Does Roomba Work On Carpet? Thick Rug Also?

IRobot is one of the most popular floor-cleaner devices available in the market. But people often come with questions like whether it can handle all floors.

To be specific, does Roomba work on thick carpets? And if it does, then how well?

Well, not all robot vacuums are suitable for all types of floors. For example, if you have a Roomba specially designed for hardwood floors, it won’t work on carpet.

Speaking of the design, whereas Roomba has robotic vacuum cleaners specially designed for bare floors, it has robotic vacuum cleaners specially designed for carpets in its line-up too.

You all know the basics, to perform great on carpets – the suction must have to be great.

The manufacturer company iRobot has boosted the suction power of their recent robot vacuum cleaners like the Roomba i7 and i7+.

In the robotic vacuum cleaner industry, Roomba is well-known for its massive suction power compared to the other robot vacuum cleaner brands.

Now think twice the suction power in these two models than you’d get before. These are relentless whenever you have some thick carpets. You should check these two.

Again, which Roomba model you have and how thick your carpet are two significant factors.

Does Roomba Work On Thick Carpet?

As I’ve already mentioned, it depends on both. For carpet, you must choose one that comes with a powerful motor having great suction.

Following are the features a Roomba needs to have for cleaning a thick carpet.

Great Suction:

The motor must be powerful enough to collect almost all the dirt hiding under the threads of your carpet.

Great Clearance:

The vacuum must have a high clearance which most robot cleaners don’t have.

That’s why they aren’t suitable for carpets. It should contain large wheels so it doesn’t get stuck on the edges easily.

Greater Dustbin:

A carpet hides more dust and pet hair than floors without carpet. Therefore, the dustbin must have a higher capacity so that it can collect and store all of it.

It’s more significant, especially when you have to clean a lot of rooms having carpet on the floor.

But a dilemma lies here. Since it is a battery-powered electronics, the weight is an issue. A heavy unit means the consumption of excessive power, which means less runtime.

To solve this issue, We have been introduced to a very recent innovation by Roomba, which allows self-dirt disposal.

This Authentic Parts Clean Base is sold separately too. Check that below.

Check at Amazon.com

The giant dirtbag inside it can swallow the dirt of 30 dirt bins. You can forget to clean the dirtbag for a long time here.

The weight of the Robot Vacuum

Carpet piles, especially ones from thick carpets, will likely push robot cleaners out of the carpet piles. So, a heavy vacuum will help the suction duct to stay deeper in piles of the carpet.

But as you know, you can’t get a really heavy robot cleaner because they have to run on batteries. Still, if you’ve to deal with thick carpets quite often, try to get a heavy Roomba for your home.

So, the verdict here? If you do not mind less runtime out of your Roomba Robot – you can go ahead, figure out the heaviest Roomba robot ever produced and buy that.

The best advice would be to keep an eye on the Roomba for the first few sessions. Make any necessary corrections. It may have to empty the canister every 15-20 minutes for the first few times.

A powerful Roomba collected dirt from the deep of the carpet, which a less powerful Roomba failed to do. But it’ll stop after when the Roomba cleans an area 2-3 times.

Quick Guide: Roomba 880 Vs 980

Now, for those who would really mind a lesser runtime out of their Roomba robot – do not get disheartened yet. Can Only weight not outrun the stubborn carpets?

Strong suction power is a must. And if you can manage a robust suction power, excessive weight can be checked out of the list.

I have already introduced you to the two robotic vacuums of the latest Roomba I series. In case you missed that, I am leaving them here for you again.

How do you know how well the Roomba is performing?

You have to observe the indicator light at the top of the device. It’s like a magnifying glass.

When it’s solid blue, it means that the device is in intensive mode. That time it’ll start moving either in a spiral or a fan shape.

And if you observe starfish blue light, it indicates that the speed of the brush is less than expected.

And if the brush doesn’t seem to run at all, you must stop. Check whether anything is jumbled with the brush or not.

Some Roomba models come with an additional feature called Virtual Wall Lighthouse. Its specialty is that you can follow a distinct cleaning pattern with your Roomba.

You can divide the area to be cleaned into small sections that are dangerous for the robot cleaner.  For instance, you can close off the area with the lighthouse where there is shag carpeting.

So the device won’t be able to enter the area and protect itself from damage during cleaning.

Now coming to the carpet, the thickness also matters. But serious trouble occurs when there’s shag carpeting because it can lead to burning out of the motor.

Errors in Roomba While Cleaning A Thick Carpet

Various models behave variously when an error is found. Some give you only a few beeps, and you have to guess the error by the number of beeps.

Some can announce the error in a robotic voice. Other display errors as codes along with beeps. However, the codes more or less are identical in various models. But you must know how to interpret the beeps or codes.

However, the errors can be classified into two categories-

Cleaning Errors

Several cleaning errors can occur when The Roomba is on duty to clean up your thick carpets.

There are clear indicators (beeps) emitting from the device to let you identify what it’s stuck with. Here is a quick list of the ‘Number of Beeps’ and the Kind of error it indicates-

Charging Errors

Unlike cleaning errors, charging errors are indicated by Blinks. Just like the cleaning errors, the number of blinks is an indicator of different types of issues with the charging and battery system. Have a look-

5 Tips for Better Cleaning With A Roomba

You know the issues and advantages of cleaning a thick carpet with iRobot Roomba. However, don’t quite the page yet. We have got a few cool tips that will make your cleaning experience better and trouble-free:

• Purchase a virtual wall that can be used to block certain parts of the house or floor that you don’t want your Roomba to crawl.
• Change the vacuum filter after every 2-3 months of use. This will keep the optimal performance up.
• If you live in a small place, keep the battery off the unit while it’s not at work. This will maximize battery life.
• If you live in a house where frequent dust cleaning is required, empty the dust cleaner now and then.
• Do a COMPLETE clean of the unit after every 4-8 uses. Be sincere while doing a deep cleaning of the brushes. Take some expert help if you’re new at this.

Final Verdict

Now concluding, does Roomba work on thick carpets? The answer would certainly be yes! But not all of its models.

If you ask for my suggestion, I recommend the Roomba models from the 800 series. These have the virtual wall lighthouse feature to make your work easier.

George Evans

Hi, This is George. Founder Of Vacuumist.com. Completed my graduation in Bachelor of Business Administration. Proud father of two lovely baby girls. Reviewing home appliances is my passion. Developing this blog to update and publish my recent reviews and research. Stay in touch.