iRobot 530 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, White
by iRobot
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot 530 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, White
Customer Review: Love my Roomba!
Summary: 4 Stars
After researching the different models available and reading the reviews, I decided to purchase the Roomba 530. I thought the price was great on Amazon and my purchase included two towers, the charging station and an extra filter. As the directions recommended, I have used my Roomba daily as much as possible and clean the brushes, filter and empty the collection bin after every use. So far, it's working great, esp. on the hardwood floors! It also works great on berber carpeting. It will work well on plusher rugs, but I did notice that in the bedrooms and dining room where the carpeting is not berber that it stopped about 3-4 times to tell me to clean the brushes. The thicker fibers get a pretty good beating with the Roomba brush which cause the fibers ends to break off, thereby filling the brushes and bin pretty quickly with carpet fuzz. That being said, if this product did nothing but my hardwood floors and the berber which fill about 3/4 of our house, then I'd be perfectly fine with that. The only reason I even used it in the bedrooms was to get under the dressers and beds which my regular vacuum can't reach. As far as the noise goes, it's definitely quieter than my regular vacuum and our pets don't even give it the time of day aside from some mild curiosity and sideways glances. I would highly recommend this product. It definitely doesn't replace a regular vacuuming, but it wasn't meant to. It's perfect for tidying up throughout the week. And personally, as a dust allergy sufferer (shots every 4 weeks), I like knowing that I'm staying on top of the dust that collects under the furniture and in the places that a regular vacuum can't reach. I also found that the Roomba is great about not bashing into things. The directions clearly state that if an object is less than 2 inches wide, Roomba may not see it well and hit it harder than it would a wall, but it's not like it crashes into anything. Not enough to cause damage in my opinion. One more thing, I've read several reviews regarding the side brushes breaking off, esp. when they get stuck under an area rug. I have small, braided area rugs which the Roomba maneuvered over just fine, but if that is a concern, just pick the rugs up. It's a great way to clean under the rug anyway, right? The directions also clearly state that you need to get wires and clutter off the floor or out of the way as much as possible too, which I didn't mind because I wanted a thorough job done and it made me either get rid of or put away the clutter that was out which made the room look better anyway. Enjoy the product! I am!Customer Review: It's Like a Beloved Pet Who MAKES EVERYTHING BETTER
Summary: 5 Stars
Awesome. This new generation fixes all the problems of the previous. Much smarter, much bigger dust bin, much better in every way. Great that it self-docks when tired. Maintanence is a snap...really could not be easier/faster. There are some negatives - how could there not be? - but this thing has such a contagious personality that it starts feeling like your pet, and you're inclined to forgive, and even find the faults charming.
You have to prep the room (cords up and out of the way, no papers or clutter on the floor, move small items out of the room and learn which objects present problems and get them out of the way). Performance varies on throw rugs (it's great on rug/carpet surfaces themselves, but Roomba can get caught up as it travels over edges of throw rugs that don't have much weight or cling). It's good at slowing down and banging objects gently, but less so on narrow vertical objects (e.g. piano legs), which it really clunks (not enough to damage, but it will make you wince). In terms of results, it's a notch below a stout top-end British maid with her sturdy Hoover, but several notches above what mere mortals can achieve, and it's especially good on edgework, under baseboards and furniture, and other spots most people would miss.Yes, it gets corners fine, in spite of its round shape. It's got a whirling brush that ably gets at them.
Most of all, if you're someone who's non-meticulous about keeping up housekeeping cycles (even if not, like, a total slob), it's hard to describe the satisfaction of ALWAYS having spotless floors. Since, per above, you'll develop at least some degree of affection for your Roomba, it's the ideal pet...it vastly contributes to the household, yet its needs are few (I pull hairs out of its brushes with the affection of a dog owner checking his dalmation for tics).
I have a fairly large house, and one unit is more than enough. Every other day, I bring her upstairs to work, that's all.
Oh, and it's extraordinarily entertaining to watch. The drama of whether it'll ever get to this hairball or that crumb is downright fraught. In spite of its seemingly random pattern, it does somehow get everything in the end.
One nice side effect: the act of prepping a room for vacuuming - i.e. getting clutter off the floor - is itself a life-changing improvement. I find it much easier to organize books, papers, etc, when it's for an immediate purpose than as a general habit. So the house isn't just cleaner, floor-wise....it's also generally better kept-up. Love my Roomba. Buy one now.
Customer Review: does the job, but room for improvement
Summary: 4 Stars
I just purchased this from a local BB&B store with a 20% off coupon, so that I could return it to the store if there are problems later (as some other reviewers reported). I like it well enough to keep it, but it has a few problems (noted below). I can overcome most of the problems if I
-put the stackable chairs and Lucite end table outside the virtual wall
-separate furniture so there is enough space for the unit to fit in between (16 inches)
-push the standing lamp into a corner
-prop up cables and floor-based lamp switches
I don't think I would leave this unattended until I have more experience with it.
Pros
-Adequately picks up dirt, hair, crumbs, lint etc
-Circles around chair and table legs to vacuum close on all sides
-Goes under the sofa, bed and anything else it can fit under
-Vacuums against the wall under the floor-length curtains, just brushing them aside as it passes
-Travels easily to and from pale bamboo floor, dark fringed Persian carpet and throw rugs
-Stays inside the virtual walls
-Manages open floor plan living/dining rooms, and (separately) an L-shaped hallway
-Copes with single cables or cords
-Slows down as it approaches baseboards and some other furniture
-Relatively quiet
-Nice looking (white), though it tends to get scuffed a bit from bumping into everything
-Returns to charger and docks itself
-If first docking attempt is unsuccessful, it backs away and tries again
Cons
-Rides up and over the base of my classic Saaranin dining table repeatedly.
(see e.g. [...])
-Could not detect the shiny metal legs of stacking chairs and repeatedly bumped them at full speed
-Could not detect Lucite (TM) "ghost table" and bumped it hard enough to upset a small decorative item
-Bumped (at slow speed) a tall thin standing lamp that might fall over
-At one point, flipped over the edge of a thin fringed carpet, and then couldn't go in that direction
-Takes a long time to vacuum a room
-Long hair gets wrapped around sweeper and brush fixtures, and has to be cut out, e.g. with nail scissors
-No handle or stand to hang it from, so it takes up a large floor area (~16 inches diameter)
I do not like the idea of keeping this plugged in continuously wasting 5 watts when it is not in use. However, if I unplug it even for a minute, it takes a long time for the "green" light to come on again. Yet if I just press "clean" before the light is green, off it goes.
Customer Review: Splendid and amusing
Summary: 4 Stars
WARNING UPDATE: For months been trying to get replacement Virtual Wall. The Accessories Pack that came with my purchase included an extra one, but it is actually a Lighthouse, not a Virtual Wall, and it doesnt work with this model Roomba. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE. LOTS OF WASTED TIME calling, waiting on hold, being promised they'd send the part right out, then weeks later an email asking when I bought it, then no answer, months drag on. Really terrible customer support. It's too bad, because it is a strong reason to not buy a Roomba. Phooey.
LESS IMPRESSED DUE TO TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SUPPORT. We are (WERE) amused! The Roomba 530 really works, although not as fast as you could do the job with a standard vac. The beauty, of course, is that you don't do the work, it does. It cleaned the home office perfectly, in about 30 minutes. Using the virtual walls, it has been assigned the job of cleaning a large Oriental rug, and it does not get hung up on the fringe. It is an amazing thing to watch, much stronger than you might think. Several other reviewers mentioned that after a couple of weeks, they could see that their house was much cleaner, with less dust. I already can tell that that will happen here. Since I work at home, I can turn it on every day and let it work on a specific room. It is astonishing how much dog hair and powdery dirt it vacuums up. In the first hour I emptied the dirt bins twice, so it is definitely doing its job. I bought it after reading the most lengthy reviews here -- those were very helpful. My purchase was mid-Sept. '08, and there was a free extra of a set of replacement attachments. If you can get in on that deal, I recommend it. Besides the extra brushes and filters, the box includes another virtual wall, so you can define work areas and let the little beast loose. The 530 comes with two virtual walls, so with the extra, you can cordon off areas very well. I didnt know it automatically took itself home, but it seems that when it gets full, or runs low on energy, it does take itself back to its Dock, parks, and shuts down for a recharge. Really, it's like having R2D2's cousin in the house. The 530 seems like a good model to start with, and is less expensive than the programmable ones, especially with the free set of replacement parts.
UPDATE: Another good thing about Roombas is that the vacuuming action isnt as harsh as a regular vacuum cleaner, so if you have old & venerable Oriental, silk, or Persian carpets, this is a much, much better way to clean them because it is so much more gentle.
Customer Review: Love it
Summary: 5 Stars
It is absolutely great. I read a lot of reviews before I decide to buy a Roomba. I was a little skeptical that it would work the way promised, especially if you consider the price. If I put together all the miracle cleaners and vacuums and so on, I spend a lot more money than the $ 249 they were asking for it. True to be told, I hate to clean anything, but I hate a dirty house even more, so I am forced to use a lot of elbow grease to keep things at least acceptable. This little machine is my new best friend. I Robot recommend you use your Roomba often and I do every day (no complains here. Hey, if the robot want to work, I am fine with that).
Some things to consider before you buy. It will make your life really easy but a minimal preparation is recommended. Model 530 can clean up to 3 rooms at once, but because my rooms are fairly big, I clean only two rooms wait until the unit recharge (It goes back to the charger dock by itselfº). The recharge is really fast, and then it clean two different rooms. My floors having being this clean since we bought the house. My husband has a Maltese and a cat. The cat seems clean, but the Maltese is my nightmare leaving buckets of white hair everywhere. There is no more hair to be found.
It will clean for you but I would advise to pick up any large debris. I have a ceramic studio in the back of my house and I have some dry clay and dry plaster of Paris on the floor. I swept the floor to remove the large pieces (My studio was the only room in the house where I pre-clean the floor before I first use the Roomba on it. The rest I just let the robot lose and it did the job). The floor in the studio looks so nice now. The very first time it cleaned the dining room I remove the chairs to make things easier. It is not necessary because it will to a pretty good job with all the chairs in place.
Can you do a better job cleaning? Yes, of course. Can you do it every day? Good for you, because I cannot. I have to work full time and I am back to school after 15 years and I do not have time or energy to clean the house every day, and I am happy the floors are nice and dust and hair free with minimal effort from me (Maintenance = cleaning the robot after use that takes about 2 minutes only).
Just remember. After each use clean your robot. My floors look so clean, but still every time I open the machine there is a lot of hair, human and from pets, around the brushes. I have it for week now and I am seriously considering buying another one and a Scooba (The IRobot that washes the floors).