iRobot Roomba 4100/4300 Intelligent Floorvac Robotic Vacuum, Red
Sporting a bold, solid-red exterior, this entry-level robotic floorvac is easy to use and includes an array of convenient features. Simply press the "clean" button and the unit will vacuum the whole floor, adjusting automatically to any floor surface including wood, tile linoleum, and low-to-medium pile carpet. The vacuum's artificial intelligence determines the room size and adjusts the run time to ensure that it cleans the entire floor. Integrated sensors detect dirt and will increase the focus and intensity of cleaning in that area, while infra-red cliff sensors in the non-marring bumper detect stairs to keep the unit from falling, as well as furniture and walls for cleaning right up to the edge.

The high-efficiency vacuum has a wide cleaning path and a three-stage cleaning system, which includes counter-rotating brushes that scoop large debris into the dustbin, plus a vacuum to pick up fine particles, dirt, and pet hair. This unit has one of the highest CPRs (coverage per room) in the industry and can get floors cleaner than conventional upright vacuums with the ability to clean where they can’t, like under beds, couches, and other furniture. Its edge-cleaning spinning sidebrush, combined with wall-following technology, removes dirt and debris from the base of walls, from corners, and other hard-to-reach places. The vacuum's stasis sensor detects when it's stuck and employs pre-programmed escape routines to free itself, while setting up a virtual wall, an invisible beam of light, confines the unit to a designated area, great for one-room cleaning.
The vacuum's advanced power system consists of a fast-charging battery, a seven-hour charger, and a power source--it supercharges the unit for up to 120 minutes of continuous cleaning. You can also purchase Roomba's 4900 Self-Charging Drive-On Home Base as an accessory. With this, when the battery is low or it has completed a cleaning cycle, the vacuum automatically returns to the charging Home Base, so that it will be ready for the next cleaning session. The bagless unit is designed with an easy-to-empty debris bin that is three times the size of other robotic floorvacs so it doesn't have to be emptied as often. Convenient cleaning modes include Spot mode, which sets the unit to quickly and intensely clean in a 3-foot diameter. Replaceable air filters prevent dust and dirt from escaping back into the air, and removable-by-hand brushes allow for quick, routine maintenance. A rechargeable APS battery, a seven-hour charger, a virtual-wall unit, and three filters are included. The vacuum measures approximately 13 inches in diameter by 4 inches high and carries a one-year warranty.

From the Manufacturer
Roomba is the original robotic vacuum cleaner from iRobot. The first of its kind in the US, Roomba has won a number of awards, and has won the praise of thousands of users across the globe. It uses intelligent navigation technology to automatically clean nearly all household floor surfaces without human direction, so there's nothing to push.


Roomba is easy to use. Place it in the middle of the room to be cleaned, turn it on, push a button, and walk away. Since Roomba can clean under your beds and other places regular vacuums can't reach, Roomba cleans more of your floor. Its spinning side brush and two counter rotating brushes, along with a unique squeegee vacuum system, pick up more of your household debris, including pet hair, dust, dirt and other debris.
Roomba is great for anyone who either doesn't want to push a vacuum or can't push a vacuum - as well as anyone who wants more time to do other things with their lives. And because you don't have to push it, you can use Roomba to keep your floors barefoot clean every day.


Roomba uses four brushes (the spinning side brush, two counter rotating brushes and side brush) to sweep up debris and direct fine particles to the compact, effective squeegee vacuum. Its non-marring smart bumper allows Roomba to gently contact walls and furniture and navigate around them. Roomba also has special sensors that allow it to follow walls and furniture without touching them, and other sensors that allow it to detect and avoid stairs or other steep edges.


All of these high-tech components are made even more powerful by Roomba's smarts. It uses artificial intelligence algorithms to help ensure that it covers the entire surface of your floor in each cleaning. And, since its compact profile means Roomba gets where upright vacuums can't - under beds, couches, chairs and tables--Roomba keeps more of your house cleaner than you could before. It even cleans effectively under kitchen counters.
Roomba has special safety features that make it safe around children and pets. It automatically pauses cleaning when it's picked up, so fingers can't get caught in any moving parts. And its automatic cliff sensing system prevents Roomba from falling down stairs.
Roomba's Edge Cleaning Side Brush is made of non-marring bristles mounted to soft, flexible brush heads that are reinforced for strength and durability. As it spins, it reaches out from underneath Roomba to grab particles from along walls and into corners, as well as around furniture legs. The particles are swept in to Roomba's main cleaning path, to be picked up by its two counter-rotating brushes and high-efficiency Squeegee Vacuum.


Roomba has been shown to clean most home floor surfaces as well or better than most standard upright vacuums. Roomba excels at cleaning all hard floor surfaces, including hardwood, linoleum, tile, laminate, slate and other surfaces. Roomba is also superb on a wide variety of low- and medium-pile carpets. And since Roomba transitions between different floor surfaces automatically, you never need to worry where it's going. Roomba is not recommended for high-pile or shag carpets. Like standard upright vacuums, Roomba has trouble on rugs with long tassels or fringe, but there are simple ways for Roomba to work around these in your home.
Unlike standard upright vacuums, many of which require their owner to manually change floor settings or add bulky attachments depending on the surface to be cleaned, Roomba's breakthrough cleaning system transitions between different floor surfaces automatically. That means Roomba can climb onto low- and medium-pile carpets from hard floors, and climb right off of them too - maintaining its cleaning effectiveness throughout your house. Roomba can climb over most raised doorway thresholds, so it can clean all the floors you want it to clean at the touch of a button.


Roomba's built-in intelligence means that it cleans without human intervention. Even if it doesn't vacuum the floor the way you might, it is smart enough to get your floors barefoot clean. When Roomba starts cleaning it first travels in a spiral pattern. Its Non-Marring Bumper will contact a wall, or it may try to find a wall after spiraling for a while. Roomba follows the wall for a little while, sweeping up dirt next to the wall with the Edge Cleaning Side Brush. After cleaning along a portion of the wall or other object, Roomba crisscrosses the room in straight lines. For most of Roomba's cleaning cycles, Roomba repeats this cleaning pattern until its cleaning time has elapsed, providing maximum coverage of the room.


One component of Roomba's Intelligent Navigation System is its ability to automatically follow walls. This feature enables Roomba to use its Spinning, Edge-Cleaning Side Brush to grab dirt and debris right up to the wall, following along the wall, scooping up particles in these edges and corners that standard upright vacuums can miss. Because Roomba's design is so ingeniously compact, it cleans effectively under kitchen counters and bathroom vanities.


The Virtual Wall Unit is designed to confine Roomba to one room or area without using a physical barrier. The Virtual Wall Unit uses a harmless, invisible beam of infrared light to create an invisible wall up to 13 feet wide that Roomba cannot pass. It is useful for large archways, rooms without doors, or for dividing a large room into smaller sections. It requires two "D" alkaline batteries, not included.
Roomba collects large particles as well as dirt, dust, lint, hair and other debris in its unique, removable Particle Bin. Push a button and the Particle Bin releases, and all the large debris can be easily emptied into the trash. Unclip the Air Filter Door on the Particle Bin and the dust and lint collected by the high-efficiency Squeegee Vacuum may be emptied out as well. Brush off the high-density Air Filter, snap the door back in place and the Particle Bin is ready for the next job. Like the lint trap in a clothes drier, the Particle Bin should be emptied after each use.


Product Description
Put up your feet and let the snazzy new Roomba Red self-propelled, self-navigating vacuum do your dirty work. It works methodically in a round spiral pattern to clean every inch of carpeted or hardwood floors. Use the "virtual wall" to confine the Roomba to the room of your choice. An internal sensor detects drop-offs and avoids them. Lightweight with an easy-to-grip handle, it's easily transported from room to room. Two clean functions clean and spot. Includes a standard six hour battery. Model #4100. 90 day parts and labor warranty.

Great purchase for dog owners / Report June 27, 2006
We have a black lab and light wood floors (sigh). I was really getting tired of vacuuming every other day--I really hate housework. We bought a Roomba, and it actually made my life better! Our first model broke after daily use for roughly 6 months, but I still rate the product 5 stars because IRobot replaced it free with no problems at all. The only thing that made me sad were the two weeks I had to go without it. We just turn it on as we leave for work each morning. Our dog is crated during the day, but I think he'd be ok with Roomba even if he were out--he just avoids it in a peaceable sort of way. The product has limitations in that it doesn't do corners very well, and it has some difficulty getting all of the hair up when it transitions from area rugs to bare floors. We pick up our smaller area rugs because otherwise Roomba sometimes rolls them up as it rolls over them and gets stuck. This is a maintenance cleaning product--it's not as good as a full-scale human cleaning. But don't let the caveats keep you from a purchase if you dislike housework. I've gone from vacuuming every other day to, well, um, maybe every month, to be honest. It does a great job keeping the general level of dirt and dog hair in the house low, which allows me to be much lazier about full-scale cleaning. (It's also a lot cheaper than paying someone else to clean your floors.) Since IRobot's customer service was so good, we're contemplating the Scooba as well.



Fun product! Works well / Report June 26, 2006
Hey this is a very cool thing to have. it isn't perfect and you could definitely clean your place quicker the old fashioned way. But it does work well, and you don't need to supervise it. Just turn it on and let it go. Just dont try to vacuum stuff on the floor that a regular vacuum cleaner might get stuck on (cords, shaggy rugs, yarn...etc.)
Its pretty quiet. Cleaning isnt that difficult. Buy a couple of filters ahead of time. Use it daily or weekly, it gets the job done.
I only give it 4 because it does take a while to get a larger type room done. But like i said you can just as easily turn it on and go watch some tv for a while and then just come back later.. and the floor will be dirt free!


Saves times, adds simple entertainment / Report May 18, 2006
At first, I was a little hesitant about the red Roomba I got last year. Because nothing can really do better than a person with elbow grease, a few hours to spare and the desire for a cleaner house, at least to me. But I turned on the ladybug-like contraption, set it on the floor of my bedroom and went to the other room to work on the computer for a while. And then about an hour later, I emerged to find the Roomba had done a nice job on the carpet while I actually had some time to do other things. It got underneath the dresser and the bed, both of which are areas I've always left alone because of their hard-to-reach placement. You can set the Roomba to clean multiple rooms or just one, including stairs if you set up the barriers correctly. It's kind of awesome when machines actually accomplish the job of making life a bit more livable. And the Roomba is as cute as a small dog and just as amusing to watch.


good for people with cats / Report May 11, 2006
This vacuum is awesome! I run it everyday after work, and it finds stuff everytime. It actually picks up better than my stand up vacuum cleaner which is only 3 years old. I don't even have to baby sit it. I go in the other room and watch tv and it cleans away. It's quieter than my stand up vacuum cleaner, but its still loud. oh, and by the way I haven't needed to use my stand up vacuum since I got my roomba.
i have 2 cats and they don't hide from roomba like they do the stand up vacuum, they actually approach it, and then back up if it comes too close! The roomba is excellent at picking up cat hair, which i really needed.

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