Roomba 500-series Robotic Vacuum Part/Accessory Replacement (Side Brushes) – Customer Support/Warranty Coverage Experience

We have owned the iRobot Roomba 535 since December 2007 and the experience has been very satisfying – we appreciate its relative quietness and the low labor input from us. As with most products designed to handle household chores, proper maintenance is an essential element of the equation. The parts requiring periodic replacement with Roomba are the brushes – in particular, side brush leads that listing. The main brushes are very sturdy and are holding up well for us. But, the side brushes are in a different league altogether – we have had to replace them a few times as one of the six spokes eventually comes apart.

iRobot must have been paying attention to customer input regarding the side brushes as recently the design of this accessory changed: Instead of a six-sponge design, it is now a three-sponge design. We asked Roomba customer support why the three-sponge design is deemed better than the original six-sponge design. Below is the response from Roomba customer support:

The three sponge is made out of a much more durable material it is designed to last you longer, this brush do not snap in place it just screws on.

Interestingly, our Roomba’s brush is also screwed on leaving the main difference to be the material. One still has to wonder why a three-sponge one would be better overall compared to a six-sponge one. We will wait and see!


We also asked Roomba customer support whether the new design brushes would be available to us under warranty coverage. They asked for some product registration details and almost immediately replied they have processed an order to send us a new spinning side brush. The notification also mentioned we should receive it within 7-10 days. A little later, we received another notification indicating that the side brushes are currently on backorder. Strangely enough, the product is available for purchase through their online store. We pointed this out to customer service and their reply was:

Thank you for writing back. The inventory for in warranty replacement parts sent free of charge is separate from the inventory for purchased items. However, we have just received a shipment of the side brushes to our warehouse. Please allow an additional 4-6 business days for all orders to be processed and released for shipment.

Overall, the experience turned out fine but for immediate results, a little bit of research and prodding was necessary. On the whole, we rate the Roomba’s customer service top-notch, given our request didn’t strictly qualify under warranty coverage.


CURRENT SALE REPORT:

1. Roomba Accessories Sale At Amazon.com.
2. Roomba sale at eBay
3. Save $50 and Free Shipping on Roomba 610 at the iRobot store - valid till 12/31/2008.
4. Remanufactured iRobot Roomba Scheduler (White, Charcoal or Blue) - Model 4296 - $169.99.

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5. iRobot Roomba 5-series Robotic Vacuum Part/Accessory Replacement (Side Brushes) – Customer Support/Warranty Coverage Experience - 09/08
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