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Roomba Vacuum - Time
to Make Room For One?
Is the Robotic Vacuum, the Roomba Right For You?
Imagine never having to vacuum your house again? Wishful thinking, right? Absolutely not. Not with a Roomba vacuum running over your carpet sweeping up bits and pieces in your absence.So what are you waiting for?
Oh wait you want to know whether it really works? Or if it's at least good enough to justify the investment required to get one? Okay let's take a look..
Product: iRobot 560 Roomba Vacuuming Robot
Claim to fame: Roomba works just like any regular vacuum cleaner - only without help from you. It has a filtration system to trap dirt particles and has a bagless dustbin to hold the dirt. Its anti tangle technology makes sure it does not get tangled in cords and wires. And best of all you can schedule it to clean any time.
Pros:
With a push of a button you can get your house vacuumed and it can make your hardwood floors and carpets spotless and dust free. With the light house feature for the robot you can simply mark the room to be cleaned first (the light house acts as marker) before proceeding with the next.
It can very easily get under beds and furniture and remove any dust build up found there.
It is great to have if you own pets. Just set the Roomba in motion and it can suck up pet hair, bits of pet food, plus lint and threads in a jiffy.
Being battery operated it is also quieter than regular vacuums. Most find it to be tirelessly diligent at sweeping away hair and debris.
It automatically slows down when it recognizes walls or furniture are in its path. Once confirmed it simply turns around. It is also smart enough to avoid getting tangled in the rugs.
Cons:
The side brush is somewhat brittle and may break easier than you'd expect.
You may find that replacement parts don't come cheap and follow up customer servcie may not be all you'd like it to be. Some report delays in getting parts from the iRobot site.
You need to pre-clean any room before turning your ever deligent Roomba loose. Meaning you will want to remove extension cords, USB chords, phone lines or anything else a Roomba might get tangled up in like throw rugs.
You will still need to empty the dust bin yourself. And you can't ignore other filters and sensors to avoid disabling dust build up.
The biggest drawback is Roombas aren't adapted for deep cleaning. They work more like a stick vac sucking up the surface and loose stuff off short pile and area rugs. Which also means shag carpets are out of the question. And don't expect it to pick up long stuff like strings, shredded paper and the like.
Nor does it get into corners well. Which shouldn't come as a surprise since it is designed to stop a couple or inches away from corners. Similarly it does not clean along base boards or walls all that well either.
As you'd expect, given the size limitations, there is no HEPA filter and it only has a fine filter to trap the dust particles.
Some report it has problems detecting dark colored furniture. Also its docking station should always be open and in a central location so that Roomba can find it easily. The exact best spot for it you'll determine mostly trial and error between you and Roomba.
Though the device slows down upon seeing furniture it may still leave scuff marks behind. A tip would be to cover the external edges of your Roomba with duct tape to keep that from happening.
Bottom line: Okay so it's not the perfect solution. And it may be more novelty than serious a serious vacuuming tool. But there are applications where the Roomba can be a fun way to clean your carpets.
That said, if you are looking for a quick surface cleaning buy this unit. You can wake up to find your room clean and air fresh. But if you want thorough deep cleaning it is best to go for regular canister type vacuum cleaners.
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