iRobot Scooba 230 Floor Washing Robot
Price:


Product Feature
- At just 6-1/2-inch in diameter, scooba can clean where dirt and grime hide
- Scrubbing brushes loosen stains, dirt and grime while the squeegee-vacuum picks up virtually all the dirty water, leaving only clean behind
- Works with regular tap water or scooba hard floor cleaner, natural enzyme formula
- Quickly and easily washes floors in your kitchens, baths and other high-traffic areas
- Cleans up to 150 square feet in a single session
Product Description
Roomba Robotic vacuum cleaner caused a housecleaning revolution as the first robotic vacuum cleaner that cleaned by itself. The Scooba 230 does the same for washing and cleaning floors. All you need to do is give the surface a preliminary sweep.Scooba 230 cleans tile, linoleum or sealed hardwood floors using a three-stage cleaning process that neutralizes up to 97% of common household bacteria. All you have to do is sweep! Scooba uses a rigorous three-stage cleaning system to wash, scrub, then squeegee vacuum up the dirty water, a sequence that neutralizes up to 97% of common household bacteria.
Scrubbing brushes loosen stains, dirt and grime while the squeegee-vacuum picks up virtually all the dirty water, leaving only clean behind. An advanced water management system uses an active-reservoir design to keep the cleaning solution and dirty water separate inside the robot, while minimizing the product's overall size. Works with regular tap water or Scooba Hard Floor Cleaner, Natural Enzyme Formula.
Cliff detection sensors allow Scooba to avoid stairs and other drop-offs Removable bottom plate snaps on and off without tools for easy cleaning of the brushes and squeegee Two cleaning cycles - a 45-minute cycle for larger rooms or a 20-minute cycle for smaller areas Virtual Wall Technology keeps the robot in the areas you want to clean and out of the ones you don't Compact size makes it easy to carry, recharge and store Robot Dimensions - 6.5 inches in diameter, 3.5 inches in height / Robot Weight - 3 lbs.
iRobot Scooba 230 Floor Washing Robot Review
I bought this robotic floor washer because I had just bought a Roomba 770 robotic vacuum and was very happy with it. Also because it matches the Roomba's styling, which is modern and elegant. The Scooba 230 was on sale for $299 from $349. At the time I was not aware I could get one from irobot.com for $299 including the essentials kit. This bundle came with one virtual wall, one battery, one charger, a storage base, and a single brush/squeegee plate.It took 15 hours to charge the battery for the first time. Very frustrating when all you want to do is play with your new toy/...appliance? It took about 8 hours to charge after using it. Not good if you want to clean another room or add cleaning time. If a fast charger was available I would definitely buy one, but one does not exist yet. So I ordered a second battery for longer run time, but it still takes all day and night to charge both batteries, just to clean two or three rooms.
I wasn't expecting this thing to clean my whole house, now let's be realistic, but I thought I'd try to see how it did.
The cleaning solution is proprietary and costs $13 for a 16 oz bottle. It uses a teaspoon of solution per run, and it will clean 60 square feet very well or up to 150 square feet if needed. I tried vinegar which worked well but the smell was too much.
The Scooba 230 is incredibly easy to use. You put the solution into the machine, fill it with warm water, set the unit in the middle of the roomand turn it on. Press the 'clean' button and watch it go. It begins by spiralling, then darts to a corner and brushes along the wall, around table legs, and behind the toilet. It criss crosses the room until clean. It takes under an hour to get a large room clean. There's a short 20min cycle for smaller jobs. There are no moving brushes on this model like the spinning brushes on the 390. When it completes a cycle, it plays a happy song. Errors are communicated with blinking LED messages. When the battery dies, it plays a sad song
Performance is good for small rooms like bathrooms or small bedrooms or small kitchens, but terrible for large open spaces. In smaller areas, it really shows its worth. It was able to clean under the cabinets, under the sink and close to the corners. It passes over the same spot many times ensuring a good scrub and rinse. sadly, it left a one-inch wide strip behind my toilet uncleaned, because it could not quite make it through there, but almost.
Performance in large, open concept spaces is not so great. It leaves streaks in larger areas because the solution dries up in some spots before it can pass over there again. Some spots in open concept spaces are missed completely. Maybe a team of Scoobas working together could do the job more thoroughly.
The kitchen floor had some dirt and markings that this machine could not clean, so I can't recommend it for the kitchen unless it is a really small kitchen.
After dishing out $350, imagine how upset I was to find my new Scooba spinning uncontrollably on the very first use. A wheel had fallen off, but is easily popped back on. Actually, a wheel falls off every time I've used it so far.
The virtual wall is very touchy, and I have difficulty aiming it just right. My unit frequently ignores the virtual wall and wanders into forbidden territory. It crashes hard into dark items, sometimes moving chairs up to a couple inches per strike. It gets stuck or spins out on heat registers.
It began to make a grinding noise on the third or fourth use, and hand-turning the wheels revealed one motor to sound louder than the other.
Things got worse when some lint got into one of the tiny ports along the squeegee, blocking cleaner from going past that point, which really diminished the cleaning quality on the second or third run as it was not getting the floor wet in that spot.
All negativity aside, I was overall very impressed with the cleaning performance in the bathroom. The linoleum shines and the air smells fresh, though I do not really like the smell of the cleaning solution. It leaves the floors about as wet as conventional mopping.
I really wish the Rooma and Scooba were smart enough to work together simultaneously on the same room, communicating and cooperating with eachother to get it done faster.
In conclusion, if you can find this unit on sale or used, I recommend you buy one just for your bathroom, as it really cleaned mine very well. However, I can't recommend it for cleaning whole houses, apartments, or larger rooms unless you have a team of Scoobas. Or just get the larger Scooba 390 for the main areas and a 230 for the bathroom.
Maybe some day I will add the larger Scooba 390 to my robot cleaning crew... when and if the price ever comes down.
Ease of Use:
Excellent - Anyone could use this
Durability:
Poor - Flimsy, breaks easily
Ease of Cleaning:
Good - Very easy to clean
Style:
Very attractive
Amount Paid (US$):
399
Pros:
Cleans bathrooms very well
Easy to use
Gets into corners better than the 390
Cons:
Does not clean large rooms
Short battery life will disappoint
No fast charging
Slow charging
The Bottom Line:
I recommend this to anyone looking to add to their existing robot cleaning crew or to tackle smaller areas such as bathrooms. Not recommended as main floor washer
Overall Product Rating:
Above Average
Recommended:
Yes and No
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