For the love of god, clean up dog poop before the Roomba finds it. It takes it personally and will spread it all over your house =(
A Roomba was one of my first Woots. However, I’m living in a rather hirsute household, with both people and cats with long hair.
The beaters and their bearings were constantly getting jammed with hair where it would stop and tell you to clean the beaters at least once per run.
The constant picking hair out of the beaters pretty much defeated the automated cleaning’s convenience.
These Roomba’s are so weak its pathetic. They do not clean well. Get a Kirby.
I got this same one on here a while ago and I really like it. I run in 4 times a week and clean it once or twice a month.
Also FYI this Roomba is schedule-able. You need to pick up one of the communication cables, from the iRobot webstore or from ebay maybe, and a program called Roomba Status.
Here is a thread I found that describes how to get it working:
http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9235
It may sound confusing at first but you can figure it out.
ok you talked me into it, bought it. I’m gonna name it Chuck.
[QUOTE=Tristan944, post:23, topic:354725]
These Roomba’s are so weak its pathetic. They do not clean well. Get a Kirby.
[/quote]
I’ve had a Roomba, I have a Kirby, and I have a Neato. Yes, the Kirby is a great machine, but if you are interested in a robot vacuum, wait for the Neato to come up again. It is far superior to the Roomba. Sucks up WAY more, and transitions beautifully from my hardwood floors to my thick, shaggy rug.
YAY! My creaky old Sage Roomba that I bought right here waaaay back in aught-six finally died for real a few weeks ago. I have mostly hardwood in my house and just one short-haired dog, so a Roomba suits my needs very well. I’m surprised my last one worked for so many years, although it did lost its voice just a year or two into our time together.
[QUOTE=alanhwoot, post:22, topic:354725]
A Roomba was one of my first Woots. However, I’m living in a rather hirsute household, with both people and cats with long hair.
The beaters and their bearings were constantly getting jammed with hair where it would stop and tell you to clean the beaters at least once per run.
The constant picking hair out of the beaters pretty much defeated the automated cleaning’s convenience.
[/quote]
I totally agree! We had the same problem. Now I have the Neato, and when it’s done with its cycle, the dust bin is chock full o’kitty fur instead of being wrapped around the beaters. I highly recommend it for furry (and hairy) households.
My 4250 (old pet model) had it’s motor finally die last week, and I was unfortunately unable to repair it. Overall that Roomba lasted 5 years of continued use, and I think I only had to replace the battery once.
Always keep the battery charged. Clean it frequently, and you shouldn’t have some of the breakdown problems that previous posters mentioned.
Like any piece of technology, take care of it properly and keep it clean! I’m going to get this to replace my recently deceased 4250.
[QUOTE=dunderhead, post:29, topic:354725]
…Like any piece of technology, take care of it properly and keep it clean! I’m going to get this to replace my recently deceased 4250.
[/quote]
I concur. And people should RTFM. Cleaning the Roomba is such a small task compared to vacuuming the house everyday. We can’t be THAT lazy (or can we?).
Take care of your tools, then the tools will do what it’s supposed to do. I have six iRobots (four Roombas, different generations, one Scooba and one DirtDog), all of them are still working; the 530 I got from Woot. I had to get a new battery for the Discovery model once. That’s it. WD-40 once in a while, and just did what the manual asked for. The oldest one is…six years old, I think.
The neatos are interesting, but their method of preventing it going to certain areas is a magnetic strip that you lay along the floor. Pretty unsightly and really not practical. The Roomba on the other hand uses virtual wall technology which is light years ahead (literally). Also the Roomba is a much more modular system which makes maintenance a lot simpler. Sure things break but fixing a Roomba is exponentially easier than a neato system. I have a total of 5 roombas in service and I highly recommend them. They take a few minutes of time a few times a month, but the time saved is immense.
The black rug issue still exists. There are workarounds however
The fix for this issue costs about $1 and should not fail within a few months. You just need to use the right parts.
Got one. One of my first purchases in awhile. I’ve been looking for a good deal on a Roomba for awhile. This will be perfect for our cement floors.
I purchased one last year and love it. Buying one for my mother for her hardwood kitchen floor. I did have a problem with this model where it would make a clicking noise. I called the company and they sent me a whole new brush unit and it fixed the problem. The unit started doing it again… So I called them and they asked if I had cleaned the brushes and the bearings. I did except one bearing. It had wound up a clump of my girlfriends hair and was causing the problem.
It will slow down before hitting large objects but with my black wooden stools it will hit them at full force. I put a strip of stick on velcro on the bottom front edge and it works as a perfect cushion.
It will get lost under the bed, or a chair sometime… It will sneak into the laundry room and eat a sock or a used fabric softener if you dont pick up after yourself.
It does a fantastic job of giving the carpet a just cleaned look right before company comes over. I had a friend come in and say wow you didn’t have to clean up cause I was coming over. I said its no biggie, Rosie the robot did it. He laughed thinking I was talking about my girlfriend :p.
My one year old nephew is in love with the thing. Makes a great toy… And when it runs out of juice it self docks, so it can power up enough to entertain him again awhile later. When he comes over… The carpet looks fantastic! 
At this price, you are getting a vacuum, entertainment , and a conversation piece. People who see it and never saw it in action are memorized by it and you look like the richest coolest dude on the block. Best 160 bucks I’ve spent in awhile.
Oh and makes for a fun Landing strip for you to land your s107 mini helicopter on.
Id highly recommend this product to everyone.
I’ve called them twice and had no issue with their customer service. They picked up rather quickly and had the issues resolved in a timely manor.
They really are.
I couldn’t be happier. Mine also arrived with the aerovac upgrade already, so you might want to wait around on that if you were thinking that you might like that feature.
I bought this almost two years ago to the day (thanks to Woot) and like it. Before this I had a 4000 series and comparing the two…
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It’s doesn’t bang against walls and doors as much (but it will occasionally against chair legs and other skinny barriers).
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It charges quick, a few hours as opposed to all day.
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Battery lasted two years, now looking for replacement.
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Picks up dirt good on hardwood or pergo floors (no experience using it on carpet).
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Docks better than the old model.
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Doesn’t get stuck on cords as much as the old model but you will still need to keep them out of the way.
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It’s a lot more modular and easier to clean. 4000 series had a few parts that risked breakage if you didn’t clean perfectly.
What I don’t like compared to the 4000 series:
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It’s a little ‘dumber’ because it tends to go over the same areas too many times and ignore others.
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It docks too early. If I don’t unplug the dock it will do an incomplete job. The 4000 series had a “max” cleaning mode. This doesn’t seem to. These two reasons are why I feel like the 4000 did a better job cleaning overall but the 530 isn’t bad. Maybe 7/10 rating.
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The 4000 series virtual walls don’t work with this model (they’ll make it go nuts).
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Occasionally lint or dust bunnies hang off the so-called lint trap and gets left on things like floor vents. It’s like the filter traps the dust so well it blocks it from going into the lint trap.
You must clean it every time you use it. Between my hair, cat hair, and just random dust, it’s just silly not to. If Roomba tells you anything else they’re lying. It’s not a difficult process but prepare to get your hands dirty while pulling dust out of crevices and hair off brushes. An air can helps to keep the various sensors from getting dusty too.
At this price I’d buy it again if mine stopped working.
Ah, well their troubleshooting steps didn’t work so I’ll be calling them back tomorrow. Hopefully they’ll send me a new battery.
I bought one of these as refurbished a couple years ago and was sorely disappointed. It arrived filthy with so much hair and carpet stuck in the brushes and wheels that it wouldn’t move…plus the dust bin was still full…and yes, it did not work either. The return process to roomba was a nightmare…many, many emails just to get an RMA number plus a trip to UPS.