iRobot - Roomba 620

No there was no air problem. I just could not give water. I also checked for chalk but there was none. I had it for 2 month or so and it was already defect. I asked what I can do and they said that I should send it back. Thats what I did. Then I bought the L10s ultra gen 2 and had it for about 2 month. Every time I started the robot it left big stains of water. It also was not mopping correct. There was always a dry line between the two mops. It is kind of unbelievable what garbage they are selling. My Roomba 620 is still working after 15 years. Of course it is a completely different thing but everything from dreame does work for two or three month or so. It is a joke. Also Ecovacs is imho total garbage. I had a Roborock which was better but I received it with a broken part in the station. Therefore I am looking for a new robot.

I've had a very different experience, apparently. I borrowed and tried an old (2016) Roomba a little over a year ago, and was impressed. Did a shopping deep dive. Got a Roborock as a result of reading many reviews. That dang Roborock dropped out its rollers twice, once from running over the forced air vent in the kitchen, and again from running over a cat toy. I didn't have a self-emptying model, so I could check what exactly it was achieving because I had to empty it out. Second day: not much hair/debris in the bin. Then on its third day in my possession, it picked up next to nothing. I still had the borrowed and MUCH older Roomba, so I sent it out on patrol, and it picked up a ton of dog hair. Maybe the Roborock I got was a lemon, but because of that it's not a brand I'd turn to as a first choice anymore. For sure the Roborock app is far better than iRobot's, but the objective here is cleaning, not fun on the phone. If OP is going to consider a robot vacuum I'd certainly suggest doing as much research as they can stand.

I had a crappy experience with a Roomba. But it was an older model from around 2017. The thing kept running into things and getting stuck along edges where 2 types of flooring would meet. IDK if newer models are better, but that thing was pretty disappointing, IMO. You could make a game out of sweeping and vacuuming so that your kids will be eager to help out. The goal is to eventually have them do it out of habit. 😅 I actually got my friend's son into vacuuming when he was 2 or 3 yrs old. The idea paid off several yrs later. My friend was a single parent (toddler and a newborn) with multiple pets and a huge home, mostly carpeting. She seemed to be suffering from Postpartum Depression, so I'd stop by at least once a wk to help clean and just to give her a break from her toddler. Her son was very difficult to manage - clingy, sensitive, always wanting undivided attention, always wanting to be held, never content to play alone, never wanting to follow instructions, prone to throwing tantrums and acting out, etc. But he was also VERY curious and full of energy - which were qualities I could work with. I bought the kid a toy vacuum. Minor problems solved! He would finally stop interrupting me while I vacuumed. In fact, he would "vacuum" along side of me. He would shout, "Go to your kennel," "Coming thru," and, "Lift your feet," along with me. It was great! No fussing, and I could keep an eye on him bc he was always right next to me, copying my movements and words. It was also just amusing to observe him and teach him little things. He became a great helper. He was eager to pick up his toys and other items that were in the path of the vacuum. He also became great at directing his pets out of the way. Fast fwd about 6-9 mos... The kid lost interest in his toy vacuum. He could tell it was not the real deal. He figured out the real vacuum was cable of sucking up dirt & debri. He would keep trying to use the real vacuum, but it was too large and dangerous for him to handle - even tho he had learned to stay clear of the suction area. He started getting in the way again. So I gave him an old cordless hand vac. And he got pretty good at using it! He started vacuuming the couches, dining chairs, and entryway. Eventually, we "put him in charge" of all the hard flooring. 😂 That kid would get territorial if we tried to clean "his" areas. He vacuumed daily and even started sweeping with a hand broom. (He was sloppy, but got better over time.) (Parent humor incoming!) About a yr later, my friend bought him a cordless Dyson for Christmas. I got him his own handbroom, dustpan, and Swiffer. We bought these items as a joke. We made him open them before all other presents, thinking he would hate them. But he was so excited! 🤯 Especially for the Dyson (which my friend actually bought for herself). My friend's son became pretty good at vacuuming by the time he was 8. He naturally took charge of vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, AND dusting as part of his household chores. He continues to do them without hassle to this day. Another thing to consider is an automatic dustpan. IDK how child-friendly they are, but it's another item my friend invested in to get her children interested in helping with chores.

I have a "dumb" Roomba that I bought way back in 2016 on a Prime Day sale. It doesn't have any of the smart features that a lot of the newer models have. In general it's not perfect but I would say it does a pretty good job and if you don't like vacuuming as a regular chore it'll allow you to vacuum more often than you personally would which overall is a net positive. Since moving to a bigger place a few years back, I ended up buying a Miele canister vac so that I can efficiently clean different parts of my home simultaneously. So the Roomba is vacuuming one section while I use the Miele to vacuum another section. The smaller your place the more effective a robot vacuum will be as your primary vacuum, but if you have a bigger place you'll still have to charge the vacuum after one section, then move it to another location to finish the whole house.

We have had an iRobot Roomba for 17 years. We initially bought the 535, it’s been upgraded with the new bin (aero vac 2) and running gear from the later 600 series It has had two battery replacements in its life, and has had a replacement main board once, which added the schedule feature. It cleans better than the 780 models relatives have. This Roomba, with replacements when things wear out, has outlived most other appliances we have. You can still buy the 600 series which is based on the same platform, and if ours ever became unrepairable, we would buy one. Heck, considering you can change all of the parts with a screwdriver and a bit of basic knowledge (how to plug/unplug things), a second hand one would be fine.

Older roombas are simple, reliable, durable, effective, and cheap. But they don't have smart navigation or mapping where you can ask them to clean specific areas. If you want navigation they become less cheap and less durable. I have a 10yo 600 series roomba and a new Roborock Q5. Q5 is great but I'm skeptical that it's going to last as long.

Four cats, two with LOTS of hair. Our old Roomba 600-series works just fine, both on persian carpets and wooden flooring.

I have a Roomba 564 Pet I bought when my son was 6 months old. He's now 14 and the Roomba would be still doing the job if this little bastard had not screwed the elly plaque's screwheads. I bought a new battery I cannot replace because of that (I'll Dremel them out after the Spring clean out). So it was working since 2011, August. The other Roomba, a 600 something bought on discount in a clearance sale when my son was 6 or 7, is still going strong. I wonder how the Dreame L50 Pro Ultra is going to perform. It is my Mother's Day present, but we're not done with the Spring-clean so it just worked in the living-room.

I beta tested a shark and an update randomly disconnected it from the app and it would not connect again and their beta test support was useless in getting it reconnected. Tried blaming it on my mesh system. I went as far as to get a stand alone router/wifi from my internet provider and hook that up and try to connect it that way and still the same thing. The app would freeze once it found the robot, even after updates. I really liked how the vacuum worked up until then but I’d never buy one after that. My 600 series Roomba and i3 Roomba have never had Wi-Fi issues on any of our network iterations over the years. I ended up buying a Eufy over Black Friday.

I have a 600 series that works perfectly. After 6 years