Advice please, Scooba or Mint for open floor house.

[Khayfer]

Hello everyone,

I am in dire need of advice. My life has become so busy that I hardly ever have time to clean, and when I do I most rather do something else. I have a roomba 550 and I use it pretty much once a week;but alas the roomba does not mop so now I must get a new toy, erm, I mean helper.
I have one shedding cat, a toddler who leaves sticky residue everywhere, and an open floor plan. I had considered getting a mint but so far the reviews do not mention how to deal with lack of virtual walls.
I let roomba do half of the first floor one day and the other half another day, so my new 'helper' would probably be doing the same thing which is why I would need virtual walls.
I have an open plan so there are no doors, and everything is dark wood.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

[vic7767]

Since your Roomba seems to not object to the dark wood the best choice for a floor washer would be the Scooba. It has the same type of cliff sensors and also uses a virtual wall accessory. The two VWs may or may not work with the other iRobot robot. Some experimentation may be required to see what VW will work with both robots.

[djos]

Motion seconded, we had a mint but replaced it with a scooba 380 and it actually cleans the floors properly!

[spons]

Depends if you want to spend almost as much time on maintenance as you would mopping the floor! I feel liberated now I have a mint.

[djos]

5 mins rinsing 4 components is hardly a lot of maintenance!

[Khayfer]

Thanks everyone for your input!
I have read several reviews but most of the comparisons are between a Roomba and Mint. I could not find any comparison between Mint and Scooba.
Either way I think I will have to go with scooba just because of the virtual walls; I don't know how else I could fence rooms off with Mint...

[mfortuna]

I have both a Mint and a Scooba 350. As djos mentioned, cleaning the scooba is a less than 5 minute task. I use the Mint both with a wet pad on tile and a dry pad on wood to do weekly or so cleaning. My roomba red and scooba run about once a month now to do more heavy duty floor washing and to clean area rugs.

If you were going to buy just one I think the Scooba is a fine choice since it cleans better than the Mint. But I am very happy with the way the Mint cleans, it just won't scrub tough dirt.

[vic7767]

And if you want the Cadillac of Scoobas check on ebay for a 5900 model. That model was the first and also the best built Scooba before all the cost cutting began to introduce newer models with less diagnostic indicators like the alpha-numeric display as well as some metal parts (latches/hinges) being replaced by plastic.

One important thing to check when purchasing a 5900 is to make sure it has the OSMO firmware upgrade for the charging system solution. If not then remove the battery after every 4 hour charge following a cleaning session. That activity will help the battery perform at its best for a longer period of time.

[Khayfer]

Alright, thanks for helping me decide a Scooba it is!

Vic7767 Now that you have brought it up, how 'safe' is it to buy a scooba from ebay? I think I saw someone saying that you could get an extended warranty but it would not be from iRobot if I'm not mistaken. Ideally I would like to get something that would work with virtual walls I already have...

Anyway, thank you so much everyone

[vic7767]

It's not safe to purchase used 5900 Scoobas on ebay. You always take a chance when doing so. Some sellers are honest other are not, usually the feedback score will let you know. I've never purchased a Scooba warranty offered on ebay.

[npluis]

And how good is the Scooba on wooden floors? I've read that they usually leave too much water on the floor?

[djos]

Depends on if they are sealed or not, I have no issue with mine on my cheap floating floors as they seal quite well.

[VIF]

How is the Scooba on rugs? It would seem desirable to have it not water down a throw rug or runner.

[vic7767]

The Scooba is not designed to operate on rugs. Only flat smooth surfaces. Like marble, tile and linoleum. All throw rugs and other obstacles should be removed prior to running a Scooba.

[Khayfer]

So...

I went ahead and purchased a Scooba 5900 from ebay. I thought that it would be worth it to give it a try Well, already I am regretting my decision. The battery I got with the unit does not 'click' in place, the only way I got the battery to play nice with the unit is to place at an awkward angle where it is making contact but it is not all the way in the slot.
Now, we decided it would be worth it to give it a try and see if it works with the battery not all the way in. The unit runs but I feel it does not pick up any water. I mean it is taking about 10-15 minutes for the floor to dry. We only let it run for a bit since it was leaving such a heavily wet trail
Is this normal for the scooba? or could it be because the battery is not placed correctly so it cannot squeegee off the floors?
I don't know if it's worth it to try to fix the battery or just get something else...

[mfortuna]

If the battery is not seated the tank may not seated. This could impact operation.

[vic7767]

I agree with Mike, the battery needs to seat properly so that the tank will lock into the proper position. If the tank does not mount correctly then the water won't be collected correctly. Also with a used Scooba from ebay you may need to purchase a replenish kit and replace the wheels, filter, brush, and squeegees in order for proper cleaning.

[Khayfer]

I contacted the seller, they will send me a replacement battery that hopefully will fit into the unit correctly. I will update once I get it.
Where could I buy a replenish kit? I checked Amazon but it had bad reviews...

Thanks for the help!

[vic7767]

I buy mine directly from the iRobot store @ http://store.irobot.com/product/index.j ... age=family

[VIF]

The Scooba is not designed to operate on rugs. Only flat smooth surfaces. Like marble, tile and linoleum. All throw rugs and other obstacles should be removed prior to running a Scooba.

Thanks.

After reading more, it seems that avoiding throw rugs is a Mint feature.