The iRobot Roomba 650 has been a staple in our household over the past 3+ years. It’s the bare-boned basic version of the Roomba, but it’s still hit the mark in our book!
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We bought the Roomba 650 in 2015 for $325. It gets used anywhere from daily to weekly. We live in a two-story house and it lives downstairs, where we have wood floors and tile. We have two dogs and a sandy backyard, so the Roomba stays busy!
*Note: The 650 is an older model and was one of the more basic ones when we purchased it. I’m curious to know if the more recent and upgraded models are any better in these two areas. I know some of the upgraded models have technology that “map” the layout of your house and I’m curious if it would then learn to avoid certain areas where it would otherwise get stuck.
100% Yes. Even with its quirks, the Roomba has been worth it. If you break down the numbers, over 3 years, our Roomba has cost about $9 a month. And there’s no sign of it slowing down, so hopefully we’ll get another 3 years out of it.
For us, the Roomba has actually saved us money, as we have put off hiring a house cleaner thanks to the Roomba. Even if you have a weekly house cleaner, there’s always a need for maintenance in between cleanings.
Using the Roomba does take significantly longer than if we were to sweep or vacuum ourselves, but it’s nice being able to just press a button and do something else with that time. Sometimes, in effort to save time, I confine the Roomba to one room (using either the “virtual wall” it came with, or more often than not, a physical barrier, like a closed door, baby gate or dog bed). I also use the “spot clean” feature regularly if I have a concentrated mess.
Although the Roomba 650 is completely sporadic in its cleaning, I hardly ever have to go back over an area after it’s run a full cycle. For reference, our downstairs is about 750 square feet, with several rooms, hallways and nooks and crannies. I typically empty the Roomba with each use.
As previously mentioned, we purchased the Roomba 650 for $325 back in 2015 (and I believe this was on sale at the time). Currently, the Roomba 650 is selling for $500+ on Amazon. I would not repurchase the Roomba 650 at this price! It appears iRobot actually isn’t making the 650 model anymore, which explains the drastic price jump.
The most similar model to the 650 that is currently being sold on the iRobot website is the 614. This is currently selling for $250. This is the cheapest and most basic version of the Roomba currently being sold by iRobot (you can buy from Target!).
The 650 and 614 are pretty similar, with the major difference being that the 614 doesn’t have the option to pre-schedule. This isn’t a deal breaker for us, as we never have used the scheduling feature with our Roomba. If the ability to pre-schedule the Roomba is important to you, then you can pay more for this feature found in other models. When reading various comparisons on-line, I kept reading the Roomba 614 has a HEPA filter, but this is unfortunately untrue (I verified with iRobot).
Yes! We have two dogs. Although they are not heavy shedders, I often cut my husbands hair and let the Roomba do the clean up. It has not had a problem picking up every last bit of hair – everything from the thick clumps of curly hair to the small fine pieces!
Yes! We have a strange layout, and the Roomba maneuvers to each room – down hallways and in and out of multiple rooms.
No. The Roomba 650 moves sporadically. It does not learn the floor plan of your house. As shown in the infographic above, you’ll want to invest in a 900 series Roomba if you want it to learn the floor plan of your house.
No. iRobot no longer makes the 650 model. You can still buy it from third party retailers, but most likely it will be overpriced and not worth it! Check out other Roombas in the 600 series if you’re looking for a basic Roomba. Of course, there’s lots of other Roombas out that come with really cool features!
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