Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Roomba

Roomba is a robotic vacuum cleaner that navigates your house intelligently and automatically, picking up all the dirt and debris along the way. It does the hard work, so you don't have to. Moreover, the Roomba 500 series robotic vacuum cleaners show greatly improved performance over earlier models, and incorporate a number of new features.

Robotic Vacuum Cleaner Roomba 500 series

How does it work? It uses a 3 stage cleaning system to do its job.

Side brushes pick up dirt and debris from corners and along wall edges
Two highspeed, counter-rotating brushes pick up pet hair, food crumbs, and other debris
Powerful vacuum sucks up the debris and deposits it into a large bagless dust bin

This 3 stage cleaning system has proven very effective on many different types of flooring such as wood, vinyl, ceramic tiles and carpets.

To appreciate better the capabilities of the Roomba, let's take a look at the feature list common to the robotic vacuum cleaner models in the 500 series:

Robotic intelligence: It takes into account the size of the room, the obstacles in the room, and the cleanliness of the floors when it cleans.
Smart cleaning: It adjusts its behavior over 67 times per second to achieve thorough cleaning results. If it senses dirtier areas, it spends more time cleaning them. Typically Roomba covers every part of the floor four times.
Soft-touch bumpers: It slows down when it senses an obstacle, gently touches it before changing direction.
Cliff sensors: Helps Roomba avoid stairs.
Anti-tangle technology: Keeps Roomba from getting stuck on cords and rug fringes.
Virtual Wall: This is a separate unit which uses infrared light to mark areas off limits to Roomba i.e. it keeps Roomba within a restricted area.
Improved particle filtration system: Helps to trap dust, pollen, and other allergens inside the Roomba unit.

The features below can be found only on some of the 500 series models:

Self-charging home base: Roomba automatically returns to the home base to dock and recharge when done or when battery is low.
Virtual Wall Lighthouse: This is a different unit from the Virtual Wall. It can operate in 2 modes: Virtual Wall mode and Lighthouse mode. Virtual Wall mode is used to mark off limit areas. Lighthouse mode is used to confine Roomba to one room until it completely finishes the job before letting it move to the next room.
On-board scheduling: You can preset up to 7 cleaning times for Roomba to start vacuuming.
Wireless Command Center: Use it to control and steer Roomba remotely or to set the cleaning times.
Extra Brush Kit: 1 bristle brush and 1 flexible beater brush.
Bonus Accessory Kit: 1 silver faceplate, 1 Virtual Wall Lighthouse, 3 bristle brushes, 3 beater brushes, 3 side brushes and 6 extra filters.

The 500 series robotic vacuum cleaners consists of primarily the following models 510, 530, 560, 570 and 580. Let us look at the main differences between them:

Roomba 510: It comes with one Virtual Wall unit.

Roomba 530: It comes with two Virtual Wall units and a self-charging home base.

Roomba 560: It comes with two Virtual Wall Lighthouse units, a self-charging Home Base, and provides on-board scheduling.

Roomba 570: It comes with everything that the 560 has got. In addition it has a Wireless Command Center and an Extra Brush Kit.

Roomba 580: It comes with everything that the 570 has got. In addition it has a Bonus Accessory Kit.

It is easier for you to choose the right Roomba when you know what the main differences are between the models. Roomba 560 is the most popular one selling on Amazon as it seems to strike the balance between too much and too little. Take a look at this video to see the Roomba 560 in operation.

Note: On Amazon, some customers have reported that the Roomba 580 is not bundled with the Bonus Accessory Kit and have been disappointed. So before you buy a Roomba 580 from Amazon (or any retailer for that matter), double check with the seller first whether it comes with the Bonus Accessory Kit.

Note: A number of users have reported that the side brushes have been broken during use. So treat all these brushes as wear-and-tear items. Replacement parts are available.

The best seller on Amazon is the Roomba 560, followed by the Roomba 530. Most users have been very positive about the Roombas. They have commented on how clean the floor is, how quiet the unit operates and how it saves countless hours of work. All you need to do is to press one button and off it goes to work! Some people think the scheduler (only on some Roombas) is a killer feature, as you can then set it to run when you are out at work or when you are sleeping. Imagine coming home every day from work and your home is clean!

Gift Idea: Do you know someone whose home is a real mess and who can't be bothered to clean it up? Or someone who has some physical mobility or dexterity problem? Something like a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner would be a godsend to them and they would surely be grateful.

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