iRobot 560 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, Black and Silver
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of iRobot 560 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, Black and Silver
Customer Review: "Rosie the Robot Maid" from The Jetsons, eat your heart out!
Summary: 4 Stars
I researched robotic vacuums on one of the consumer review sites, and learned that the most highly-thought-of models were the Roomba 510 and its upgraded cousins, the 530 and 560. We decided to purchase our Roomba at Best Buy, because of an 18-month no-interest financing promotion (the Roomba by itself wasn't quite enough to qualify, but the additional unrelated stuff we planned to purchase on the same visit easily bumped the total purchase amount up high enough). Most Best Buys apparently have either the Roomba 530 or 560 in-store, but not both (although both are available via their website); the Best Buy we shopped at had the 560, so that's what we brought home.
Everything one needs to get started is all in one light-to carry box, including a spare filter, a brush-cleaning tool, a recharger "Home Base," and 2 "Lighthouse/Virtual Wall" gadgets -- except for batteries for the "Virtual Walls" (we sent one of the kids to the supermarket on the next block to buy some -- on New Year's Day, yet!). We found an unobstructed outlet near the floor in one of the rooms we wanted to vacuum, plugged in the "Home Base," and plugged the Roomba into it for its initial charge (after listening to its little self-contained audio demo). You're supposed to leave it recharging overnight the first time; however, our Roomba indicated that it was ready to use after just a couple of hours.
We tried it in our kitchen and dining room (AKA "main computer area") for our maiden robo-vacuuming experiment. We did take the precaution of lifting everything loose off the floor, except the Ethernet cable for the computers; since this first time was so interesting to watch, it was no trouble to have someone lift the cable out of the way, and it was pretty good about "escaping" when it did get on top of that cord. (In future, though, I'd want to keep the cord secured above the Roomba, or use a "virtual wall" to keep it away from the Ethernet cable.) Our floor had a lotof dust and pet hair on it, so we had to empty the dust compartment and clean the brushes halfway through. We also used a "virtual wall" at the doorway between the dining room and living room, and another one at the kneehole opening of one of the computer desks; both of those gadgets worked beautifully.
All the humans in our family were quite impressed with the Roomba's performance. (Our dog is a bit frightened of it, though; perhaps she thinks we've got a strange new "robopet" in the house?) With regular use (which should be eminently doable, since this is much easier to use than a traditional vacuum cleaner), the floor should stay clean enough that the mid-job cleaning breaks will no longer be needed. Now, if only the Roomba could do stairs, too!
Customer Review: 2 Week Impression
Summary: 4 Stars
Our choice was narrowed down to Roomba due to sturdiness, inclusion of an edge cleaning brush, and the general consensus from all the great reviews here (thanks for taking the time). The price was right (reduced to $320 for this model since they came out with newer models). In addition, and after the first 2 weeks of use, I have these first impressions:
Overall I am highly impressed. The Roomba works well as a maintenance system. It has a small holding chamber but I still wonder where it finds all the dust and dog hair on what seemed to be a clean hardwood/tile floor. It cuts dramatically on the number of Swifters we need. Since it can get under a lot of furniture, the floor stays cleaner than if we did not have the Roomba.
The bin is emptied several times during each run. This keeps the vacuum and sweep modes running efficiently. I have an open floor plan which it treats as one large room with many obstacles. It is true that it can leave a trail of hair - especially along the edges of throw rugs, and cleaning it out during the run helps. At the end of the run the Roomba is completely cleaned - wheels, rollers, bearings, etc.
I run it once per day and still babysit it to make sure it doesn't drag wires. We once left it alone upstairs and after hearing a crash I found it was dragging my wifes curling iron around - it had picked up the cord which was hanging over the counter. Also, it has gotten stuck a few times - in its attempt at escape, the wheels skid on the floor.
The soft rubber compound of the wheels can leave a very thin mar on the hardwood. This sort of ruins the polished look of the hardwood, but the marks are easily removable. Even walking over it with socks does it.
I think it is somewhat irresponsible for the manufacture not to put a soft bumper on the front. After the first week, the front of the Roomba had so many horizontal scratches that I was surprised it could even see out of its infrared window. To think that this would be the way my furniture would eventually end up - especially at the sharper corners! Fortunately, I had Nova plastic polish to eliminate most of the scratches. I then put a long piece of felt strip on it that I had laying around (the type that goes under furniture). Please make sure you put it under the infrared window and not on it. I had no trouble with docking it and it ran as before. The felt helps dramatically. They also sell a "silk-like" version (search Amazon "robot vacuum bumper") that is probably softer, but not as thick as the felt. A drawback of the felt is that it too picks up hair and should be wiped after each run.
That's it - hope this helps you!
Customer Review: 2nd Roomba- love it, but is it built to last???
Summary: 3 Stars
This is my 2nd Roomba, my first one died months after the 1 year warranty expired. And while I love my new one, I'll be getting nervous when my 560 reaches its 1st birthday. Lots of moving parts here and these wonderful little machines do break down. I always took great care of my Roomba and cleaned the brushes after each use, and will continue doing so with my new one. IRobot also does not offer extended warranties with their products- I think they know reliability is questionable too.
Customer Review: 530 side brushes
Summary: 4 Stars
The side brushes were the only problem I have had with my Zoomba. I reordered new brushes and these are much more sturdy then the original ones. My little Zoomba fills up fast. Wow! What a dirty house I have! I guess I never realized it.
Every week my little Zoomba comes up with a great deal of dirt......Nice feeling to know the house is cleaner!! Gets into all those places one tends to skip.
Just a few little things the manufacture has to improve, otherwise, I love it. I am looking forward to getting the Scooba to clean my tile floors.
Hope this helps,
Customer Review: 560 Roomba
Summary: 4 Stars
Good product with an amazing ability to navigate around and under obstacles. Excellent cleaning for dust and light debris such as table crumbs. Very adequate battery life though cleaning a large room takes some time.