Questions on 570 + Command Center/Remote

[Gina]

Hi all, I am thinking of buying a roomba and I am so glad to have found this forum! I currently have a neck/shoulders injury that is keeping me from vacuuming at all, and I am very interested in the Roomba. I have some questions

I was looking at the 570 model, because of the Command Center/Remote. Is the remote like a remote for a RC Car, Where you can drive the roomba around where you want it? Does it work well? Are the buttons easy to push or do they take some pressure to control

Finally, how do the lighthouses work? I am currently accessing the internet with something that does not play movies very well, and there is little info on the irobot site. Do you have to have enough lighthouses as doors in a room to keep the roomba from leaving? Can anyone shed some light?

Thank you!
Gina

[fancyfreewv]

Hi Gina,

The WCC works with all models of 5xx from 535 on up. The 535 which is exclusive to HSN, has no top cover with the controls on it but the insides do allow scheduling if you do it with the WCC.

While the WCC can steer the Roomba, that is not the intent of the device. It's for scheduling mostly although you can use it for instance to put the home base under a shelf or cabinet and then use the WCC to start it up manually if you don't have it scheduled.

With your health issues, I would suggest getting either a 550 from Costco which is the same as a 560 but a bit cheaper if you are a member. Neither of these comes with the WCC but adding the $59 device to the 535 brings that price up too. Once I have mine scheduled, I leave the WCC on a shelf.

As to the other models, all are the same inside with different covers and outside colors the difference in price is the accessories packaged with them.

You will still need to bend to pick up the Roomba, take it someplace and clean it daily after you run it but it certainly is not as heavy as a Dyson.

[Gina]

Thanks for your reply Nancy. I can barely straighten the house, let alone push a vacuum. Many days, I'm on the couch pushing buttons on the TV remote. It's going to take more time to heal than my floors can stand. I was interested most in the remote to steer. I don't plan on walking behind the roomba the whole time with the remote, but there are dry spills or quick mess clean ups that I'd like to do quickly instead of having the roomba take forever to get to them on a normal round. Will the remote work well enough for that?

I'm interested in the scheduling, as I'd like it to run downstairs while I'm asleep upstairs, turning itself on automatically 3 or so times a week to sweep. How is the noise factor? Will I be able to hear it running in that distance? I also like the idea of the lighthouses, but not sure if it's really necessary. That's why I was asking about them here. Would love input on how useful the lighthouses are/are not for you and others.

I am not a member of Costco, but maybe a friend might be so can purchase it for me. I was going to use a coupon at irobot.com or possibly the hammer schlemmer website for the lifetime warranty.
Thanks again for your reply,
Gina

[Todemesne]

I have a back and neck problem too and use the remote on my older 4 series Roomba a lot. I use it in the way you describe to drive the Roomba to a particular spot for spills etc. It is also useful for driving the Roomba I keep upstairs to its dock under a wardrobe. I should imagine the WCC on the 5 series works in much the same way.

A lighthouse is not required for every door in your house. They are used to divide up the area to be cleaned into practical chunks of cleaning time, around 35 minutes per area I understand. Lighthouses and VW's aren't always necessary though and I just let mine wander freely on each floor of the house on a daily basis and it works fine for me.

[roddenshaw]

The WCC is perfect for that and it also means that you can activate the Roomba without bending/crouching.

If you are going to buy the WCC and you don't need all of the accessories that come with the 550 from Costco it would be cheapest to buy the 535 from HSN, especially if you use the first time buyer's 15% discount code, or the $20 off discount code. You'll get the same functionality as the 560, but without the display on the top.

[fancyfreewv]

you are welcome for the input however I still see the potential for cleaning issues. These things are not just going to work cleaning for long unless you clean thoroughly. For this, you must pick it up off the floor and turn it upside down and clean the necessary parts.

http://www.robotreviews.com/wiki/cleaning

this tells you the regular plus deep cleaning procedures that a lot of us use to keep them running well.

Look around the WIKI sections while you are there and you will see comparisons of all the models and other items that may be of interest.

Yes, the WCC will be good for quick pickup of cereal or cat litter as there is a "spot" mode for that.

I let mine roam freely as well and I use the LH for their VW parts to block off parts of my home and although scheduling is nice, it's necessary to clean up things beforehand and "roombaize" your home so it doesn't get stuck. This you will find out in the first week or so of using it. It's very quiet but if you have pets or kids that leave things around that would have to be taken into consideration before you can automatically let it run.

[_JP_]

As far as noise goes with the 500 series, it shouldn't be much of an issue with the robot working on a different floor, depending on the floor covering. On carpets the robot is quiet enough that I don't hear it when it's in the back room. When it gets on the linoleum surface it is noticeably louder.

The WCC makes the robot very easy to steer around and I think that it is must for people that have mobility issues. But do keep in mind that it is going to have to be picked up and turned over so that you can clean it out. Perhaps a visitor could do that for you.