Can a Roomba Work on a Thick Carpet?
When iRobot launched its line of Roomba vacuums, the world was quite excited. It offered us hands-free cleaning, which is more than appealing.
Apparently, though Roomba can tackle most types of floors, thick carpet is a challenge. The vacuum struggles to pull out debris and dirt from these mats. More so, getting Roomba to cross from hardwood floor to a thick carpet is somewhat impossible.
Now, if you have this vacuum or planning to get one, consider the carpets you have in your home. Continue reading as we answer the burning question – does Roomba work on thick carpets?
Why the Roomba isn’t the Best Choice for Thick Carpets
Beater bar
A beater bar rotates and vibrates helping lift the dirt from deep in the carpet. This loosens the dirt within allowing it to suck in all the dirt and debris. However, the Roomba doesn’t have an aggressive beater bar that would do this with thick rugs.
This kind of feature allows more effective vacuuming especially in the case of these carpets. Unfortunately, the reason why Roomba doesn’t have it is mainly battery life. As you know, the robot vacuum isn’t powered by cord but by a battery. A beater bar would drain the battery rather quickly which is obviously quite inconvenient.
Noise Level
Though the cleaner runs smoothly on other types of floors, it’s quite noisy when you place it on a deep mat.
On these carpets, you’d need a deep clean mode which requires more power. When it requires more energy, it tends to be louder.
You may think that you wouldn’t mind this, but there’s more than that. This noise means that the vacuum struggles taking more power which essentially makes the entire process a bit of a drag. You’d have to recharge it more often than you normally would, so think about if this would be convenient for you.
Tendency to Get Stuck
Because these are best for smooth and thin surfaces, they can’t perform as well on any other. Their performance will significantly depend on how thick your carpet actually is so you can always try.
However, it’s likely that the robot will get stuck. They do have excellent suction power, but even with powerful suction, they can’t handle long hairs. This causes them to get stuck almost every time making the whole experience inconvenient.
Whenever the robot gets stuck, there’s a chance it overheats. For this reason, even if you decide to test it on a thick carpet, make sure not to leave it unsupervised.
Power
Like other appliances, this one requires power to operate, and it gets it from a battery. As we already mentioned several times, these rugs will drain your battery life one way or another.
If a cord powered the vacuum, these rugs maybe wouldn’t cause as much trouble. But, in this case, would take away all the convenience of the device.
Deep carpets make the Roomba work extra hard which requires more power. This means less battery life, possible overheating, and an altogether inconvenient cleaning.
For other options for a thick carpet visit our best robot vacuum guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:
Which Carpet Type Gives Roomba Vacuum A lot of Trouble?
A: Thick ones are something you should avoid altogether if you have the robot. Though with powerful suction it might be able to clean some deep rugs, it can never perform on shag carpeting.
More so, this type is so thick it can burn out the motor of your cleaner.
Q:
Are There Any Good Roomba Models for Thick Carpets/Extra Thick Rugs?
A: Since most models work the same, each will probably struggle with deep rugs.
If you really want this type of cleaner for the sake of another flooring you have, choose the best you can get. Their best model probably has the best battery and powerful suction.
Conclusion
There are many benefits of these vacuum cleaners. They are convenient and easy to use since in most cases, they require no assistance from a human hand. Especially since these robotic vacuums are programmed to remember a room’s layout, hence why you don’t really need to do anything but turn it on/off.
However, thick carpets are a nightmare for this vacuum. The robot will always struggle to clean it; it might get stuck or overheat.
If you’re entire house features this carpeting, you’re best to avoid Roomba. But, if you mostly have hardwood floors or thin carpets, you’ll simply have to find another way to clean them.
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