Scooba Blog

I have had my scooba for over 4 years and have been making my own cleaning solutions without any problems. I even used Murphys Oil Soap with another brand name cleaner and after properly diluting
the solution, I obtained excellent results on my hardwood floors. I am now using the scooba on my kitchen floor which has 11″x11″ glazed terra cotta tiles with grouted joints and the unit does a great job! The important thing is to thoroughly clean and rinse the unit and wipe down all the expendable and external parts.
Don’t over charge the battery, 4 hours should be more than enough.
Good luck.

I got a Scooba for Christmas a year and a half ago. At first it worked great. But after about a month the check tank light started coming on all the time no matter how much solution and water there was inside. I was able to lift up the back wheels and get it to start anyway, but it got to where it would only run for 5 minutes and then stop. I called and they sent me a new one. Repeat story, repeat story, repeat story…. The problems have varied somewhat, but the check tank light is the most prevalent. Finally when I called today to get my latest machine replaced they said I was out of warranty and they could only offer me a discount on a new one. Here’s the thing. Out of the 18 months since I got the machine it has only been in service for about 9. And no individual machine has ever worked for more than 4 months without at least needing a replacement part. Other people must have a lot more money than I do if they think it’s acceptable for a product that costs $300 to work for only 3 or 4 months. After reading so many positive comments I might have thought I was crazy except that I have at least two friends who have had the same problems that I have and they just gave up and threw their machines away. Apparently, I’m more stubborn than the average. I really wanted to make this thing work long term. It just won’t.

Bob Writes:

My Scooba worked fine for about a year then the yellow check tank light came on. I spoke with I Robot’s tech. and tried a number of things he recomended. It didn’t fix the problem,so he suggested I buy a new robot. I’m very disappointed in IRobot. I’m very handy with mechnical and electronics and can fix anything given the right information. Does anyone know how the permissives for the check tank indicator and how to jumper them out.

I bought my first scooba in December of 2007 I am now on my third replacement. They have all failed. irobot acts as if this is really unusual and other people do not have these problems. But reading blogs online it seems pretty commonplace.

When I bought my scooba it came with a little red roomba. This worked good until recently. I decided a month ago to upgrade to the new 500 series roomba. It failed within a month and they sent me a replacement but a lower model so it does not work with the remote control which is why I upgraded in the first place. The little red roomba now goes in circles and they told me to send it back.

One other big problem is that I live in Hawaii and the shipping of these things back is expensive. I think I am totally getting the run around. I hope that another company comes up with a competitive product soon!

Unless you are prepared to buy at least two of each, one as a backup while the other is in the the shop and you don’t mind dealing with tech support A LOT because they do not take your word that it is hosed they make you tear it apart and try this and that until there are no more hoops then they tell you to Fed Ex it on your dime back to them. I would seriously consider not get attached to these things in the first place.

Sad but true.

Aloha

We recently purchased the Scooba and are now happy with the robot. Initially the Scooba wouldn’t work… it would just say “I’m stuck”. We then read through some irobot blogs & one recommended almost dropping it from 2 or 3 inches off the ground. And since we were frustrating, we tried it. And it worked! We now have to sometimes lightly “push down” on the top of it when we start it but other than that it works great. It’s just nice to be able to let the irobot clean the floor while we attend to other chores. On another note… another blog recommended charging the irobot 3 hours before use (and not leaving it charged in overnight except for the 1st night). We have followed this advise and so far have not had any battery issues.

I purchased a re-manufactured Scooba from Woot.com for $100 as a Christmas present for my wife. I can honestly say that it was the best $100 I’ve every spent.

We have run it about 3 times a day since we opened the box and my floors have never looked better. You would not believe the grimy black water that came out of the tank the first three or four runs.

As far as solutions go. I have a cheap linoleum floor in the kitchen and nice hardwood floors throughout the rest of the house. I’m sensitive to a lot of different detergents but had no problem with the Scooba Clorox. My only gripe is that I can’t buy it at any local stores (that I’ve found) so I’m going to have to order more on-line.

We used the vinegar solution when the clorox ran out and from what I can tell, the clorox works wonders on both the kitchen and hardwood floors. It doesn’t smell bad and it leaves no residue.

The vinegar has the disadvantage of smelling bad and seems to leave a slightly tacky residue, but does give the hardwood floor a nice sheen. I will probably end using nothing but clorox for the kitchen and going back and forth for the rest of the house.

My prediction is that every household will eventually have something like this. It will become part of the arsenal of home appliances - refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, dishwasher and now scooba/roomba. My kids will not know a time when these things weren’t in the household. Great work iRobot!

I bought a refurb Scooba from Amazon back in March that included a 90-day warranty. The machine worked pretty good overall, but died around October. First the charges were short lived, then it wouldn’t take a charge at all. I assumed the battery died and I purchased a new one from iRobot.com When the new battery came it ran the Scooba for a few minutes, then died. I tried charging it, but it didn’t seem to do anything. I contacted iRobot customer support by e-mail. After I answered a few questions about the Scooba, it was suggested to me that the unit be replaced. I was told they had an out of warranty replacement program where I would send the old scooba back and receive a new one with full warranty for $179. I agreed.

When the new scooba came, it would not charge. I contacted customer support by phone. I was told that I should have received a new charger unit along with the new scooba. iRobot mailed me out one at no charge. I plugged the old scooba into the new charger and it works fine. At this time, iRobot is taking the stance that the old scooba made the original charging unit go bad and it would likely do the same to the new unit if I continued to use the old charger. While this is certainly possible, it doesn’t see probable to me. It seems more likely that the charging unit went bad independent of the scooba and the new scooba is an unnecessary purchase.

I’m wondering if anyone has any insight into this issue? I am considering returning the new scooba instead of the old and disputing the credit card charge.

-George

i purchased my scooba 5800 12/15/06.i used it 2 times and was very satisfied with it’s results.after properly charging and cleaning the unit after every use all of the sudden it stops working.all the lites are blinking,all the beep tones are going off but still unable to operate the new scooba. (used appox 2 hours).have attempted to contact cust. support several times with nothing but runarounds,prompting to this page and that page,not recognizing my registration that i did rite after buying the scooba both online and via postal sevice,forget about trying to contact scooba c.s by phone, i tried it 2 times and both times was on hold for a minimum of 30 minutes with no answer.i even tried contacting c.s. about their return policy but got no response.i have not attempted to return my scooba to the store that i bought it but i guess because nothing else seems to work i will try retuning it to the store!! wish me luck

We added the Scooba and the Roomba to our wedding registry, and received the Scooba as an early Christmas gift. I could just say the Scooba works great, but that wouldn’t be really helpful.

Initially straight out the box, the Scooba would not lay down any water. I went through some simple troubleshooting steps (without calling iRobot). The design of the Scooba is relatively simple, the tank is split, clean water one side, dirty water on the other. On the clean water (solution) side, there is a small rubber valve. On the base of the unit is a small needle valve. The valves “mate” when the lid is closed, and the water flows from the clean tank into the base unit. These valves will “stick”. To check if the valves are working, push the top in and out a bit, and you should feel water on your finger. However it is the bottom valve which sticks more ofter. The bottom needle valve has an internal spring. To free this valve, use a drinking straw. Suck up some water from a cup, place the end of the straw over the needle valve, and blow…forcing the valve to un-stick. If you do this a few times, you will see water on the floor under the Scooba, this is when you know it is working. At this point, close the lid, and press Clean. With both valves working, the solution will flow. If you hav verified that both valves are working, and still no water is released or cleaning, then the unit is really truly broken, and you’ll have to call iRobot.

Anyway, love the Scooba. The desing is simple yet effective, I also love the fact that replacement part numbers are printed on the unit, and that the solution is not expensive…even if you have to buy from iRobot.

Good Luck,
Mark

I just bought my first Scooba 1 1/2 months ago. I think it was not working quite right out of the box. Sometimes it would not lay any water down. I called customer service and they suggested putting the Scooba on its side an “firmly” hitting it on the floor. I did and it still didn’t work, they said they would replace it but the whole process would take 3 weeks. So, I brought it back to Brookstone and they replaced it because it was within a month of buying it. I have had my 2nd Scooba for 3 weeks now it it worked great out of the box. Made a lot of racket (the first one did not) so it must be a good one right? Just the other day it too stopped laying down water so I used the whacking it on the floor trick and amazingly it worked. The Scooba was up and running. Now a week later the service light comes on and it is not sounding right. It is too quiet. I call customer service again and they basically tell me the filters may be clogged, I tell them I checked that and they ask me if I am “prepping” the floor before I run it. I do vacuum before I run it. I now have to bring this one back for a replacement.

The thing is I love this Robot!! I have 3 young children so trying to wash the floor and keep an eye on them at the same time is tricky. I just vacuum and put up the gate. My wall thing doesn’t work, the Scooba kept escaping. I love that the Scooba picks up the dirty water. When you see the dirty water it is very satisfying. I use it every day on one part of the house, sometimes twice a day. The kids love it too. They clean their room without a hassle because they can’t wait for their turn with the Scooba. I am feeling that maybe the Scooba was not designed for this kind of frequent use. I will admit that I am considering getting another replacement. I am hoping they were both lemons. My husband thinks I am crazy. He is done with it and thinks they just don’t work.

Thank you for listening!!