I've got three Roomba 500s (a pair of 560s and a 570), and I love 'em. Rock solid reliable, easy to work on, and do a great job keeping my floors clean. These Roombas aren't toys, they actually clean the floors. In fact I've gone behind them with my Dyson just out of morbid curiosity and all I got was an empty bin. Sure, a Roomba can't pick up as much dirt as a regular vacuum in one pass, but that's why they're programmed to cover the same area of carpet multiple times. And in some ways the Roomba is better than my Dyson. Why?
Areas of my house that get vacuumed every week without effort:
* Under my bed.
* Under my dresser.
* In the back corners of my closet where a regular vacuum can't go.
* Underneath my reclining theater seats.
* Under my basement work bench and utility sink.
* ...and on and on...
The 600s series is even better, as they include the Aero Vac dust bin, and the upgraded cleaning head module from the 700 series. The upgraded cleaning head module is a bit of a big deal, as it's designed to keep the bearing clean and should result in a much longer lasting robot. In fact just last month I had to replace the cleaning module on my oldest 560 as it had gotten gunked up and warped from heat. Easy to fix, but the replacement module and compatible brushes were about 70 bucks. So if you're considering an older 500 series Roomba to save a few bucks don't!
Anyway, bought this one for my Mom and she loves it. The only complaints I would make are:
* Only one invisible wall is included with the 630.
* Unlike my oldest 560, and my 570, the 630 doesn't support lighthouses.
* When you first get one you'll have to "Roomba-proof" your house. Meaning the robot will get caught on curtains, rug tassels, etc, and you'll have to fix or remove these obstacles. It's a simple process, but just be aware your robot will get stuck on some things at first.
* The upgraded cleaning head module is nice, but why can't we get one with completely sealed metal bearings? The reason I think is that the robots would essentially last forever at that point and Roomba wouldn't make as much money.
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I recently purchased the iRobot 630 for Pets and it has gone above and beyond my expectations. I have an 80 lb. Lab and a huge longhaired cat, so I was skeptical of how this vacuum would handle all of the animal hair and dirt they track inside. I have to say this vacuum does a better job than I do manually vacuuming with my Dyson! My roomba carefully cleans along the baseboard and legs of furniture with her brush to remove any and all traces of pet hair, dust, and debris. As well, it has no problem cleaning an assortment of rugs including a large cowhide. The iRobot uses a zig zag type manuever to ensure all 1200 sq ft is perfectly clean. Cleaning the brushes and emptying the disposal unit is a breeze, and it keeps its charge for about 2 hours. After it has finished its cleaning cycle, or is tired the Roomba carefully docks itself back onto the charger. I would definately reccomend this product!
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This is my fourth IRobot and they never seem to die. The first three are still going strong after several years of use, without any problems or any repairs aside from a yearly new battery. Just make sure to leave these plugged into the wall, sitting in their docks, all the time to keep the battery from dying prematurely. It also helps to preserve the battery to fully run them at least once a week but it's not critical to do that.
I empty the dirt canisters and clean the brushes after every use, which I don't find to be a problem at all. I have a Scuba also, the floor mopping robot, of the same brand, and it also is a workhorse. I've told all my friends about my IRobots, and several have gotten them and love them too. One of them said that after a while his Roomba started going in circles but I told him to turn it over and check out the brush and front wheel for anything caught on it and sure enough, he cleaned a long thread from the front drive wheel and it's good as new.
The brush on this has been vastly improved from the earlier models and now this no longer requires as much attention to cleaning the brush as the older models. Hair no longer wraps tightly around the brush, and comes off easily. And most of the debris gets sucked into the dirt canister, thanks to the new Aerovac technology. All I do now with this is empty the full dirt canister. The brush mechanism cleans itself most of the time.
Is it more powerful? I can say that in our one room with thick bulky old fashioned shag carpeting, it does indeed pull dirt out better and struggles less over the uneven texture. They all worked so well at vacuuming that other than on this one dense high pile rug, I can't tell the difference. It picks up dirt as well as the older versions I have, which is excellent.
Since the dirt canister is bigger, it doesn't need emptying as often. I used to empty the dirt canister every other time I used my older Roomba, but this one allows me to go through several vacuumings before it needs emptying.
These may look like a toy to the unitiated, but these do a much better job of cleaning than my upright vacuums. This is because they go over and over the same spot in a room about a hundred times. If you watch them, if they miss a piece of dirt on the first pass, they will eventually pick it up. They also have a long spinning brush that sticks out to the side which sweeps along the edges of walls and furniture. This picks up dirt that your bulky vacuum cleaner can't reach, under the sofa and bed and tables and along wall edges.
How often you do vacuum the old fashioned way, in a room, for 45 minutes? That's how long these robots vacuum a room. So you can believe this does a thourough job. It's the biggest reason for it's great performance, aside from the powerfully spinning brush.
The only negative I can think of (which is not really a negative) is that to use these frequently, you must be neat enough to keep everything off the floor. This new model seems to have solved the problem of sucking in electric cords though, but it still wants to suck in the edge of curtains. It is much better at avoiding pitfalls, uneven places, and dosen't get stuck under things often like my older units do, although since I've had these I've arranged things to be Roomba friendly for the most part. They are all powerful. In fact, I would even go so far as to say they are more powerful than my upright vacuums.
How does a little battery powered robotic vacuum actually do a better job of cleaning than a conventional vacuum? I have no idea, as it doesn't seem possible even now, but it's does. I love these suckers. And now I've got four of them, including the mopping one. One of them is the fancy "Scheduler" model, made to turn itself on and off automatically without supervision every day. I've never used the scheduling feature. I don't find it a chore to push the on button on these by hand.
IRobot's customer service almost rivals that of Amazon's. When you call them you immediately get an english speaking, intelligent, informed person who helps you by replacing without hesitation, anything that doesn't work. I had called about a battery that died just before the one year date on one of my Roombas. They shipped me a new one without even asking for any documentation of my purchase!
I recently picked out my new sofa and matching chairs with my IRobots in mind. They are on legs that are the perfect height to allow the little robotic vacuums to get under them. That's how highly I regard these.
Do I recommend this vacuum? You bet I do! This is one of my rare ten star products.
Honest reviews on iRobot Roomba 630 Vacuum Cleaning Robot for Pets
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I must admit that I did not expect this vacuum to be much more than a toy, but I was wrong it was surprisingly effective in what it is meant to do. I would rate this as a very useful daily vacuum, but one that does not completely replace the need for a standard human-controlled unit for periodic deeper cleaning and for cleaning areas where this unit cannot get to. Let me first discuss the many positive features and then why I think that you will still need a conventional unit.
Positive features -
· The setup was very easy and intuitive.
· The unit ran for a little more than an hour and then docked itself for recharging.
· In this hour it filled the dirt tray. While we no longer have a dog, I can see how this unit would be very useful for daily light vacuuming of pet hair.
· The path that the vacuum took was quite different from what a human would have used, but it did seem to cover all areas that it could get to (more about this later). I was also very surprised that the software allowed the unit to get out of almost all of the tight spaces that it found itself in. It was quite fascinating to see the unit move back and forth, slowly reorienting itself until it was free.
· The bumpers were sensitive enough that they did not topple some light ceramic floor pieces, nor did it damage any furniture.
· The unit is very quiet for a vacuum. While it was quite audible, I could watch TV or listen to a conversation while it was running.
· When the unit gets in trouble, such as needing to be repositioned, it tells you what to do in one of several languages (selectable by the user).
· The cleaning instructions are clear as are the instructions for how to replace parts, such as the batteries, although you have to go to a website for prices.
· The unit comes with one sensor that blocks the vacuum from wandering into rooms that I did not want it to clean. The simple solution was to close the doors of some rooms and use the sensor for a large open space that I wanted blocked. Additional sensors are required for additional open spaces and can be ordered from the website.
Why I feel that you still need to do some periodic conventional vacuuming -
· While the dirt tray was filled after about an hour, the tray is not as large as that of a conventional vacuum. The tray was, however, large enough to carry all the dirt that it picked up on one charge cycle.
· While the unit got out of almost all of the tight spaces itself, it did get stuck occasionally. When it did, it said to reposition itself elsewhere. While this presented no problem when we were present, when we were out and it stopped, owing to the irregular and non-repetitive path that it followed, we did not know what areas were not yet vacuumed.
· The unit does not have as much power as our upright or canister vacuums and does not pull up as much dirt.
· The unit obviously does not move chairs or furniture, so there are areas that it does not get to. Also, the unit is 3.5 inches high and did not get under a couch. This height was similar to that of an upright we have, but it is higher than the carpet attachment for our canister vacuum. Also, the edge of the upright was lower than 3.5 inches, so it was able to get a little ways under the couch.
· While the unit handled wood floors, area rugs on wood floors, and the transitions from carpets to these wood floors, it did not handle a rather thick runner on our wood floor. When it hit the runner, it treated it as an obstacle and moved off leaving it un-vacuumed.
· This model does not turn itself on at a predetermined time. Thus, you cannot set it to turn on when you are not there. However, given the problem of requiring human intervention to occasionally reposition the unit, it is probably desirable to run the unit only when someone is around.
All in all, I like this robot for light daily cleaning, but we still have to periodically use a conventional, human operated, vacuum because of its greater cleaning power and the need to move furniture in order to allow all areas to be cleaned.
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I made a big deal out of getting a Roomba. Before ordering my 630, I read a bunch of reviews like anyone else. Since I didn't know anyone personally with a Roomba, the importance of this purchase seemed a bit heightened. I spent a lot of time daydreaming about the Roomba, fantasizing about spotless carpet and sparkling linoleum. I could never wrap my head around how a motorized disc could possess such navigational intelligence. Would it really adjust from surface to surface and avoid rooms that had a virtual wall? And what exactly is a virtual wall? I imagined those invisible dog fences that no one uses for anything but practical jokes anymore.
I found my 630 for $50 less on another site and quickly did the math. $300 for a robot that will clean my floors everyday for possibly several years, according to some of the reviews I've read on Amazon that attest to Roomba's life expectancy. That breaks down to about a quarter a day if it lasts 2.5 years and I remember to press the "Clean" button everyday.
Upon receipt of my robot, I pored over the manual while sitting on the toilet, and marveled at the box while sitting on the floor. I took a few photos of the whole process as if I had adopted a child, anticipating a future day in which Roomba reminiscing was the highlight of my day (I don't even have a pet, so you can draw your conclusions henceforth). I yanked the yellow sticker out of the battery area and it made a BING, BONG kind of noise, followed by a woman's voice. "Roomba initiated," it stirred. Or maybe that was me.
I took some time to Roomba-proof my condo. I scanned each room, desperate to find something loose and precarious with minimal luck. Grudgingly I resorted to sprinkling toaster crumbs on the carpet, wincing while doing so. Toaster crumbs for the uninitiated are those mystery bits of toast that fall out of the bottom of every toaster manufactured since the first steam-powered locomotive.
Like everyone else I held my breath before pressing "Clean" for the first time. For its maiden voyage I allowed Roomba to charge completely and nestled its docking station in the most unassuming corner of the living room. Roomba appeared poised for action and its shiny two-tone casing beamed against the mood lights I dimmed especially for the occasion. I retrieved a microbrew from my largest appliance and returned to my newest, smaller appliance to finally press that "Clean" button.
Roomba responded instantly to my touch and emitted six or seven more BING BONGS as it eased its way out of the dock the way a cat daintily--even trepidatiously--explores new territory. And then, with a muted, mechanized thump, Roomba sprung into its tallest gear, tearing toward the leg of a folding chair. I resisted the urge to move the chair and stood frozen as Roomba continued approaching at full bore, closing in like a lazy donkey courting six year-olds at the county fair before suddenly shifting into low gear and lightly nudging the chair leg. Thumbing through the manual, I learned to attribute this behavior to Roomba's multitude of object sensors.
I would later discover that the Roomba Nudge is the robot's mating ritual, hugging any object it finds and hewing closely to its edge, circling it in a dominant, proud display of hygienic bravado.
I've owned my Roomba for a week now and have yet to tire of its antics. Roomba cleans better than expected and doesn't fuss or hiss or howl, nor does Roomba sound like an idling Cessna. It's easy to empty the AeroVac bin and wipe off the brushes. It's easy to have a casual chat in the same room as the robot, and it's even easier to move out of the way. But perhaps the easiest thing about owning a Roomba 630 is pressing the "Clean" button and then writing my review on the toilet.
