rating of 85/100 on Alatest is nice.
http://alatest.com/reviews/vacuum-reviews/irobot-roomba-530/po3-53041241,340/
and there are nearly 300 reviews on Buzzillions (4.3 stars avg.)
http://www.buzzillions.com/dz_456139_irobot_roomba_530_vacuuming_robot_reviews
love these robots.
How well does this handle dog and cat hair? Can it make it over tile grooves?
Ode to Billy Mays via a crummy Roomba.
Room-bah-humbug!
woot!, your one-stop Roomba shop!
I bought one of these earlier this months, and apparently paid extra for an additional five points, and it being new and all.
In all honesty, how is this on carpet?
I think these Roombas react to the Woot warehouse’s metaphysical energy by breeding like Tribbles.
I really like my Roomba. This is a great price even if it’s just for the battery and spare parts.
For some reason, it reminds me of Billy Mays.
I would like to know, maybe the Woot staff can help with this, the amount of people who are actively bashing these on the forum when they get posted and then eventually buy them on subsequent woot! offerings. I will not cave yet but I think after I see this robot another three or four times that I will eventually buy one.
Grabbed this back in April and would unequivocally recommend it. I have a Chow Chow who sheds incessantly and this thing eats up his hair for lunch. I think they have mini-Oompa Loompas underneath it that snatch up anything in their path.
I have an older model roomba, and it’s amazing on pet hair. I have two dogs and two cats and figured it wouldn’t do the job, but it does, quite well.
Plus, it’s fun to watch the dog get freaked out. 
The only problem for me was it was really loud - I have hardwood floors.
I got the 535 when they had it a little while ago and love it. I could use a second one though. Is it correct that the 530 can’t be used with the scheduler? Is that the only difference between them?
I’d stay away from the repliffed ones personally. I love my Roomba but if I didn’t get a new one with the full year’s warranty I would have been very unhappy.
It’s a 3" tall round thingie with a few little toothbrushes under it. And tiny wheels. It might make it over if you have grout between the tiles. These aren’t very good at off-roading.
The 5xx series is a great upgrade from the 4xx series. Besides having modular parts for easier repair, if need be, it also has better sensors than the 4xx series, and is less prone to run head long into a piece of furniture.
As for cleaning, my 415(purchased from woot!) will pick up things my 12 amp bagless misses. I have hardwood floors on my first floor, w/small carpets in some rooms, and this make the transition between the two effortlessly. It also does an amazing job of picking up the hair of my three cats and one dog. I would recommend people with pets at least get the pet brush cleaner, as it makes cleaning your brushes off a snap.
That and I think they’re punishing the whole class because a few people complained.
ooOOOooo, if the mini Oompa Loompas sing snarky little songs about the crap they have to pick up I am totally in for at least one.
I picked one of these up from a local retailer, also as a refurb, for about $30 more (Big Lots).
The people at iRobot refurbed this thing so well, that it looked new…I could not tell what was the reason for return - and I looked at all 3 the store had on hand.
All in all, I’m satisfied with its performance; it does what it says it does, and the kids actually enjoy to use it and clean their room with it.
I’ve got tile floors with the occasional floor mats near the doors. These it has issue with. it cleans them well, but pushes them around just a few inches. I just pick them up and stack them in a corner - then let Roomba clean them for me.
I hate devices that waste my time, but this thing doesn’t do that, and it does work…I recommend it.
Timers - I could not imagine why I would need one. I pick the thing up, drop it in the middle of the room I want cleaned, and let it go.
One more thing - it does a great job one the occasional ant colony (kids and their crumbs…).