Think you’ve been taking good care of your Roomba? Think again. Here’s how to do it right.
Ben Patterson/IDG
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There’s a lot more to keeping your Roomba clean than simply emptying its bin now and then. Take a closer look at your Roomba’s brushes, for example, and you’ll probably see they’re tangled in hair.
A Roomba’s cliff sensors, which help to keep it from tumbling down the stairs, can likewise become blocked by a layer of grime, while its dust filter will gradually become clogged with debris.
If you give your Roomba the occasional deep clean, you’ll not only extend its life, you’ll also boost the quality of its cleanings.
Our Roomba cleaning guide will take you through four primary areas when it comes to keeping a Roomba spic-and-span: cleaning its brushes, cleaning its wheels, scrubbing its sensors and charging contacts, and cleaning its dust filter.
If that sounds like a lot of work, don’t worry. The process won’t be that time consuming provided you give your Roomba a once-over on a regular basis, and if you tackle different cleaning chores on different days.
Cleaning your Roomba’s brushes
You probably had no idea how much hair was on your floors until you got a Roomba. I’m constantly amazed by how much hair I pull out of my Roomba’s bin after each cleaning, and we don’t even have pets.
Ben Patterson/IDGYou’d be surprised by how much hair can get tangled in your Roomba’s brushes.
Given the amount of hair a Roomba can sweep off the floor, it’s no wonder that its brushes can get tangled so quickly. Luckily, you can detach a Roomba’s brushes quickly and easily, allowing you to get busy pulling all that hair off. Click here to get started.
Cleaning your Roomba’s wheels
Brushes aren’t the only things that get hairy on a Roomba. Your robovac’s wheels can get tangled with hair, as well, while the wheel wells are havens for dust and dirt.
Ben Patterson/IDGYour Roomba’s front caster wheel probably has a little ring of hair wrapped around its axle.
iRobot recommends cleaning your Roomba’s wheels once every couple of weeks, but luckily the job isn’t that difficult. The front caster wheel pops right out, and (depending on the Roomba model) the spring-loaded side wheels can be pushed aside, revealing trapped hair, dust, and dirt.
Ready to start cleaning those Roomba wheels? Let’s dive in.
Cleaning your Roomba’s dust filter
If you only ever dump the dust out of your Roomba before sliding its bin back in, you’re doing it wrong.
Ben Patterson/IDGIf your don’t clean your Roomba’s dust filter often enough, it’ll wind up looking like this.
Depending on the model Roomba you own, there’s either a filter sitting in the bin compartment or a filter cartridge that fits in the bin itself. Over time, these filters can get caked with thick layers of dust and dirt, and if you don’t clean them regularly, your Roomba will become less and less efficient at vacuuming up debris.
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Luckily, cleaning your Roomba’s filter is easy; the real trick is remembering to do it (think once a week or so).
We’ll show you how to clean the filter on a Roomba 675, and we also have links to filter cleaning instructions for other Roomba models.
Clearing your Roomba’s cliff sensors and charging contacts
Ever notice your Roomba stopping and starting as it cruises around your floor? One possible reason for such strange behavior is that your Roomba’s cliff sensors are covered in dust. When that happens, your Roomba might constantly think it’s about to tumble down the stairs, hence all the cautious stopping and starting.
Ben Patterson/IDGYour Roomba might think it’s constantly on the verge of falling down the stairs if its cliff sensors are covered in dust.
Here’s another possible issue: a Roomba that takes forever to charge. If that’s happening to your robotic buddy, it could be that its charging contacts are coated in grime.
You can clean your Roomba’s cliff sensors and charging contacts using a combination of soft clothes and damp melamine foam. Just follow these steps.
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Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart home and home entertainment products.