Scooba 230 - is it worth it as a companion to Scooba 380?

[LadyWolf]

Hi all,
I have a Scooba 380 and was wondering if any of y'all own both the larger Scooba plus the smaller 230 model. I'm trying to decide if it is worth it order the 230 too. It would be mostly for cleaning the two bathrooms, walk-in closet, and most likely I'd also use it in my home office as well. It has a lot of built-ins and wacky angles that the larger Scooba can't get to. I'd leave the rest of the house for the larger Scooba. For any of you who have both models, do you get enough use out of the smaller one to justify the expense and does it work well?

Thanks!

[vic7767]

If you don't mind the inability to repair your 230 when it breaks down then it may be a robot to consider for those small spaces your repairable 380 cannot get to. The 230 lacks the spinning brush and has a much smaller cleaning footprint. I hope iRobot observes from a lack of robust sales of the 230 that a new engineering effort will provide us iRobot owners with a small Scooba with the ability to perform maintenance on it beyond changing the wheels.

[mfortuna]

The other issue for me is the price, but that seems to be an issue with all of Irobot's products lately. I paid $399 for a scooba 350 and consider that to be a better value than spending $299 on a 230. The 5800 (discontinued as is the 350) I think went for the same price as a 230.

[piokrza]

I hope iRobot observes from a lack of robust sales of the 230 that a new engineering effort will provide us iRobot owners with a small Scooba with the ability to perform maintenance on it beyond changing the wheels.

Personally, I would not make such speculation in these days - we probably and again (!) live in the age of 'bloodthirsty capitalism', so manufacturers does not pay to produce things that are suitable for repair - rather disposable, so buy, buy, more and more...buy and buy. Just to increase profits. Cause what will happen even if they will be 'repairable'?Parts have to be expensive...or not viable?

[Beetle B.]

Own a 230. Would never recommend it.

Within a year it wouldn't keep the dirty water in - so it would clean, but then leak all the dirty water out.

It was within the warranty period. So I sent it in and it worked upon return. Some months later - same problem, and the warranty is expired.

It's expensive, and I feel I wasted the money.

When it works, it's great, though.

[iMayne]

But we should all know that the 230 does not replace the 300 series. The 230 is really for small / tiny places such as the bathroom etc. I have one and it is ok. If you have tiles with grout line, or whatever its name, you are better off using a mop for those small places.

[mfortuna]

The way my bathrooms are setup the Scooba 230 would not clean any more area than a 350. I do have a 25 year old house though.

So all in all, the 230 is not worth it to me.

[Roombascoobatastic]

I have both and run them at the same time. I found that the 230 doesn't squeegee and scrub properly because the robot is so light the brushes sometimes do not fully contact the floor. You can even see the bristles just skimming the surface if you get down and look. solution? I velcro a 6" x 1/4" steel disk on top of it and it then performs as intended. It picks up double the liquid with the added weight. Doesn't seem to tax the motors either. They really should have made this robot heavier or made the squeegee hang lower and brushes longer.

I wish the 230 would spend less time room crossing and wall following and more time spiralling and shimmying, by which I find it cleans best. It spends so much time room crossing that the solution just dries up before it returns to that spot.

The 390 doesn't get in between the toilet and sink, and other tight spots the 230 can. The 390 also cleans much better than the 230. Every time I run it, the water is black. The water never gets very dirty in the 230, so I know it's not cleaning as effectively.

When I run the two machines together in large areas, I use water only in the 230 so it just helps by going around and rinsing and does a bit of extra scrubbing in the corners and other areas the big one can't get at.

The 230 only cleans small areas because the thing doesn't put enough solution down to do long room crossing, it just leaves a light streak of wetness that dries up,instantly. However, It really shines in the bathroom and small foyer areas. The 230 is NOT worth $300 and you will feel much remorse long after you bought it. The 390 is a great machine, highly recommended.