Sometimes, there’s nothing like the original. For years, I had been trying to find alternatives to getting a Roomba. I’ve had robotic vacuums from other brands that I’ve loved and even named. They are now fond, distant memories of what I was missing out on before I got to try out the new Roomba i3+.
This isn’t to badmouth the other robovacs I’ve used. They’re good for the price. But I’d always complain about there still being dirt or debris that it missed. The Roomba i3+ has floor tracking sensors, Reactive Sensor Technology, and Dirt Detect sensors, which means it covers every square inch, every time it runs. It makes walking around barefoot so much more enjoyable. The grippy, rubber rollers catch hair and somehow it doesn’t get stuck to the point of having to take scissors to a massive hairball (speaking from past experiences). It’s also Alexa-compatible, so I can just tell Roomba to go home.
But I cannot avoid talking about the technological elephant in the room: the self-emptying dock. The first thing I will say is that it’s loud. It doesn’t last long, which is a good thing, but I wanted to give you all a heads up as it definitely surprised me. Besides the volume, it’s been a freakin’ delight to just have to throw out a full bag of dirt and dust instead of prying open a tin bin in the vacuum itself. These days, I’m all about convenience.
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There’s a lot to love about the Roomba i3+ but what I think makes it such a smart move from iRobot is that the i3 vacuum and dock can be sold separately. Upgrading to the i3 means you get access to the advanced floor mapping and other features that the more affordable models of Roomba don’t have, but you don’t need to also get the self-emptying dock. That keeps the price right at a sweet spot for those of us that want our floors clean and don’t want to have to babysit a robot.
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