iRobot 330 Scooba Floor-Washing Robot
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot 330 Scooba Floor-Washing Robot
Customer Review: A good idea, but wears out quickly
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought a Scooba a little more than a year ago at Target. It seemed to be the answer to all my mopping problems -- and it was in the apartment I lived in (500 sq ft of 80-year-old floors that hadn't been very well cleaned over the years). I got my floors clean enough that I was comfortable with my kids playing on them (and their clothes weren't always black from the floor). That was the first 3 months of ownership. Then, we got a better apartment with a newer floor (only 5 years old and had been cleaned regularly in that time period). My Scooba worked fine for another 9 months. One week after the 1-year warranty expired, I went to use my Scooba and the fan was stuck. I took the robot apart, unjammed the fan (taking about an hour), then it worked fine. I went out of town the next week and my husband tried to run the robot -- fan jammed again. This time, we couldn't ever get it unjammed enough to actually run. It would try to run for a few minutes, then the "service" light would come on. After trying for another half hour (but not taking the thing apart because I didn't have the time to spend an hour+ to fix it), I gave up and bought a mop. In a half hour, I'd gone to the store, bought a mop, come home and mopped my kitchen floor (including the edges and corners that the Scooba doesn't reach).
Bottom line: There's a 1-year warranty for a reason. If you fork out the money, just expect it to be a 1-year investment -- and that's running it several times a week for the first 3 months, then once a week or every other week for the last 9 months. You won't get much more out of it.
Customer Review: A good product with just a few disadvantages
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had the Scooba for about two years now and I gained some good solid experience with it.
The good points:
It does a really good job cleaning, even better than the Roomba.
It can clean a medium sized room with no problem.
It's maintenance is relatively simple.
The bad points:
The Scooba I got only works for 25 - 30 minutes and then the battery dies. I contacted iRobot and they told me they won't send me a replacement battery, even though the scooba is advertized to work for 45 minutes.
The Scooba stopped putting down water and I got next to no support from iRobot. I had to search around in forums till I found out how to repair it.
I've received only one lighthouse with the Scooba, though I really need two.
I makes a horrendous amount of noise. We can't be in the apartment while it cleans.
Bottom line: The contraption works. Really works. It does a good job cleaning. However, there customer support is awful and you need some minimal tech expertise to handle problems. I finally lost my patience with the device and now it mostly sits in its corner and I only whip it out on special occasions.
If you got the patience or really hate cleaning Scooba is for you. If not, stay away from it.
Customer Review: A great new robot
Summary: 5 Stars
My wife and I decided to name our little robot Lupe after the Seinfeld chambermaid. We bought the Scooba 330 because we live in Brazil where there's lots of dust due to open windows, and our apartment is all tile (i.e. we end up cleaning it about every other day). I did quite a bit of research before purchasing the 330 and debated between getting the higher model. However, due to cost we stayed with the 330. I come from a family where you swept a floor and then got on hands and knees to wash it. Now, I have not yet tried this in our apartment in Brazil, but I did give it a run in the States and was pleasantly surprised with the job that the Scooba did. If you're expecting it to be the same quality as handwashing, then you're in for a bit of a disappointment. However, it does a very good job.
We put the 330 to the test in a kitchen with a peninsula and an area rug under the table. There wasn't much room for Lupe to move, so I wasn't sure if she'd get the entire floor. To my surprise, she covered everything! Obviously, she's a circular robot, so she couldn't get into the corners completely, but she did a very good job. Her rubberized front gentle hits cupboards, walls, tables, chairs, etc. without damage to the furniture. It's truly amazing to watch.
I ran tests in two rooms. In one room I used a mix of water and vinegar, and in the other I used one of the sample solution packets that came with Lupe. Honestly, the vinegar smelled a little foul, but the odor dissipated fairly quickly after she was run. The other solution had an iodine smell, and I'm not sure that it did any better cleaning than the vinegar. For our purposes, I will use vinegar because it's WAY cheaper and does not void the warranty.
Make sure you read the instructions carefully because I didn't. I we plugged Lupe in to charge, and when she was raring to go, we set her aside for a few days unplugged. This was a BAD idea because her battery drained. We had to recharge her before we could use her. But on a full charge, we got two full cleanings. I almost tried a third, but we didn't have anything else that needed to be cleaned. The manual says that the 330 needs to remain plugged in when not in use or have the battery removed. I took the battery out so as not to waste electricity.
Following the cleaning, everything was pretty simple. I rinsed the robot out, cleaned out the filters and screens, and all was good. She sure picked up a lot of junk off of the floor!
Final Analysis:
This is a great little robot! Don't expect the 330 to do a deep cleaning on your floor, but expect a good job. It vacuums first and then leaves the floor pretty spotless. I have not had the robot long enough to say how the battery holds up over time, but I will post updates on that in the future.
Customer Review: A great product - and a big help for the elderly
Summary: 5 Stars
We have both the Roomba and Scooba and are very pleased with both. Each has its limitations, but what doesn't?
I purchased the Roomba over a year ago for an elderly friend who has back problems. We didn't expect it to equal more powerful vacuums, and it doesn't; but it does do a much better job than we anticipated. Since it is easy to use, he runs it more often that he could vacuum, so the net result is good. A couple of caveats: the small bagless bin and filter do need to be cleaned often (which is not hard) and, although it will pick up pet hair, hair tends to jam the rollers. (If you get a red status light that is not explained in the manual, look for hair wrapped around the ends of the two rollers -- voice of experience!)
I expected the Scooba to leave dirty water on the floor, but it cleaned beautifully because of the separate tanks for clean and dirty water--which is more than my mop offers. You don't necessarily have to sweep before using it if the particles on the floor are not too large; it is designed to pick those up. It cleans quite closely along straight edges, but of course, being round, it doesn't do corners. I do recommend the special cleaner; it does an excellent job and is concentrated. Be sure to empty and rinse the tanks after use; we failed once and ended up with slime in the tank - more voice of experience!
These products work best on uncluttered floors, but they have been amusingly clever while navigating tighter spaces.
Both products make a useful contribution to housekeeping tasks. They are a godsend to people dealing with time restraints or physical limitations.
Customer Review: A life changer
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought a scooba and a roomba for my recently widowed older mother. This has dramatically improved the quality of our lives. She lives in a large house with 4 cats and 2 dogs. It would take her hours to vacuum and mop the floors. Now the Roomba is set to vacuum every morning. It returns itself to the charger. She uses the scooba on the weekends. The scooba works best if you divide your house up by rooms. She has an open floor plan and will divide the house up into areas. The scooba runs for about 45 minutes on a tank. This will do a very large room. It is best to start it and walk away. The water left behind is minimal at most. I find that it does well in 90 degree corners, but can struggle with curved walls. Is it as good as you on your hands and knees, no! But you can use this daily and it is better than you! Vinegar works great!