If someone asks you what your favorite inanimate object in your house is, chances are you actually have an answer, and it's probably your Roomba. The countless videos of people apologizing to their Roomba after it knocks into something or gets stuck on a rug show that we have a deep connection to anything in our care. Yet, your love shouldn't just extend to saving it from the rug quicksand, but also by extending its life with a little TLC. It does a lot of work being your room service, so the least you can do is learn how to clean your Roomba.
The Easy Way to Clean a Roomba
Look at any machine's user manual, and you'll realize that all of them need a little maintenance. From your dryers to your dishwashers, the appliances you use every day deserve the most amount of upkeep. Want to extend its life and efficiency at its job? Learn the different steps it takes to deep clean your Roomba.
Daily: Empty the Dustbin
A Roomba may feel like a robot, but it's a vacuum at heart, and no vacuum has been built with a self-emptying function (yet? Fingers crossed). So, you've got to help your cleaning buddy out and empty its dustbins at the end of every day. Ideally, you'd empty them after every time it cleans, but we know that's not always feasible.
Yet, regularly emptying the bins is important because it'll keep your floors cleaner. The more room your Roomba has to store dust and debris, the more it'll pick up with every pass.
Every Few Months: Clean the Air Filter
If you didn't even know your Roomba had an air filter, then it's in serious need of a deep cleaning. Air filters are used to trap any tiny debris particles floating in the air as the robot vacuum kicks up the stuff on your floor with its brushes.
@irobot Follow along to clean your #Roomba s9 filter! #maintanance #tipsandtricks #fyp My Mistletoe - Blues Trip
Check the user manual or the iRobot website to make sure you remove the filter properly. Once you've got it out, you can use your hands to pull away any noticeable fuzz and hair. To really give it a deep clean, use an external vacuum (like a shop vac) to suck up anything that's leftover. After you've cleaned it off, you can put it back into place and set your Roomba off on its cleaning adventures.
After a few months or when you feel like your Roomba isn't cleaning as well as it used to, you can order new filters online.
Every Few Months: Wipe Down the Sensors
Your robot vacuum doesn't have eyeballs; it's got sensors. Just like how you wouldn't be able to walk around with something stuck in your eye, your Roomba can't traverse well if its sensors are dirty. While you're deep cleaning your filter, you can grab a clean microfiber cloth and wipe off the sensors on the bottom. Every model is different, so reference your manual if you can't discern where they are.
Other Roomba Cleaning Tips to Add to Your Routine
If you've kept your Roomba in tip-top shape but it's still underperforming, try sprucing it up with these other cleaning techniques.
- Unclog the brushes. If you've ever accidentally vacuumed up a string, you know how important the brushes are to getting a deep clean. Pull out any hair or debris that's caught on the brushes.
- Check that it's the docking contacts aren't broken. It might not be working well because it's not charging, so you can wipe off the dock contacts with a microfiber cloth.
- Before putting the filter back, check the interior for debris. Sometimes dirt and fuzz can get caught in the port.
Having a Robot Doesn't Get You Out of Cleaning
You might've invested in a Roomba because you thought it would solve part of your cleaning troubles. We're sorry to tell you that you haven't gotten out of cleaning just yet. While you don't have to keep vacuuming on your chore roster, you do need to keep your Roomba clean. And as a proud Roomba owner, that task falls on your shoulders.
