Customer Reviews

IROBOT ROOMBA 400 VACUUM CLEANING ROBOT

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

I was skeptical about how well the Roomba would clean but I decided to give it a shot. I am so glad that I did! This was probably the smartest purchase that I have ever made. I also own a Dyson DC17 Animal which cleans like a beast. However my Roomba is so easy to use and cleans so well that I wish I would have saved my money on the Dyson and purchased the Roomba from the start. This model doesn't have all the bells and whistles that some of the more expensive units have but works perfectly for me. It is so simple to operate that a child could use it. Simply charge it and place it in the middle of the room and press the clean button. It starts by covering the large open area of the room by going in a spiral motion until it bumps up against something and then it will go around all the corners. It takes a while to clean a large room but it cleans like a champ. It has a decent sized collection bin so you don't have to empty it too often, maybe once every hour or so. This unit comes with a cleaning brush and three additional extra filters which add to the overall value. Everything will have to be picked up off the floor. Sometimes you will have to move electric wires because it will get caught up and stuck in them. However you don't have to worry about it too much because the unit will shut its self off if it gets stuck or if it sweeps something up that isn't normal. If you have family members in your household that have long hair then it will get wrapped around the brush just like a normal vacuum and you will have to remove it every once in a while. This would make a great gift for one of those people that has everything because I think pretty much anyone would appreciate a Roomba. The only thing that I wish it come with is the invisible walls so I think I am going to purchase some.

So I'm definitely one that researches the CRAP out of my technological products - my roomba maybe a little to the extreme. After reading the reviews there was a trend that they don't last too long - so I decided to get the cheapest model and replace it every couple years instead of being out alot more money with the $500 models. So I trucked down to walmart and bought the cheapy model.

We've now had the little darling for 2 months. Background info: We run it in our living room and kitchen nearly everyday (hardwood floors, linoleum, area rugs). We have three border collies (LOTS of fur). Now my review:

It takes a while... about an hour and a half (if you've kept up on the cleaning... longer if you've left it a couple days). Does it do a perfect job? No. It does a pretty half ass job.... but if it does a half ass job every day - in two days it would be 100%... and well I don't vacuum like at all - so it does a better job then I do. I would not suggest this for someone that is home all day either. We're home school students - so it gets a little annoying, but if your okay turning your TV up loud - you can definitely still watch the price as right while it's running.

If I wasn't home all day I would really suggest getting the "home base". It's kind of a pain if you don't know where it stopped.

Cleaning the brushes is not really that bad. (remember 3 shedding dogs). The little tool helps alot, but an utility knife helps with the wound up hairs every once in a while. We also had it have it's first error today. Looked up online - couldn't find out what to do. Called irobot customer service. Was on hold no longer than 20 seconds after the prompts. Definitely a call centre with an indian lady - we had a couple language barriers but I've had worse with call centres. She let us know that hair gets wrapped around some of the barring that the manual doesn't tell you to clean every day... so manual - not very helpful - customer service a 8/10 (apple being a 10/10 so 8 is still really good!)

Overall - I recommend it for people that are away from home every day for a couple hours. People who are tech-junkies. People with pets (it does help!), people with mobility issues.
Not recommended for - technophobes (the weird pattern it makes isn't all that convincing) is easy to use though. People that are home all day. Perfectionist. People with rugs with tassles.

The first roomba we had lasted four months before the plastic gears turning the brushes broke. Customer service was excellent and sent a replacement under the one year warranty with no hassle. Unfortunately, three months later, the replacement no longer charges. Apparently, there's a problem with an internal circuit or something and I will have to ship it back at my expense (again). I wonder if I should really even bother or just toss it in the trash.

When it works, it works great and really helps keep pet hair accumulation down. The trick, though, is to keep it in working order. From my experience with the two models, the vacuum would probably last long enough to make it out of warranty if you rarely use it. But by using it three or four times a week, durability issues have cropped up and I wouldn't recommend spending the money for one of these.

Looking on the bottom of the vacuum, I see written "Assembled in China" and think that I have my answer there: Cheap labor plus cheap parts equals big profit and a shoddy product. Sound familiar?

I bought the 400 series roomba for my wife last christmas (2008) and have been thrilled with the roomba. We have a stained concrete floor with several rugs, steps, junk on the floor and a cat. The roomba has done a great job getting up nearly all the dust, debris, and cat hair, while very rarely getting tripped up on junk and almost never getting stuck on the rugs. The only thing it doesn't like is loose wires, string or ribbon. These items tend to get wrapped up and caught in the brushes.

We have not had to do a real vacuuming job since we bought roomba and the floors are not nasty nor do they look dirty.

I have had issues with battery life dropping to only 20 minutes per run. IRobot was quick to remedy the situation as the roomba was under warranty. Most manufacturers are not so accommodating with battery replacement and this is one thing that makes IRobot and roomba stand out amongst manufacturers. I also had some problems with roomba beginning to act erratically and customer support was quick with intelligent and reasonable fixes which actually worked. I am an extremely technical person and I surprisingly wasn't pulling my hair out on the phone going through the obvious brain dead list of things that customer support usually makes you go through to get any real help.

Kudos to IRobot for a great product and great service. I would definitely buy roomba again and recommend it to my friends and family!

If you need to vacuum but do not all ways have the time you'll find that this will do The Job and Do It Well, it is not a toy or a another faddish gadget it works and works well.

We got this model, and it worked great for about a month and then died suddenly. Irobot replaced it, after a month wait, with a better model since this one was back ordered. It did a great job and could cover an entire 700 square foot apartment in one charge. Just do the maintenance and you will be happy with it. Also it is less noisy then a standard vacuum but don't plan on taking any naps while it is running. We start it before we go somewhere and come back to a clean house.

Hi. This vacuum is more powerful than my upright. Picked up tons of dirt and cat hair from my carpet after I had just swept with my upright. I love that I can just turn it on and walk away and it does it's job. It's really smart about getting out of tight places and I've figured out the couple of places it gets stuck and put a laundry basket there and that solved the problem. I am very happy with it and would buy another one in a minute. Highly recommend this product!

So, I'm absolutely in love with this robot cleaner. I have dogs and they shed heavily (golden retriever and a lab -- lots and lots of long hair). My hardwood floors are habitually full of hair and the dust that gathers in the hair. It drives me crazy and unless I vacuum daily (read: not going to happen), my floors look awful. Roomba (I've named her Ruby) is a life saver (at least she's saved my sanity). I turn her on each day and she does a WONDERFUL job of making my home clean. In fact, she does a far better job than I ever do. She goes underneath nearly all of my furniture and makes my floors nearly spotless. I have only wood and tile flooring so I cannot speak for how she does on carpeting. Since my floors are clean, I can actually get other work done in my house! What an added benefit! I just got her last week, so I don't know how long her battery will last and durability, but as for now I'm in love with her!

Although this Roomba was only $100 -- it works as well as another one we bought a number of years ago for almost $300. The only difference is that it didn't come with the extra "perks" the more expensive one did -- but we are able to use the docking station and other items with this new one -- everything was compatible. Product was shipped quickly and was received in excellent condition.