Robotic vacuum cleaner reviews: The iRobot Roomba, Dirt Dog, and Scooba

Robotic vacuum cleaners are little disks that roll around the floor of a room, collecting dirt and debris as they move, much as a traditional vacuum would. When they hit a wall, they change direction and keep moving. Over the course of about an hour, they manage to sweep up every part of a room, every bit as effectively as a traditional upright vacuum would.  The big advantage of owning a robotic vacuum is that you don’t have to spend the time and effort vacuuming anymore.  Also, they’re a lot of fun to watch. In this review, we’ll look at the top robotic vacuums, as well as some related products that perform functions other than vacuuming floors.

If you own a cat, a robotic vacuum cleaner can be a great source of entertainment and hilarity.  There’s nothing in the millions of years of inherited feline instinct that tells them how to deal with a robotic vacuum.

The iRobot Roomba “Red” model is iRobot’s entry-level intelligent floorvac. iRobot was the first to develop the robotic vacuum, and their products are still considered the gold standard, even though there is now competition in the market.  The cleaner is easy to use – you make sure it’s charged up (it comes with a rechargeable battery), place it in the center of the room, and press CLEAN and the Roomba does the rest.

The first time the Roomba explores your room, it’s something of a learning session. This is an intelligent robot, and much as a dog or cat exploring a new room would do, it has to poke around and learn what’s there.  Therefore, you should supervise it at first to make sure it doesn’t get stuck on wires or uneven surfaces.  According to the Roomba reviews on Amazon, getting wires out of the way in advance, if at all possible, helps the Roomba figure your room out more quickly.  You can set up an iRobot Roomba Virtual Wall to tell the Roomba “stop here” if there isn’t a natural boundary.  The Roomba comes with two of these; you can decide if you need more.

Reviewers loved it once it learned how to vacuum a particular room.  One reviewer thought her room was pretty clean to begin with, but “Roomba picked up all kind of lint, hair, and other nasty things.” Like a regular vac, you do have to clean the filters and dustbin, but she commented that “everything comes out and fits back together very easily.” Another reader praised the Roomba’s wall and distance detection, noting that those intelligent features allow it to “put most vacs’ ‘edge cleaning’ claims to shame.”

Should you choose the entry-level Roomba or a more advanced model? (We’ll look at some upper-end Roombas and other vacs below.)  Well, the entry-level Roomba has the same “cleaning innards,” as one reviewer put it, as the high-end models, so in that sense it’s a bargain.  On the other hand, the iRobot “Red” model is not able to sense when it’s running low on power and return “home” to charge itself; you have to manually charge it.  Also, with the more expensive models you gain scheduling capabilities, so you can tell the Roomba to vacuum while you’re away from home.

For a robotic vacuum cleaner with all the bells and whistles, take a look at the Roomba 560. This robot vacuum is intelligent enough to know when it needs to recharge. When it needs a charge, it returns to its home base, charges up, and gets back to vacuuming, and you don’t have to lift a finger. Reviewers commented that the 560 vacuum cleaner does a better job finding its docking station/home base when you place it in a wide-open area.

Reviewers loved the fact that they can schedule the Roomba 560 to run while they’re away, and then come home to a clean house. They also praised its quietness; any vacuum is going to make some noise, but it’s considerably quieter than a traditional vacuum.  In addition, owners appreciate the fact that the 560 can detect objects and slow down as it makes contact, rather than running into them full tilt as less-advanced Roombas do.  Procrastinators appreciate the fact that the Roomba tells you when its dustbin is getting full, so you don’t go too long between cleanings.  “They have saved me countless hours of times,” one reviewer wrote of Roombas, “and they make my home a cleaner and much easier-breathing place to be.”

iRobot’s Dirt Dog 1100 performs the same basic functions as a Roomba, but on a garage, basement, enclosed patio, or industrial floor. One reviewer, who became so attached to his Dirt Dog that he nicknamed it his “little buddy,” tested it on his outdoor patio (with three birds dropping feathers and seeds); on his son’s house, where it picked up dog hair off tile, wood, and unfringed carpet; and on a smooth garage floor. The reviewer was thrilled with his purchase.  Eventually he worked “little buddy” so hard that a wheel came loose and the Dirt Dog rolled around in circles; but, by that time, he was so sold on it that he bought a second “little buddy,” which does such a good job that friends of his ask to borrow it to clean their houses.

Another reviewer said that the Dirt Dog “surpassed expectations.”  A third reviewer uses it on his patio, where he says it successfully sweeps up dirt, leaves, and anything else that falls on the patio. Looking over all the reviews, it seems that quite a few people think of the Dirt Dog as a pet, calling it “him” or “her” and giving it a name.  As with the other robotic vacuums, the first day is a learning period, and reviewers recommend you supervise it until it learns to deal with cords, chairs, and other obstacles that may get in its way.

If you hate mopping and scrubbing floors, check out the Scooba robotic cleaner, a cousin to the Roomba.  It covers floors with a 4-step process, in which it preps, washes, scrubs, and dries.  It comes with a virtual wall similar to the Roomba’s to allow you to set boundaries.  It also features “cliff sensing” technology, which keeps it from falling off ledges and stairs.  One reviewer complimented its effectiveness wiping up muddy dog paw prints, and said it got a white kitchen floor looking new again.  It comes with Clorox Scooba Cleaning Solution to get your floors sparkling clean.

These are a few of the many robotic vacuum cleaners out there.  If you want to explore more, check out Amazon.com’s complete selection of robotic vacuum cleaners. Vacuuming has never been so much fun!