iRobot Roomba 560 Robotic Vacuum

Pros: Efficient at its job and fun
Cons: Expensive

A few months ago I was perusing the AmEx website with some points burning a hole in my pocket. Honey and Johnny were across the country. AmEx had a deal on a Roomba 560. I thought I would surprise them on their return and ordered one. It arrived the same ...

Pros: The only thing that you have to do on a daily basis is clean it.
Cons: This is a little bit pricey but well worth the money.

Years ago, when my wife and I purchased the original Roomba, which was a close copy of this model.  The irobot Roomba 560 robotic vacuum can do carpet, hardwood floors, vinyl, ceramic tile, and just about any type that you can think of.  They ...

Pros: Sleek design, automated cleaning, generally good cleaning job, easy to clean
Cons: not very thorough, may "forget" where home (charger) is when cleaning more than one room

Well, the original Discovery was fascinating but frankly too expensive and we didn't have a good application for it. Further, reviews were just okay. Now that we're in our new house, we were still on the initial high and finally the Roomba 560 moved in ...

Pros: Battery life, vacuum power
Cons: Noisy

About two years ago I decided to do a little test and I bought the Roomba Discovery. I intended to use it to maintain some semblance of cleanliness in my kitchen and living/dining room areas. After much anticipation regarding the no-doubt-soon-to-be ...

Pros: Automatic, Cleans Well, Easy to Maintain
Cons: Loses scheduling when battery dies

I had the pleasure of test driving an iRobot Roomba 560 and just minutes into the first vacuuming I was in love!  So much so that I purchased one!  Even my VERY skeptical husband approves of it!  We are a dust bunny-free home now ...

Pros: Main brushes don't eat rug tassles. Lighthouse virtual walls.
Cons: Doesn't fit under my style couches.

I have had this Roomba 560 for about a week now. I have 3 other Roomba models, all of the last generation, which is the third. The new Roomba 560 has onboard scheduling, a very nice feature. My other Roomba models are scheduled via the remote that ...

Pros: Cleans well, Easy to clean, Good support
Cons: Side Brush looks a little flimsy

Who Are We... We are a Roomba family. We have had Roombas from the very first models through the Discovery series and finally to the latest purchase, the Roomba 560 series machine. Before I get into the full review of the product a little ...

Pros: I would definitely recommend the Roomba Pet Series. 
Cons: Price

I've owned a Scooba now for some time & even though I also own the Dyson animal vacuum (which I absolutely love), I had my eye on the Roomba Pet Series for everyday light cleaning.I live in a house with two long hair black cats & 1 gray ...

Pros: Really does the job. Must work constantly over long period, but who cares?
Cons:

Defective after initial use. Problematic tech support, but ultimately OK. Details in the main review.

OK. I've wanted to get this thing for a long time, and finally broke down and bought it. I figured I'd given iRobot Corp. a chance to impress me.As you may have read from my previous review, customer support and reliability is *the* most ...

Pros: Removes LOTS of dirt, more than predecessors. Modular, so user can replace parts.
Cons: Brush hubs get clogged with big gobs of lint - needs frequent attention.

I had the earlier Discovery Roomba model for several years and learned to live with its limitations. A few months ago, we upgraded to the 560 model. Somethings are much better - it picks up more dirt, for one thing. It still leaves fluff wads around ...

Pros: The unit is very easily maintained.
Cons: Maintaining the unit voids the warranty

Actual May 2008 dealings with customer service. I have edited this posting for clarity, leaving here only my emails to iRobot support. ==================== For now, I am declining your offer to replace my in-warranty Roomba 570. However, I ...

Pros: Cleans okay when working.
Cons: Brushes break; leaves some dog hair. Problem with the gears affects many. Lousy support.

I have bought and trashed a few iRobot products. My $300 Scooba is now unfixable. This Roomba 560 unit could be the last straw. Out of the box, it is easy to set up, but you must have C batteries on hand to power the "virtual wall" devices that keep ...

Pros: Chases most furballs & dust bunnies while you aren't actually doing the vacuuming.
Cons: Bangs things, no deep cleaning despite spot cleaning feature, misses dust bunnies, noisy.

Just about any vacuum (an inexpensive shop vac) will do a better job, but as traditional vacuums do, it requires you vacuum with it. The iRobot cleans without you, for the most part. However, this most recent of versions bangs into all the ...

Pros: It's cool
Cons: Needs supervision; not a great vacuum qua vacuum

As I was watching my new Roomba 560 roam around the living room, and felt it bang into the legs under the sectional, I though to myself, "Now this is cool." And then I saw the little fuzzballs still sitting on the area rug, and then had to go clean the ...

Pros: Convenience, thorough job, Irobot customer support, battery life, ease of use, scheduling ability.
Cons: Small dustbin, needs emptying often. Brushes need cleaned often. Cost.

We got this Roomba to replace an older model and we just love her. HER, yes it is a her. It cannot be a him, she works TOO HARD. We love our roomba. She has become a member of our family. We bought it because we had a 18 month old toddler who was ...

Pros: Cleans more thoroughly and quietly than a normal vac.
Cons: Broke down really fast and customer service is poor,

I received the 560 as an early Christmas present. After charging it up, I let it take a spin around the living room and was really, really impressed at how thoroughly it cleaned. It's cleaning path is admittedly odd-looking, but if you let the ...

Pros: Does the work for you. Affordable. Quiet. IT'S A ROBOT!!!
Cons: Needs initial 16 hour charge. Batteries not included. BumperStrip needs to be applied to front.

I'm a single guy, soon to be married, that has a cleaning lady come every 2 to 3 months to do the real dirty work. So rather then call her for her quarterly visit, I took the money I would normally give her and invested it in this. Anyways, on with my ...

Pros: Schedule capabilities, baseboard brush, and I am not vacuuming!
Cons: Noise, side brush not durable, trouble redocking, takes a long time

Overwhelmed by a horse of a Great Dane that sheds constantly and a crawling infant that looks like it is wearing fur knee pads I set out to find a solution to my problem. After much reserch it looked like the Roomba 560 was the answer. It's onboard ...

Pros: My kids actually clean their room so they can run it <=== MIRACLE
Cons: Not perfect, you might have to jump through some hoops to get a "good one"

The Problem: Everyone in my family hates vacuuming, so it doesn't get done.  Then hubby does it, & b!tches about it...but the rest of us would still rather hear the b!tching than do it ourselves.  That's how much we hate it.  And our ...

Pros: Great maintenance unit to use in between regular vacuumings
Cons: Short life.  Customer service no longer very good.

I keep buying roombas (this is my 4th) because I love them when they work.  Unfortunately, my 2 cats and yellow lab keep the unit constantly busy.  I now clean them thoroughly after every use because they end up clogged with hair if I don't ...

Pros: Thorough cleaning.
Cons: High operating costs.Poor reliability.

My first 560 failed after 1 year just inside the warranty period and the replacement they sent me lasted about 6 months.  They seem to get stuck going around in circles.But, while they work they do quite a thorough job cleaning and they are fun ...

Pros: Absoutely non at all
Cons: Cons, yes I have definately been conned

I've had a 560 for about eigtheen months now and spent more time stripping it down and fiddling with its nether regions than doing my own job.  I've bought a complete new brush set, side brushes by the score and even a couple of filters and now the ...

Pros: Works well, keeps your house clean with little or no effort.
Cons: Plastic construction, won't take abuse or last forever. Expect a year, two at most.

They've made some substantial improvements in the 5th generation Roomba. Is it perfect? No. The concept is sound, but the implementation is less than perfect. Imagine a robot built by a toy factory in China and you'll have a good idea what this thing ...

Pros: It does the work, easy to empty out, programmable
Cons: might not cover every square inch of the house.

I have had my new Roomba 560 for a little over a week and I have to tell everyone how much I love this machine. I have a massive amount of open floor space in my living room. It is mostly wood floor with a couple of rugs. We just built are house about a ...

Pros:  Cleans pet hair. Best purchased by a consumer with a sense of  mechanics
Cons: Poor product engineering, and support. Failure to correct know problems.  Lacks  quality. 

Within in 2 months of purchasing the brush head failed. Support replaced it, but with a newly designed head to prevent pet hair buildup behind the ends.. Amazing.  Before it failed , also  purchased a 540 and that unit had the better brush ...

Pros: Unattended cleaning cycle, convenience.
Cons: durability, maintenance, cost (pricey)

We have a total of three roombas, a 560 and two 4110's. The 560 is broken right now (about 4 months of use), the main beater brush assembly is not turning, (probably broken teeth on the gears according to their website). We are awaiting a backordered ...

Pros: Cleans OK.
Cons: Poor customer service. Many mechanical problems.

My two robots have been plagued by a litany of problems in the 9 months I've had them First, the spinning side brush arms constantly break off, despite getting the new brushes which are "virtually indestructable" according to iRobot. I have now had the ...

Pros: Works great for a little more than a year (20 cycles)
Cons: Short lifespan.

I bought the Irobot Roomba 560 new in April of 2008 at retail, close to $370.  I had used it less than 20 times on a very small 10x10ft room with a hardwood floor. I have no dogs or thick carpet or anything taxing like that, very light work. It ...

Pros: Easy to use, quiet.
Cons: Doesn't deep clean.

The worse thing you can do when you have a bad back is to vacuum.  I solved my problem by buying the Roomba.  I'm very satisfied.  No, it doesn't replace your regular vacuum cleaner but it is excellent for light vacuuming (I get my husband to use the regular vac about once a month). 

Pros: ok if you have big rooms without alot of walls and hallways.
Cons: Price, too long to clean

I bought myself the Roomba 560 based on reviews. I have never spent more wasted money on anything in my life. First few days the side brushes broke and I have to admit customer service sent new ones out to me quickly. It takes FOREVER to do one room and has a really hard time finding the dock to recharge unless it is cleaning the room the dock is in. I sent it back after trying it for 2 weeks. I took my $35 Eureka 'the boss' upright out and I was amazed how much dirt the Roomba left behind. It is ok for a quick clean but it misses alot of spots and once it is broken that is it, no services to fix it. Save your money. You also have to empty the bin a number of times so if you are not home it can fill up and you come home to have to empty it and start again. Bin too small.

Pros: Almost everything.  Very efficient!
Cons: frequent cleaning of brushes 

Short & sweet.... it does exactly what you bought it to do.  Roomba 560 (on your schedule) cleans the floors, goes under the furniture, close to baseboards, and around corners doing a much better job than I ever could!  It docks itself, doesn't fall downstairs, doesn't scare my pets (pet bunny loves it and follows it around!).  I love the constantly CLEAN floors!  I hope to never be without a Roomba again!

Pros: Goes from room to room.
Cons: Does not clean corners or walls once side brushes break off.

I have been a long time customer of iRobot. I have had multiple early generation Roombas (and still have four fourth generation Roombas in my house). I bought two 560's in September and the side brushes became "amputees" within the first few weeks, with the brushes breaking off.

When I called for Technical Support (not listed on their website: 877.855.8593) I was told it was a "known problem", and they would ship out the new redesigned side brush replacements as soon as received. Weeks later, still no date and even today "maybe three weeks".

Now they are hedging on whether it was a design defect. What IS clear is that none of the units on sale have a "redesigned" part, so you may have the same problem I have had. So forget about getting one before Christmas unless you want to go through this same debacle I am.

I have always had the highest respect for iRobot (despite the Scooba), but my faith has been shaken by this product.

Pros: Worked well for the first 10 months.
Cons: Not reliable and will need replacing in a short period of time.

We bought a roomba 560 a year ago.  We were amazed at how well it worked.  For a battery powered vacuum it really picked up dirt and pet hair.  We didn't mind paying what we paid for it because it worked so well.  That was until about month 11 and then it simply stopped picking up anything. It still sounded like it was working well but it would just not vacuum.  Tech support sent us many different parts because it was still under warrany but ultimately we never really got it to work correctly again.  I would strongly not recommend this vacuum unless you are ok with buying one once a year.

Pros: quiet, great suction, modular parts
Cons: cost, 1 year warranty

I have owned 2 roomba schedulers, each lasted slightly over 11/2 years. the brushes stopped working and they started making a very loud grinding noise. We used them every day ( and cleaned them everyday) on our hardwood floors, we do not have any carpeting/rugs. Let me tell you also that we no longer have any kids, but have 9 cats. Our second unit just died and after much deliberation decided to purchase the 550, a unit that seems to be the same as the 560/570, but is sold thru Costco. Paid $279.00. Just got it out and it is absolutely wonderful. It is about 1/2 the noise of our prior units and seems to clean much better, the slight slowdown prior to touching a wall is very cool, since we had already had our house roombatized ( no carpets, cords, etc...) the non tangle option i'm unable to evaluate. Irobot does need to extend their warranty, but the ability to replace parts seems real cool.

Pros: Great on wood and tile. Smaller jobs don't challenge the battery.
Cons: Occasionally gets stuck. Untested on carpet.

I've had a good experience so far with my 560. I have an apartment with all wood floors. It doesn't take too long to get the place done and I don't think the little guy gets stuck nearly as often as I expected given several obstacles at my place. I think it can be a great buy if the job isn't too ambitious or at least worth the experiment if you can find one at the right price. I got mine on clearance at memorysuppliers.com for a little over $200 which seemed worth the risk. So far it has met my expectations and freed up some valuable cleaning time.