iRobot - Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo Robot

My first robot was the i7, bought in 2020 (with a matching Braava). I thought, at the time, this was the best of what robots had to offer. It wasn't until I started testing robots that I understood just how poorly iRobot was adapting to the changes in the industry. I recently tested the 205, part of the new lineup. I thought it performed abysmally. [https://lifehacker.com/tech/roomba-205-dustcompactor-combo-review](https://lifehacker.com/tech/roomba-205-dustcompactor-combo-review) The app kept crashing (I tried on a few platforms) and it wasn't my only complaint. In terms of apps, it depends on whether you're striving for simplicity or features. I enjoy little talked about features like Pin and Go and Remote Control, and kind of hate in app adverts. So Roborock is one of my favs. But Ecovacs and Dreame robots have a decent app as well. I would never, ever overlook Switchbot, btw.

So far, really impressed with this vacuum. I’m still a little skeptical about the dust compactor, but if it actually works long-term, it could be a total game changer. The app is awesome too. You can control the suction, mop water levels, and turn the compactor on or off. If everything keeps working like this, it might honestly rival the hands-off feel of the 405. Suction has been amazing. We have a shag rug that even our Dyson V8 struggles with, and this handled it with no problem. It also navigates way better than our old Roomba. The LiDAR makes a huge difference-it doesn’t bounce around under chairs or get stuck in tight spots. It mapped our 1700 sq ft home in under 10 minutes. It’s also a lot quieter, especially on hardwood. And so far, the way it senses carpet versus hard floors and adjusts accordingly has been working really well. We’ll see how it holds up, but things are looking really good so far.

Can't you get a Roomba 205 vac only for around $300,-? I'm happy with my 205 combo.

So far so good. I didn’t realize that you can’t mop and vacuums carpets the same time. So if the mop attachment is on you can’t go on carpets Setup had some hiccups but works well now I have the 200 series I believe where the dust bin has the windshield wiper thing. It’s very powerful suction It does feel a mediocre plastic but solid enough. Overall happy with it. Long term will tell.

Allmost all robots are a downgrade regarding cleaning performance - it is really a shame that iRobot abandoned the "s plattform". In the current iRobot-Pieca universe nothing (also current models like the 705 max (i have not tested the combo yet)) is even close to the s9 in regarding cleaning performance. I have tested 2 other robots so far dominating the s9 in every test i do (carpet and hardfloor) - both are also vac only robots with one being pretty much EOL. Everything else vacuums not very well and even mopping does not archive the same level of just dust removal most of the time depending on your flooring. You can find various examples for this on my channel. A funny sidenote : the 205 combo is able to clean my laminate grouts with mopping while all other fancy spinning mops, roller mops and so on fail. But more on this later :D.

The 205 with the compactor works great on my cat hair. It can do the entire house several times where my old 960 had to be emptied 5 times. Unfortunately their recent update is bricking everyone's 205..

I have a Roomba 205 and it vacuums and mops really well. Perhaps different machines suit different homes. We don’t have pet, so basically vacuuming and mopping hardwood surfaces and vacuuming carpet bedrooms.

I Jumped the Robo Vacs wagon with a cheap " bump and go " to see if it was a fit for me.. Finally gave up after 3 years, RIP, so decided to get into the new Roomba line with Lidar and " advertised" better bells and whistles.. My dead $80 Vac beats the hell put of the $250 I paid for this crap and the headaches I endured with the software wasn't worth it.. Still after many updates, my Lefants software was better than this one.. Roomba is on it's way out and rightfully so..

Read the reviews. I had a couple of Roombas that were very unreliable. A vacuum one and a mop one. Both broke after just a couple of months. I finally got a vacuum one on Amazon made by Eufy that got excellent reviews and it lasted for a couple of years until I moved and didn’t take it with me.

must…..resist….robot vacuum. I got the Roomba like $8-900 combo mop/vac recently and am not too impressed with it for the retail value. I’m half tempted to try this one as it’s in my RFY, but I’m hoping someone else claims it as I don’t really need it 🤣

We have the mop vac combo (forgive me, I don't remember what exact model, but I DO know it is the self emptying combo w\ the removable dust filter "trash' bags, and has a grey "tweed" designer -look on the top. That probably makes no sense). At any rate, I LOVE the vacuum feature, esp the self-emptying component. However, the few times I have attempted to use the mopping feature, it has not worked well at all. Admittedly, my model could be a slightly older model, like maybe last year's, so take that for what it's worth. It starts off fine, but after no more than 10 min if that, it seems to get stuck. What it's stuck on is beyond me because it happens in dining room each time & sounds like it's spinning it's wheels (like a car stuck in mud). There are no rugs, chairs are moved out of the way & there's no visible debris obstacles like  one of my son's marbles or a plastic milk cap or anything. Literally just hardwood flooring. I've tried rebooting, I've tried popping the water/mop pad on & mopping immediately (thinking it would help reduce soaking & "puddling" near the wheels), I've tried wiping the wheels and following behind it to wipe up the drag marks of water. But it still spins & does nothing. I can't complain too much as I won it at my husband's  Xmas work party raffle, and like I said the vac feature is excellent. Since we have a young son & a dog that sheds constantly, I'm ok w/just the vac👌

I’ve had robot shark and roomba. I believe running them daily has prevented us from being buried in dog hair and 100% recommend a robot vacuum. My dogs are very housebroken and I’ve never had the poo every where situation.  Overall, I think the shark works a little better, but I think the roomba’s features and app are better. I just upgraded to the dual vacuum/mop roomba and it’s not perfect but I’m happy. I still have to real vacuum once a week as it doesn’t get all the hair all the time, but the literal basketball was of hair I pull out of the canister every few weeks tells me it’s working pretty damn good. 

We started with one iRobot, it worked great! Later decided on a brava (iRobot mop) and it worked amazingly! I was in my doctorate program and didn’t have time to clean the floors. We have two small dogs and five children. The floors are one thing I don’t have to worry about anymore. We recently moved and purchased two combo vacuum and mop, one is iRobot and the other is ecovacs. I like the ecovac more, it seems smarter, however they both do a great job. We have three stories so there are robot vacuum on each floor, they run every day, this keeps the stairs pretty clean and I vacuum the stairs once a week. Our original robot is eight years old and runs fine with daily use.

I have a Roomba and their mop version too. love them, been working well for two plus years with regular part replacement (filters, rollers etc).

I have a roomba we named homewrecker because it leaves a trail of destruction behind it. It always knocks over something or gets tangled up in wires.

I had a Roomba, and it did a good job. It died after 2 years though, and they don't sell repair parts. I kept it limping along for another few months until I gave up on it. I don't think I'd ever get another Roomba, but I would like to try another brand.

I guess I’m the outlier here but I love mine. I have the self emptying, mapping Roomba. It mapped my space great and does a really good job cleaning. Self emptying is the best upgrade, as I previously had a much cheaper model and haaaated emptying that thing constantly.

I have a self emptying roomba vacuum. It runs daily at 9:30 am, recharges and empties itself, then finishes rhe rest around 2 in the afternoon. I live on a horse farm with 4 dogs and 5 cats and only if its muddy do shoes come off at the door. That robot is a wonderful thing.

Two huskies here. We have a self emptying Roomba. We run it 5 days a week. I have to keep up with the replacement parts, or it starts just wadding up hair and leaving it in chunks. But even that cuts manual cleaning time, because I can just take the hand vac to the chunks. We've had it since 2021.

We got the Costco iRobot Roomba on sale (just sweep function) and it’s been really helpful. Definitely worth the time savings and it probably does a better job than our manual vacuuming. We don’t care for the mop function that much, just don’t want to deal with the water compartment

If you get a roomba I highly recommend one that self-empties into a tower. We run ours 4 days a week in our bedroom, the living room, front hall. Kitchen, dining room. It keeps the ACD tumbleweeds at bay between weekly Dyson vacuumings.

Thats literally crazy.. I've had my roomba for like 5 years now.. We have 3 big dogs and a cat, in a small house. Still works great, I've replaced the brushes and obviously the filters on it but it still works awesome.

Robot vacuum. We have a roomba with the self emptying bin, SAVED MY SANITY.

I have the Wyze robot vac and a roomba self emptying vac. I vastly prefer the performance of the wyze vac.

We love ours. We have one for upstairs and downstairs. Don’t try to get a cheap one, we did that and went through a couple of them pretty quickly. Now we have two good ones (iRobot) with the bin that they self empty into when they get full. We have three kids, two dogs, and a cat that sheds more than both dogs combined, and having robot vacuums has been a game changer. Before we got the one with the bins, it would get full and need emptying before it finished a whole cycle. Now it goes and empties itself and then goes back to cleaning. It’s some trial and error at first. Just run it the first few times when you’re watching it to see where it has any problems. Then you can try to adjust any problem areas. Our upstairs vacuum doesn’t go into the bedrooms because the kids have lots of tiny Barbie shoes and stuff. We have them clean up good and just regular vacuum real quick every other week or so (and we keep bedroom doors closed so the pets don’t go in there to keep hair shedding out). But the robot keeps the main areas of the house from getting hairballs and dirty. We recently got a robot mop as well, and that has been awesome! I feel like it’s just like having any other vacuum. You have to get everything picked up off the floor before you start. You wouldn’t start regular vacuuming with things still on the floor. If there are areas that it gets stuck often, either block it off or try to adjust any problem areas. We usually pull all of the dining room chairs away from the table so that it can get a good clean under the table and around it. We run the vacuums & mop anytime we leave the house, and it’s so nice coming home to freshly vacuumed and mopped floors!

I bought one well over a year ago possibly on year 2. iRobot self emptying. If it only lasted a year I’d buy another one. It works as well as it did when I bought it. I replace the rollers and the brush thingy like twice. Get the iRobot replacement the knock off parts lasted like a week. I have all tile. Bedroom is carpet. If it runs everyday it’s not a problem on carpet. If it’s a few days of fur it creates nests I just hand pick up. I don’t have to do this if it runs daily. Completely worth it. I also live near a beach and it straight picks up all the sand too. It’s great. Never not having one.

I have one basic Roomba that moves around randomly and another that supposedly maps the space. The cheaper, random movement robot is vastly superior in all ways.