iRobot Roomba Discovery Robot Vacuum Mini-Review
Ok, blame it on woot.com for this one but after spotting a iRobot Roomba SE on Woot today I just had to tell everyone about just how much these little robot vacuums rock. It’s been six months with my Roomba Discovery and to tell the truth, you could not pry this thing from my cold dead fingers. It’s that good. Back in the day before this wonderful robot vacuum I would spend about 30-40 minutes once a week keeping up with the war against the dust bunnies. Now before I head off to work on Friday I simply clean up the junk on the floor (5 minutes) and then send out the Roomba with just a touch of a button. How cool is that! By the time I get home the floors are all nice and clean, and the Roomba is back fully charged in it’s dock. This is definitely one of the more useful gadgets I have owned and is well worth the $249 I paid for it.
For those who have no idea what I am talking about, the iRobot Roomba is a vacuum cleaner that is completely automatic. You hit a button and it cleans your floors, even medium pile rugs and yes it gets into the corners. The idea with the Roomba is to save time, and it does such a good job that I doubt I will ever go back to using a normal vacuum again!
Of course having this much fun while cleaning does come with a price, about $250 to be exact. Over the last six months I have also noticed several small issues that I really hope they try to address in future versions. Perhaps the biggest issue that I noticed is the way the Roomba handles really long hair. My girlfriend’s hair is constantly getting wound up in the brushes which requires frequent removal for the Roomba to stay working correctly. Thankfully, this process is very simple and only takes a few seconds but it really would be great if I had to do it less often (about once every other time I use the vacuum). Another minor issue is the lack of a automatic scheduler setting on the robot itself, which really seems like a major oversight on such a useful device. You can purchase one separately using a remote but it really should just come in the box since most people are going to want this feature. The latest model of the Roomba does have the scheduler remote included but the price is over $300 for one of these versions and I can’t really see any other difference in features from the lower cost models.
So how does this wonder of technology perform? Simply put, the Roomba just amazing on how well it gets the job done. I have a mix of hardwood floors and low pile throw rugs and the Roomba handles both with no issues whatsoever. It goes over the edges without getting caught and so far the only thing it seems to sometimes have trouble with are rugs that have tassels.
The Roomba also does a great job at getting into hard to reach places. Spot under the bed and other typical furniture are fair game for this robot! Although this sometimes does result in robotic screams for help if you are like me and store all manner of stuff under the bed (like old shoes with long laces…). One really nice feature about the Roomba is something most people won’t really pick up on right away, the Roomba is perfectly round. No joke, this shape makes a huge difference in how the robot gets into corners and manages to snake it’s way around furniture. There is also a small spinning brush that helps to sweep up dust in corners and along the edges of walls.
So if you hate running the vacuum, or you simply just don’t have time to keep up with the dust bunnies then you really need to check out the iRobot Roomba. This little robot will quickly make you a believer and you will wonder how you ever got along with a normal vacuum.
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Right on. I have owned a Roomba Discovery since early 2004 and found that it fits my lifestyle perfectly. I spend the requisite five to 10 minutes picking up — which is a Good Thing, and part of the reason the Roomba/Human System works so well — then fire up the robot before I go to work. My floors are hardwod everywhere and they are swept perfectly by Roomba’s rotating brush and micro-vacuum. My biggest complaints are 1) the relatively high cost of replacement filters and of those little round brushes that wear out, 2) how hair gets wrapped around the rotating brush and infests the bearings, and 3) the Roomba’s inability to cope with wires near the floor. I am forced to put virtual walls all around the stereo system to keep Roomba from choking on the speaker cables.
OK, dumb question here… as the review stats this is used on non-carpeted floors, correct? yet there are brushes underneath the vacuum. Do you find that the dirt, etc simply gets flung out of the way by the brushes instead of picked up? Is there an auto-shutoff if it gets stuck and doesn’t move for X number of seconds?
Good review thx !
How could something like simple pet hair cripple a beautiful piece of technology!! Well, it wasn’t pet hair!
Read on…
I loved my new Discovery machine, even though it was now my second and decidedly the LAST machine.
The first one I purchased had issues which IRobot very nicely replaced for me for the small token price of $149.00!!! OK, so now my investment is over $400.00. Well, the Discovery was a better machine until one day I discovered it no longer collected debris. The brushes had quit rotating!
What a disappointment! It was a better machine. The battery issue was resolved.. it charged as expected. Room coverage was good.. I could see all parts of the room had been covered. Debris pickup was good.. the dust bin was always full. The Discovery machine had even collected the dog hair (from my lab) and other debris such as dog cookie crumbs.
But now, the brushes had quit working. Go figure! I had called IRobot’s tech support, and guess what? They knew exactly what the problem was, but, they weren’t going to tell me anything about the problem other than it was “not repairable” and I could purchase a replacement for (are you ready?) another $149.00!!! What, again? So now I’m thinking after two machines, and after having experienced another breakdown, that I’m with effectively done renting Roomba machines. My confidence in the quality of their product was now gone, along with my patience and $400.00.
Oh yes, to the problem. So, since I had nothing more to lose, I took a screwdriver to the machine (knowing that the whole thing was now destined to go to my local recycling depot.. even though there was effectively nothing terribly wrong with it) and took the whole assembly apart. What did I find? A huge amount of dust and dog hair throughout the inner workings of the machine.. even though I had taken incredible care to regularly clean the device including vacuuming, wiping everything clean, removing hair from the brush, blowing forced air throughout all orifices, etc etc. My maintenance had been impeccable. I thought to myself “why hadn’t they created an air tight housing to protect the inner workings of the machine?”.
But, the problem wasn’t the hair and dust! What killed the machine, was a small plastic gear housed inside an enclosed gear box adjacent to the motor that operated the rotating brush assembly. Simply put.. the thin plastic gear teeth had worn away. That was it! A small piece of plastic that had cost a fraction of a penny had crippled a device with technology that extends to both civil law enforcement and military applications ( I believe IRobot builds devices for law enforcement and the military, but I won’t get into that here). Had IRobot taken the initiative to go the extra step and invest the few pennies necessary for metal and not plastic gears, I’m sure I would still be a happy customer ready to shout my recommendations and extreme satisfaction to the masses.
But, I’m NOT happy. I now have to place, into my local landfill, a wonderful piece of technology 99.9% operational that was laid to waste by some product manager’s decision to go cheap using inexpensive plastic gears as opposed to metal. Management could have committed to manufacturing a quality product thereby ensuring the reputation of IRobot’s products and the satisfaction of their customers, but alas, such was not the case.
What scares me is that these same plastic parts might also be utilized in the machines used to defend our law enforcement and military. I really hope not as we’re talking tax dollars at use aren’t we?
So that’s it. I would finish by saying that the Discovery series of Roomba (and probably the other models in the product line) is really a great product, but I would advise against the purchase of ANY of their products simply because I’m confident that it will one day fail on you in the not too distant future and your only course of action will be to dish out another $149.00, or simply contribute to our planet’s problems by adding it to the landfill.
What will you do? Look for another competitor or throw your money into the landfill?
Signed:
A disappointed Roomba user.
I love my Roomba. I have had it for over a year and the battery still lasts about an hour and a half, which is more than enough time for my living room and bedroom. When I empty the bin in the Roomba I notice more dirt/dust/small particles than I notice when I empty my regular vacuum cleaner. I am considering getting another for my basement.