We got our Roomba a few months ago and now like to joke that it's the newest member of our family. Its done a great job keeping our house clean and entertaining us (super fun to watch it scooting around). Although we purchased this item used, if anything ever happens to it I would gladly splurge to buy a new one as it is amazing. Maneuverability It gets around our apartment pretty good only occasionally getting stuck under our couch which has a low part in one area. Ease of Maintenance There is more maintenance required than I originally thought there would be. His bin (yes, somehow my fiance and myself decided the roomba is a 'he') needs to be emptied after each use. I also have very long hair and seem to shed. After the roomba vacuums we occasionally have to pull/unwind hair off the roller. I don't think it would be as much of a problem if my hair wasn't as long as it is. Suction Performance We've been very impressed with the suction. Every time we send him out to clean he comes back with a full bin. We thought that it would get less and less but still seems to be coming back full regardless of how clean the floor appeared at first look. Our carpets actually look better now than they have since we moved into our apartment (8+ years ago). Versatility The roomba does excellent on our carpets, linoleum and wood flooring. Very versatile but I would say that I think he performs the best on carpet, digging deep to pull out very old dust/etc. Design I love the design. The little arm on the front gets underneath baseboard heaters and in the corners that I thought might get missed due to his round shape. I also love the sensors he has that prevent him from falling down the stairs (will go right up to them, detect that there's nothing underneath the front of him, and then go backwards away from the danger). Durability Haven't noticed any problems with durability and we've been using him a lot. We did purchase this used though and the battery didn't have that much life left so we had to get a replacement battery (holding up great). I'm not sure how long the previous owner had the old battery so I'm not sure how well it lasted.

hanniecakes

USA

Have had my Roomba 500 for 4 years. I cannot imagine being without it. Maneuverability Gets into corners, under sofas and chairs and won't quit until there is nothing left to clean. Ease of Maintenance Simple to clean and the best part is that the Roomba tells me when it needs cleaning. Empty the dust bin, remove and clean the rollers and brushes - takes only a few minutes. Suction Performance It has great suction. Picks up small wood chips from my wood carving husband's shoes. Versatility Great on hard surfaces and carpet. Design Round, low to the floor with rotating "broom" to catch corners. Seems to have its own "brain." Durability I have never had any problems with my Roomba. I have replaced the battery one time.

seventy-fiver

USA

I have found through my brief ownership of this that overall it does what it has been promoted to do. But, also it has the same problem any other machine that needs a charge that it does not last as long as manufactures promote. Does a great job even with several animals in the house but can become tired fast with numerous dust bunnies to contend with. Maneuverability Beautiful. Can't ask for more, it does exactly what they say it will do. Gets under funiture well and does a thorough job once it starts. When you set its limits with the sensors, even if its a small area it does a fantastic job. Maneuvers around objects with great ease and very seldom did it get caught up in anything. Though bedspreads were a hassle.Need to keep these up and out of the way. If the flooring changes it did fine except for rooms that had a high divider. Ease of Maintenance If you want a whole house cleaning while you do other chores, make sure you clean the tray frequently or you may run into issues later on with a run down battery. Don't expect to see perfection if the trap for dirt is full it will drag and leave behind before stopping. Give it a small area to clean if you go out and definitely don't start before you go with animals in the house unless they are confined, as through experience, they will play when you are away! Suction Performance Almost perfect! For the most part it does a great job, if your house is clean to begin with. Mine was not and I got my roomba slightly used, so I'd say it did a fair job. Does a noticable job when floors are medium dirty, with heavy dirt it will take two to three times the cleaning time. Once the house is to your satisfaction for cleanliness, it will do a great job keeping it that way. Versatility Actually there doesn't seem to be much versatility here when you first think about it, but, it does have one thing going for it here in this department. One, different types of floors - it just shrugs that off no problem, carpet, hardwood, laminate, stone it does theme all. As far as wet cleaning don't think about it with this or even getting the cobwebs from the ceilings or the drapes or window sills, you get the idea, it is definitely a floor model only. Design Love the design but if your not aware it is on you can trip over it easily. The compactness of it is simple and pleasing but its functionality is limited. First time I saw the roomba I thought holy cow, we are now officially the Jetsons! When you find the right place for the docking station be sure that area gets and stays clean or the roomba won't come out of its corner. Durability Even though mine was less than a year old when I recieved it I was completely dissappointed in the battery life. I was lucky to have the use of it for the 6.3 months I did. After that I went looking for another brand new one and was flabbbergasted at the prices! Ouch! I haven't looked back to buying another probably due to the fact that I really want more for my money, hand vac, carpet, ceilings and possible outdoor use. This type of vac cannot do all the things I want, but for the apartment dweller this little technology woder is the perfect vaccum.

Gothel4

USA

I like this unit but it seems to need emptying quite often. I have long hair so it also gets stuck in the brushes and at the ends of the brushes. There is probably no way to avoid this. Overall I still prefer a Roomba to a traditional vac.

FLGator454

Melbourne, FL

For the price I expect it to work longer then a year. This is the second one we have had and they last until right after the warrenty expire and then will start only going in a circle. There is no cure for this problem, have to get a replacement that is no longer covered. We had one of the first generations made around 8 years ago and it worked for 5 years before needed replacing. We have had too since then and both quit around a year.

Bigonreviews

Columbia, MO

I am not sure how old this model of Roomba is, but the Roomba 535 is a great little vacuum.  It cleans automatically while you are off doing other things. Yeah, it might not do a real good job at cleaning really really deep into the carpet, but when you just want to spot clean the living room or something, this thing does an outstanding job!!  All you have to do is hit the "Clean" button on it and just leave it to do its thing.  The included "Virtual Wall" keeps it from going into any area that you don't want it to.  The "Virtual Wall" also serves as a "Lighthouse" in that it is supposed to send out signals throughout the room to tell the Roomba where all to go before it goes to another room. It takes quite a while to vacuum the entire floor, often hitting the same spot several times, but when it finally does the entire room, it looks great.  When the unit is done cleaning, it is smart enough to put itself back in the dock to recharge its internal batteries.  It does this by IR the same way it does the "Virtual Wall" and "Lighthouse" functions.  It truely is a great little vacuum.  It even does great on tile, linolieum, and hardwood floors!

steveken

Little Rock, AR

Who *doesn't* want a vacuum that runs all by itself? I can't think of anyone who would say no to such a thing! We found this great little Roomba on sale and had been thinking about getting one for quite a while. I was skeptical at first when I saw how small it was, ut it really is a wonder. It "sees" where the dirt is and concentrates on parts of the floor that has more debris than others. It goes from hardwood to linoleum to carpet with ease and doesn't scare my dog like the regular vacuum. Aside from not being able to get into tight corners, the Roomba does an excellent job sweeping dirt away from walls and sucking it up with it's feeler brushes. It can also get under the bed and furniture way more easily than I can with an attachment. It can't clean your upholstery or stairs, but those are pretty quick to do on your own. It might take Roomba 3 times as long as you to vacuum your whole house, but YOU don't have to do it. If you have people coming in a short time, probably best not to hope Roomba can get it done before they show up. The dirt chamber isn't huge, so you will have to empty it a few times if it is doing your entire house, but that's super easy. Use the lighthouse to create virtual walls contain Roomba to one room or just a portion of your house or keep it from falling down your stairs. I love it and it does a fantastic job. (Another plus: it runs pretty quiet, so you can have Roomba clean while you watch TV, too!) Now I want a Scooba!

srayle

Portland, OR

I waited a few years before finally purchasing an iRobot due to past concerns over battery life. There were just too many reviews indicating short battery life on model 400 series. I'm glad I waited because the iRobot 500 series seem to have much better battery life. I've had mine for a while, and the battery is still going strong despite almost daily use. With a few rescued dogs and a rescued cat in the house, the floor seems never get really clean no matter how many times it gets vacuumed. I have almost 10 different vacuum cleaners in different part of the house and the garage because I have a bad back and simply can't life the heavyduty ones around. In the old days, whichever vaccum cleaner I use, they seem to blow pet hairs around.  So when I vacuum with a vacuum cleaner, I had to go back a few times to catch those flying furballs or furs. With the iRobot, it still goes back and forth a few times, but thank goodness on its own. I no longer have to break my back lifting heavy vacuum, or circling the rooms catching flying furballs. It's all done automatically. What a life saver! I have only one complaint about the Roomba. Although it costs about the same as a mid-to-high price range vacuum cleaner, it does not last like one. The side brush arms all broke off within two months. It took iRobot 8 month to send me a replacement. The rollers stopped within 6 month. I was able to clean the chassis and get the roller going. One month after the warranty expired, the rollers stopped working again. And this time no amount of cleaning could bring it back. But it still does its job, it just leaves the furballs in piles which requires a quick second cleanup from a small hand vacuum. So I've been shopping for another Roomba. Overall, the Roomba is life saver. Can't imaging living without one now!

Bluebirdie-ca

Fremont, CA

I got this iRobot 2 years ago and it is still in great working condition.  There are a few reasons why I love it so much. When I first got it, my kids were the ones who loved playing with it.  They put their webkinz toys on top of the iRobot and let iRobot took their pets for a ride. It was just so fun to watch my kids having fun with a vaccum cleaner. This vaccum cleaner is amazing. It picks up all of my hair off my bathroom carpet without any problems. I have long hair and it is almost impossible for my upright vaccum to suck up all of my loss hair.  iRobot is best picking up hair. Another thing amazing about the iRobot is it can go under your bed. I have not had a vaccum that can do that.  This iRobot basically picked up all the dust that had been accumulated in my bedroom for 5 years.  It really helped with my allergy.  Another good feature about this iRobot is their sensor. I can place my sensor to stop the iRobot from going into another room that doesn't need vaccuming. It works 100% of the time. If you like to have a clean house and don't want to spend money on hiring a maid, please get an iRobot. It is awesome! 

moliuchick

Frisco, TX

I'm on my second version of this vacuum, both were purchased from an online deals site at a good price (the condition is refurbished).  Me and this vacuum have a sort of puppy love, it's a lot like a dog in wandering around and eating things. It does a great job cleaning up the floors, just set it to go and come back to cleaner floors.  You do need to be careful when using it to pick up shoes (it eats shoelaces), or make sure it won't pull out wires/plugs.  But even if you forget (I always do), it doesn't damage anything (or at least hasn't yet).  The bumpers are great for just navigating around and picking everything up.  The bag is relatively easy to clean, much easier than old vacuum bags which need to be replaced. The only downside, is the first one broke after two years, and by that time the warranty had expired and there's virtually nothing to do with it.  But it's still a nice enough investment that I'm on my second one. Did I mention how nice it is to come home and find everything cleaned up already?

lynal

Ann Arbor, MI