| iRobot 530 Roomba Vacuuming Robot, White | 
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| Brand: iRobot
Category: Kitchen
List Price: $329.99
Buy New: $285.99
You Save: $44.00 (13%)
New (9) Used (2) from $228.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  120 reviews
Sales Rank: 820
Color: White
Autographed: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 14
Dimensions (in): 20.8 x 17.9 x 6.3
MPN: 53001
Model: 530
UPC: 853816530014
EAN: 0853816530014
ASIN: B000UU7TZE
Release Date: August 22, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW AND FACTORY SEALED, FAST SHIPPING
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| Features:
| • | Vacuuming robot picks up dirt and debris with the touch of a button | | • | Easy-to-empty bagless dustbin; fine-filtration system traps allergens | | • | Anti-tangle technology; gentle-touch bumper system; built-in cliff sensors | | • | Self-charging Home Base, 2 Virtual Walls, an extra filter, and more included | | • | Measures 16-3/4 by 21 by 5 inches; 1-year limited warranty |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Just press the Clean button! The iRobot Roomba 530 vacuuming robot cleans more rooms, more effectively.Longer battery life allows it to clean up to 3 rooms on a single charge, and it cleans them better than ever with redesigned brushes and a stronger vacuum. Roomba navigates wirelessly under and around furniture, along walls and in corners, automatically adjusting from carpets to hard floors, carefully avoiding hazards like stairs and drop-offs. Anti-tangle technology prevents it from getting stuck on power cords, carpet fringe and other loose fibers. A larger air filter captures more allergens, and a larger debris bin keeps the dirt, dust and pet hair where it belongs. When the battery's low or cleaning is complete, Roomba 530 will return automatically to its charging base to dock and recharge. This smart, efficient vacuuming robot will save you time and effort, while keeping your home wonderfully clean--it's time you got one!Smart programming The Roomba 530 senses and avoids rug tassels, power cords and phone cords. Virtual Walls prevent Roomba from entering off-limit' areas. This robot even senses where the floor is dirtier and automatically cleans those areas more intensely! When it's done cleaning, Roomba automatically returns to its base to recharge. Cleans more rooms The Roomba 530 cleans more area at a time than previous models--3 rooms per charge. It slides easily under your furniture to reach the dirt ordinary vacuums leave behind. Plus, the Spot Clean feature lets you quickly clean up spills and messes. Better brushes The redesigned side brush reaches deeper into corners, and all the brushes spin faster to capture more dirt, dust and pet hair. A stronger vacuum Roomba's super-strong vacuum penetrates even the thickest carpet and densest pet hair. Vacuum pick-up has been improved, and the bagless dustbin holds more, too. Improved air filter A larger air filter traps more dust and allergens, so Roomba's system stays clean--and your family can bre
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| Customer Reviews: Read 115 more reviews...
AWESOME! November 21, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I read a lot about roombas and scoobas before making a choice. I haven't gotten a scooba yet - though I intend to - and I picked the Roomba 530 model. I investigated different models, looked at a lot of different websites, read TONS of reviews. I wanted to get the most up-to-date model I could afford and get that one for the cheapest price possible. I used the comparison chart on the irobot site to see what the real differences are, and for the most part with the 500 models, there's no gigantic differences. I was more interested to see a lot of positive reviews for the model of my choice, as I think that's a real testament to how good the product is.
I ordered my roomba from a big box store that is going out of business, so I got it for about $190, which in my opinion was a fantastic price and really swayed me into getting this treat for myself. People were like "you ordered an vacuuming robot? what a waste of money, it's just a toy." Yea, that's what my dad said to me, and my boyfriend just looked at me like a lazy person who throws money out the window. The women seemed to better understand my wanting. I have 2 cats, and they love to 'rumble', and when they do, cat fur flies. and nothing makes me more crazy then dust bunnies the size of Texas drifting across my hardwood floors. I have a dust buster I use to chase them, but can never really keep up. So I thought this was the perfect solution. I live in an apartment, 6 rooms, none very large. They average about 12x12 in size. So this roomba had a sufficient battery for me to do about 2 rooms at a time, and comes with 2 virtual walls, more then I thought I would need, but they're coming in handy and I've been using both of them.
out of the box I charged it for about 2 hours and then the light was green. This model comes with a nice little docking station as well. So as I waited for it to be charged, I had to run to the store to pick up 4 D batteries, which are needed for the virtual walls - 2 batteries each. So if you're expecting a roomba in the mail, go get your batteries now!
As soon as I got back, the light was green so off it went on it's first cleaning mission. One cat is terrified by it, the other is oddly interested and just watches it so far. I did one room at a time, as the manual said this makes it more efficient. Watching it does illicit some unease...I wasn't sure if it was suppose to slam(not really slamming just seems that way when your new 200 dollar baby is going straight at a piece of furniture without slowing down!) into certain thing and was afraid the impact would break it. but I suppose the roombas are suppose to be pretty durable, so I found it easier to plop it in a room and walk away, checking on it occasionally. It happily did all rooms, though in my opinion it runs longer then it needs to, so I have turned it off early a couple times. I LOVE that it fits under most of my furniture, where dust and fur tend to collect. It did under my bed, which is a godsend in itself. It went over a couple wires there and had no problem at all. It's not super noisy, just sounds like a quieter version of a regular vacuum. I'm sure my downstairs neighbor doesn't love it, but its not like it runs constantly or at bad hours.
It's easy to empty the dust bin and I found it's best to clean out the brush/wheels every time, so as to keep the roomba running in top condition. I actually used some tweezers to get into the hard to reach areas and make sure I don't have any mass of fur collecting where it shouldn't.
Some side info I would like to add for those yet to purchase a roomba -- I was just reading on a roomba forum that if you wait a bit, the most recently produced roombas come with an updated cleaning head module and also a better battery(nihm or something instead of a different, less worthy type that it has now, according to the forum). I was dimly aware of this beforehand, and honestly, just didn't want to wait!!
Roomba works very well for us November 16, 2008
This product works quite well! Our house has never been cleaner - or tidier, as we are forced to get junk off the floor to get the most out of it. We set it going and go somewhere else in the house while it works. We tend to restrict its access so that we and our cats can have some peace, because its not that quiet. However, if you put it in a room and shut the door, it doesn't disturb much beyond. Once our cats got used to it, they now have a healthy fascination/contempt for it. Cleaning its brushes is almost therapeutic - it takes longer the first few times if your house isn't as clean as it could be. Long hairs get tangled around the brushes, so some patience is needed to pull them off, but its no big deal. I'm always amazed at how much stuff it collects each time.
Sometimes it stops early and asks you to clean its brushes. There's a little gold-colored round detector disk under the rubber brush - this may need wiping to stop it complaining. If, after cleaning and restarting, it complains again, then pushing the center button again clears its "I'm dirty" state and allows it to continue. If you used a complete charge daily, it would probably clean about 1500 square feet clean in 2 days.
It doesn't have a way of keeping track of where its been, so some areas seem to get a lot more focus than others (and not because they're dirtier). To say it is stupid is more of a criticism of its coverage efficiency than its effectiveness. It may attempt to climb over small obstructions (up to about 1/2 inch high) - and it could get stuck, so we use one of the two the provided electronic "barriers" to keep it away from trouble spots. It may also close hinged doors on its own, trapping itself or a pet in a room, so it is usually a good idea to restrict its movements.
The roomba can find its own way back to its base for unsupervised recharging. We find this feature handy if we want to use it two or more times a day. We liked it so much, we bought one for upstairs and one for downstairs, and often have both running.
 Acceptable design to minimize household chores November 12, 2008
I bought my iRobot 535 from HSN. The design is largely similar to iRobot 530 and therefore the reason for posting this review here.
It has a few pros and cons, as with any design.. There is never such a thing as perfect design since man is never perfect either ^.^.
Some of the pros are
* It does not fall off the staircases.
* It does not get entangle in my carpet fringes.
* Effective in cleaning wooden floors and acceptable in cleaning carpet areas.
* You can actually programmed the iRobot through the interface. So this can be a good educational toy for robotics geeks.
Some of the cons are
* Limited capacity of filter and therefore limited area of cleaning
It is effective only for an average room size of 11ftx11ft. For any room larger than this, you will find pieces of dirt here and there on the floor. I found that this is because the filter has become full and therefore clogged up, so much so that the dust collection is heavily minimized. So once you find bits and pieces of dirt lying on the floor, it literally means it is time to clean up the filter.
* Got stuck in certain positions.
There was a slight ramp on my wooden floor leading to the fireplace, and my keyboard lying at a side. The first time it manages to clean and was OK. The second time, somehow it got trapped and eventually it powered itself down in the trapped position and I have to come to the rescue of my pet.
Overall, if you can save time by not having to clean manually using the traditional vacuum cleaner, this can be a time-saver.
 absolutely fabulous! November 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
i got my roomba a few months ago, and i have been nothing but happy with its performance! my home was recently robbed, and, among other items, my roomba was stolen. As mad as i was that i lost all of my electronics, i was more upset that my roomba was gone. it has been about a month since the break-in, and the only thing i have replaced so far is my roomba! i absolutely recommend this vacuum! it really does work, and it really will free up your time. i have even caught my cat turning roomba on by himself and taking a joy ride!
Clean Floor Fanatic - Not a gadget - a great vaccum November 4, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I bought this roomba 530 after returning a brand new Dirt Devil cannister vacuum which was awful. I was very sceptical about the Roomba and was preparing myself to be returning it the next day having discovered it wasnt up to the job!
VERY PLEASED to report that this little "gadget" works brilliantly. I have had it a week now, so may revise this review later. But thus far, its working a dream. I was amazed at how much dust and fluff it picks up - its quite staggering really considering I was vacuuming my carpets and mopping my floors weekly - this product is not a "gadget" but an efficient, timesaving aid to my weekly clean and battle against the kids mess.
To address issues raised by other consumers:
PREPARATION WORK: Yes you do have to clear the floor area of cables, cords, pencils, toys, fabric throws/curtains dangling on the floor and other stuff that (and lets face it in order to do the job thoroughly) you should probably clear up anyway even for conventional vacuums). Once thats done - you set it off and, depending upon the size of the room, 40 minutes or so later, you are done! So go off and get a coffee, clean the bathroom, iron some shirts!
MAINTENANCE: I empty it after every use because the dirt catcher is small and it is so efficient that it gets full quickly. You need to remove fluff and hair etc that gets on the roller and brush - no big deal, it takes 2 minutes to do - if I had done this with my upright vacuum, perhaps it would not have broken just outside of the 12m warranty.
CHARGING: As per the instructions, mine sits on the docking station charging all the time its not actually being used - not run out of battery life yet and I have used it every day so far.
PARTS: So, I may have to replace the brushes and filters - so what? They are not extortionately expensive.
So, all in all, for a vacuum that I can basically prep for, set off and leave to get on with the job that I hate whilst I do something infinately more interesting. A+++
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