iRobot Roomba 530 Robotic Vacuum

If your budget can extend to the price, then this vacuum is really worth it. Somewhere in the region of 80% of owners name their Roomba. We vowed never to name a vacuum cleaner. So far we have used Robbie twice and he does an excellent job.

He is not as noisy as we expected. He goes for about 2hours on 1 charge, then when he gets 'tired' he heads back to his base unit and charges himself up again.

Unfortunately, he has a nasty habit of getting stuck under our sofa. The sofa is about 2mm higher than his nose, so he fits under, but when he tried to reverse out again, the action of changing direction lifts his nose slightly and he gets stuck! No problems otherwise.

As with normal vacuums, you have to move toys and small things out of the way, but anything more than 1-2cm tall and Robbie just bounces off, or shunts the toy out of the way.

We would recommend this vacuum to anyone who doesn’t like hoovering, who can’t be bothered hoovering, who doesn’t have time for hoovering or would just like a break from hoovering! If you use Robbie regularly, he keeps general dust levels down too, so reduces the need for dusting and helps anyone with allergies!

Great little device. There are cheaper versions out there which we can’t comment on, but Robbie is worth the money.

Can't comment on support outside the USA, but I don't think it is great. Our previous Robbie (a Discovery 4220) went into rehab (failed brain!) a few months ago and has not checked out yet. The only help I could find was online and USA based. In the end we have just got ourselves a new one.

I've had "Jeeves" for about a month now and it's been a busy little thing (two cats and 1 child = messy floors).

It handles carpet and hard floors with rugs very well. Does excellent cleaning and can manage our front room (10m x 5m) on a single charge. It's real plus point is that it cleans under the chairs, sofas and beds that no one can be bothered to move when vacuuming and also drags out any rogue toys that my little un has been missing!

Once it's done a few runs in a room it needs less maintenance (as it does a more thorough job than I do) but you will have to spend about few minutes cleaning the brushes and bearings after it has done its job. This is a small price to pay when you can set it off before you go out and come back to a nice clean floor. It's not so noisy so it can also be left to clean a downstairs room when going to bed.

One minor grumble is that the side cleaning brushes break off quite easily and I am already using the spare set that came with the unit, I can't say how much these are to replace as I have not yet found a price for these.

To sum up, you pick up all the stuff from your floor, press the clean button and walk away. Great..

What a wonderful machine! No more mindless hours pushing a vacuum cleaner around the house. Just press the 'Go' button, and this little beauty does it all with no further interaction. It is difficult to find the appropriate words. I have been freed from drudgery, liberated from a repetitive and thankless task, given back time that would otherwise be spent wearing myself out.
If you love your wife, buy her one of these.
If you live alone, buy one for yourself.
Either way, you will be a winner.

I'm not goign to say too much here but this little unit is brilliant! Wehave a Dyson animaland even after we have used that it still picks upan amazing amount of dirt and dust.
We leave the unit to wander round and away he goes and after about 2 hours he's done and finds his way home to dock and charges itself.
Battery life is about 2.5-3 hours, never falls down stairs and has no problems going on thick carpet and wooden floors and can go from one to other without getting stuck.
The added advantage of this unit other cheaper ones is that it cn be easily cleaned, battery life, availabilty of spares and its size. Since it is so short, it can fit under our beds, display cabinet, kitchen units, places where most hoover can't get.
In summary this unit is a must. It's our lates family memeber and does a top job without the moaning and pocket money hassle.

My Wife loves this vacuum. She sets it off in a room and it cleans everywhere while she gets on with other jobs. It can be charged overnight and seems to "fluff up" the carpet so that it is nicer to walk on.

I really like this vacuum cleaner a lot. It is easy to operate and when I first got it I sat on the sofa and watched it for 30 minutes as it carefully cleaner my living room. It was able to negotiate the rugs without getting tangled in the tassles and generally did a good job. It also speaks to you when the brushes need cleaning or it needs emptying. Great - I am going to enjoy this.

best buy i every bought so far shame it doesnt wash the floor too. just switch it on and leave it to get on with its job while you do something else its very thourugh and gets in the corners definetly reccomended

This is an efficient cleaner which is apparent when you empty the dirt box. You switch it on and leave it to do its business. It is not particularly noisy but you can hear it in an adjacent room when it is running. I use it only on hard floors so it may be quieter on carpet. This is a basic model and a wish I had opted for the more advanced version which will clean at a pre-programmed time. This one just keeps going (over and over) until it runs out of battery power. I think it is supposed to then return to its docking station for recharging (but the instructions don’t say anything about that), but I use it in different rooms so it wouldn’t be able to find the docking station to return to, even if it did that function.

VERY PLEASE WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE,DELIVERY AND PACKING,VERY FREINDLY I THEN WENT ONTO BUY THE SAME ITEM AGAIN FOR A GIFT,AND WILL BUY AGAIN,TOP MARKS GIVEN

SPOT ON COMPANY XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

i have had one before and they are grat for when you are in a hurry, I still use my conventional hoover 3 times a week but use this in between. I decided on this particular one and paid more as it had the extra warrantee with it.

not a dyson but very novel, worth the money? maybe not... but if you like gadgets then get one.. could do with a bit more suction and a bit more dust storage space, the edge cleaning brush seems to break to easy aswell

Fab little gadget, gets under the furniture and copes with rugs well. Little small dust collecter but otherwise would recommend - and you don't have to leave a light on for it !!( Its tempting though !!)

Fantastic and affordable robotic vacuum cleaner.I was going to get a dyson,but choose this one.It is meticulous in cleaning and do not complaint about the hard work.

Heard someone on the radio talking about this little guy and I thought to myself that's exactly what I have been looking for. I am a single Dad with three girls from 7 down and "Hoovey" has made my life a not an inconsiderable bit easier in terms of housework. There is great pleasure to be had leaving the house knowing that when you come back the schedular will have kicked in and voila as if by magic a clean house, buy one, buy one for your wife or girlfriend or your granny or Mam, they will love you for it.

Was worried about the price what if it didnt work. Well I can safely say that this is the best gadget I have ever bought with four small children, four cats and a husband(yes in that order)it does an amazing job of picking up crumbs pet hair and small toys. Now if only there was another gadget that did everything else my life would be complete.

Only had about a month, but so far it is excellent at getting the carpet cleaner than the average vacuum. I brought this for a disabled parent. It is ideal for someone in a similar situation. Didnt need the 'Lighthouse' gadget so this model was more than adequate.

This was an early Christmas pressy to ourselves. We also bought one for the "outlaws", (theirs has been named "Robbi"). We own a dog and they are owned by one very very long haired cat, so lots of pet hair to contend with.

It manages carpet and hard floors equally well. We live in a bungalow. and the other half gets up in the middle of the night to go to work. I press the clean button and off it goes, cleaning the hallway, lounge, bathroom and kitchen. I use the light beam to stop it entering the bedroom, therefore, it does not wake or disturb either the dog nor myself, even with the bedroom door left open. Cleans under any furniture raised off the floor by about 4", every time, which is more than can be said about most of us who use a conventional cleaner.

After it has throughly cleaned the home initially, it requires minimal maintenance, apart from cleaning the brushes and emptying the dustbox after each use. This is a small price to pay, to be able to get up every morning to a nice clean home. It appears to clean in a very random way but ignore it and it will make it's way around the room doing a very good job. When the dog is out I can then set it to work in the bedroom, including cleaning under the bed, every time. When the job is complete it then takes itself back to its base charging unit and charges itself up again automatically, until the next time you need to use it. If it finds a particularly dirty spot on either carpet or wooden floor, it concentrates on that area before continuing with the rest of the room. If you have a dry spillage, you can pick it up, place it on the mess. Press "spot" and it will clean a metre round area.

The only tiny critism I would have is that the side cleaning brushes have a tendancy to break off relatively easily, but we have found someone on Ebay who not only sells sets of the 3 side brushes but also other spares at fairly reasonable costs. These include maintenance kits, filters, replacement brush sets as well as just the side brushes.

To conclude, would I trade it in? Not on your life - to be able to pick up a few odd things from the floor, press a button, then walk away. Brilliant........ If I lived in a house or in multi storey property, then I would purchase one for each floor. You can purchase two Roomba's for the price of a leading brand vacuum cleaner (and you don't have follow it around the home)!!!

I like the look and compactness of iRobot. It does everything claimed. I am very pleased with the performance especially the way it cleanes the edges of fitted carpets.

I bought this on behalf of my neighbour. She is elderly & so finds vacuuming difficult. She had seen my model & heard me singing its' praises, so asked me to get one for her. It is very entertaining & it's also effecient. It works its' way around the rooms, leaving us time to do other things. It manages to communicate its needs to us, by a series of tunes & words. e.g. if its brushes need cleaning or it becomes stuck. The sound it makes is much more pleasant than a conventional vacuum cleaner, less noisy as well.

hi i'm very happy with this hoover and is working very good in the house very pleased and i will recomend to everybody and next thing what i want to do is to buy an nother iRobot Roomba but diferit model this time because i heard the other model is a little clever then this one and this one what i have at the moment i will give it to my family because verry pleased with this robot i think is the best invention in this domain.
Thanks

I can't believe i actually used to push a hoover around the house. The iRobot is slow but extremely effective and seeing as i can program it to work whilst i am out there is zero stress and very clean floors. It takes a couple of charges to get around a larger house, but it is so easy to just switch it on and forget about it. It is also very easy to clean the filter and collection chamber, so great for those of us that are non-technical. Great on hard floors and, surprisingly, it is actually great on carpets too (which i did not expect!) Beats a Dyson any day!!!

If you enjoy hoovering (is there anyone out there who does?) or if you want your hoovering done quickly, then this product is not for you.
However if you dislike hoovering and want to go out or get on with something else whilst the roomba does your hoovering for you then you should get this excellent product. It picks up really well, it does get itself out of "rug fringes entanglements" (most of the time and it does make its way back to the docking station so it can recharge.
I love mine.

This is a wonderful device and our 3-bed semi has never looked so clean.

Once charged up and ready to go the Roomba sits patiently in its docking station waiting to be called on to work.

Set it going and it becomes intensely frustrating to watch. Why? Because you can see the dirt laying on the floor...may even have put it there in order to watch it get picked up...but Roomba cannot and has to come across the dirt by chance. The temptation to stop it and put it in position is so overwhelming that you simply must get used to the fact that it is best if you do not watch it at all and go out. When you return the little chap will be back on his docking station refueling or lying about somewhere complaining about a full tum.

He holds a surprising amount of dust and rubbish, in fact, for so small a chap, and is very thorough in his own rather eratic fashion.

He has a female voice, however, so perhaps we should call it Georgina!

I mainly decided to buy the machine to terrorise the cat and dog, but they are both intensely bored by it now. Me? I still can't keep my eyes off it...