iRobot - i5+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum

Your experience must be with the cheaper Roombas. I bought a $500 Roomba and base and my experience was the same as yours. Hot trash. Sent it back and even that was a bad experience, they never refunded me and I had to do a credit card charge back. But then I bought a $250 roborock + base. Wayyyyyy better. Never have to tinker with it. Completes our kitchen, dining room, main bedroom, and living room in 35-40 minutes. Does multiple floors/mapping. Vac and mop. A lot quieter than the Roomba. Very clean floors, like I'm blown away at how well it vacs, the Roomba left little crumb piles  everywhere. I have not manually vacuumed anything since I've bought it other than to spot clean when my dogs destroy a toy or something. Overall there is a reason irobot is going out of business. Roombas are overpriced and perform poorly. But not all robot vacuums are created equal and other brands are both cheaper and higher in quality.

Unpopular opinion: iRobot. They’re easy to repair and there’s an abundance of filters and spare parts. The i5+ is a mid level entry robot. You can likely find it around $300 or just stay on the lookout for a sale. Even better mid level option, the j5+. Probably above your price range, but it’s a good investment, per say. I say that having had a Roomba 960 since 2017. A Roomba j7+ since 2021 and my most recent addition a Roomba s9+. Honestly the 960 is still a beast. I have several floors, for the record…they’re not in a closed glass case. 🤣 Roborock has some models that do well, as well. I’m not sure if them off the top of my head. PS: A combo robot just isn’t it quite yet, I wouldn’t spend the money on a combo at this point, especially at your price point. Question: what size is your place? Square feet wise.

Combos from iRobot aren’t that great, to be honest. The i5 as a vacuum isn’t bad at all. It’s the lower mid level but no less cleans decent. J5 and j7 are great mid to middle upper levels. I have limited experience with a combo and I wasn’t a fan. The vacuuming aspect of things is great.

I've had a few robovacs over the years, and I have to say the Roborock Q5 has been my favorite. Great suction power, it's pretty damned good at following maps, and it's low maintenance. I've been using it to clean my upper floor everyday for the last 2 years. Downstairs I have a Roomba i5+ and an M6 mop in my kitchen. The i5+ does a decent job on wood floors, but despite having a camera and the ability to ID objects, it still gets stuck under furniture a few times a week. The mop part of it is decent, but the tank on it is tiny and requires constant refilling. The M6+ does a good job at keeping up the kitchen floor, but again I have to tend to it 3x a week. Roborock is probably the brand you want to go for.

I only had a cat but my Roomba i5+ works great for hair. I run it twice per day.

I have the i5+. Run it 1x/day and 2x during the shoulder seasons when mine sheds a lot. Usually takes 4 runs before I empty.

We have a Roomba i6+ (old, not sure still being made) and recently added the i5+. They have mapping and self-emptying, which for me are absolutely essential features. We've had others without the self-emptying feature and I never emptied them regularly enough, which rendered them less effective.

I hope they find a decent US or EU buyer. I’ll buy most Chinese products all day long, but I don’t trust having my entire house’s LIDAR scans or photos/videos in the possession of a company that can be easily forced to hand all data over to their government, no matter their policy. That makes most of the great robot vacs a non-starter for my wants & needs, so I got a roomba i5. It’s been great despite this sub’s negative feedback toward the brand!

I have the one that empties itself, i5. Works great. Sometimes I send the 890 in to pre-clean and it has a big bin.

Don't get the I5. I bought one and had to return it after less than a week because the side brush kept getting caught in the bumper. Apparently, it's a known defect for that model.

Yes. Roomba 105 navigates smarter but sucks (negatively) at vacuuming and would be a nightmare with hair tangles in the brush. Roomba i5 has more basic navigation, but is a much more "thoughtful" machine in terms of actual cleaning capabilities.