iRobot - 562 Pet Series

I have a Roomba 564 Pet I bought when my son was 6 months old. He's now 14 and the Roomba would be still doing the job if this little bastard had not screwed the elly plaque's screwheads. I bought a new battery I cannot replace because of that (I'll Dremel them out after the Spring clean out). So it was working since 2011, August. The other Roomba, a 600 something bought on discount in a clearance sale when my son was 6 or 7, is still going strong. I wonder how the Dreame L50 Pro Ultra is going to perform. It is my Mother's Day present, but we're not done with the Spring-clean so it just worked in the living-room.

I've been in the robot vacuum game for awhile. Had an OG Roomba Pro back in 2003, then a Roomba 500 series in 2008, Roborock S6 in 2020, and just got a Roborock Q5 Pro a month ago. The budget models of today are SO GOOD and SO CHEAP, that it is very hard for me to justify any of the higher tier models. I got the Q5 Pro for $139. Considering it has similar features but better cleaning performance than my S6 but costs $450 less than what I paid for the S6, it is the best value option out there imo. While the techie in me enjoys all of the latest features, I think adding pumps, water, and moving base parts is an order of magnitude more complexity and increases the odds of breaking something. My Roomba 500 still runs and it just needed battery replacements and a new vac motor over its 12 years of service. Granted, I have the perspective of having a robot vac for 2 decades, so picking up things on the floor that it'll get stuck on is second nature.

I dont want to be that type of person but older robot vacuums lasted so much longer, a Roomba 500 series from 2007 can still work without any problems other than the battery, but all batteries die out at some point and it's pretty easy to replace. My samsung Navibot from 2010 lasted years until last year where the brush motor died. My Ecovacs Deebot D63s from 2015 works perfectly (for now), I replaced the battery still works without any issues. Its just that companies like roborock, Eufy, etc. put so many moving parts while compromising on the build quality that they just don't last very long. This is not hating on any company but that's just how things are nowadays. They would rather you buy their new 1800 dollar robot vacuum than continue using one from last year. Sometimes more the cutting edge the tech gets, the less reliable it gets. I have been interested in robot vacuums since as long as I could remember, I seen ups and downs, take that as you will.

MOST DURABLE? Alright then, new robot vacuums wont really do that. I know i will get downvoted for this but if you dont need self emptying, mopping etc, just pick up a second hand Roomba 500 series, they are known for being extremely reliable. Some 600 series like 675 or 690 are 500 series with wifi and some minor improvements, they are pretty common, cheap and easy to repair. Want mapping? Roomba 980 or any 900 series roomba (do note that roomba 900 series doesnt have keep out zones). 900 series are known for being reliable and just good robots over all. Why did i recommend these? Because newer robor vacuums these days have too many moving parts, and they work best at homes. While the roombas i listed above were also made for homes, old irobot was different than current day irobot, more reliable and roombas are pretty modular, you can take then apart and drop in a replacement part easily. They can work decently in commercial environments, especially 500/600 series. This subreddit is mostly "against" irobot, so i'll say this, i am not paid by irobot, i am a 14 year old on the internet who is passionate about this stuff :)) Edit: Check out Makita's industrial robot vacuums as well. Way more suited to commercial use.

Buy an old roomba instead, (500/600/700/800/900) they are the most reliable you can get.

The older Roombas could be set to clean once per day at a specified time, so you could have 7 scheduled cleanings. There are buttons to set the clock and then a cleaning time for each day of the week. I still have 2 of them, one is a 650 and the other is a 500 something. I don't think they make them anymore, but I am sure you could find one. These 2 both still work. I don't have an app for them, but I have a 3 foot dowel rod I use to push the start button, If you have connection problems or simply don't want to connect to the internet, the solution is to not connect. Just push the start button. The advantage of the Roomba brand is that you can get replacement parts easily and they run forever. There's lots of info on how to repair them. Don't know if the other brands have that knowledge base yet.

Go out on Ebay or your local thrift store and pick up old 500 or 600 series Roombas for parts. They usually just need a new battery. Be sure the charger comes with them. The older Roombas are superb cleaners and very durable. This is what we mostly use at our house along with several iRobot Scoobas for the mopping.

Buy an old Roomba Series 500 on up. They can be found at thrift stores and usually just need a new battery. They are well built and work well and are fairly easy to clean.

Buy an old Roborock ONLY if you know what you are doing! Here is a guide for doing a [teardown cleaning of an S5](https://www.instructables.com/Roborock-S5-Disassembly-for-Cleaning-Troubleshooti/). If complex electro mechanical devices fascinate you, go for an old Roborock. If reading my guide makes your head spin, buy an old Roomba. The suction fan of an old Roomba is usually part of the dust bin or cleaning head so it is MUCH easier to clean. There is much to be said for confining the power of a random path robot to one room and letting it clean until its battery runs down. Let it recharge and move it to the next room. True, a LiDAR based robot cleans in an orderly manner, but it only makes one pass. I call this "Good Enough" cleaning. I started out being a Roborock fan, but I have far more Roombas in my collection now. Roombas can pick up sand on a floor. Roborocks cannot even if they have been cleaned.

If it's just one room, get one of the old random bounce around Roombas with the bristle roller. 500 or 600 series. They're great at picking up litter and combing embedded pet hair out of carpet. I have a 692 I keep just for that. They're also super cheap because everyone wants the self-emptying models now. I see the older ones pretty often at thrift stores and Facebook Marketplace for under $30.

I'd recommend an older roomba model as well, 500 or 600 series. They're very easy to take care of and repair, clean really well, are simple, and last. I have one of those cheap ionvac models you've probably seen. It's better than I expected, but an older roomba is way better still.