iRobot 560 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, Black and Silver
by iRobot
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List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $210.00 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of iRobot 560 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, Black and Silver
Customer Review: Very Unreliable
Summary: 2 Stars
I have owned 3 roomba's since their inception, through the latest and greatest model, the 560, and a scuba. When they're new, they're amazing, but after about 1 year of use, they all died. It doesnt matter how well I clean them. I decided to sit down and write this review after my latest 560 now runs around making this horrible clanking noise, and then dies after 3 minutes with the chime telling me to clean the brushes. Their tech support is pretty useless as well. I wouldn't mid replacing them every year except that they're so damn expensive. I have 2 cats and a bird, I bought my latest model since it was the heavy duty pet version. Like I said earlier, worked great when it was new, but after one year, they just break down.
Save your money, hire a maid, its cheaper in the long run, I'm already over $1000 into IRobot products.
Customer Review: Does not come with advertised accessories
Summary: 3 Stars
We purchased the 560 through Amazon.com. We have been very pleased with it but during recent outings we have noticed the 560's selling at retail stores include accessories ours did not have. I decided to look up my previous orders and found the Roomba we purchased in December. I read the description on this page and it states that it comes with:
1. Two Virtual Wall Lighthouses
2. Three Replacement Filters
3. Four C Batteries
Our Roomba 560 did not included the two lighthouses. It only had two virtual walls. There was only one extra filter. We had to provide our own batteries. The lighthouses are the only thing I have a real issue with. Individually the lighthouse sells for $39.99. We purchased an item that should have come with over $80.00 in accessories we did no receive.
If this review were for the roomba 560 alone I would still give it 3 stars. It constantly gets stuck. We have dark walnut hardwood floors. Apparently the roomba's cliff sensors do not work well on dark floors. This is something that was not stated on their website. We had to yell at our roomba and "post" questions on irobots site before they informed us of the cliff sensor and dark flooring issue.
Customer Review: A Real Back Saver!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was reluctant to buy one of these, because it seemed lazy to me, and I had doubts about it's effectiveness. A bad back and 3 dogs caused me to take a chance and try it. I am amazed at how well this cleans! It seems to clean better than my central vac does, because after vacuuming with my regular vac, I used the Roomba 560 on the carpet and couldn't believe how much dirt and dog hair it picked up! I've read reviews about the side brushes breaking but I have not had a problem with it after using it almost daily for several weeks. My dogs were not bothered by it at all even if it bumped into them. It will not fall off a step, and it finds it's way home to recharge. I can do 3 rooms on 1 charge, while I do other things, or while I am at work! Time saver, back saver. LOVE IT!! Customer Review: Not worth it
Summary: 1 Stars
After reading a bunch of excellent reviews here, I went ahead and bought one. I am very disappointed with my purchase. I have hardwood floor throughout the house, with a couple of area rugs. Before Roomba, I used to use a soft broom and on the area rugs a regular vacuum cleaner. I expected that level of cleanliness with the Roomba. Here are the problems I see:
a) The suction doesn't seem to be strong enough. The area rugs just don't come out clean. Even on hardwood floors, it doesn't come out as clean as when you use a broom/mop/swiffer.
b) Roomba's moving path is an enigma to me. Whereas normally when I clean I go in overlapping straight lines - forward and backward ensuring that systematically the entire area is covered, Roomba seems to move about as randomly as my toddler. As a result - for a room that is about 20ft X30 ft, after running it for over 1 hour, there are still big areas that are not covered.
Of course, my side brush broke within the first week, and the way it works with steps - even as small as the 6 inch "step" into the fireplace - it just gets stuck.
Overall, I am pretty disappointed with my purchase, and I have recommended to all my friends to not buy Roomba.
Customer Review: So much better than I expected
Summary: 5 Stars
As much as I hesitate to give anything 5 stars, this Roomba has certainly earned it, I have to say. I got an amazing deal on this via Amazon when they had them on lightning specials right before Christmas (I just got lucky and was looking at the right time, they all sold out within a few minutes). So my perspective is perhaps a little more forgiving than some here who paid $150 more than I did for the same thing.
So, right off, if you love or even like or are impressed by technology, this little robot will probably put a smile on your face more than once as you watch him go about his business. Probably make you shake your head in amazement more than a few times. I sure would not have wanted to be an early adopter for this line, but as this is the...what 5th gen Roomba (?), it seems they have perfected it and accounted for almost any...obstacle that could be encountered. Everything just works, and the first time I watched the little guy wheel around my kitchen, I kept starting after him, first, when I expected him to fall down the stairs, and then a few times when I expected him to get tangled up in stuff (lightweight rugs, christmas tree skirts), and each time my anxiety was put to rest as he VERY competently handled every situation not only without damage, but while doing his job of cleaning! Amazing. I think you just have to see this thing to really appreciate the tech at work here.
So aside from the admittedly massive novelty factor...most importantly, does it actually CLEAN? Yes, yes it does. MUCH better in fact than I expected. You MUST clean it out after every use though. I have heard of people that don't clean the hair around the wheels and probably burned the motor out.
PROS:
1. By far the best thing about this is its agility...it can get to places I can't with my Miele, and switches to carpet/rug mode on the fly, another thing I can't do when I manually vacuum.
2. Cleans REALLY well considering the size. I was so shocked at how well this cleaned, I can't even tell you. I was expecting "stick vac" level cleaning, but noooo.
3. Not just for cleaning while you are gone...sometimes I will be putting up dishes or making breakfast, and let him do his thing at the same time...makes me feel like there are two people working in the kitchen at the same time! Awesome awesome awesome.
4. &^%@#$%^ing cool. That is all.
CONS:
1. So cool to watch, your productivity might go down. One time I suddenly realized I was WATCHING something vacuum my floors. WTH?! GO DO SOMETHING HUMAN! :)
2. Depending on how dirty your floors are, will probably require cleaning/emptying after EVERY session.
3. Lighthouse function not exactly easy to understand (but the forum on iRobot's site has a huge post on it that explains it well: [...]
4. Cost, if you paid full price (or even close to MSRP.
Because of the way my house is laid out (split level), I was not sure this thing would work, but what I do is use him downstairs where we have the most SQ FT in one level...the two floors above, including my kitchen and main bedrooms, are probably a little too small and crowded for most effective use (although it certainly works, and I have tried it in both floors above).
If your house is relatively cluttered, it may not be a great idea to get one of these. Again, I think they do better when given more open space to deal with (certainly a lot faster, but that would be true with a non robot vacuum as well) :)
Easily 5 stars, and highly recommended to techies and non techies alike.