We live in the age of convenience. With the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, manual floor cleaning is a thing of the past. If you’re interested in investing in a Roomba vacuum, how long do they last?
A Roomba lasts between 2 and 5 years, depending on your chosen model. If you maintain your Roomba and replace parts (like the battery), it may last for a decade. However, it gets to a point where replacing parts is no longer financially viable, and buying a new Roomba is a better option.
In this article, I’ll provide an in-depth explanation of how long Roombas typically last. I’ll also discuss how long their batteries last and how long it takes to learn mapping and clean your home. Let’s get started!
How Long Does a Roomba Last?
A Roomba lasts between 5 and 10 years. After 5 years, you may need to replace the battery, as these typically last between 2 and 3 years. If you maintain your Roomba adequately, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t serve you for 10 years.
According to Reviewed, the lifespan of a Roomba largely depends on usage. Other factors, such as the model, the type of flooring it cleans, and the battery type, will affect how long it lasts.
You can expect the more affordable base models, such as the iRobot Roomba 675, to last at least 2 years. However, high-end models such as the iRobotj7+ will provide 5 or more years of use with proper maintenance.
How Long Does a Roomba Battery Last?
A Roomba battery usually lasts between 2 and 3 years, when you’ll need to replace it. However, you can expect your Roomba to be a reliable cleaning tool for hundreds of cycles.
Roomba’s iRobot support page states that your robot vacuum cleaner’s battery has a lifespan of between 2 and 3 years, as long as you take care of it. It takes approximately 3 hours or 180 minutes to fully charge a Roomba battery, assuming it was completely drained. The iRobot support page also recommends charging your vacuum for 3 hours before its first cleaning exercise.
A Roomba battery delivers approximately 2 hours of use on a full charge before recharging is necessary.
These robot vacuum cleaners usually have Li-ion batteries, with some models having nickel-based batteries. The expected battery life of alternative standard nickel batteries is slightly shorter, with a lifespan of only 1 to 2 years, with proper care and maintenance.
If you want to ensure that your Roomba battery lasts as long as possible, here are some maintenance tips:
- Recharge the battery promptly after use.
- Only use manufacturer-recommended batteries, depending on your robot series.
- Make sure to charge your robot away from direct sunlight and at room temperature.
- Leave your robot plugged in on the Home Base to charge when it is not in use.
- Clean your robot regularly to remove any debris and dirt that drain the battery faster.
- Place your robot in ship mode and store it in a cool and dry place when not in use for more than several weeks.
- Charge the battery fully at least once every six months.
How Long Does a Roomba Take To Learn Mapping?
It takes between 3 to 5 cleaning missions for your Roomba to learn mapping. After these runs, your Roomba creates a full imprint of your home, making it easy for it to clean entire levels of your home autonomously.
One of the key features of a Roomba is its ability to create smart maps that you can easily customize to support hands-free operation. According to the Roomba Support page, the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner can learn your home either through a mapping run mode or a clean all mode.
I’ll discuss these in more detail below:
Mapping Run
A Mapping Run lets the robot navigate your home. In this mode, the robot does not do any actual cleaning. The robot vacuum cleaner will learn various things:
- Where the stairs are
- The floor types in your home
- How much furniture you have
- The shape of the rooms
For larger spaces, you may need to recharge your robot and allow it to resume the cleaning process.
Clean All
The Clean All mode is the second method for your Roomba to learn and map your home. Simply select the Clean All option in the iRobot Home App, and the robot will clean and learn your home. The major difference between the Mapping Run mode and the Clean All run is that in the former, no actual cleaning takes place.
Whichever approach you select for your robot to map your home, it will typically take three to five mapping runs or cleaning cycles for the robot to develop a smart map of your home.
How Long Does Roomba Take To Clean a Full Room?
A Roomba takes approximately 25 minutes to clean a standard room. During this time, the Roomba will pass over the surface several times to ensure optimal floor coverage.
The amount of time it takes to clean a room will depend on the size of the room and other factors, like the type of floor, the strength and stability of your Wi-Fi connection, and the presence of obstacles.
According to Whatsabyte.com, the iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner can clean a 2,000-square-foot (186-square-meter) room in about 1 to 2 hours. According to this source, this will depend on factors such as the floor type, your Wi-Fi connection’s strength, and the Roomba model you use.
Read my other article, How Long Does a Roomba Take to Clean? for more information on how long it takes a robot vacuum to clean.
Check out this demonstration video of a Roomba from YouTube
Conclusion
The Roomba robot vacuum cleaner is a helpful tool for cleaning your home’s floors without manual intervention. It’s essential to know helpful information such as the battery life and time to learn mapping to optimize your appliance’s performance.
Here are the main takeaways from this article:
- The Roomba battery will last between 2 and 3 years with proper care before you need to replace it.
- It takes about 3 to 5 cleaning cycles for your Roomba vacuum cleaner to map your home.
- It takes about 25 minutes to clean a standard room and an hour or 2 to clean your home.
