Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A few months ago I called Irobot and told them how utterly sad I was about scooba's overall short lifespan given the great potential the robot offered. A manager got on the phone and offered me another replacement of one of my older models, but weary of the process, I declined. Days later, the manager called me back and asked me to reconsider. I agreed to have them send me a replacement of my old model, no strings attached, no replacement parts returned, no shipping charges, simply a good will measure on thier part. Surprise, surprise, when the package arrived, it was the newest model, not a refurbished old model. Irobot was sincerely doing me a good turn and I was truly impressed. I was ready to start again with a fresh attitude. Now, months later, I continued to be impressed by this newest scooba model which runs smoothly, has no bugs, has a solid battery life and is free of any and all irritations the previous models have had. It runs like a champ, cleans the the 1,000 square feet of porcelain tile in our home (in sections) daily with little care. We use the plug in method of charging with only the one battery which we never remove from the unit. We take care to only use either water or the enzyme cleaner. I must say that using any other cleaner seems to be the kiss of death to internal parts, so be aware of this if you care for the longevity of your unit. Irobot has a winner and I am pleased as punch. I am using it daily, putting it through it's paces and it is working like a champ. Scooba works well particularly on open spaces. Daily, I simply flip chairs on upon the other (20 seconds) to make things easier and more open for scooba, fill scooba and let it loose. After running, I do take maybe three minutes to clean. This invloves dumping the vacuum screen, rinsing the water vacuum port, quickly rinsing the dirty water tank (not needed but just my thing) and popping the brush button and doing a quick rinse. Then a simple plug in on the floor and scooba is ready for another day. My hands never get dirty, and neither does scooba. One charge overnight does fine for a whole house of work the next day. The battery has shown no signs of depletion. Maintenance sometimes seems like a dirty word to some, but so little brings a lot of lifespan, so I'm being good about it. I've heard people complain that they feel they shouldn't have to do anything to the unit, but seriously, this is less than wringing out a mop or squeezing a germy sponge and much less nasty since you don't touch anything dirty. Emptying the dirt bin on a vacuum is worse than rinsing these little parts. Scooba has little open spots colored and easily plucked and replaced so it is a breeze. The design is clear and hassle free with no switches, toggles, jamming or other annoyances that normally deter maintenance. A running Scooba begins in a circular pattern, working outwards. It spreads clean water with cleaning solution in it, scrubs the floor with scrubbing brushes, and squeegees and sucks up the dirty water and any physcial debris. Scooba's ability to pick up depends solely on the type of flooring. On our very smooth tile, it picks up to nearly absolutely dry to the touch. On our tile that has some texture, some moisture gets left in the grooves, but never enough to be a problem. Scooba returns over areas enough that the overpasses get any residual moisture left behind. If you let scooba do its entire run you will see this, but if you look simply pass for pass, you might mistakenly think scooba is leaving water behind. Scooba does get your floor clean using a remakably small amount of water, much less than a mop. When the cycle is done, the dirty water is collected in a dirty water reserve which you empty. You will be surprised what gets collected there. The great thing about this unit is that, unlike mopping, the dirty water gets removed from the floor and taken away, rather than being diluted and spread around your floor. I have mentioned cleaning tile floors quite a bit, but I have used scooba to clean my sealed hardwood floors in a limited way. I don't do this often, though, as it is my preference that these floors really never see water. However, when scooba has been used, I do go quickly behind with a towel as I worry about any water. I feel scooba is best used for non wood surfaces on a regular basis. Sorry, Irobot. Scooba does fine in our bathrooms which represent smaller spaces. Naturally, scooba's size doesn't allow it to get behind toilets and the like, but if your bath is large enough your floors will shine without your personal contact with the entire floor which is something everyone can enjoy. This being said, scooba naturally does well in homes with lots of hard surface floors. If your home is mainly carpeted, scooba might not be the investment for you, unless your kitchen floor is large and you love it brand new clean every day. We have not used it on vinyl, so we don't know how it works on that product, though it should do great since the scrubbing gets things in textured surfaces. Scooba has a cliff sensor. This means it won't run off stairs. It will back off by itself and it does this brilliantly. If you have wide, open spaces, scooba comes with an electronic room divider which is essentially an invisible beam scooba won't cross. For us, this keeps scooba in the kitchen for an entire cycle, rather than scooba trying to do the entire first floor since all our rooms are connected. You can buy extra room dividers to segment more areas if your house is very open planned, or you may do fine with the one unit provided with the purchase as we have. The unit beams over a good distance so one might just do it for you. We like this unit as nothing physical sits on the floor. The unit is very small and portable and works on D batteries that last a long time. Scooba does a pretty decent job of getting close to within an eighth or so of our kitchen cabinets. Every once in a blue moon I'll go over those areas with a rag, but honestly, cleaning with scooba every day makes this an unneeded chore. The sweeping ability is pretty decent. Scooba can get a cat food kibble and a stray onion peel that has skittled under a kitchen cabinet. These items get vacuumed up and are retained in a screen you dump out ot the end of the cycle. Granted, this is not intended for a major cheerios spill. I have a Neeto for that which I also highly suggest for a busy family. My floors are barefoot clean and my tile and grout remain perpetually brand new via scooba though I live in the country, have a house full of kids and pets and am in the process of remodeling, complete with drywall dust and kitchen crumbs mixing by the end of every day. Daily use of scooba gets it....but for me, daily is needed. So, in summary, there was a time I would have hesitated telling anyone the time was right to get a scooba. I would have said "not yet...they aren't ready...things aren't yet ironed out..." but not any more. I think now IS the time. I think Irobot is ready and they have a machine which is poised and perfect to keep your floors clean free of hassle, free of work, and free of excess filth on your part. I think you will get a work horse that will go and go, with the help of small daily rinsing on your part. And the price? Well, now considering the machine will work well into the future and Irobot is standing behind it, I don't think a daily washing of your floors can be had for any less, especially if you have lots of hard surfaces as I do. Thank you, Irobot, for taking care of me after so long. I did say that after many months that if I was indeed pleased, that if I did believe again, that if my mind was changed I'd write this review. Your effort was worth it. My house is happy, and your technology is doing all I knew it could. Good job! UPDATE: It is now March 2013 and I am happy to report that the Scooba is working beautifully and doing well. I fully endorse the product for daily use in a large and busy (if not dirt prone!) home. Again, don't use anything in it but plain water, vinegar or Scooba enzyme cleaner, and scooba will clean for you every day and do it well. I am still on the same battery and I charge it each and every day and it still runs to full capacity. I think Irobot has a good, strong unit here that is worth what I paid.In fact, it is running right now while I relax and take time to write this review! UPDATE: MARCH 2014 AND GOING STRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No problems, no replacement parts, no errors, just strong performance every day. This machine is a winner. UPDATE: 10/28/2015 Still going strong....:) Can you say great machine?!?!?! UPDATE 9/1/2016 And it is still working like new. Don't forget to buy small bottle brushed to keep the ports clean! BTW as an Amazon top reviewer, isn't it about time for Scooba to reach out to me to test heir products?!?!? :)