iRobot 560 Christmas Discounts!
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iRobot 560 Christmas Discounts!.
Product: iRobot 560 Amazon Price: Too low to display Availability: In Stock |
My wife and I decided to net one of these because our 8 month ancient son is about to open crawling. While we try and preserve our floors neat, our beagle has other thoughts as she sheds all over the site. We went with the latest 560 model as it has unprejudiced about everything we would want with a product like this. It works as advertised and we will definitley withhold it but there are some areas that need improvement. Here is a rapid breakdown of the pros and cons
Pros
1. Quieter than a standard vaccuum
2. Seems to learn the room dimensions swiftly. The virtual walls and lighthouse feature are very nice.
3. Is "intellectual" enough to avoid getting tangled in our region rugs
4. Obviously easy to spend as it is unbiased a push of a button (or even better when you program it)
5. Can employ everyday to hold the floors spotless
6. Have successfully customary it on hard wood, vinyl, carpet and (accidently) concrete
7. Cleans under furniture which is otherwise a injure to do
8. Entertainment value - keeps the dog and baby fervent for a while!
Cons (or areas for improvement)
1. Fills up lickety-split - Upon intital cleaning cycles, we had to empty it after about 10 minutes. Further usage proved better as the dust/dog hair was a lot less than before. I order this is a obliging thing as it is picking up dirt that I missed with the regualr vaccum.
2. No warning that it is fleshy. This is the one station that would be a substantial improvement. I feel like I need to interrupt it all the time to check if it is plump. It would be mammoth if it had some draw to gauge how beefy it is.
3. Battery life - Not certain if I am getting the elephantine specified battery life out of this as it seems to need a recharge after about an hour to an hour and a half (isn't it supposed to last longer? )
4. Automatic docking is iffy. Several times after it was done cleaning, it wandered around aimlessly looking for the docking site. The "lighthouse" feature didn't seem to assist great. I ended up inspiring the dock to a more inaugurate space and hopefully that will work better.
So for my first few days playing with this thing, it seems to do its job rather well with impartial a few annoyances that really do not affect its ability to natty. We understanding on running it once a day to support the dog hair and dust down to a minimum which will hopefully wait on our allegies.
*****UPDATE: 10/2/2007*******
Well, I've been using the Roomba now for a couple of weeks. I have it accelerate every other day and here is what I believe of it now
1. After letting it shipshape several times, I obtain I don't have to empty it every 10 minutes. I can now elegant three rooms (about 900 square feet) without having to empty it.
2. My wife and I both agree that we seem to breathe better in the house now. Maybe it is due to less dust in the house (especially under the couches) or maybe its in our heads. Either draw, we are breathing easier.
3. The self docking is now working stout. I contemplate my problems in the past were due to the brushes getting too dirty and requiring frequent cleaning (2 or 3 per urge) . Now, since the floors are cleaner, this has not been a scrape and the Roomba finds its arrangement home with no issues. I consume the lighthouse settings to orderly each room separately and then I guess they wait on Roomba obtain its home. Very nice!
4. Battery life doesn't seem to be a dilemma. I am getting the stated cleaning times per the manual and it seems to be enough to shipshape the 3 rooms.
5. The Roomba does require maintenance after each cleaning cycle. This requires emptying the dust bin, removing the brushes and filter to orderly and, sometimes, cleaing the sensors that may have dust buildup. The entire process takes no more than 2 minutes and, even though it sounds like a hurt, will hopefully hold Roomba pickle free for a long time.
I can procure no fault with the Roomba lawful now. I might even reflect purchasing a second and third one for the other parts of the house. I inform I can travel Roomba to the aid rooms on the first floor or the upstairs but that would require too distinguished worry on my fragment!
I am also considering the Scooba for my kitchen and bathrooms but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I might wait for the next generation to perceive if the bugs have been worked out of the recent models. Also, if Irobot ever invented one, I would jump at the chance to net a robot that will shampoo carpets! Maybe we will inspect one soon..
***Update 11/19/2007***
Ran into my first dilemma with Roomba this past week. The side brush snapped off and I was unable to set it befriend on. Intellectual that these brushes need to be replaced from time to time I decided to order some replacements. Finding them on the Roomba position and ordering them was easy. Predicament is that I was informed that they are on backorder for 4 to 6 weeks!! I e-mailed help and they responsed asking me for my mailing address, Roomba number and where I purchased it from. They stated they needed this so they could send me a replacement brush (a free replacement brush) . I sent them the information with the hopes that they have some spare brushes ready to ship out but was then informed that it will lift 4 to 6 weeks to catch it out to me.
So in the kill, I am stuck waiting for about $75 worth of brushes that I ordered as well as the free side brush they are sending me for at least 4 weeks. The pleasant news is that Roomba level-headed does her thing but the corners and edges of walls are somewhat neglected without the side brush.
I would composed recommend Roomba to those who are thinking about it. Impartial be forwarned that "due to extremely high question" replacement parts, including brushes, are currently on backorder for the 500 series.
******Final Update 1/25/2008*******
Thought I'd give one final update now that I have been using Roomba for several months. I am tranquil a believer that Roomba can sustain your floors orderly but it does win a bit more anguish than some people will believe. I will try my best to fracture down the cons for Roomba as the pros are pleasing straight forward. You find very trim floors without having to grasp up a vaccum. My floors have never looked or felt cleaner and this goes for both the hard wood floors and the state rugs.
Now for the cons (none of which would accomplish me rethink my grasp but I view it would be informative to those who are peaceful waiting on buying one)
1. Although Roomba does her thing once I hit the orderly button, there is peaceful some maintenance that is required. Emptying the dirt bin after each cleaning cycle and keeping the brushes elegant have actually been a bit more work that originally described. I have a dog who sheds and the hair gets wrapped around some of the brushes. The tool that is provided in the box to tidy the brushes does small to assist with this. I net it eaiser to secure a pair of scissors and carefully lop the wrapped dog hair off the brushes. For those of you who don't want to come by your hands dirty, please retain this in mind!
2. The side brushes rupture fairly easy. One of the comments I saw in my review is that Irobot now ships some rubber bumpber that helps with this. I haven't looked into getting this yet but I suggest that if you don't have one on yours (like me), be prepared to replace the side brush often. I was able to catch a free replacement on my first one but haven't gone relieve for a second yet.
3. The scheduling aspect of Roomba is useless for me. Because I have a 1 year customary who has every toy in the history of toys, I catch I need to do a complete sweep of the rooms before Roomba does her thing. If Roomba hits one of these toys, the sensor doesn't always bewitch up on it and it will try and go over the toy. This usually results in Roomba shutting down until you restart it. Leaving it on schedule means I need to shapely up before it goes off. Its unprejudiced easier for me to plot it off manually when I want it to smart.
4. Noise - While quiter than a vaccum, Roomba can smooth be rather loud. Unless your house is very titanic, ask the noise to beget a bothersome sound if you are watching TV on the same floor or if you are trying to sleep. You will hear it.
5. Auto Docking - Can't seem to figure this one out. Half the time Roomba docks itself with no scrape. The other half it wanders around aimlessly with the docking light blinking unprejudiced a few feet from the site yet it completely ignores it. I've cleaned the sensors and it mild does it. I guess it unprejudiced has a mind of its absorb sometimes.
6. One minor cleaning philosophize - Roomba will sometimes leave a vast dust ball on the edge of an space rug when it is transitioning from a hard wood floor to the rug. It appears that the dust ball is wrapped around the brushes at one point but gets pulled off by the edge of the rug when it takes that microscopic runt step up from the floor. If Roomba goes help over that spot, grand! dust ball gone. If not, your stuck with a dust ball that you have to bewitch up (again, for me not a immense deal but for those that don't want to fetch their hands dirty....)
None of these complaints or even the sum of them all give me enough reason to inquire my select. Since 95% of the dirt is removed including under furniture (which frankly, I never cleaned prior to Roomba!) these minor issues really don't amount to great in my idea. Yes, it can be rather disgusting to shipshape the brushes when they catch clogged and I need to effect definite all toys are off the floor but that all translates into a very super house! Keeps the wife glad!!
I'll check comments from time to time so if anyone has any additional questions, unprejudiced tumble them in and I will try and benefit.
********One More Update - May 20, 2008**************
Had to post this as it has been somewhat of a minor/major speak with my Roomba. The side brush that spins around has not been the best execute I've ever seen. I've mentioned that it has broken off before and Irobot sent me some free replacements. Well, this continues to be a plight.
It seems that the side brush likes to acquire caught on things like corners or furniture which then causes it to smash off or snap off an arm. I contacted Irobot about it again asking if they could send me some of those rubber bumbers one person mentioned in the comments part. The response was that they found the rubber bumber to have petite to no impact on the side brush so they are no longer using them.
They did send me 3 additional brushes at no charge (thank you very great) but this won't fix the obtain scrape of the brush itself. So I caution people here that are looking to seize this robot that do not want to fork over additional money for original brushes every coupole of months. I'm Ok with it because I fair reflect the brushes to be the cost of vacuum bags (and the free ones don't distress either!) but in this economy, some people might not have the money to capture these up when they need replacing.
I sitll like my Roomba because of the large job it does and the fact it covers areas I could never arrive. In fact, I now have a Scooba to wash my floors and esteem the job that does as well (although that has an entire other status of issues!!)
*****Update November 8, 2009*****
Oh boy! Changed my rating down to 3 stars. For the last few months, I noticed that Roomba was not picking up as noteworthy stuff as before. I changed brushes. cleaned it, took it apart and cleaned it but it serene wasn't picking up anything. All I was getting was balls of dust being left unhurried.
Went online to get some ideas and followed a few tricks and found that my brushes were not keen. Upon trying everything under the sun to salvage this working, the kill result is the the cleaning head module (CHD) has died. Large news, however, is that Irobot sells these for $49.99!!! Yay, I gather to expend even more money to preserve Roomba running. I am beginning to beget that the 560 model I bought was the beta version since the side brush and now the entire CHD have been redesigned. Yes, you heard that apt, the CHD I decided to order is a redesign that apparently fixes the issues that the fresh one had.
Since I am in this for so remarkable money already, what's another $49.99? The recent cost was about $380 plus another $100 or so on replacement brushes plus this $50 brings my total to the cost of a high demolish Dyson vaccuum. Well, at least it does a enormous job when it is running.
While I worship Roomba when it is working, I am finding the the cost and worry required to preserve it running (the constant cleaning and taking it apart) might be too noteworthy for most people. I've read all the forums out there and the problems I have had are very accepted. And since Irobot keeps redesigning this allotment by section, I grasp they are aware of all the issues as well. Hopefully, by the time I am done putting all the novel pieces together, I will have a Roomba that will last for a long time before breaking down.
I understand that technology requires maintenance and repair but 2 years should not be considered the life cycle of a vaccuum. I guess gadgets of today are not made as well as they were "attend in the day" as my parents woudl say. I will update once I net my fresh CHD and let everyone know how it works.
We have two Roombas plus a Scooba in our house. When one of the batteries on one of our Roombas finally reached the demolish of its life cycle, we decided to donate that Roomba to a friend and to derive ourselves the recent top of the line - the Roomba 560. We got this factual when it first came out, but we waited several months before posting a review. It's sparkling mighty impossible to review one of these Roombas after only a few days! It takes weeks if not months to open to perceive how well they last over time, and what breaks down. Enjoy me - been there, done that.
So now it's many months later, and I have to say, we are quite overjoyed with the improvements of this Roomba over the previous generations of Roombas. So first, for those who don't even have ANY Roomba yet (hard to hold!) . Roombas are awesome. We have cats, and we work from home so we're home all day. It is Astonishing how powerful dirt and dust and junk collects in the carpet every single day. Who really has time to vacuum their carpets twice a day any more? With the Roomba, you area the scheduler to do it while you are asleep. You wake up in the morning, the carpets are super, the air is recent, and you empty out the dust bin. It is impartial fabulous.
Even those without pets might be amazed how noteworthy lint and such the Roomba will earn every morning for you.
I have a noise meter and have done several tests with the noise meter. The Roomba is mighty quieter than other regular vacuums. It is NOT soundless - it can't be! How could it vacuum up dirt and be quiet? But it is quieter than the alternatives, and heck, you're sleeping anyway. I can easily sleep through a Roomba running.
Now, on to the improvements of this current Roomba over previous models. First, it has a wintry feature where the run drops when it senses it is approaching a solid object. The feeble Roomba would fair accelerate paunchy tilt into an object - wall, couch etc. - and then turn around. This one slows down so that it hits the object gently. Determined the old-fashioned Roomba wouldn't dent the walls with its remarkable force, but mild, it's nice to have it be gentle on furniture and your building.
Next, for better or for worse, the unique Roomba is considerable more aware of when its bin and brushes are getting grungy. I admit I didn't shapely my other Roombas as often as I should have. And it led to problems. This current Roomba will actually close and warn you when it's getting stout and when the brushes should be cleaned. If you're a procrastinator like I am, this is a advantageous thing. If you're a natty freak that empties the bin every time, and cleans the brushes every time, then you probably won't even discover this feature.
The anti tangle technology is nice. The previous Roomba would launch to eat a cord and unbiased preserve going until it was really stuck. This Roomba at least tries to win itself untangled. Calm, I don't recommend leaving cords and strings and things lying around. You're objective asking for grief if you do.
The original system uses a "lighthouse" instead of unbiased a wall. With a lighthouse, you imprint out a room so the Roomba finishes with that room completely before going on to the next room. They are like portion markers. We tend to unprejudiced exhaust walls, but if you have two broad rooms the lighthouse feature might be really suited for you.
After several months of running we have had NO problems at all with our Roomba. No broken brushes, no falling off pieces, nothing. It is mild going strong and we are very elated with it.
Highly, highly recommended! I am contented to give personal advice and I even have videos of Roombas on my website. I admire Roombas, they have saved me countless hours of work, and they obtain my home a distinguished cleaner and easier-breathing situation to be.
Did you ever objective tumble in treasure . . . with a share of well-designed technology? I obvious fell for this one. How splendid to have something else buy care of one of my least accepted chores!
Why I care for this gizmo:
(1) Goes about cleaning the floors quietly (forget the noise of a broken-down vacuum cleaner) ;
(2) Does a better job than I ever could because it can gather under the beds fully to collect out all the corrupt microscopic dust bunnies, and it crawls along the baseboard to rob up the bits that conceal on the edges of the room;
(3) Cleans for a predetermined amount of time, and then puts itself to bed (while it recharges itself) ;
(4) Can be scheduled to rush whenever you choose; and,
(5) Does a vast job of picking up cat hair (my former vacuum did not) .
Problems?
Yes, but mostly they were unbiased getting old-fashioned to its operation. I had to learn to occupy up throw rugs and distinct the status of cords. I had to learn the robot's eccentricities and thought for them.
I also discovered that a cat landing on the Roomba in the middle of the night would inaugurate it going - so we woke up to shipshape floors.
Worth it?
You bet!
Five stars, and a tall thanks!
UPDATE: October 4, 2007
My Roomba produced an error message that I was unable to certain. So I called (not emailed, but called) the assist center. The Roomba needed to be reset, and, with the benefit of the assist person, I accomplished this and we're relieve in action.
The abet was gracious, so if you have a plight, fair give them a call. If your call is like mine, you'll glean them highly responsive and enthusiastic to serve solve your predicament.
UPDATE: November 30, 2007
About four weeks after my initial review, the side brush fell off. The portion that holds the brush screw was broken.
I called the company who said they'd send out another fragment in five days or so. That was followed by an email that said a month. Now it is six weeks later . . . smooth no replacement fragment.
While the vacuum unruffled works, the baseboard cleaning is absent without the side brush. And I am in the murky as to when I will receive a replacement. This would cause me to gash the number of stars I give the Roomba 560, if Amazon would allow me to do so.
I tranquil mediate this is a beneficial product. It peaceful does an adequate job of cleaning up cat hair and other debris. But, I contemplate the imprint is too high given the quality of that brush.
In my book, iRobot has some 'splaining, and apologizing, to do.
UPDATE: Augst 1, 2008
Now my roomba has developed deplorable screaming noises that might be coming from the wheels, but who knows. And I now have the replacement gizmo for the side brush (after 9 months) .
I am sorry that I cannot adjust the stars on this review. If I could I would now rate this product one star (can't give zero) . I strongly recommend not buying a Roomba!
