iRobot Roomba 530 Robotic Cleaner

Prior to my auction win I've never owned a Roomba, but I've had friends who had. They had Gen 1, 2 & 3 models and while they liked the concept they would often complain the Roombas brushes would get all tangled with hair which would reduce the unit's effectiveness greatly. Granted they did have 'shag' carpet and what one might consider an animal farm co-habitating their house. With those factors taken into account, I think they liked the Roomba idea more than its actual effectiveness. These earlier models did not live up to their expectations (which admitedly was probably too high for their environment).

Having set my Roomba expectations (cleaning ability) low, I learned that iRobot released their 5th Generation Roomba models recently. I thought I would buy one for my older parents' linolium kitchen area. After removing kitchen chairs I'm told the Roomba 530i does a BETTER job than ever done manually. They say it gets under areas that were previously neglected and sometimes cleans an area a few times for perfect coverage. They did mention that the unit banged around quite a bit during its first cleaning process (but did cover the entire floor area). Subsequent cleanings were much smoother they stated. The Roomba learned the room and instead of banging all over the place quickly made a perimeter drive against the walls to pickup stuff then concentrated on the inside area; a much more efficient & quiet process I'm told. Overall, they are VERY pleased with its capabilities-- and I'm told they're considering an iRobot Scooba based upon their positive review of the Roomba.

In regard to maintenance, after three cleanings normal brush / dust bin maintenance was easily performed. This new unit's maintenance process is VERY easy, especially for a non-mechnical/technical 60+ yr. old person. Instructions are OK, but, the thing actually works quite well without need much instruction.

Hats off to Roomba, I'd definitely buy another for my hardwood/linolium floors. Except, I'd get one with the scheduling option so I can set it to automatically clean while I'm at work or when I'm sleeping. I didn't test the unit on carpet, but I would imagine if its a tight weave (non-shag) it will work fine.