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iRobot 5800 Scooba Floor-Washing Robot

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Brand: iRobot
Category: Kitchen

List Price: ~~$399.99~~
Buy New: $236.85
You Save: $163.14 (41%)

New (18) Used (1) from $210.00

Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

160 reviews
Sales Rank: 1361

Color: Blue
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 31.3
Dimensions (in): 21 x 17 x 5
Warranty: 1

MPN: 5800R
Model: 5800
UPC: 853816058006
EAN: 0853816058006
ASIN: B000GB568O

Release Date: August 23, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Customer Reviews:

Showing reviews 31-35 of 160

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A WARNING ABOUT THEIR WARRANTY REPAIR- BUYER BEWARE May 2, 2008
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

I have nothing but GREAT things to say about the product itself. It does a fantastic job and now my kitchen floor gets cleaned far more often than I'd scrub it on my own.

HOWEVER, their Customer Service and Warranty Repair policies leave much to be desired. It's a VERY long and drawn out story. But the short version is this...

I received it as a gift for X-mas 07. Early April 08 the battery died. Warranty Repair dept. said they'd ship me a new one. I received an e-mail then saying it was backordered. After lots of phone tag and e-mails back and forth, I finally pointed out that they had them listed on their website as available and ready to ship.

I finally got my replacement battery after almost a month. It was refurbished and not the same model as the one I originally had. I had a 100 minute battey, they shipped me a 50 minute battery. I did not find this out because they told me. I found this out by chance. After further research it was confirmed that they sent me a cheaper battery than the one I originally had. When I called, they basically told me too bad.

I had to escalate this from a person on their 800 line to a supervisor and finally via a written request to a manager. The manager said that even though they have new 100 minute batteries on their website available, they would not send me one. I was stuck with the 50 minute battery. They made no apologies for sending the wrong one and in fact stated they knew they sent the wrong one.

The particular SCOOBA I have was purchased because it came with a 100 minute battery. A less expensive model could have been purchased with a 50 minute battery, but that's not what I wanted. But it's now what I am stuck with.

I also asked to have my entire SCOOBA replaced if that was the only way I could get my 100 minute battery replaced. I was told if I were to do that under warranty, they would replace it with a re-furbished SCOOBA and a 50 minute battery.

I have since called my local news. They are investigating what happened and hopefully, I will get my 100 minute battery. That's all I want.

After telling my Mom about my ordeal, she said she also had to have her battery replaced under warranty. When she looked, sure enough... they sent her a 50 minute battery too.

The product is great. But if it breaks down... you will be downgraded to a lesser model.

I'm really disappointed that a company with such a great product will not stand behind their name.

As for me, I will not be buying the Roomba I so badly wanted and my husband will not be buying the Dirt Dog or the one the cleans gutters. It's really a shame.

Buyer Beware.

4 out of 5 stars

Times change--and so do reviews. April 19, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

My old review is at the bottom. Unfortunately, with changes at iRobot, a new review is needed.

My previous review gave Scooba 4 stars, and I explained that it's wonderful when it works, but has frequent mechanical failures.

To me this was not a real problem, because iRobot technical support has been wonderful, sending replacement parts when needed and replacing the robot three times. I don't care if something breaks down if the manufacturer supports it.

Over the past month that has been changing, and today made it official.

I called iRobot not for Scooba, but for Roomba, the vacuum cleaner robot. I suspect that tech support has been outsourced. They were of very little help except to walk me through the troubleshooting steps which are outlined on iRobot's website, which I had already done. When that didn't fix the problem, I was told "Well, you'll have to buy a replacement."

What iRobot doesn't seem to realize is that I don't HAVE to buy a replacement. I can also stop recommending their products, and that is what I sadly have to do today.

My previous recommendation was based not only on the product but also on the quality of their support, which is essential when a product breaks regularly. After speaking with three people, including a supervisor, and being completely unable to divert them from their script or their desire to sell me a new robot, I no longer trust their technical support and therefore can no longer recommend iRobot products.

Scooba is a great product, if a bit temperamental. I'll continue to use mine for as long as it lasts. But the next time it breaks, I expect no help from iRobot tech support.

* * * * *

The good news: iRobot support has been good enough to replace my Scooba twice. The bad news: it needed to be replaced twice. And the last time they had warehouse problems and didn't ship my replacement for a month.

I really missed this little robot for that month. I've got one room with carpet (and Roomba takes care of that room nicely,) and the rest of my house has tile floors. I put two ounces of white vinegar in the clean tank, fill the tank with warm water, put it in a room and put a virtual wall in the doorway (or close the door if I want quiet,) and forget about it. Every day I do a different room. If I keep up with it, the vinegar is more than adequate to clean the floors.

My first Scooba arrived the day after I'd washed the floors. I tried it out because I was curious, even though I knew the floors were clean. I ran it, then dumped out the dirty tank, and was surprised to see that the water in the dirty tank was black. It made me question my mopping skills.

Eventually I figured it out. Scooba has an advantage over me. As it cleans, it puts down water from the clean tank, scrubs, then vacuums the dirty water into the dirty tank. The dirty water is never re-used. When I mop, I rinse my mop in dirty water then put it back on the floor. I'm picking up the dirt and then re-applying it, but Scooba doesn't do that.

When I'm done I dump the tank and rinse it, then rinse a rubber port and a filter inside the Scooba, then remove the brush head and rinse it. I also wipe the squeegees with a damp paper towel. It's slightly more work than rinsing out a mop, but considering I've probably spent the last hour napping instead of mopping, it's not a bad chore. And vinegar is less than a buck a gallon, way cheaper than floor cleaner.

Good Scoobas Gone Bad produce small floods by not picking up the dirty water, or ignore the virtual walls and go sailing into rooms with throw rugs, or don't put down any water at all. And if you don't clean it regularly it will get clogged up and jammed within a few weeks or less. The folks at iRobot are usually pretty good about fixing the problems.

5 out of 5 stars

Works Great April 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Does exactly what it is intended to do.

My kitchen floor (linoleum) and entryway (tile) haven't looked so clean since I bought the house new.

With 9 grand kids I was tired of mopping the kitchen floor everytime they left. Now I don't have to. I simply turn it on and walk away. :)

I have owned this bot for several months now and it has always worked flawlessly. The bot has even scrubbed up the dark stains in the linoleum that had accumulated even though I previously mopped quite frequently.

The Scooba has worked so well I invested in a Roomba with which I am also quite pleased. Wife was a severe skeptic but has now been thoroughly convinced of the value.

Welcome to the 21st century. :o)

1 out of 5 stars

Not worth the hassle. March 30, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

Don't throw away your mop and bucket because Scooba is unreliable at best.

Straight out of the box, I had problems getting it to start, then once it did start, it wouldn't put down any solution. In the first few months, after much prodding and coaxing, I could usually get it to run after several tries. But now I've had my Scooba for 10 months and it's completely useless. After 8 tries, I got it to run but couldn't get it to put down solution. It would run dry for about 3 minutes, and then the red power light comes on and it makes a sad little song and just stops.

It is also very LOUD when it's running. I live in a 2nd floor apartment with wood floors and I only run Scooba when my downstairs neighbors aren't home because I feel badly about the racket it makes.

I am so disappointed with my Scooba. I truly dislike washing floors, but at this point, I usually spend so much time trying to coax this machine into working that I just give up and mop the floor the old fashioned way.

I gave it a fair shake, but after 10 months of living with Scooba, I have to give it two thumbs down. I'll probably try to sell it online for parts, to try to recoup some of my loss.

5 out of 5 stars

I love my Scooba March 23, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I have white washed wood floors and white tile floors which need constant attention, which is pretty ironic because I HATE CLEANING FLOORS MORE THAN ANYTHING!! This is the best thing I ever bought. This gizmo has wildly exceeded my expectations. I am the type of person that periodically scrubs the floors on my hands and knees and I've never seen my grout look this good. It also cleans more often than I like to. ;)

Well worth it. With regular use I'll never have to sweep or mop again.
When the Scooba's all done, the floors sparkle and the house smells clean.

Been using my Scooba for about a month, running it about once in each room once a week. I hope it stands the test of time because I now have five bottles of Scooba solution. It was impossible to find in stores so I finally gave up and bought the multipack online.

Now I'm thinking of picking up a Roomba. I don't need to wash the wood that often so alternating between a Roomba and a Scooba would be ideal. Man, am I getting lazy!

I do say you need to be careful cleaning the parts. They look like they may break pretty easily if you're not careful with them.

Happy Scoobaing.

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