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Roomba e5 (5150) Review

Wi-Fi connected robot vacuum

LB While beginning my search for a new vacuum cleaner I knew I didn’t want anything heavy to lug up and down the stairs, I didn’t want to have to find a place to store a bulky machine and I honestly needed something light but powerful. I eventually came across a robot vacuum and thought to myself, “why haven’t we considered this before?” Neither Brian nor I knew anyone personally who had one, so I had to do my due diligence. Do these things even work? Are they worth the money? There are so many options! Where do I begin?! Although I found cheaper robot vacuums with stellar reviews, the following reasons are why I chose the iRobot Roomba e5 for our family.

  1. Data security! Many robot vacuums are now wi-fi capable so they can integrate with your Alexa or Google and can be controlled with an app. This makes a lot of your personal information vulnerable, so it was important to go with a brand/company that made that a data security a priority.
  2. The allergen filters. This model is top rated for picking up pet hair. It’s also great for households with small children and/or people who experience year-round allergies. “Unique Dual Multi-Surface Rubber Brushes don’t get tangled with pet hair. High-Efficiency Filter traps 99% of cat and dog allergens.”*Based on proposed IEC fiber pick-up test against Shark, Neato, Ecovacs, iLife, bObsweep.
  3. The iRobot e5 is in the top ranking on consumerreports.com (they don’t get paid for their reviews) and it’s on the cheaper end of top rated robot vacuums. We found this model on sale at Target.com.
  4. It’s designed to maneuver between hard floors and carpeted areas with ease.
  5. Less fuss! There are no additional accessories that come with the Roomba e5. And cleaning is simple. There is a button on the front that you press and the debris collecting bin pops out and it’s easy enough to hold the bin with one hand. Press the release on the debris collecting bin and the top swings open. Dump the contents and then re-insert the bin into the vacuum. You can even rinse the bin safely.
  6. App enabled. I can literally start, or stop, a cleaning session before getting out of bed. Or I can set a schedule for or e5 to clean at 5:45am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 

We’ve had our iRobot Roomba e5 for about 3 months and we love it. This model has adaptive navigating so basically, she roams around looking for dirt cleaning up messes along the way. There are some robot vacuums that are only for hard surface use and others that claim to be for multi-surface use like the e5. To our relief, the Roomba e5 is more than capable to maneuver from hard floors to the area rug with ease and we have noticed a big difference in how clean our floors are, particularly the area rugs. It is a little louder than I imagined and was hesitant to run a cleaning cycle early in the mornings before everyone wakes up, but the volume hasn’t seemed to be a problem yet.

We keep our e5 upstairs which is where it’s most needed. The boys made a mess with chips downstairs, so I thought, let’s give it a shot. At first, I received some sort of error message, but I think our vacuum was just getting acclimated to the new room because after a while, our e5 was roaming around cleaning up chips and everything else in the new room. One of my favorite features is the spot clean feature. On the top of our e5 are three buttons. The big “CLEAN” button in the center, to the left of that is the “HOME” button and to the right is the “SPOT CLEAN” buttons [Insert Photo of top of Vaccuum] My other favorite feature is that its app enabled. I use it to set cleaning schedules and to run cleaning sessions anytime we are out of the house. Our boys love Rosie (you can name your vacuum through the app) so it’s easier to have her clean when they are not around.

What’s really cool is, when it has completed a cleaning cycle, it navigates back to its base that is tucked away underneath our counter and it recharges itself. Clean-up is a breeze. The trash bin is small in comparison to the upright we use to have but its so easy to press the button and pop it out [Insert Photo of top of Vaccuum] frequent cleaning isn’t a hassle at all. Make sure all puzzle pieces, phone charges, sting etc is off the floor before you start a cycle. Your e5 will most definitely try to suck it up, some of these items may get tangled in the rollers underneath. While accessing the under rollers is easy and pulling floss out of it is easy, you don’t want to risk causing irreparable damage. So far, we haven’t had any issues and it seems like a durable vacuum. Money well spent and I can seriously go on raving, but I think you’ve got the gist.

*Disclosure: I have not received any type of compensation for reviewing this product.