We recently bought an iRobot Roomba 560 and we have been using it for a while. Here are my impressions.

• It works while you do somehting else
• It cleans under funtiture ( when was the last time you cleaned under your bed?)
• It is good at picking up dust close to walls
• It finds its own docking station when the battery needs charging
• It can clean several rooms with one charge
• It can get itself out of most difficult situations and it calls you if it does get stuck.
• This model can be programmed to clean on a schedule
• It is easy to empty and clean out

• It does not complain

• It does not suck as hard as regular vacuum

• The little side brush's arms seem to be brittle and easitly break off

• It does not clean or empty itself

We did not find many problems with Roomba. It appears to be doing what it is designed to do and is very good at it. We have two cats and a dog and it is very good at picking up all the hair. The cats and dog stay out of its way.

Getting in Trouble

Most of the time Roomba does not have a problem to get from a hard surface up and over loose carpets but sometimes if it gets to the carpet with the little side brush first. The side brush will go under the carpet and it has to extract itself. We have a piece of funiture with and odly shaped bar between the legs and when Roomba get itself in there it had a hard time getting itself out eventually. Now we just put an obstacle there to prevent this from happening.

The virtual walls work very well to restrict Roomba to one area. They do not have on off switches and is activated when Roomba start to work. You can also use them as beacons to guide Roomba from one room to another, We have not yet used it like that.

Scheduling. So far we did not yet use the scheduling, I guess we could have saved some money to buy one model cheaper without this facility. With this you can set a schedule to clean several times automatically while you are away.

Preparation

We usually do some preparation like pulling out dining room chairs so that Roomba can get in easier under the table. Roomba is very good about cleaning around table and chair legs. You wil soon learn what is required in your particular situation.

The worst about Roomba is that you have to clean it after every session. Now If you use it more frequently it will pick up less dust and hair and probably can go longer without cleaning. Hoever to clean it is very easy. Simply take out the dust container and empty and tap the filter cleant. Remove the roller brushes and clean them out. You should also pull out the little front wheel, remove the roller and clean it out. I am always amazed how much dirt it can pick up.

We are very happy with Roomba 650. We use it almost every day. I can certainly recommend it.