iRobot 330 Scooba Floor-Washing Robot
by iRobot
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List Price: Our Price: $229.00 You Save: $170.99 (43%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot 330 Scooba Floor-Washing Robot
Customer Review: A good idea, but wears out quickly
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought a Scooba a little more than a year ago at Target. It seemed to be the answer to all my mopping problems -- and it was in the apartment I lived in (500 sq ft of 80-year-old floors that hadn't been very well cleaned over the years). I got my floors clean enough that I was comfortable with my kids playing on them (and their clothes weren't always black from the floor). That was the first 3 months of ownership. Then, we got a better apartment with a newer floor (only 5 years old and had been cleaned regularly in that time period). My Scooba worked fine for another 9 months. One week after the 1-year warranty expired, I went to use my Scooba and the fan was stuck. I took the robot apart, unjammed the fan (taking about an hour), then it worked fine. I went out of town the next week and my husband tried to run the robot -- fan jammed again. This time, we couldn't ever get it unjammed enough to actually run. It would try to run for a few minutes, then the "service" light would come on. After trying for another half hour (but not taking the thing apart because I didn't have the time to spend an hour+ to fix it), I gave up and bought a mop. In a half hour, I'd gone to the store, bought a mop, come home and mopped my kitchen floor (including the edges and corners that the Scooba doesn't reach).
Bottom line: There's a 1-year warranty for a reason. If you fork out the money, just expect it to be a 1-year investment -- and that's running it several times a week for the first 3 months, then once a week or every other week for the last 9 months. You won't get much more out of it.
Customer Review: Great Little Robot
Summary: 5 Stars
Here are the most critical actions when using this great device. One - before you buy, read the specs. Two - after you buy read the owners manual. Three - do what the owners manual tells you to do. If you do all of this, you will have clean floors without a lot of elbow grease on your part
Let me explain. If you buy a Scooba that the manufacturer says will do 250 sq. ft., believe it. If your floor is really 350 sq. ft., don't write a one star review when the battery dies before completing the job. If you don't follow the instructions and prime the pump, don't write a one star review when the robot doesn't dispense solution. If you don't clean the device as instructed, don't complain when it gives you all sorts of warning lights and sounds. In short, use it as intended and you'll love it.
Bottom line: I vacuum my floors with a Roomba and then I follow that with a Scooba wash and my floors have never been cleaner. Every couple of months, I get into the corners with a sponge, but that's about it. These are great products (Roomba AND Scooba) and they really do work. I use mine on linoleum, ceramic tile and slate without any problems.
Suggestion: about every 4th use, run a white vinegar cleaning instead of using the Clorox solution. The Clorox does a great job, but I suspect that it has a small amount of something to make the floors shine, and this seems to build up and feel a little slippery under bare feet. No big deal, but the vinegar does seem to "refresh" the floor a little.
Customer Review: Works pretty much as advertised
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my Scooba for almost a month. Initially, I had concerns about the battery which would deplete before using up the tank. I contacted customer support. Listening to the tape while waiting for a rep, I was told that the Scooba battery should be able to do several tanks on one charge. WHen I spoke with the rep, she told me to charge the Scooba overnight and run it each day for 3-4 days. After complying there was no change to the battery life. I contacted iRobot's customer support again and they shipped me another battery with no questions or hassles. The second battery works great. I am very impressed with iRobot's customer support. I was able to speak with a human within a few minutes of calling and they were very interested in making things right.
With the new battery, my scooba can go through a couple tanks without recharging. Unlike the roomba, it is not designed to go over transitions (so it won't wash my carpets). Because of this, it does frequently get hung up on transitions and tell me that it's stuck. This has made it unlikely that if I turn it on and leave the house, it will go through a complete cycle while I am away. However, I think I can overcome this obstacle by purchasing another invisible wall. I'll try to remember to update this posting if it works.
So far the Scooba has been very easy to maintain. the brush, filter and little sucky thing all come out and clean up easily. This little guy certainly cleans the floor with a lot less effort from me than my mop does.
Customer Review: Stay Away-Get a FloorMate Instead
Summary: 1 Stars
I wanted to share my experience with the Scooba to save others the trouble that it has caused me. First, after only several months the battery gave out. I then had to wait for a replacement for about 3 months. I remember that there were so many faulty batteries, they had a special line for callers with this problem.
Since then I have used it a couple times a month. If I had used it recently, a charge only took an hour or two. If longer, the charging cycle was around 16 hours. So if I woke up on the weekend and decided to Scooba one of my floors, I was usually not able to do it until 9:00-10:00 that night.
Last week it started up and then just stopped with a red light and a series of beeps. I researched the troubleshooting process and I could not believe how complicated it was. I worked my way through about 15 tests and all of the accompanying codes and I could still not figure out what the problem was. By the way, I build my own computers so I am not a newbie when it comes to electronics.
On Sunday I threw it away and rarely have I felt such a relief at ridding myself of an inanimate object. I've heard that their Roombas are more reliable and that is probably true. The Scooba is just too complicated as a battery powered device and I urge you to stay away from it.
I have ordered a Hoover FloorMate for much less than I paid for the Scooba; I just hope I can use the 5 bottles of Scooba floor cleaning fluid I am now stuck with.
Customer Review: 80% of the cleaning for 20% of the effort
Summary: 3 Stars
Based on using the Scooba the first time: it does actually work. Most of spots and surface dirtiness on my kitchen floor were cleaned up. It doesn't have the sense to keep scrubbing on a given spot though, so really sticky messes and deep stains still need human attention. Like the Roomba, it makes up for light scrubbing power by going slow and making multiple passes. It's good for 3 out of 4 moppings, but don't throw your mop away.
It comes with one electronic fence. It works, but uses two D batteries.
Pros: the pieces are all nicely labeled with replacement numbers, and the steps to take when filling the tanks and cleaning the unit are also nicely labeled.
Cons: Requires a special solution (readily available in stores, but probably not as effective as what you normally use) "or white vinegar". Cleaning it after use requires rinsing out the tank and two filters, not terribly burdensome, but more work than emptying the mop bucket. Unlike the Roomba, it will not recharge itself during a cleaning cycle (a docking station probably isn't compatible with wet surfaces). The battery charge is enough for a small room, at least. Unlike hand mopping where you might push the chair or litter box around, you need to get everything out of the way first for the Scooba.
Bottom line: For people like me who can have a whole day ruined by touching a mop handle, the Scooba offers some relief. But it's not Rosie from the Jetsons.