it ran over one thinking it would get stuck, but no worries needed! Roomba again came through!
As far as docking itself, it only has trouble finding the docking station if in a completely different room. If it's in our living room/kitchen/dining room area, it has no problems. But if it goes outside that area and down the hall, it does have trouble re-docking when needed (even with the lighthouses we have set up). Not a major problem. I have no problem going and picking the thing up though. Typically I let it do one room at a time anyway and just close the doors on it. And also, I may see about tweaking our settings as to where we place the lighthouses for better docking in the future.
Overall, again, we are so beyond pleased. Not only does this do the vacuuming for you, but it does the vacuuming BETTER than you.
Customer Review: Very pleased with my Roomba
Summary: 5 Stars
I received my Roomba as a gift from my husband 6 months ago and have been waiting to write my review. I read so many reviews before purchasing that complained about parts breaking and the machine not working after a few uses. So I wanted to make sure that my Roomba was going to live up to all of my expectations before finally submitting my review.
I have never had any problems at all with my Roomba. I think some of the problems I've read on here can be eliminated with these tips:
1) Roomba is not meant to replace regular vacuuming and I don't think they are built to be used every day. I use mine in between regular vacuuming, about 4 times a month in our 2 heavy-traffic rooms only.
2) Removing small objects and clutter from the floor before using Roomba will eliminate problems such as getting tangled and crashing into things. To me, picking up these items is part of cleaning anyway. If the Roomba is constantly running over things, that is bound to wear down its parts more quickly.
3) The lighthouses, virtual walls, and docking all work with no problems if you block Roomba off to do one room at a time. Letting it wander freely around multiple rooms will cause the battery to go down before it finishes and will cause it to wander forever before finding the docking station. I've never had a problem getting the Roomba to dock itself when in the same room with the docking station. And the battery always lasts long enough to do 2 rooms.
4) Clean the Roomba after each use. It only takes a couple of minutes, much less time than it would take to run a regular vacuum. This helps the Roomba and its parts run smoothly.
My favorite things about my Roomba:
1) I have back problems, so it cuts down on having to push and pull a big vacuum around (and the Roomba only weighs about 5 pounds)
2) It vacuums under the bed, end tables, etc, so no more moving furniture to clean.
3) I was very surprised and pleased with the amount of dust and particles it picks up. It has as much sucking power as my regular vacuum.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with the performance of my Roomba and think it is worth the money. One more tip: the replacement filters are very expensive if purchased directly from iRobot. I was concerned about this since those have to be replaced every few months. But I found them on eBay at prices half of what iRobot was asking.
Customer Review: I want another one!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the best thing since sliced bread!
I injured my back (herniated disks) three years ago, and have been unable to use a broom or vacuum cleaner since. There is something about the motion of sweeping that causes me great pain. This has been very frustrating because I have indoor cats and a large hairy dog.
I had my floors redone all in tile to keep down the dust and hair, but going even one day without sweeping caused little "tumbleweeds" of pet hair to roll across the floor. (Those of you with carpet have NO IDEA!) My husband was just unable to work (he worked seven days a week) and sweep the floor every day. I couldn't afford a maid. It was terrible.
For Christmas, 2007, my husband gave me a Roomba 560, and a Scooba 5800. I love them!
This is not a toy! It picks up as well or better than a vacuum!
I use my Roomba every day in my living room, kitchen and dining room. That is as far as the battery will last, but it is a very large area. I am amazed at how much it picks up every day. It is simple to start (push a button) and simple to clean (remove the bin and empty into the garbage; remove the brushes and pull out any accumulated hair.) The Roomba 560 can also be programmed to come on automatically every day, but I don't use this feature because I have cats (cats can up-chuck at will and I don't want that in my Roomba!)
I have a 2100 + sq.ft. house and really need another Roomba to cover the entire house. With just the one, I have to let it re-charge before I can do the master suite.
While the Roomba does make some noise, it is considerably quieter than a vacuum cleaner. My cats are not afraid of it, but they are terrified of a vacuum.
I have to admit that I did have some problems with my Roomba at first. Every time I had a problem, I called IRobot and the technicians helped me. They sent me replacement parts on several occasions. I don't know how many times I called, but they were polite and helpful every time and sent parts for free. Finally, they realized that my particular Roomba had a defective cleaning module. They sent me a new one for free and that solved all my problems.
This product gets five stars! The Roomba performs better than I expected and the company really stands behind their product. I couldn't be more satisfied.
-Donna ><>
Customer Review: 9 cats and 2 dogs...that should say enough....
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had the Roomba 560 for about a week now...I LOVE IT...At first I was very skeptical because I bought a Roomba years ago and it was a pain...it always got stuck and I had to clean it every 5 minutes ~ therefore I ended up returning it.
NOW...my whole life has changed...like I mentioned in the title, I have 9 cats and 2 dogs...(I know, the crazy cat lady) anyways...I read all of these reviews so I broke down and gave Roomba a 2nd chance...I am glad I did!
First I charged it and then let it run...it filled up pretty fast but I was excited to see it work...then after emptying the bin a few times (which is very easy I might add) I decided that I needed to clean the floors first...having so many pets, my floors (all hardwood) seemed to be dusty all of the time, cat fur tumble weeds always floating around...cat litter...etc... I DO CLEAN...but usually after 1-2 days things start going downhill again. Well after cleaning my floors and using the Roomba AFTER that...everything has been fabulous...I run it 1-2 times daily, alternating between the kitchen and living room and my bedroom and bathrooms. I can walk on the floor barefoot and not step on little granules of litter...there are no tumbleweeds...it is a dream come true...
I am home a lot so if I am home I will run it in the bedroom and shut the door....and then set it for the rest of the house while I am gone. But I must say it is quiet enough for me to talk othe phone and have it running in the same room.
As for the pets...my 1 yr old cocker-springer spaniel "Potluck" was afraid of it at first and barked at it...now he chases it and tries to "bite the Roomba's butt"...it is very funny to watch...Bandit my other dog ignored it and the cats were only a bit curious and then went on their way.
It does a great job navigating through table legs and under my armoire. It does get stuck sometimes...but guess what? It finds a way to "un-stick" itself ...and it even untangles itself from cords.
This is my LIFESAVER...I highly recommend the Roomba 560...I haven't used the Lighthouses yet but Roomba usually has no problem re-docking itself to charge. Which is great also because who has time to re-charge something? If we weren't Lazy to begin with we never would have bought the Roomba...ha ha
Customer Review: The best roomba so far!
Summary: 5 Stars
In the spirit of full disclosure, let me say that I love roomba and iRobot. I have many of the older models of roomba and the floor mopping robot (scooba). I've had about a half dozen scooba units (all returned for premature breakage), but the roomba units have been largely problem free. One of the older units of roomba I had to return for a wheel problem.
Simply stated, roomba is amazing. A robot that automatically vacuums your floor at preprogrammed intervals! Although it sounds too good to be true, it really works. I now have a fleet of older and newer models which automatically vacuum each room of my house. Of all my house cleaning chores, dragging the vacuum up and down three flights of stairs was my least favorite. I'm more than happy to relinquish that chore to the robots.
Roombas work well. I don't think they do quite as good a job vacuuming as a regular upright vacuum, but they certainly get the majority of the dirt that accumulate on your carpet. Although I still like to manually vacuum on occassion, I allow my roombas to do the majority of the floor maintenance. Dirt and crumbs disappear in a flash. Roomba is particularly good at vacuuming under tables, chairs, beds and other places that I tend to overlook when I manually vacuum. My bedroom roomba patrols on Monday, Wednesday and Friday making sure the floor is clean and that there isn't a single "dust bunny" under my bed!
The new model has a few improvements over the previous models which clean well. First, this unit is MUCH quieter than the older models. This is a minor bonus, but when the unit starts to automatically clean at its assigned time, I can be watchig TV in the same room with out a probem. Watching TV while the robot cleans! That is living! The manufacturer reports that the battery life is improved, but I haven't experienced battery problems with any of my roombas.
One reviewer noted that the roomba had to be emptied every ten minutes. No offense, but my roombas need to be emptied less than once every several months. Maybe that is because the roomba cleans my carpet every Monday-Wednesday-Friday. A crumb dropped on Tuesday doesn't concern me, but neither does it last long on my carpet.
This is a great product that works well. I'm happy to recommend it without reservations.