Best Roomba for Hardwood Floors 2020
iRobot’s Roomba range is the leading brand of robot vacuums, known for its premium quality, high performance, and most advanced technology. They are perfect for cleaning a range of a surfaces including hard floors, whether it be finer dust, larger debris or pet hair. This article will overview the best Roomba models for hardwood floors by looking at key features such as the cleaning motor and navigation technology as well as some others. Whether your home or budget is large or small, this article will make suggestions to help you find a Roomba that fits your needs and cleans your hard floors. All of the models in this comparison are WiFi connectable and work alongside the companion iRobot Home app. With the iRobot Home app, you can schedule cleaning, set preferences and view various statistics.
Roomba S9+
The Roomba S9+ is the top model from iRobot and contains all its latest and best technologies. This is a highly advanced device that contains the top level of software and hardware that can be found in a robot vacuum. The S9+ contains the Superior Cleaning Motor which is forty times stronger than in the Roomba 600 series motor and four times stronger than the next best from iRobot. It will have absolutely no problem cleaning head floors in practically all situations. The D shape design is called Perfect Edge technology as it can get in close to walls, something that other Roombas can not do as well. It also means the main brush under the robot is wider than on traditional models.
A key feature of the Roomba S9+ is the Clean Base that comes with it. This unit is both a charging station and allows for Automatic Dirt Disposal technology. When the Roomba S9+ is done cleaning, it will empty its dirt into the Clean Base. The Clean Base can hold up to 30 cleans worth of dirt and therefore make maintenance of the device minimal. The S9+ also has the best navigation technology from iRobot, iAdapt 3.0. Using a camera in the hood of the body, the Roomba S9+ builds a map of your home which includes the floorplan and furniture. Using this data, the S9+ will calculate and take the most efficient cleaning route. When there is low battery it will return to the charging station to recharge and will resume cleaning exactly from where it left off. It can also detect different rooms through Imprint Mapping and you can instruct it to clean an individual room. With Alexa or another smart assistant you can use commands such as “Hey Alexa, clean the kitchen”.
Roomba i7+
The next best Roomba for hardwood floors is the Roomba i7+. This model is similar to the S9+ in many ways although the technology and performance isn’t quite on the same level. The Roomba i7+ has the 3rd Generation cleaning motor which is a quarter of the strength of the S9+. However, this doesn’t necessarily equate to having a quarter of the suction power. The truth is that the i7+ is still very powerful and will most likely do as good of a job as the S9+ on hard floors as it is a relatively easy to clean surface. It is on thick carpets and harder to clean dirt and debris where the S9+ will do much better.
The Roomba i7+ also has a Clean Base and Automatic Dirt Disposal technology that works in the exact same way as the S9+. A full 30 cleans worth of dirt can be stored, so if the user combines it with scheduled cleaning they won’t have to do anything for weeks with the house staying clean. Another feature shared with the S9+ is the advanced iAdapt 3.0 and Imprint Mapping technology. All the perks such as efficient cleaning routes, a Smart Map available in the Home app and autonomous self recharge and resume cleaning will still be available.
Roomba 960
Next up is the slightly older Roomba 960, which used to be our favorite model although it was never quite at the top of series. The Roomba 960 is a great option that balances its price with high performance. Comparatively, the performance of the i7+ and S9+ aren’t that much better on hard floors. The 960 has the Aeroforce Cleaning motor that is five times stronger than the 600 series motor, but half the strength of the i7+ motor. It is still very solid and more than good enough for hard floor cleaning.
The Roomba 960 uses iAdapt 2.0 navigation technology which is almost as good as iAdapt 3.0 This version still uses a camera and builds a smart map that generates the most efficient cleaning routes. The main difference is that it can’t distinguish rooms and clean them individually. However, the useful self recharge and self resume feature is still present in the 960. Compared to iAdapt 1.0, which uses infrared sensors in a relatively random manner, these navigation technologies are much more efficient and save a lot of time cleaning. They also make sure no spot is left untouched.
Roomba e5
The Roomba e5 is a relatively new model that was designed to fill some gaps lower down in the iRobot range. It is very similar to the older Romba 890 but with a few differences, a longer battery, and more modern aesthetic design. Unlike the models already discussed, the e5 has iAdapt 1.0 which uses an array of sensors that produces relatively random movement. It will proceed with cleaning but avoid furniture and other objects. As a result, it is a little slower to clean and does not come with self resume cleaning feature after charging. When the battery is low it will return to the Home Base to charge though. That is why battery life matters more to models with iAdapt 1.0, as they can’t indefinitely clean. The Roomba e5 lasts for 90 minutes, which is a long time by most robot vacuum standards. The Roomba e5 has the Aeroforce motor which is the same one in the 960. This makes it more than capable on hard floors and decent on carpets.
Roomba 690
The last recommended model is the Roomba 690, a more basic and cheaper model that still works well on hard floors. As it has the 3 Stage Cleaning motor which is much weaker than the others, this Roomba is best suited for hard floors and is insufficient on many soft floors. It does share some similarities as the Roomba e5, such as the basic iAdapt 1.0 navigation technology that uses infrared sensors to detect objects and move around them. The battery life is sixty minutes which is thirty minutes short of the Roomba e5. This makes the Roomba 690 most ideal for those in smaller homes. When there is low battery the 690 will return to the Home Base to charge but will no resume cleaning without being manually told to. The Roomba 690 is the lowest spec out of all the WiFi connectable Roombas. It still works with the iRobot Home app where many settings and features can be accessed, but not all of them just like the e5. Examples of what you can do, is schedule cleaning, turn your Roomba on, set preferences and view statistics about cleaning.
Final Word
Each one of these Roomba models has the suction power to clean effectively on hard floors. Spending more gets better features such as more a powerful motor and more advanced navigation technology, as well as Automatic Dirt Disposal. Smaller homes can get away with the Roomba 690 or e5 because their navigation technology is more basic. Larger homes should look to get a model with iAdapt 2.0 or higher as it chooses a cleaning router that is highly efficient and saves time. If you have any furry friends read our best roomba for pets article.
