I think that I post this every time a Roomba comes up on Woot, but keep in mind that standard issue Roomba's DO NOT like pet hair! The hair gets stuck in the brush rollers, and you'll find yourself having to clean them about every 15 minutes.

If you buy one of these and use it to clean a house that has long haired cats, I can practically guarantee that you'll end up hearing the "Do Do! Clean Roomba's Brushes!" warning sound in your nightmares for days after your unfortunate cleaning experience.

If you have a pet, get the Roomba 532 for pets instead!

I have the very similar "pet" model (which has an additional deeper trash bin) and love it. I use my Dyson on most of the house and turn this little guy loose in our carpeted kitchen (low-weave indoor-outdoor carpet, lots of assorted debris from food prep, dog hair, etc). It was a lot of bother to shift it from one room or large zone to another elsewhere, and it is definitely not fast. But it's thorough, goes under low things, knows how to untangle itself from a stray cord. Sometimes I use it in the bedroom because it totally cleans under our too-heavy-to-move bed. Usually, I start it up when I'm about to leave the house and return to find a clean room and a self-docked and recharging Roomba.

Much easier to clean and needs it less often than the older models. This is a real steal at this price!

mizmeliz82 wrote:will it go from carpet to laminate floor and back? i live in a one bedroom apt

It will, at least it does in my house. However, I find that the battery is good for only one thorough room cleaning, so you may want to use the little "blocker" devices to limit it to one room at a time. See my posting about how I use it.

I wish my 3 purchased at WOOT worked as well as others. New battery every year @ $50 each. Now they dont work at all and troubleshooting with iRobot has become difficult and cumbersome.

I was hoping for a better help service than "if we cannot troubleshoot over the phone, we cannot help you"

When they work, they are otterific!

If this was a 560/565, I would be ALL over it (the 560s have scheduling and lighthouses so it can go from room to room and back).

I have a 560, and LOVE it. Best $220 (reflurbed) I ever spent. I am still amazed at how much crud it picks up.

For the first couple of weeks I had to empty the bin daily. Now that it's been running almost daily for a couple of months, that is down to twice weekly.

Question: Refurbished? Still worth it? Durability? Is it like new? (allergic to pets here, don't want one that has pet hair lingering)

Thresholds?

I live in an old pre-war apt that has wood floors with wooden doorjamb/thresholds in each doorway.

They are 1/2" high and about 3 1/2" wide, with sloping sides.

Will the roomba go over them, or see them as obstacles and stop/bypass?

Thanks!

wootalyzer wrote:Wootalyzer's Pricing Post! - The price of today's woot item is saved here for future reference
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iRobot Roomba 530 Robotic Vacuum with Virtual Wall
$139.99 + $5 Shipping
Condition: Refurbished

Product List:
- 1 iRobot Roomba 530 Robotic Vacuum with Virtual Wall and Self-Charging Home Base

I bought my Roomba 530 on a previous Woot. IRobot's customer service was great. I had to replace practically everything on my little guy. I think you have only 30 days, so if you think something is wrong, call to get replacement parts. I love my Roomba.

*DISCLAIMER* Wootalyzer! is in no way affiliated with Woot!, and this post may not always be here!

Here's a video of a CAT riding a Roomba.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ-jv8g1YVI&feature=related

For all of you cat lovers who just can't seem to post enough of them during a Wootoff.

I bought one last time. It crapped out on me, but iRobot sent a replacement free of charge. I had bought a couple of the pre-500 series used on Ebay, and they died soon enough, but with no warranty. Roomba is a delicate beast, so don't buy used, but since the refurb comes with a warranty, I was happy with my purchase.

Can anyone confirm exactly what the ground clearance would be for this unit? My couch is very close to the size of this and would like for it to fit under it if at all possible.

Quick comment: How well Roomba does with pets depends more on the length of hair than the type of hair - just like most normal vacuums. Personally, I have this exact model (from ~ a year ago on woot, actually) and it handles my dog hair just fine, despite heavy shedding, but my dog has fairly short hair.

As someone fresh out of school when I purchased it, and not really broken into cleaning my own house yet, the roomba wasn't so much a time-saver for me as it was a tool do actually get a chore done that otherwise wasn't going to get done. So instead of sweeping the house once every six months, it now gets done every couple of days. A real lifesaver for people like me with both pets and allergies.

I've found my roomba surprisingly sturdy - in a year of ownership, I have not yet had to replace any parts (except filters, obviously, but even then I am still working my way through the couple of freebies they send you in the box). A few components did become fouled eventually, but a little do-it-yourselfism and 10 minutes with some tools got it up and running again without issue.

Overall, it hasn't saved me time, but it HAS resulted in a much cleaner house.

bigdaddy24 wrote:What is the "virtual wall" used for?

The virtual walls are little IR units that you set up at doorways to block them off. That way, the Roomba will stay in one area of the house without having to totally block off that area physically. They're really nice for making sure it cleans one room well before moving it to another.

Its worth pointing out that the 530 doesn't work with the virtual lighthouses. I've got a 540 from woot, and that model does. The lighthouses act as walls, until the Roomba decides that its finished with the room its in, and then the lighthouse lets it through to the next room automatically. Although they're (lighthouses) mostly nice to have in a small apartment like mine, where its really useful to confine it to each room until done, but when the battery life is long enough to clean the whole place in one charge. If you've got big rooms, then walls may work just as well, since it may have to clean one room and then recharge.

I'm pretty sure this is the same model my girlfriend got in a woot-off last year. It works a treat on the tile floor downstairs, but in an open-plan house without real doorways between rooms, the models with the Lighthouse technology (540 and up, IIRC) would be much more efficient.

It picks up all the dust and most of the dog hair it encounters, but when Lucy is really shedding heavily, it gets a little overwhelmed; some of the hair just gets pushed into little piles and left behind (especially on the edges of rugs). Still, it's a lot easier to pick up those little piles of hair than it would be to sweep or Swiffer the whole downstairs.

We've got this model, purchased about 1 1/2 years ago from woot. I LOVE my roomba. Her name is Daisy. We have hardwoods, carpeting and linoleum in our home. We also have a yellow lab that sheds A LOT. I empty Daisy out after every cleaning. Its not a hard job at all. I like to pamper her with a good cleaning every couple of cleanings. Its not difficult , especially if you buy the separate brush cleaning tool found at amazon.com. When giving a thorough cleaning, do not over tighten the side brush's screw or you'll be reattaching it with glue.
My mother and cousin also have this model. I am the only one to have replaced the battery but I have 6 kids and a dog, so I have her going all the time. After a year, my mom had to have a sensor replaced as her "Sally Sue" was doing the death spiral. Now she is as good as new. My cousin has had no problems with hers. I have purchased an extra set of brushes so I can have them switched out and clean them at my leisure.
I REALLY would like to buy another roomba for downstairs but took a pay cut and will have to wait another 3 or 4 months for the next roomba on woot.
By the way, buy two and have a roomba dance. They don't really fight but rather dance.

I have about 3000 sq feet of carpet and tile. Can the Roomba handle this? If so will it take multiple charges?

notanaardvark wrote:Love the Roomba I got from WOOT about a year ago. I ordered a cleaning tool
Here, and clean it every other use.
Now I see they have some black strips to place where you don't want the roomba to go. It tricks it into thinking there is step so it turns away. Does anyone know whether one could substitute plain felt or some other black material?

Buy the Roomba! It speaks in happy & sad musical tones. Might just be your new best friend.

More on the black strips here: http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12350

I have this model from the last time it was on Woot. I have about 750 square feet of tile and a couple area rugs and a hairy cat.

My Roomba does very well, better than I expected it would. I do have to clean cat hair out of the rollers after every use, but it is a very simple one-minute operation to clean EVERYTHING and empty the debris. You also have to make sure that things like power cords and shoe laces are not left on the floor while your Roomba is running.

I'm very happy with my refurb Roomba 530 and I just bought one today for a friend.

It's not perfect, but I highly recommend this model! The price is otterific!

mine's running right now previous woot.

I have the 560 model. It's excellent on hardwood floors. Not so great on rugs/carpet. Definitely clean the filter/brushes after every use. But doing so is a small price to pay for the chance to come home to a pet-hair-free apartment every day.

jpstrings wrote:I will never buy another woot referb roomba again. I have bought 2 referbs and both of them died and i had to call irobot to get them fixed.

YMMV

I am right there with you! I bought a refurb and about a lil over a year later it broke. Customer support wouldn't help fix it. Only offered a 99 dollar replacement for just the unit. didn't get it for fear it breaking again. Too bad. Great product if the company backed it up with great service.

Autodoors wrote:I wish my 3 purchased at WOOT worked as well as others. New battery every year @ $50 each....
When they work, they are otterific!

I've used Roombas for years. After the first year, for whatever reason, the best way to recharge the battery is to plug it in to the cord, not via the 'home base'. It may have to do with terminals, but it's true of all models I have. Over five years, I've had to replace ONE battery.

I have the 510 model. Its name is Ehm Oh.

Works very well and am highly pleased with it. Even if the battery may be dying on it (Roughly 2 or 3 years old)

Just wish the cat would ride it......

How does it fare in thick (almost shag) carpet?

Every time I see one of these on woot, I'm practically a minute away from ordering it. And then I read everyones reviews about having to replace expensive stuff on it and I get cold feet.

Basically it's all your fault that I still don't have one.

I bought one to supplement the "Home Robot" I already have... my-wife. :-)

I have this model and it's incredible... I doubt it's the best model that they make, but it does a great job. Just hit the button and let it run when I go to work. Cleans tons of pet hair off the hard floors. It was easily worth every penny...

If you don't want it to go into your kitchen area, a certain area of the house, the virtual wall sets the roomba to recognize that area as a wall so it will turn around.

I got one from the previous woot. We love it for the fake hardwood floors and "stone" tile of out apartment. It did stop working at one point, but a quick email to iRobot customer service and a new replacement part was sent right away. Works like new again!

You know, this is kind of a stupid question, but I've always wondered about these short term warranties.

If I order this now, and give it to my parents at Christmas (they've been holding off for a 500 model), will they have a 90 day warranty or will it have expired by then? From what the comments are saying, it seems like iRobot might use that as an excuse not to provide any support for the product.

LouSir wrote:I have about 3000 sq feet of carpet and tile. Can the Roomba handle this? If so will it take multiple charges?

It will take multiple charges to clean that much space. I have a 560 (which has a bit more battery life than the 530) and over 2000 sq. feet of hardwood in my open loft. I usually have to recharge it once, sometimes twice if the floor is really dirty. My directions say that 1 charge will last for about 1000 sq. feet. That's roughly correct, I think. So you'd probably have to charge twice. Still, it's totally worth it.

How loud is a Roomba as compared to a normal upright vacum? Will it drive my downstairs neighbors crazy if I run it all the time?

I own this model. It cleans nicely, especially hard to get spots like wall edges and under beds! But it needs to be emptied after every use (one room). It is a supplement, not a replacement, for a full size vac.

Don't forget about the Roomba's added value as a dramatic enhancement device: http://achewood.com/index.php?date=08312006

That "Virtual Wall" is most likely the 4th.

chrisdore wrote:How loud is a Roomba as compared to a normal upright vacum? Will it drive my downstairs neighbors crazy if I run it all the time?

Nowhere near as loud. I can hardly hear mine (same model) when it goes under the couch or is two rooms away.

Anyone who's wondering about things like Roomba falling downstairs, etc., should go to the iRobot site and watch the videos. No, it doesn't fall down stairs.

Not sure why so many seem to have issues with warranty and pet hair. I have two cats and two dogs, Welsh Corgis, a breed infamous for shedding. I never have to stop and clean Roomba's brushes while it's vacuuming. The brushes and bin are full at the end, but that's the only time I empty it.

I've had it about 1-1/2 years and the only issue is it broke an arm off a side brush climbing up on a rug with latex backing once (the latex sort of stuck to the Roomba, causing the rug to curl and trap the brush). It was still under the 90-day warranty and iRobot sent me a new 3-pack of brushes immediately. They asked where I bought it, I said Woot, and they immediately started taking the shipping info.

tromafiend02 wrote:How does it fare in thick (almost shag) carpet?

Not so hot. I have all hardwood/tile with area rugs. It does great with the low pile area rugs I have most places, but in the living room I have a thick wool oriental, and it can't wrestle the dog hair out of it (I barely can with my Miele). It goes over it okay and it does look better when it finishes, but not like it was freshly vacuumed. It will run on shag or thick carpet without a problem, just won't clean it thoroughly.

rupert123 wrote:Can anyone confirm exactly what the ground clearance would be for this unit? My couch is very close to the size of this and would like for it to fit under it if at all possible.

Just measured mine -- it's 3 inches give or take a couple millimeters.

These are otterific. they wont replace an upright vacuum, but they replace you pushing it. I have a few of these, 530 included, and its my favorite of the group. Set the virtual wall to keep it inside a defined space, and it does its job and goes home to charge up.

Cons: they do require regular cleaning. especially with cats in the house, the brushes will require cleaning often. get a small clipper and tweezers, and keep them handy. You will also need to 'roomba-proof' the area. dealing with furniture and walls, it does great. shoes and clutter are a problem. If I wouldnt get in trouble, Id get an other one.

gothictranquility wrote:I have been wanting one of these for a while, but I wonder how well it deals with any obstructions- cat box in the corner, kitchen chairs... if I have to move all this stuff any way, I may as well vacuum.

I'd love to see a dyson on here though- especially the handheld.

It deals with obstructions just fine. Only problem with chairs is whether the legs are spaced too closely for Roomba to get between them. If not, it will just go around and leave the area the chairs block unswept. Once in a great while mine manages to get stuck in an odd spot I have where there's a three-way obstruction (rocking chair, dresser, wall). Roomba drives in between the chair rockers and can't quite figure out how to get back out. I now just turn the rocker the other way.

mspace wrote:Thresholds?

I live in an old pre-war apt that has wood floors with wooden doorjamb/thresholds in each doorway.

They are 1/2" high and about 3 1/2" wide, with sloping sides.

Will the roomba go over them, or see them as obstacles and stop/bypass?

Thanks!

It will go over them without a problem. I have some of the same (1890s Victorian). It can't handle the un-thresholded drop between my tile floor in the kitchen and lower wood floor in the dining room, though. It goes from kitchen to dining room okay, but the 3/4-inch difference to get back into the kitchen is too much for it to climb, and it swivels to brush alongside it instead of climbing over. That height difference is a bit much for people's toes, too...I really need to get a threshold for it. Old house, endless to-do list, sigh. At least Roomba (and Scooba!) save me some time.