The iRobot Roomba 980 robot vacuum is one of the pricier robot vacuums on the market and has been around for several years. The majority of the customer feedback that we reviewed was very positive with 80% of Amazon reviewers giving a ‘4’ or a ‘5’ for this product. There was also a good number who gave some pretty bad reviews for this product, or a ‘1’ star rating.
Knowing and understand the pros and cons of a product like this is very important, particularly at this price point. The iRobot Roomba 980 uses light and, I guess we will call ‘vision’ to plot its course around your home. One of the most consistent knocks on the product is that it performs poorly on a dark carpet. So if you have any dark rug or carpet in your home, continue to look as you will likely not be happy with this product. For some basic sweeping of a few areas of your home, we recommend that you look at some of the less expensive products that we’ve reviewed.
Another occasional knock on the product is that you’ll have trouble with the vacuum fitting under some furniture. This vacuum is 3.6 inches tall, so while this could be an issue in some cases, like your sofa or some other pieces of furniture, but the iRobot Roomba 980 is a little shorter than the comparable Neato D7, which is 3.9 inches tall. So if you are looking to get under tight spots, you’ll have this problem with any of the products reviewed.
Now that we’ve demoralized many of you, now let’s focus some on the product’s good features. I like many people who have pets; one is a constantly shedding yellow lab that leaves a trail of blonde tumbleweed wherever he wants to hang out. So a good strong vacuum that can keep his fur at bay is crucial. Many reviewers called this out specifically — including one 980 lover who has a golden retriever and loved the fact that her Roomba kept her house spotless as she runs it every other day for this very reason.
See our Best Robot Vacuums to Buy
Like most vacuums, the iRobot Roomba 980 has a carpet mode that can switch to keep them clean. The vacuum significantly increases its suction to work the carpet and suck out all dust, hair, and dirt that carpet fibers love to keep. When the 980 shifts into Carpet Boost, the volume increases significantly. Some owners complained about it, but most of them also said that it told them that the vacuum was working extra hard to clean the carpets. They loved the results.
As with any vacuum, you should follow the manufacturer’s suggestions for keeping your vacuum running well. Some of these suggestions include emptying the bin after each use, cleaning the filter weekly, cleaning the brushes monthly, and replacing some parts periodically, like the filter on an every-other-month basis. We did not find this outrageous, mainly since the robot vacuums are used significantly more frequently than their manual counterparts.
We recommend this product, although if you are on a budget, we are not sure that the price is warranted.
Make sure you refer to our Robot Vacuum Buyers Guide