ROOMBA What is best for WOOD FLOORS and 2 HAIRY DOGS

[randyhouse]

Looking to buy a ROOMBA and have read various reviews and manufacturer claims.

Bottom line... our floors are all wood or ceramic with some area rugs here & there.

We have two golden retrievers...hair is everywhere it seems..

Would like to hear recomendations from actual owners on which ROOMBA to purchase...

Thank you

Randy

[poconogal]

Welcome to RR! I wrote a detailed reply, then lost my connection, so now it's gone. Grrrrr

Anyway, here it is, again: I'd recommend a 570, which has lighthouse capability, and equip it with an AeroVac bin. The AV bin will help when the bot transitions from floor to area rug. The regular vac bin, especially with lots of dog hair, leaves clumps of hair,dust, etc., a/k/a roombarf, on the floor or on the edges of area rugs. The AV bin takes care of that issue, as well as keeping the brushes MUCH cleaner. With LHs, you can schedule Roomba to run, it will navigate from room to room, and then follow the LHs back to home base (HB) to recharge. Without LHs, you will have to manually move Roomba to each room you want cleaned.

I myself have a 581 (purchased from iRobot as an out of warranty replacement, but not actually sold on their website) with AeroVac and LHs. We have about 3/4 hardwood and 1/4 area rugs. We also have 3 Dobermans and a cat, and I run Roomba daily to maintain clean floors, with regular vacuuming about every 2 weeks with the central vac to get to the places Roomba does not.

[randyhouse]

Thanks for the information...it really helps

[JuliB]

I use the 550 and have been happy with it. I have 2 miniature pinschers with VERY short hair, and 2 short haired cats. It picks up all the hair without a problem. I'm not sure whether it would be that good for a golden's hair though. A toy rat terrier lives with me about 1/2 time, and there's no problem with her hair either. This is on all wood floors as well.

[sparksals]

I have the 550 which I got from Costco and I am VERY happy with it! Never had a problem.

I think when there are bad reviews, people have higher expectations of the small robot. They expect it to be like a full vacuum. I use mine strictly for between vacuuming or if my floor is particularly dusty.

The brush has to be cleaned almost every time, especially if you have hair - but that is minor. I think it is great for vacuuming under the bed, under dressers and other furniture.

If you have the mindset that it doesn't replace vacuuming, you will love it. I have not had one problem with my 550. Had it almost a year and have not noticed any reduction in battery life either.

[tmnCA]

I would have said Roomba 563, except that mine just killed it's second CHM (cleaning head module) and it was only purchased July 2010. The second CHM was even modded with sealed bearings. However my own long hair seems to be the worst thing for the Roomba, it gets wrapped around the brush ends (which I do clean after every single run) and I guess just creates too much heat/friction.

So I am planning to get a Neato and sending the Roomba back, I think.

[marmaduke]

any updates on this topic with new 600 series models out now? same situation...2 Goldens, LOTS of hair, multiple levels, floors are mostly tile, hardwood and some area rugs. How do people deal with multiple levels and only 1 base stn? just carry the robot to the other levels and press "clean" or move the base stn from floor to floor?

Also, is it cheaper now to get a 500 series and uprade with AeroVac (if possible)?

[vic7767]

That is basically what you get with a 600. The Aerovac bin and a 700 model CHM. Which by the way, could be added to a 500 model.