Robot vacuum?

[Michael Weber]

So many features on some. Anyone have experience with these things? What features do you recommend? We have old growth pine floors with area rugs and no pets. There are stairs and this will be dedicated to the upstate’s, about 1300 square feet. Self emptying at the base sounds like it would be good. Other than that the available features are a bit overwhelming. Any advice or recommendation appreciated. Thanks.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I don't know if they changed from having to have 3 feet of clear space on each side of the receptacle or not - but - that was a deal breaker for us a few years ago.

[ChrisA Edwards]

We have a Roomba and a Shark. We use them all the time.

Of the two, we like the Shark the best, it self cleans into the wall charger base, which mean you empty the charging station about once a month, it's also quieter in operation so we can run it in our main living area without it being loud, i.e. we don't need to adjust the volume on the TV while it cleans around your feet.

We had the Roomba for about 18 months before we bought the Shark, like it but wasn't totally satisfied. The Shark, we saw on a infomercial with a 90 day return policy, so we took them up on that offer and kept it.

We have all hardwood floors with area rugs. The Roomba would struggle to transition up onto the area rugs and get stuck, half on, half off the rug which required you to go attend to it. Do this five or six times and I may have been better off just manually vacuuming.

Both are pretty good at going back to the dock and recharging mid clean, if they need it.

In super tight areas, the Roomba gets stuck more often. It can find its way into a tight spot but doesn't have the logic to reverse out.

Both will get into tight spots.

The area rugs look cleaner with the Shark, even though it's noticeably quieter it seems to have better suction.

The only negative about the Shark, the smart phone app has trouble connecting to the Shark, so phone control doesn't work for us. It worked initially for several months, but with software updates to both phone and the Shark app, we've had trouble getting it to be reliable, so now we just have to walk over to the shark and press the button to clean.

[Alan Lightstone]

We have the Roomba i9 with the self-emptying base. Actually we have 3 of them on different floors of the house. The self-emptying feature is a game changer. We have 3 long-haired dogs, and it works great on hardwood floors. I'm not sure how well it would do on carpet, and it tries to eat rugs, dog toys and cords. But it is a great vacuum. And we never have to vacuum which is awesome.

Interestingly, the Braava jet mopping robot is a great addition to it for our kitchen. It picks up an impressive amount of dog hair that the Roomba leaves. I use a mixture of 4:1 water and denatured alcohol with a drop of dawn, and the floors look great.

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

We have the Roombas from time it came on the market, updating models every 3-4 years up to i6 model. Right now just awaiting from last two robots to died or break. Biggest complains - noise it make when running, emptying it, or forgetting to do it, and struggling in transition areas, like hardwood floor and rug.
On the plus side - it vacuuming floor very well, collection a lot of dust, dog hair, ladybugs :mad:. iPhone software working very well, easy to schedule, easy connect to Roomba.
Probably I will go with Shark, as a next robot, or who knows what we will see next year or so.
Ed.

[Jim Becker]

A number of years ago we had a more basic Roomba brand unit and its job was to keep our master bedroom floor dusted after we determined that the brick floor in the kitchen/bird room was too rough for it to last very long physically. Here at the new place, we have a Shark "intelligence" unit that we got from Costco a few months ago and it's maintaining the whole first floor, including the bird area. It maps the space so you can tell it what areas to clean if you don't want the whole thing done and even empties itself by returning to the charging base mid-job. It's name is "Monk" and it's an important member of the family now. :) :D

These things do not replace a traditional vacuum cleaner for deep cleaning work, but they really do help keep things neat and it makes the actual "cleaning day" for whomever has that task a bit easier. The new more automated units like we have mean you can both schedule and do ad hoc as needs be.

[Stan Calow]

We have a basic Trifo and despite all my doubts, it actually does a pretty good job on the carpet and wood floors. Enough to reduce the need for a hard vacuuming to every three-four weeks. It gets stuck a lot so you can't just leave it and go somewhere, but it gives you time to work on something else. No special wall space requirements. Its not very smart, as far as remembering where its been. So bottom line, it was a good purchase and does its job well. It does freak out when there's a power failure, as it keeps looking for its base until its battery runs out. In fact, when we hear it say "returning to base" in the middle of the night, we know the power is out.

[Ole Anderson]

We have an older (5 years?) Roomba that only got used in our cork-floored bedroom until we took up the rest of our carpeting and put down bamboo, now it gets used in the whole house including the basement (Pergo flooring). No use anymore for our upright vacuum. The Roomba gets used every time the grand dogs visit. In the bedroom, I raised the beds just enough for it to sneak under to get the dust bunnies without getting stuck.

[John M Wilson]

The self-emptying feature is a game changer.

We've owned a half-dozen of them over the years, and currently have the Shark with the self-emptying base, and I will never own another without that feature. It changes a novelty "toy" into a full-fledged appliance.

My daughter has the Roomba with the self-emptying base -- hers uses a bag, and that makes it much more tidy at emptying time. The Shark is bagless, an advantage when you don't have to buy bags, but emptying is slightly more messy.

Both the Shark and the higher-end Roombas use room mapping software, which is better than the random flail-about-the-house strategy, but I still think we are a couple of software breakthroughs before we get to the Rosie of the Jetson's show.

As it is, our "Rosie" vacuums the entire 1st floor daily, and we only break out the big vacuum every few months for a deep clean or a big spill. It's been going strong for nearly 2 years, and has had no battery degradation or service issues worth noting.

[Mike Soaper]

Has anyone tried one of these in a home woodshop after the bulk of sawdust, shavings, etc. have been swept/vacuumed up?

[Jim Becker]

Has anyone tried one of these in a home woodshop after the bulk of sawdust, shavings, etc. have been swept/vacuumed up?
I think a regular version wouldn't like that environment, but there have been some heavier duty versions available for more extreme conditions. Check the specifications carefully and remember, even the largest of these things is relatively small, so space to hold what's swept up into the holding "tank" is very limited.

[Derek Meyer]

I just ordered one for my wife for Christmas (Yes, she has been wanting one and has let me know she is wanting one). After looking at different brands and models and reading reviews, and talking with people who have them, I went with the Roomba j7+. It comes with the base station that it empties into, so the base only has to be emptied every 45 days or so; it's good with pet hair (we have 5 small dogs); and it has a lot more suction than other brands or lower models. Also, the mapping software is said to be some of the better software available on these vacs. The area we will use it in is laminate flooring with a couple of area rugs. Hopefully it works as well for us as others say it works for them.

[Lee DeRaud]

Inquiring minds want to know: is the self-mapping feature good enough to keep the widget from throwing itself down the stairs when used on an upper floor?

(Just ordered a 'renewed' Shark IQ from Amazon...mostly for downstairs, so it doesn't freak out the cat, but ya never know.)

[John M Wilson]

is the self-mapping feature good enough to keep the widget from throwing itself down the stairs when used on an upper floor?

I believe most of them have "cliff sensors" that detect when they are hovering on the edge of the abyss... ours occasionally gets fooled by the HVAC floor registers & panics. I don't think they rely on the mapping as the last line of defense.

[Joe Hendershott]

These things do not replace a traditional vacuum cleaner for deep cleaning work, but they really do help keep things neat and it makes the actual "cleaning day" for whomever has that task a bit easier. The new more automated units like we have mean you can both schedule and do ad hoc as needs be.

As always, Jim has the correct answer. They keep the dog and cat hair down enough to be able to walk around, and make the actual cleaning much easier. Not a replacement.

[Jim Becker]

As always, Jim has the correct answer. They keep the dog and cat hair down enough to be able to walk around, and make the actual cleaning much easier. Not a replacement.
There are some units that appear to be better optimized for pet households than others...choose wisely. ;)

[Lee DeRaud]

There are some units that appear to be better optimized for pet households than others...choose wisely. ;)
"Self-cleaning brush" is high on my must-have list: I have an older cordless Dyson that could use work in that area.

[Mike Soaper]

I think a regular version wouldn't like that environment, but there have been some heavier duty versions available for more extreme conditions. Check the specifications carefully and remember, even the largest of these things is relatively small, so space to hold what's swept up into the holding "tank" is very limited.


Thanks for the insight Jim.

[Ronald Blue]

We've had a Roomba and now a Shark with the self emptying base. The Roomba was okay but the Shark is great. It's much quieter and it rarely gets caught someplace. We have vinyl plank and a couple area rugs. Works well. We do have a dog that sheds badly so every week to 10 days we have to remove hair even though it's supposed to not have an issue with that. I don't think they knew a dog could lose so much. LOL It does map the layout and in the bigger rooms goes back and forth. The Roomba just bumped and turned it's way around. So We are Shark fans.

[Lee DeRaud]

I don't think they knew a dog could lose so much.
"Corgis only shed twice a year."
"Yeah, once for seven months, once for five."
:)

[roger wiegand]

We went through three generations of Roombas, as I was fascinated with the concept. When I gave up I concluded that they were great as long as you had a minimal amount of furniture, no area rugs, and no pets. Ours routinely got themselves stuck among table and chair legs where they couldn't find a way out, would die trying to suck up the fringes on our oriental carpets, or be unable to surmount the bump at the edge of the carpet to get up onto it, or would suffer indigestion from cat hair if they actually succeeded in avoiding the first two hazards long enough to do any vacuuming.

It's been about five years since I tried one, have these kinds of problems actually been solved?

[Ronald Blue]

We went through three generations of Roombas, as I was fascinated with the concept. When I gave up I concluded that they were great as long as you had a minimal amount of furniture, no area rugs, and no pets. Ours routinely got themselves stuck among table and chair legs where they couldn't find a way out, would die trying to suck up the fringes on our oriental carpets, or be unable to surmount the bump at the edge of the carpet to get up onto it, or would suffer indigestion from cat hair if they actually succeeded in avoiding the first two hazards long enough to do any vacuuming.

It's been about five years since I tried one, have these kinds of problems actually been solved?

The Shark is eons ahead of the Roomba it replaced. Loose cords can cause problems although it has unplugged things too so we make sure they are routed out of it's reach. As far as area rugs and obstacles it hops on and off them effortlessly. The old Roomba couldn't climb up the one we currently have. It's probably about an inch high. The big difference is the Shark needs light and the Roomba didn't. We always ran the Roomba at night or when we were gone because of noise. Each morning it was did it make it home and if not where is it stuck. The Shark is very quiet and it runs while we are up and about. It doesn't replace the need to clean conventionally but it helps keep things looking good in between. Especially with a dog that should be hairless with all the shedding but he isn't.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I've never had a robot vacuum, though I can see that they are cute. Those who use them extensively, what do you do to clean your stairs? My understanding is that they can't travel on stairs, and are they able to get into corners and clean the whole corner of the floor or is there a little radius of dust left behind?

[Jim Becker]

I can confirm what Ron mentioned about the Shark wanting light to work well and we flip on overhead lighting when Monk does its daily run around the first floor. (running at night isn't a thing for us anyway because it would disturb our birds)

[Michael Weber]

Just want to thank everyone for all the helpful comments and personal experiences. Hopefully I have arrived at a decision.

[Ronald Blue]

I've never had a robot vacuum, though I can see that they are cute. Those who use them extensively, what do you do to clean your stairs? My understanding is that they can't travel on stairs, and are they able to get into corners and clean the whole corner of the floor or is there a little radius of dust left behind?

They can't get into the corner completely but even a conventional vacuum takes a little effort and maybe even using a hand tool. Since our floors are vinyl plank they get broomed there anyway. No stairs are out of the question for a robot but then they are not something an upright can easily handle either. If you have carpeted treads you will either be using a hand held or a tool on a hose from either a canister or an upright with a tool kit. They are a cleaning aid but they don't make it so nothing else needs to be done to keep the premises clean.

[Todd Trebuna]

We have two. An old Room a and a newer Roborock S4, which is amazing. Maps with a laser. Smart. Integrates with Alexa and Google Home. Has three modes and is very systematic. Really like it.

[Scott Kilroy]

I've got a roomba and it does basic cleaning pretty well. I will say this, it's like a pet, a pet you don't like very much that buzzes under your feet when you want to be left alone.

[Paul F Franklin]

I've a buddy with 4 of the roborocks (2 houses, 2 levels, not sure which model) and he raves about them. Seems like everyone he shows them to goes out and buys one. I have one on my list, once all the remodeling is finished.

I'm a little concerned about how my dog will react to it, but I figure we can always let it run at night when the dog's in our bedroom. Those of you with dogs, how do they react to it?

[Jim Becker]

I will say this, it's like a pet, a pet you don't like very much that buzzes under your feet when you want to be left alone.

Yea, if "Monk" is working and I'm trying to do prep work or something in the kitchen, guess where it heads? :D :D "Dancing Chef" results...and it's hip-hop out of necessity.

[Ronald Blue]

I've a buddy with 4 of the roborocks (2 houses, 2 levels, not sure which model) and he raves about them. Seems like everyone he shows them to goes out and buys one. I have one on my list, once all the remodeling is finished.

I'm a little concerned about how my dog will react to it, but I figure we can always let it run at night when the dog's in our bedroom. Those of you with dogs, how do they react to it?

Our dog eyes it warily. Sometimes he has to leap to his feet before it gobbles him up. (No chance of it because he's an 80 lb Bernedoodle) He generally just steers clear and all is well. He's a major reason we have it. But he gives us smiles and is faithfully by us whenever in the house.

[Stan Calow]

Our dog barked at first and then got used to it. Same thing with the regular vac.

[Lee DeRaud]

(Just ordered a 'renewed' Shark IQ from Amazon...mostly for downstairs, so it doesn't freak out the cat, but ya never know.)
An update: it showed up yesterday. A very well-constructed widget, seems to work as designed, snarfed up an amazing amount of dog hair in its first pass. (The mapping seems to be a "work in progress", as the map that displays on the phone app looks more like a QR code than anything resembling my floor plan. It really doesn't like the dining room: managed to trap itself underneath the table and wedge itself on the chair legs trying to escape.)

But I think it's going back. The main issue (which I should have foreseen) is that, short of going full-Kondo, my house is just too cluttered for the machine to deal with without me doing a bunch of stuff-shuffling before and after. And that's the part of vacuuming I hate...actually pushing the Dyson around is kind of zen. If I had a big open-plan house with minimalist decor, no problem, but that's not gonna happen in this life.

Note, in case it matters to someone else, that it's a bit fussy in two areas: (1) they want you to put the base unit against a wall with nothing within 3' on either side and 5' in front, and (2) if you have dual-band WIFI, they want you to have different SSIDs on the two bands (it only works on 2.4GHz). I don't know if either of these is a real-world problem...I had the base unit in a partial corner and it redocked several times with no problem, and I either lucked out or it found the 2.4GHz network on the first try. YMMV.

[Jim Becker]

Note, in case it matters to someone else, that it's a bit fussy in two areas: (1) they want you to put the base unit against a wall with nothing within 3' on either side and 5' in front, and (2) if you have dual-band WIFI, they want you to have different SSIDs on the two bands (it only works on 2.4GHz). I don't know if either of these is a real-world problem...I had the base unit in a partial corner and it redocked several times with no problem, and I either lucked out or it found the 2.4GHz network on the first try. YMMV.

Ours is against a wall, but right next to a sideboard. No issues. If we don't move a dining chair at the table in front of it, there is less than 5' in front, but it's handled it fine. I run dual-band WiFi with the same SSID for both bands (EERO WiFi 6 Pro) with zero issues. The unit lives on the 2.4ghz band along with a few other devices that prefer it including alarm components.

BTW, I agree that the mapping leaves a little to be desired when it comes to details, but it's been relatively fine with at least understanding the room boundaries that Professor Dr. SMWBO established for "quick jobs".

Finally...yea...decluttering is kinda important. But it can be a good thing if you can manage the initial operation. We had to do some "fencing" until we got fully unpacked after our move!

[Lee DeRaud]

I run dual-band WiFi with the same SSID for both bands (EERO WiFi 6 Pro) with zero issues.Upon further review, I don't think it's the vacuum that has a problem with dual-band, it's the phone that the app is installed on. During the initial setup, the phone and the vacuum set up a peer-to-peer WIFI so the app can tell the vacuum what SSID and password to use. So if the phone is using the 5GHz band, it won't detect the vacuum. But I suspect that, once the vacuum can connect to the router by itself, it doesn't matter what band the phone is on. (I'm not sure which band my phone normally uses because the WIFI option screen doesn't display it...typical Samsung non-standard Android. But apparently it was using 2.4GHz that day in that room, because it worked.)

[Jim Becker]

When you go into the phone to connect to the private WiFi for setup, it "shouldn't" have an issue connecting to a 2.4ghz network, especially if the network only supports that band. But sometimes there are weird things with specific devices, revisions of OS and, um..."the alterations" that some device manufacturers and carriers make to said OS...which only really applies to Android at this point since it's pretty much the only remaining choice other than iOS. The latter doesn't allow for mods.

[Lee DeRaud]

When you go into the phone to connect to the private WiFi for setup, it "shouldn't" have an issue connecting to a 2.4ghz network, especially if the network only supports that band.
I hear ya, but they spent a full page (separate from the manual) whining about dual-band. Makes me wonder if they've had a bunch of them returned because people couldn't get their phones to talk to it.

[Leigh Betsch]

I'd really like to try one of these in my new shop. I have an epoxy floor that I sweep every evening before I leave the shop then I dust mop it in the morning before I start work. I'm thinking maybe the robot could do a final sweep at night and 'I wouldn't need to do the dust mopping in the morning. I suppose the only way to know would be to buy one and try it out. SWMBO is dead set against a "gadget" for the house, or I would buy on for the house and then give it a try in the shop. If anyone does give it a go for the shop please let me know how it works.

[Jim Becker]

Leigh, you'd want one of the "heavy duty" versions for that, but if you are getting the big stuff up, I see no reason why such a device wouldn't be able to help with the fine material that settles on the floor which would reduce tracking it into the house. (If I recall, your shop is attached to the house)

[Alan Rutherford]

So many things to think about if you're looking for a robot to clean your floors. Here's another one:

"Amazon services down for thousands of users (https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59568858)...services including Amazon's Ring security cameras, mobile banking app Chime and robot vacuum cleaner maker iRobot were also facing issues according to their social media pages and Twitter."

Maybe it just needs a good talking-to by Alexa.

[Lee DeRaud]

As I mentioned, I returned the Shark IQ to Amazon, and instead went with a new(ish) Dyson cordless V10.

Oh my, does that suck! And in a good way: it's very close to being a viable replacement for one of my corded Dysons (an aging DC07). It's a couple models down from the top of the Dyson line, but the ones above it have a bad dose of "feature creep": things that look good in ads, but don't necessarily add to the basic functionality. About the same price as the mid-range Shark/iRobot 'Baby Dalek'.

[Bruce Page]

Resurrecting on old thread. I’ve been looking at robot vacuums and have settled on the iRobot Roomba S9+. I won’t move until next week’s black Friday hoping the price will drop some more. Does anyone have one of these? Opinions? Critiques? My wife and I share vacuuming duties and my lower back is starting to bark. My daughter has a Roomba J7+ and is quite happy with it.

https://www.amazon.com/iRobot-Roomba-Emptying-Robot-Vacuum/dp/B07QXM2V6X/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1S4IGHC68KRS0&keywords=iRobot+Roomba+s9%2B&qid=1699586267&sprefix=irobot+roomba+s9%2B%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.2b70bf2b-6730-4ccf-ab97-eb60747b8daf

[Stephen Tashiro]

My thoughts based on using older model 600 series Roombas. Expect to get your hands dirty. Over the years I've used them daily and done many repairs on them. The most involved "repair" was disabling the cliff sensors. You can find YouTube videos about how to do this and other repairs.

They do the work of vacuuming fairly well, but you have to clean them after average use = use till the battery goes low. Cleaning them involves more than emptying the dust bin and cleaning the brushes. Pet hair also gets wrapped around the small guide wheel and the "side brush".

Batteries last longer if you don't recharge them till the battery is nearly discharged. The automatic docking feature is unreliable due to the flimsy nature of the dock.

Expect to some rearranging of your rooms to eliminate places where the robot gets stuck. The 600 series isn't smart enough to stop in a convenient place. It's a pain to retrieve it from under beds.

[Patty Hann]

Can't say how well their Roomba (10 years ago?) worked but friends had a small dog that did not like it at all.
She would hide while the thing was making its rounds in her "space".

[Jim Becker]

Bruce, iRobot remains the "industry leader" I believe and they've continued to add stuff to the machines. I'd consider one of the new higher level ones like you're looking at if and when our Sharks (we have two...one downstairs named Monk and one upstairs named Natalie :D ) decide to stop working. They are working harder now, however, because of Oliver the dog. Despite being a short hair boxer mix, he's competing pretty good with the birds for "stuff on the floor".

At any rate, buying on sale is the way to go, especially when there is opportunity for additional discounting. I'd never buy these things at "full price". (Which is kinda how I am with any kind of purchase)

[Jerome Stanek]

My duaghter has the shark that does a real good job the her dog hair. She has 2 large hairy dogs 1 is a Newfoundland and the other is a Great Pyreness. I see a lot of reconditioned roombas on a site I go to.

[Bill George]

We also have a Shark and it self empties and does a decent job, but you do need to pick things up out of the way IF you want the job done right. We have two dogs and they just ignore and get out of the way.

[Alan Lightstone]

I have three iRobots. Having ones that self empty is of tremendous benefit. My third one is in the kitchen, so I think I'll name it Disher on top of Monk and Natalie. :D

Great names, Jim.

They seem to be having more difficulties lately. We have two long haired dogs, and the one upstairs is routinely stopping and saying that its bin is full, which is actually the bin on the robot, not the dock. So it is being overwhelmed. They also, at least the upstairs one, seems to miss getting correctly on the dock and doesn't charge. And they seem to enjoy eating rugs lately, which they never did before.

These are all relatively new developments over the past few months, so not sure they are aging well.

[Bruce Page]

The S9+ is the top of the line iRobot as far as I can tell. The S, J, & I nomenclature is a bit confusing. We have one 45lb mutt rescue that has short hair, so I don’t see that as a problem. She has never pooped in the house but has gotten sick a few times. The S9+ is “D” shaped and claims to clean in the corners better. One thing that I find odd is the S9+ does not have poop or cable/extension wire detection, where the next model down does. Weird.

We are sooo tired of lugging the Dyson vac around!

[Bill Howatt]

Make sure your robot has a nice personality. A Korean man was killed by a robot the other day. Thought he was a box of vegetables and jammed him onto a conveyor.

[Bruce Page]

Make sure your robot has a nice personality. A Korean man was killed by a robot the other day. Thought he was a box of vegetables and jammed him onto a conveyor.

Yikes! I will keep that in mind!

[Bruce Page]

Update: We ended up picking up a Roomba j8+ from Costco yesterday. It is pretty amazing technology. It took 1½ to “map” the house and 2½ hours to vacuum the whole house minus one room. It is not nearly a loud as I feared. Our dog was very interested in it at first but after 30 minuets, meh..
My back is liking this thing already.

[Patty Hann]

Update: We ended up picking up a Roomba j8+ from Costco yesterday. It is pretty amazing technology. It took 1½ to “map” the house and 2½ hours to vacuum the whole house minus one room. It is not nearly a loud as I feared. Our dog was very interested in it at first but after 30 minuets, meh..
My back is liking this thing already.
Your Roomba may get homesick for Costco and decide to leave....

Roomba escapes (https://universe.byu.edu/2023/11/30/video-of-the-day-roomba-escapes-home/)

[Jim Becker]

You'll enjoy it, Bruce...they help keep up with things so deep cleaning manually can be at much longer intervals.

[Bruce Page]

You'll enjoy it, Bruce...they help keep up with things so deep cleaning manually can be at much longer intervals.

Yes, vacuuming behind open doors is an obvious shortcoming, so that will still be done manually. On the plus side, the last time the carpet under the master bed was vacuumed was when we bought the last mattress, lol. Neither our Dyson or Shark vacs would fit under there..

[Jim Becker]

Under the beds was one of the primary reasons that "Natalie" was purchased for upstairs to compliment "Monk" downstairs. :D

[Alan Lightstone]

Just be careful about them around rugs. I've had to exclude the area around a large rug as it liked to eat it, and the smaller rugs we have around the house are often treats for my iRobots. I love having them, with long-haired dogs, but they really seem to like hard floors better. And they are fantastic under beds. I'm always stunned how much they pick up.

I really wish I had thought of those names, Jim. Cracks me up every time I read that.

[Jim Becker]

Professor Dr. SWMBO named them, Alan...I can't take credit for that as I've never watched the show. I do hear that there's a movie coming with the original cast, however. BTW, only lightweight throw rugs get "ate" and we take them up when running the robots...like we are "as we speak".

[Bruce Page]

Alan, the j8 doesn't have any problems getting from the tile to the two low pile rugs we have, or the throw rug by the kitchen sink. I've been picking up the heavier throw rugs that we have.
So far, I really like it. I was really worried that it would be a screamer but it is fairly quiet @ 62 dBa according to my phone.