Customer Reviews
BUYER BEWARE!! 
2008-10-06
My scooba is sending a "charger has failed" message. I called iRobot and I was told the entire unit needs to be replaced. I bought the scooba less than 1-1/2 years ago and used it maybe 10 times. They told me they'll sell me another scooba for $374.99, as I am out of warranty. Please be very careful about purchasing iRobot. Be prepared to dole out $300 to $500 every 1-1/2 years, as it seems that is the life span. Me? I would never buy another. It's not worth one star. Hope this helps anyone considering a purchase.
Lifesaver 
2008-09-23
At 73 years of age, I am about to have another low back surgery. With Scooba the kitchen floor gets cleaned very often. I had to go to bed for several hours after mopping or let the floor get very dirty. So far, my grandsons have run the Scooba whenever they come over because it is a lot of fun to watch. My husband says this is the best purchase we have made in a long time. What a wonderful invention!
Love it! 2008-09-18
I injured my back and have been unable to sweep or mop (and will probably never be able to again.)
My husband gave me a Roomba 560 and a Scooba 5800 for Christmas, 2007. They are wonderful!
The Scooba is very easy to set up (fill the tank with water and cleaning solution and push two buttons) and easy to clean (empty and rinse the dirty tank, remove the brush and rinse, remove the filter and rinse, remove the vacuum port and rinse -- these are all much easier than they sound - they just lift out.)
I was skeptical about the cleaning ability of this thing because I have porcelain tile throughout my home. I didn't think it would work well enough to clean the grout and the tile (especially since the floor isn't smooth.) I was wrong!
I was surprised at how well this cleans. The brush actually scrubs the floor. My husband leaves for work at 5:30 am (before I get up, of course) and sometimes spills drops of tea on the floor -- being a man, he doesn't wipe it up and it dries on the floor. The Scooba will get every bit of it clean. I use it at least once a week and am always amazed at how dirty the water is after it finishes. The cleaning tank and the dirty tank are completely separate so the only thing that ever touches your floor is the clean solution.
Scooba can be used with the Scooba solution or with plain white vinegar. I have used both and far prefer the Scooba solution. I think the solution cleans much, much better. The only problem with the Scooba solution is that you can't find it in stores and have to order it on-line. I ordered it from IRobot and was able to buy several bottles at a discount.
I have had only two problems with my Scooba, and one was my own fault. The first time you use your Scooba, you have to prime it. I did not do this correctly, so the Scooba would not run. After several tries, I figured out what I was doing wrong. You are given a sqeeze bulb that must be inserted into a small hole into which you force air. I did not have the bulb inserted correctly and a vacuum was not created. Once I figured this out, it was easy.
The second problem was that my particular Scooba had a defective battery. It would stop before the cleaning tank had been used up. I called IRobot and they immediately sent me a new battery for free.
This product gets five stars! It is easy to use, cleans very, very well, and IRobot stands behind their product.
-Donna ><>
Does the basic work, cleanup is tedious 
2008-09-18
We have had the Scooba for 6 months now. It works pretty well. I cannot complain about its ability to wash the floor, however you must remove any obstacles (chairs, carpets etc) to reduce the interference. The only complaint that we have had is that it does require a good amount of cleanup after each use. I do like that you can use vinegar in place of the clorox, so we use that once a month. We run our irobot vacuum first (kitchen and digning room are ceramic tile). ONce done, we run the scooba, then go to bed. I would say this has been effective and only twiced did it not complete the job because it got stuck.
ONe bit of advice for anyone that is purchasing this for the first time, DO NOT WATCH IT WORK. It is frustrating watching the pattern it takes.
Overall I think it really works, and helps with weekly moppings!
DO NOT BUY A SCOOBA - YOU WILL BE SORRY - ZERO STARS 2008-09-09
I bought a Scooba six weeks ago. I was very excited. It washed one floor well. It died (a bad charger.) That's when the nightmare began.
I HAVE YET TO GET A LABEL TO RETURN IT TO iROBOT!!!
Yes, it has taken customer service this amount of time to get me a UPS label. This is just about the WORST customer service on the planet and they keep telling you the same lie over and over again. Two business days? Don't believe it.
Also, they won't sent a new charger, they force you to send the entire unit back. More nonsense as there is nothing wrong with the unit--it worked perfectly the one time I was able to use it.
Given the time spent e-mailing and calling customer service, I could have washed all of my floors for a year.
It's a cool product but until the company gets its act together, you will be sorry you bought it.
iRobot 5800 Scooba Floor-Washing Robot 2008-08-22
Floor-washing robot that preps, washes, scrubs, and dries in one pass Cleans under furniture, tables, and hard-to-reach places Safe to use on most hard floors, including sealed hardwood, linoleum, tile, and marble Simple to operate--fill tank, press "Clean," and empty tank when finished Includes one 8-oz. bottle of cleaning solution; 1-year warranty
A longer perspective: After one year, thumbs down for Scooba 
2008-08-15
I loathe and despise mopping. Not only that, it makes my lower back hurt.
So I was excited to buy the Scooba, about a year ago, from a company that offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Here's what I've found over the year.
At first, I loved the Scooba, and it worked well. But then I didn't use it for several months -- not intentionally, but sometimes when things aren't working you just sort of let them go.
When I thought about why I wasn't using my Scooba, here's what I came up with: Scooba doesn't clean the corners, and it takes a long time for me to clean the Scooba, after it cleans the floor. When the Scooba was new, it was very clean and worked well. Now, the Scooba seems to not work as well because it's dirty. I do clean it between uses, but it's not squeaky clean. It leaves dirt streaks and little wet piles of dog hair behind on my floor. Maybe it would work better if I cleaned it more. But, how long do you want to spend cleaning the inside of your mop? Battery management is finicky. And my Scooba seems to have lost its ability to realize that it's done. It does not seem to go into "shut down" mode in which it cleans the tanks and insides and then beeps "done." Instead, my year-old Scooba will just keep mopping and mopping forever until it runs out of juice - even in a small room like my 6'x 8' bathroom. As my Scooba gets older it also seems to have a harder time with the modest irregularities in my floor. In short, I have to think way too much about this robot. Scooba is too much management and too much work.
I'm going back to an old-fashioned mop. Simple. Fairly effective. No battery issues. Easy to clean. I've had it with babying Scooba.
Used it once and had to send it back 2008-08-07
I charged the Scooba per manual instructions and put it use on 1 floor. When it finished the battery needed to be charged again and when I tried to charge it I got the message that it could not charge the battery. I called IRobot support and they said to send the unit back in and it would be replaced under the warranty. I sent it in almost 2 weeks ago, but haven't heard from them since.
Really Works!!! 2008-07-30
Great product, used it as soon as I charged it up, I haven't mopped a floor since. Strongly recommended for linoleum or wood floors. Picks up crumbs and dirt very well. Very pleased.
Opening and Batteries 
2008-07-19
The battery life is inadequate and opening the unit is counter intuitive. My wife had lots of problems opening the unit because you push the handle down to lift it up. It's a really stupid design on the handle. It works once you understand it, but there's no instructions on how it works.
