Customer Reviews

iRobot Roomba 580 Vacuuming Robot

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Awesome product and a big improvement over the previous generations of Roomba. These are much quieter, especially for those of us with hard floors.

Unfortunately this model costs $150 more than the 560 and what you get for the $150 is this:

- 1 remote control (not worth it at all - it's just a wireless version of the Roomba buttons and doesn't remember the time or date or schedule like the previous generation remotes did. It's just a toy.)
- 1 set of replacement brushes (one bristle, one rubber)
- 1 replacement filter

That's it. The iRobot site says the 580 comes with a whole accessory kit of replacement brushes and filters, but it seems Amazon does not include that with the 580's they sell. You can buy the 580 for the same price directly from iRobot and get the kit, or you can save $150 and buy the 560 from Amazon. Either way, I strongly recommend against wasting your money on this specific model here at Amazon unless they start including the accessory kit.

I have two boys with friends and four large dogs that come in and out of the house leaving hair and fine dirt in their path. Now with iRobot Roomba 580, I have a meticulous cleaning service at the tip of my fingers. The potable remote control activates the cleaning service and the task scheduler allows one routine cleaning per day. I continue to be amazed at how much dirt and hair it picks-up even though we run it once a day. Thanks to iRobot, I have a cleaning partner who never complains and won't stop until the job is done!

~~~ HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF THIS TOY
~ 1. First time(s) you run it, you will probably run it several times and watch it zoom under and around furniture. CAUTION: listen for the distress beep, to correct the problems when it gets stuck. Once corrected, the problem is eliminated.

Ex: Threads hanging under your furniture or bed, height of some appliances or furniture, electrical cords etc...

~ 2. If you have animals, run it several times a day while you are present to show them it's OK. We don't want them to consider it the enemy because it will poke them out of the way when it's vacuuming.

~ 3. If it is having difficulty docking...train it. Using the remote, start it from the docking station by pressing the "Clean" button to start it, press "Clean" again to stop it, then press "Dock" to resend it to the docking station. The second time, remove it from the docking station; place it several feet away from the station, pointing the raised button towards the station, press the "Clean", button then "Dock" button. It will automatically dock within 30 seconds, even if it does not go directly to the docking station.

~ 4. If you lose it...and you will lose it until you completely rid your home of obstacles listed in No. 1, press the "Clean" button, on the remote, to activate the beeper. Follow the sound!

~ 5. If the "Clean" button turns "RED"...it's running out of energy. Press the "Clean" button to stop it. Place it several feet in front of the docking station, pointing the raised button in the same direction as the station. Use the remote or the top of the machine to resend it to docking station by pressing "Clean" and "Dock" buttons. Use it again when it flashes a GREEN "Clean" button.

~ 6. Be nice and clean it after each use...it takes less than a minute. I always clean my machine, including the filter, after each use. I also pull the hair off the brushes. Make sure you close the brush cage well. I usually pull it up from the bars to check if it's closed properly. Improperly closed cage will generate dust bunnies under the machine instead of inside the container. It will happen to you at least once... Once a month, I clean the front black and white wheel by pulling it straight up like you would rollers on a desk.

~~~ PROS:
~ 1. You can set your schedule for each day and forget it.

~ 2. The vacuum is as loud as a hair dryer set on low except that you don't have to have it around your head while it does it's job.

~~~ CONS (according to my kids):
~ 1. Vacuuming is no longer part of their weekly allowance...it's been replaced by mopping.

~ 2. The docking station moves around on wooden floors which prevents the machine from docking properly 100% of the time. I corrected the problem by placing a rubber mat under the docking station. Now it has friction that prevents it from moving around.

~~~ ADVISE:
Buy the package with the most supplies (filters, brushes, corner broom) and find the best price on line using a coupon...it's worth the money. I received the following items in my package;

~ Wireless Command Center
~ On-board Scheduling
~ Self-charging Home Base
~ 3 Virtual Wall® Lighthouses
~ Silver Faceplate
~ 11 Brushes
~ 7 Filters

Listed below are the approx prices for supplies you may need depending on the model you purchase...you do the math!

~ Wireless Command Center $59.99
~ Virtual Wall® Lighthouse $39.99
~ Brush Cleaning Tool $5.99
~ Filter 3-pack $19.99 (2 pkgs)
~ Bristle Brush 3-pack $39.99
~ Flexible Brushes 3-pack $19.99
~ Side Brush 3-pack $14.99
~ Self-charging Home Base $69.99

Remember to register your machine on the irobot site to get access to their help files and participate in their blog to gain valuable information or experiences from other users. That's how I found out how to clean the front wheel!

~~~ NOTE:
I have my iRobot hidden under a chair and I keep the remote on the coffee table.

This is my own dumb fault but I read several reviews here on slightly different models but didn't check this one. After looking at the 580 on iRobot, the price was the same as Amazon but I knew I could get the free shipping with Amazon, so I bought it here w/o reading the review.
MISTAKE!
This basically borders on false advertising except to Amazon's defense they do list what comes with the supposed 580 they sell here.
The problem is for all intents and purposes, the only difference between the 570 and 580 according to iRobot is the extra accessories that you get if you buy it from iRobot. Somehow, Amazon is selling a 580 w/o the extra accessories so by iRobot standards, it's not a 580 but a 570.

Summary, Amazon is short-changing you $100 for accessories that are worth significantly more than that.

Some of the other models here may be worth the price but if you want the 580 as listed on iRobot's site, but it from iRobot, not Amazon.

This is really disappointing on Amazon's part.

FYI - by no means does this reflect on the Roomba itself. The product is great. 5 stars for the roomba. 0 stars for Amazon's marketing on this particular model.

Do not buy this product from Amazon.
I must say that I have been purchasing products from Amazon for many years and have been very pleased. That is until now.

I have had two of the iRobot Roomba 580's shipped from Amazon and they are both missing the Bonus Accessory Kit that includes the Silver Faceplate, 1 Virtual Wall Lighthouse, 3 Bristle Brushes, 3 Heater Brushes, 3 Side Brushes, & Six Extra Filters.

I have pointed out to Amazon that there must be an additional box that goes with this product since those items cannot fit within the Roomba 580 package. Apparently, no one from Amazon has researched this for themself. They just ship another of the same box missing these items.

I hope they will fix this problem in the future and pay better attention to future emails from customers and research the products in their warehouses when they are informed that all the items stated can not possibly be in the box they are selling.iRobot Roomba 580 Vacuuming Robot

When I was ordering this I saw in a prior review that the item had been delivered to a prior customer without the accessory pack. I called Amazon and they checked and assured me that it would be delivered with this pack (value of pack $100.00). The item arrived without the pack. I called Roomba and they told me that this pack was the difference between the 560 and the 580.
That plus the $100 price difference. They said that the pack came in a separate package.
I called Amazon and explained what had occurred . The rep said she would have to check at the warehouse, that there was probably a whole pallet of these accessory packs in the warehouse that they did not not know went with the 580's. She said they would call back in several days. When they did not, I called and each time they said the warehouse had not gotten back to them.
I finally said that I had wasted enough time on this, so they offered me the options of either returning the Roomba, or waiting to see if it was in the warehouse or giving me a $100 refund. I took the refund which was applied the next day.
I don't know if they got this issue straightened out yet, so beware.

Like a number of other reviewers, I found that the accessory package was missing from my shipment, making this actually a lower model.

Amazon has been aware of this issue for months, but it seems like the accessory package comes randomly with some orders and not with others.

Sorry, Amazon, but I'm shipping this back to you.

I ordered the 580 expecting it to be identical to the manufacturer's specs and accessories. It was NOT. I received the 560 package, but was charged for the 580 package. I attempted to get this straightened out through customer service, but after a couple of weeks of emails back and forth, they eventually refused to make the correction stating the 580 comes with the 560 accessories. Unfortunately, I didn't get my extra $100 dollars refunded, either, unlike the review posted on 05-30-08 by Mike Anisman. This problem has been posted on a few times. I recommend you purchase this product directly from the manufacturer so you will receive ALL of the accessories you are paying for with the extra $100 over the 560 price. Very disappointed in Amazon's performance on this purchase.

We live on a farm and have 10 cats, so I wasn't sure if the Roomba would be able to handle the amount of cat hair we generate daily. Fortunately, with a little extra maintenance, it does fine.

If you have multiple pets I recommend having a small and medium size Phillips Head screw drivers on hand, as the Roomba will eventually get pet hair clogging the gear box that holds the gears that rotate the brushes. The Roomba is well designed (modular)so it is easy to take off the bottom cover, remove the gear box unit, and remove the six small phillips head screws that hold the gear box cover on. It is easy to remove the gears and clean them. You will have to do this if you have cleaned the brushes themselves (including the hair that gets behind the little yellow bearing on the small brush)and you still get a thumping noise when the Roomba operates. The thumping noise is the anti tangle logic disabling the brushes as the Roomba thinks the clogged gears are actually the brushes tangled in carpet tassles or cords.

This is a great product. If your time is worth even ten dollars an hour and you clean daily, it pays for itself in two months.

Do you have dogs, young children, dust problems, or just no time? Roomba will be your friend.

I have owned a Discovery 3 series Roomba and this latest version is so much better than the previous versions:
- Better sensors that slow down as they approach walls
- Better battery life as it can run for quite a while now.
- Quieter, but not by much
- Easier to clean the brushes, grills etc as you used to need a screen driver

Roomba still has some problems though that dont make it a 5 star for me
- Has trouble with rugs with high lip
- sometimes is confused by rugs with dark colors and things its a edge
- Furniture that is somewhat raised from the ground it doesnt see and slams blindly into it (EX: Refrigerator)

But with all these flaws, I still love Roomba. In fact, I refer to Roomba as a "he" instead of an "it" because he is a member of the family. How much does my family love Roomba? Well my 1 year old daughter calls him "Da-da" because he's fun and helpful around the house.

We've had two Roombas now - first one of the grey-white models, which we purchased in January 2006, which broke within 13 months. Instead of being able to repair the model, iRobot encouraged us to buy another vacuum, which was red for Valentine's Day 2007. It broke in January of this year. Because iRobot refuses to repair these models, and no one in the Austin, TX area seems to be able to do so, we've gone back to our old stand-up vacuum - not as neat, but definitely less wasteful.