Roomba 690 iRobot Vacuum Review

Published by Basalat on

If you’re anything like me, you might have a love hate relationship with cleaning. I for one love love cleaning my kitchen, dusting, shining things up, but the vacuuming, ugh, I procrastinate that task for sure.

I’ve always been really curious about the robot vacuums, and with the constant (I can’t stress this enough) crumbs and mess on our main floor/kitchen area I was tired of all the brooming/vacuuming. We decided to try out the robot vacuum, and I am extremely happy we did!

We purchased the Roomba 690 iRobot from our local Shoppers Drug Mart, we were able to redeem some of our PC Optimum points to purchase so that made the decision to buy easier.

We have it here near our kitchen table under the bar cart, so that it can easily, really it takes a half hour of the poor thing searching, to find it’s home base after a job is done.

In terms of the model, I didn’t do too much research on the different brands or different models of the Roomba, but this particular one (the 690) is considered one better then their entry level model. For us, this was the only model available from Shoppers, and with the points redemption, I wasn’t being picky. The Roomba 690 is equipped with WiFi, (so amazing to activate while I’m upstairs to have the downstairs cleaned – yes I know super lazy). I won’t go into too much detail on the different models, and specifications of the 690, you can find all that online.

The one thing I love about the Roomba is that it comes with an external sensor, which creates a virtual wall. I like to keep the Roomba out of our dining room, as the rug in there is new and sheds quite a bit (I find then the Roomba dust bin fills up too quickly).  As for rug/carpet cleaning on a whole, it does an equally awesome job on our ceramics, hardwood and carpets.

Speaking of its bin, for our main floor which is approximately 1500 sq ft, the bin needs to be emptied after each cleaning. Which doesn’t bother me, but it really does fill up after each use. As I was mentioning earlier the WiFi, I normally run the Roomba through the smartphone app, which also allows me to send the Roomba home (to it’s home base) or pause during cleaning. The app also indicates when the bin is full or the various brushes and parts have to be cleaned. It will also notify me if the Roomba is stuck someplace.

As for the cleaning itself. I am actually still amazed every morning when I come downstairs and there are no crumbs or even dust!  We own two Dyson vacuums, and of course the power of the Dyson isn’t there, however by running the Roomba every evening, and sometimes even twice a day, because why not, I find there isn’t a lot of dust that accumulates on our floors now. The Roomba also goes under our couches every evening.  Before getting the Roomba, I don’t think its ever been that clean under there.

Here’s a video of the Roomba in action!

This particular Roomba also comes with a sensor to indicate if there is an area with extra dirt. There are so many crumbs, where my 3 year old and baby eat, the Roomba will sense this and go over that particular area several times.

One negative experience we’ve had with the Roomba is, like vacuuming, you need to make sure that the floors are clear of any objects that can get stuck.  We learned this the hard way when a Lego piece was stuck in the Roomba and I didn’t realize it until I noticed scratches on our hardwood floors. Obviously I removed it, but lesson learned.  I now make sure no pieces that can cause damage are lying around and that the brushes are kept clean. The more you use it the more often the brushes should be cleaned, like possibly once a week or max after 2 weeks. It can be cumbersome to clean, especially the first time.

Anyways, if you’ve been on the fence about purchasing the Roomba, I personally think its an absolutely awesome investment.  If you have any further questions don’t hesitate to ask me! I’m going to go and turn it on now and stare at it clean like I sadly do most days.


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