iRobot - Roomba i6+ (6550)

We got a Roomba at Costco. I'm happy with it. Not sure the model--something like a 6+, this was a couple of years ago. I was advised to get one that was self-emptying. We did that and it seems like a good tip.

i bought an iRobot i6+ in 2020 and for my first robot vac i initially thought it was pretty good. i have mostly hardwood. but the app sucks, it forgets the map and by 2023 the battery degraded at least 25%. it would frequently not be able to dock itself and end up draining its battery which makes it lose wifi and then its a brick. it also rams into corners and things like super hard. i found customer service to be entirely unhelpful and when their cloud service would go down you can’t use the thing at all, not even manually.

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.had.the.same.exact.experience.

The comment about robot vacuums only being for small places is probably based on the old random pattern robots. Most robots now map and do well in large houses. It sounds like most mapping robots would work for you, since you don't want mopping, have hardfloors, and no pets. So anything with lidar (prefered) or vslam navigation. Obstacle avoidance might be a useful feature for cords, shoes, toys etc. left on the ground. It might be worth looking into a Eufy L60, iRobot Roomba j series, Roborock Q series, or shark. I'm biased because I have three robot vacs (Roborock S6, Ecovacs x1 omni, and iRobot Roomba j5+ combo) and my roomba j5+ is the only one that is reliable and working at the moment

iRobot is likely the longest lasting brand, there are many accounts of people having these bots for so many years and well over 1k hours.. iRobot are still providing parts for 12+ year old bots. Where is the planned obsolescence there?

The combo 10 max (almost the same obstacle avoidance as all other modern/j-series iRobot models) initially scored in vacuum war's top ten for obstacle avoidance. It's also the only brand that guarantees avoidance of pet poo. Battery is debatable, but it's also a non-issue for most because of charge and resume

All have pretty poor customer service. I have three bots (Ecovacs, Roborock, and iRobot) and recommend the roomba i or j series for vacuum only (especially if you have carpet). It's designed for longevity rather than features. My j5+ has been reliable and kept up with 2 shedding dogs (long hair border collie cross) and two people

It's hard for people to recommend since few people would test their vacuums with this much fur. Picking up hair from hard floors is easy for any robot vacuums, even on low suction settings. I think the challenge will be keeping the bin from filling or the dock from clogging. iRobot roomba i+ and j+ series are suited for this as they have sensors that detect debris building up in the vacuum path and send the bot to the dock to auto-empty and resume. Whatever you get, you will likely need to run regularly and maybe one room at a time.

Get a roomba with the self-emptying base station. Pays for itself 10 times over.

All the i and j7 and below series vacuums have the same motor. Only the s9 and j9 have more suction, the s9 is actually better suction. On hard floors any of them will pick up the hair. The s9 will do very well on the area rugs. Not worth buying the combo models.

The I and J series clean so much better than the 2 Essential. Even the lowest priced I series is well worth the extra money.

once you get a i/J series with a Clean Base. you will never want to go back. When shedding season start , you can setup a daily clean up. and a weekly maintenance of the robot.

I’ve had a Roomba for over 10 years now. It’s 100% worth it. I got it when I was a single cat lady in my 20s working long hours. Now I’m married and we have 2 kids, a cat and a dog. We upgraded to the Roomba that maps the house and empties itself in the docking station. It vacuums the whole house 3x a week and does the high traffic areas 5 nights a week after the kids go to bed. I do wish the mop version (Brava) worked better. I have not gotten that damn thing to properly map my house to mop for me and the solution that they sell for it makes all of our house shoes squeak for days.

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 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 Roomba that I picked up from Costco. It can be controlled via app and it has a self emptying base.

They \*could\* but I doubt very much that they do; it would cost a lot. The biggest privacy risk is revealing a map of the layout of your home if your online account is hacked. I have an iRobot Roomba that empties its own bag into a base. Love it. Love not having to vacuum under beds and sofas. It took some prep to make my home ready for it--furniture needs to be high enough (and legs wide enough apart) for it to run up under. Lamp cords need to be secured. Don't run it automatically or when you're not home. Do clean the hair out of it after it runs (takes only a couple minutes). I run it once a week. I spend 3-4 minutes putting things like litter baskets and chairs up off the floor so it has a better reach, then schedule it to run 3x. Then turn the schedule off again and return loose items to the floor. Spend about a minute getting hair out of its rollers. I've had several good looks inside my Roomba and didn't see anything like microphones or cameras. Its bump sensors are not cameras. It does have an internet connection and so can be voice-controlled if you connect to Alexa or Google Home. But that is optional. If you only operate it with the app or onboard buttons, it cannot be voice controlled.

We’ve used a self emptying Roomba for years. 3 dogs, a Basset, a Lab, and a Terrier. All are moderate shedders and fur accumulation is a problem. All three are indoor/outdoor dogs and mud is a consideration for us. We have area rugs from Costco that help dry paws and pick up some dirt. We launder them at a coin-op each month to save wear and tear on our washer. The Roomba is fine for keeping visible areas tidy, but one pass on the floor and the internal bin will fill with fur and dust. We still vacuum with a stick vac in corners and under furniture, Roomba can’t reach. No mopping robot can keep up with mud from paws if you live in a rainy muddy area. Invest in a good Swiffer wet mop or a light weight bucket based mop.

I started with a eufy and it was pretty good on all hardwood floors. It would pile some fire up in the corners I could pick up. But then I upgraded to a roomba with the self emptying thing and I love it. The app and tutorials are very helpful.

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

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.

I have an IRobot Roomba self emptying one! It literally just got done vacuuming. Genuinely LIFE CHANGING. I got mine as a Christmas gift and it’s great but I’d probably go with the Shark 2 in 1 self emptying robot mop/vacuum when my Roomba dies. I run mine at least 2 times a day and I think it helps keep it where hairballs don’t build up and get stuck in it.

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.