I received the iRobot Roomba Model 405 for Christmas and I’m already in love with it. The iRobot Roomba is a vacuum cleaning robot, a circular blue wheel thirteen inches in diameter that vacuums floors and carpets on its own. I was amazed to see how easy it was to use and how efficient it is with cleaning.
It arrives literally ready to use. Owner’s manual easy booklet instructions show that you only have to snap in a battery, already in place wrapped in removable plastic wrap. You remove the plastic wrap, place the rechargeable battery in place and connect the Roomba to its charger. Plug it in and let it charge. Initially you should charge the robot vacuum for sixteen hours to refresh and extend the life of the battery. iRobot Roomba has one charging light with the word, clean, printed on it. A solid red light shows the battery needs charging, an orange pulsing light shows the vacuum is charging, and a solid green light shows it’s fully charged. Disconnect the power charger and you’re ready to go.
First clear big clutter, including any power cords and pull cords, and any deep shag or tasseled carpet, because the vacuum could easily get tangled up in them. iRobot does adjust itself from carpet to floor without having to change anything. Press the clean button and you’ll hear a series of beeps and the vacuum will start moving. Make sure you place a barrier near a balcony or stairs so the vacuum doesn’t accidently tumble over.
iRobot has a side brush that cleans along the edges of the walls and into corners, two counter rotating brushes that pick up dirt, hair and debris, and a powerful vacuum suction that picks up fine particles. It also has a filter that traps smaller particles.
iRobot has an, “iRobot’s Aware Robot Intelligence System,” trademarked, which determines the best way to clean your floors. It has three cleaning directions. iRobot spirals to clean concentrated areas, room crosses to give full coverage cleaning, and follows along walls to clean the perimeter of the room and navigate around furniture. It takes approximately forty-five minutes to clean an average room, and will pass over it several times. iRobot can clean up to sixty minutes when fully charged, and to fully recharge the battery it’ll take about six hours.
I spent a good half hour watching it maneuver. The noise level’s quieter than my stand up vacuum, and I was excited watching the little disc clean my carpet and floors. It adjusted very easily to the difference in my carpets and floors, and maneuvered around my furniture and walls, performing the patterns described in the instruction manual. When it finished after a series of beeps again, I picked it up and pressed the clean button off. I pressed a black triangle button and was able to easily remove the bin by pulling it out. I have a cat and was pleased to see the iRobot Roomba had picked up his fur, his scattered cat litter and scattered dry cat food from his dish. The owner’s manual advise you empty the bin, clean the sensors with compressed air, and clean the brushes with the included brush comb every three to five uses, all easily done. I wiped the surface with a dry dust cloth and connected it back to its charger.
iRobot Roomba has different models and accessories, ranging from one hundred and thirty dollars to five hundred dollars for the professional series. My iRobot Roomba came with a remote control that lets me control where I want the portable robot vacuum to go. The remote control takes two AA batteries you need to provide. My model also avoids stairways.
There’s an excellent iRobot website where you can order accessories, such as a virtual wall to prevent falls and restrict the area where you want the vacuum to clean, a self-charging home base that the iRobot returns to after cleaning to recharge, a wall mount and other accessories. You can also order other iRobots via this website. iRobot is also available at major retail outlets.
I highly recommend this iRobot Roomba. You can click on www.irobot.com for further information or call 1-800-727-9077.
