Say hello to your free time, and goodbye to lengthy cleaning sessions dragging your vacuum cords around the house.
Roombas, as we know, are able to clean your house’s floors without needing much interference from you.
If you are wondering if Roombas can clean multiple floors in your house, I will explain your answer in this article.
Switching to an iRobot floor cleaner doesn’t have to be overwhelming, even if you have lots of ground to cover. While different Roomba models have different capabilities, all models can clean multiple floor spaces. However, they do not climb or descend stairs; this must be done manually.
There are a few things you should know first about operating a Roomba in different spaces, especially with lots of ground to cover.
Keep reading to learn how to optimize performance by using multiple Home Bases, positioning each Base correctly, and troubleshooting errors!
Can Roomba Go Up and Down stairs?
There is currently no robot vacuum, including Roomba, that can climb up or down stairs. Roomba treats a staircase like any other obstacle to be avoided. They even have cliff sensors to prevent falling down stairs.
That also means that Roomba won’t clean the stairs themselves. Depending on the size of the steps, you might be able to carry Roomba from step to step and have it spot clean, but that’s typically impractical.
These limitations will likely go away in the near future. After all, Roomba owners with multiple floors need a way to clean their entire home. Dyson, a Roomba competitor, recently filed a patent for a robot that could climb stairs using a triangular wheel assembly with an attached arm.
Until that idea becomes a reality, though, you’ll need a different way to run your robot vacuum in a multi-floor home.
Where older robot vacuums moved in a randomized pattern, some newer Roombas create maps of your floor plans. This makes the cleaning process faster and guarantees that they don’t accidentally miss whole sections of the floor.
The latest iteration of this mapping technology, Imprint Smart Mapping, is capable of remembering up to 10 floor plans. Currently, the following models have this feature:
Imprint Smart Mapping is also available on the Braava M6, Roomba’s smart mop.
Can Roomba Have Two Home Bases?
Roombas can easily use two or even more home bases. This is a great way to manage multiple floors, especially if your Roomba needs multiple recharges to clean a large floor.
These charging stations aren’t cheap, especially if you want an auto-empty base. However, they are a fraction of the cost of buying a second Roomba.
Here are the prices of a second home base for some of the most common Roomba models:
Photo | Title | Price | Buy |
---|---|---|---|
iRobot Authentic Replacement Parts- Roomba Integrated Dock Charger with North American Line Cord – Compatible with Roomba 500/600/700/800/900 Series Robots – 4452369 , Black | $87.79 | Check price | |
iRobot® Authentic Replacement Parts – iRobot® Clean Base® Automatic Dirt Disposal, Compatible with Roomba® s Series Robot Vacuums Only | $249.00 | Check price | |
iRobot Authentic Replacement Parts- Clean Base™ Automatic Dirt Disposal, Compatible with Roomba i Series Robot Vacuums Only | $249.99 | Check price |
How to Use Roomba on Multiple Floors
Any Roomba can be used on multiple floors. Since it can’t climb the stairs, you’ll need to manually carry it between the floors. Then, just hit the clean button and let it run.
If you opted to add a home base to your second floor, your Roomba will find it and keep cleaning until the floor is done. Without a second home base, you may have to return your Roomba to its base manually during the run. This is especially true if you have a large second floor, your Roomba isn’t a newer model with smart mapping, or your Roomba hasn’t yet mapped the new floor.
FAQ
Can I use Roomba 960 on two floors?
Can Roomba be used on multiple floors?
Can Roomba do upstairs and downstairs?
Does Roomba 960 have mapping?