iRobot Roomba 400 Vacuum-Cleaning Robot, Orange
by iRobot
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List Price: Category: Home See more product details |
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot Roomba 400 Vacuum-Cleaning Robot, Orange
Customer Review: AWESOME vacuum!
Summary: 5 Stars
This vacuum gets the job done! Like others, my husband and I were skeptical but after using this thing all we can say is WOW! It is best to confine it to one room as others said, that way it can get the job done. It picks up more stuff then our regular vacuum did and won't stop til the job is done (or the battery runs out!). The battery takes a while to fully charge (3-4 hours I would say), and runs for about 60 minutes before losing charge.
We purchased this at Kohl's and it came with one virtual wall, and the one at Kohl's is white, not red. The virtual wall is nice to have but not necessary, we block the other side of our living room with trash cans and that works just as well. You have to make sure clutter is off the floor but this is no different then when you use a regular vacuum. It's only got stuck on us once and that was on a cord on the floor, so cords should be kept away as much as possible too.
I don't know why one reviewer said this thing is loud. I would say it's half the noise that comes from a regular vacuum if not less! We can watch TV with it running, you just have to turn the volume up a couple notches, but definitly not like having a regular vacuum run where you can't hear the TV at all!
I've heard from lots of people to just make sure you are regular with maintaining it. Clean out the bin every time and clean out the brushes/filter every 2-3 times although we just do it every time. It's so easy, takes less then 5 minutes to do. Also I've heard to be diligent in changing the air filters every 2-3 months to keep the it running great.
I love my roomba so much, the only things I wish were different is if it had a longer battery and less charge time. But I can't complain because we really got this thing for a STEAL and it's so much better then having to vacuum myself, and I think it does a better job!
If anything goes wrong with this product, I will come back and update.
Customer Review: teach it to either cook, do laundry, or put out, and my wife is outta here!!
Summary: 5 Stars
man, what can i say?
i am a true-blue skeptic. i am one of those guys who spends a month online before he buys anything. i get the best equipment for the best deals.
well, my wife has been having allergy problems, and after getting her tested, we learned that she is allergic to just about everything. with 3 dogs, i decided that we needed some drastic help to ease her pain.
this thing does the trick. we have a house that is about 1800 sq ft, and this thing will easily clean half of it in one go. you wouldn't believe what is in the little bin at the end of a run. we run it every day when we get home. we come home, start the iRobot (we named it "Duster", which is odd, because you'd figure a vacuum would have a woman's name...), and commence to our nightly duties (showering, cooking, cleaning, laundry...), and this thing takes care of our vacuuming. we went from needing to vacuum every week to maybe once a month with our normal vacuum. our floors are incredibly clean, and this thing picks up a full bin of dog hair every day. better yet, we don't have to do it!!! it's like having a robotic maid!
this is a must have for any pet owner. all of that dog/cat hair gets sucked right up. all of the dust that hits the floor is gone. it transitions from carpet to tile easily.
it will suck something up if it is on the floor, so carpet tassles, cords, and other such things beware. it does force you to keep your floor clean though (granted stuff that falls on the floor just gets thrown on another surface).
our floors are picked up and vacuumed every day, and i love it. we have a $350 vacuum as well. we should've spent the $350 on that and the $99 on this and bought 2 or three iRobots and a shop vac. and you don't need one of the high dollar ones. this thing does a great job.
Customer Review: roomba convert
Summary: 5 Stars
I have wanted a Roomba for a while. I have a perfectly good vacuum (so I thought) but it was getting on in years and was cumbersome, plus I hate vacuuming and being a pet owner I really need to do it more than I would prefer (never). So when I found the basic Roomba very on sale I was suspicious and decided to research reviews first. In short, people seemed really excited about their Roombas. Its maybe the best reviewed product I have ever come across. These people seemed a little over-enthusiastic, but the few negative reviews seemed trivial so feeling confident I went and bought my Roomba (for $90). Now I am one of those crazy fans too. I am in love with my Roomba.
When I brought it home I ran my regular vacuum first. My house looked clean. Then I ran the Roomba and checked the dust compartment. I was both horrified and fascinated at how much junk was in there. Who knew I was living in such squalor and filth! It was weirdly satisfying to dump it all out. Every time I run it I am shocked at what it picks up. I haven't had the trouble with carpet tassels that others report - but it does try to eat my bath mats. On the occasion that it does get stuck, it is really quite good at getting itself unstuck and negotiating obstacles. Dump the dust compartment every time, clean it every handful of times - this will stay easy if you do it regularly. Don't clean it over the trash; it is so easy to disassemble (and reassemble) that the smaller pieces can fall out into your trash can which means you'll have to dig for them - obviously I learned this the hard way. I talk about my Roomba like it's a new puppy and am convinced that everyone needs to own one.
Customer Review: Great item if you can find it on sale!
Summary: 4 Stars
I managed to find it for $70 here on Amazon, and at that price this is a great little vaccuum. This same model was selling at KMart for $149 (Model 400 and 405 are exactly the same inside), and $95 at Big Lots. It does pick up an amazing amount of dust and debris. It's also fascinating to watch as it finds its way around.
I only give it 4 stars because the battery could be better. It lasts plenty long for cleaning the recommended 2 rooms, but the instructions to keep it plugged in all the time seem like a waste of electricity. I don't do this, and this may result in reduced battery life. Leaving it unplugged for more than a few hours results in a much longer charge cycle before it is "ready" (green light) to go to work.
I recommend cleaning your home thoroughly once with a regular vacuum, then setting the Roomba loose once or twice a week. No need to buy the fancy room barrier things... just set large books or heavy objects down where you want to box the Roomba in. Taping down rugs (I use wide blue painters tape) helps keep Roomba from trying to eat the rug corners.
All the Roombas (except the "Dirt Dog" model, which doesn't have a vacuum, just good floor brushes and a larger collection bin) work about the same, so no need to waste money on the expensive models unless you are too lazy to push a button on top of the Roomba.
Customer Review: What a SMART product!
Summary: 5 Stars
I live in an 900 Square foot apartment that has mostly hardwood floors, with a small area rug in each room. (with no fringe on the rugs)
There are basically 3 rooms that we use this for, the living room, the bedroom, small home office 10 x 10, and a long hallway.
Simply, this thing works, and works well.
Each time I set it down, in it's starting point, in the room, it immediately remembers the pattern of the room from it's previous cleaning.
It took me a while to sell my wife on this product, but after she saw how efficiently it cleaned under the bed, without her needing to get under there with swiffer's, she was sold!
The only real downside of roomba, seems to be the little extra time it takes to clean the unit. They provide a small tool for cutting hair from the rollers, and you can disassemble the rollers, but it gets a little messy. For me it's worth it, for a product that does such a thorough job. It really is very clever and ultimately a time saver in the end.