ISO iRobot Scooba -- any experience using it?

[winter75]

Our Hoover Floormate died and I would like to try the iRobot Scooba. It almost sounds too good to be true. If anyone has any experience with the Scooba or knows of any good deals, I would love to hear about it. I need a way to clean about 1000 sq ft of tile. I have 2 large dogs who constantly track in dirt. I have a hard time keeping our grout clean. Thanks in advance!

[emschwar]

we had one. Eh. It did an ok job cleaning the floor, and it was way easier than cleaning it myself, but that's probably just because I hate cleaning.

It does take forever to clean the floor too. We used it in our kitchen - probably about 300-400 sq feet, and it took at least 45 minutes to clean.

The thing doesn't last though. From the day we got it, we had problems with a part of it - I called customer service and they told me how to fix it (squirt water through this part with a turkey baster). I had to do this about every other time I used the scooba. Then, about a month after the warranty ended, that part completely broke off, and irobot wouldn't replace it. I really don't feel like it was worth the $$.

[winter75]

we had one. Eh. It did an ok job cleaning the floor, and it was way easier than cleaning it myself, but that's probably just because I hate cleaning.

It does take forever to clean the floor too. We used it in our kitchen - probably about 300-400 sq feet, and it took at least 45 minutes to clean.

The thing doesn't last though. From the day we got it, we had problems with a part of it - I called customer service and they told me how to fix it (squirt water through this part with a turkey baster). I had to do this about every other time I used the scooba. Then, about a month after the warranty ended, that part completely broke off, and irobot wouldn't replace it. I really don't feel like it was worth the $$.

Thanks for your reply. I was afraid it was too good to be true. Looks like I may be better off buying the $100 Hoover Floormate at Costco. Atleast I know what I'm getting and it's much cheaper.

[emschwar]

yeah, I think so. And at least with costco if it breaks too soon you can take it back.

[larig]

I like our scooba, but I don't run it as often as I would if my dog didn't try to bite it when I run it. I have used water and vinegar in it, not the cleaner. It does take a long time to run, but since it's not my time I don't care. I use it on a laminate in our kitchen and sealed wood floor in the rest of the house and it does a good job on both. Haven't had anything break or any problems like that. They are not programmable and you have to set it up when you are ready to use it each time (i.e., can't keep water in the tank).

[cbscherer]

Thanks for your reply. I was afraid it was too good to be true. Looks like I may be better off buying the $100 Hoover Floormate at Costco. Atleast I know what I'm getting and it's much cheaper.

I've got a Scooba and I like it b/c I HATE mopping floors. Love being able to set it and leave. Also ways less than the hoover floormate and stores in much smaller space under my utility sink.

That said, I would NEVER, EVER buy it from any company but Hammacher.com. Scooba can be tempermental. Once I returned 3 Scoobas before I got one that worked right. Thankfully, Hammacher always paid return shipping and sent me out a new one with no problem whatsoever. That's the nice thing about Hammacher. You shell out a pretty penny for their products in the beginning, but basically you're guarantee a robot that works for the rest of your life or your money back if you ever grow dissatisfied. (I've never heard of Hammacher denying a return if you are not satisfied, even when you purchased the item years earlier).

[Babymakes3]

My MIL has the scooba, a vac one and one for her pool! She loves the pool one but the other two are just ehhh she says. They are nice for doing quick cleanup type stuff but it doesn't get the floor all that clean so she still has to mop and run the vac, just not as often. She has had several problems with the scooba too. Her problem is that she follows the thing around and talks to it trying to get it to do what she wants it to do (which obv makes no difference!) so it's just as time consuming as if she did it on her own in the first place!
If you buy one I highly advise buying the cleaner meant for it too! You can also use vinegar and water in it but lemme tell you after a while of doing this that's all we could smell and it was awful!

[himom]

Our Hoover Floormate died and I would like to try the iRobot Scooba. It almost sounds too good to be true. If anyone has any experience with the Scooba or knows of any good deals, I would love to hear about it. I need a way to clean about 1000 sq ft of tile. I have 2 large dogs who constantly track in dirt. I have a hard time keeping our grout clean. Thanks in advance!

No experience with the Scooba, but I can chime in on the company a bit. We have a Roomba and I love it. When it's working properly, it gets under all the furniture, etc and is especially great in the bedrooms for under the beds, dressers, etc.

BUT -- we are currently on our 4th robot. The first three all stopped working while under the store warranty and instead of fixing them the store replaced them. Each consecutive robot worked for a while than broke down, each in a different way. Broken brushes, wouldn't pick up anymore, wheels causing it to go at weird angles, etc. Now, on robot 4, the store warranty is up and we have had to have part replacements twice from iRobot.

So I love it, but I won't be buying it again. Half the time it sits in the closet waiting to be fixed/replaced.