iRobot Roomba e5

The Roomba e5 was excellent at cleaning our bare floors and impressive at cleaning our carpets and navigating our floors in a random pattern. It was not, however, able to navigate over the dark carpet in the lab. It was also impressive at cleaning edges but it left dirt in the corners of the rooms which brought down its Edges score slightly. The dirt sensor was activated when it traveled over patches of debris and it traveled back and forth over the area a few times before moving to a different location. Because it traveled to that area multiple times, it was able to pick up most of the debris eventually. The e5 does not seem as smart as the i7+ in that it appears to be less calculated in its method of cleaning, but its overall score is high because it cleaned the surfaces for an extended period of time. It has one side brush which was able to clean our edges well but tends to scatter debris. During the pet hair test, most of the hair was caught in the brushroll or between the brushroll and the bin. However the brushrolls were easy to pop out and clean as the brushroll is easily removed with a lever arm and a button. The dirt bin pops open with the push of a button. When you pull the bin out there's another button to unlock the door of the bin. The brushroll cage and track type wheels have a lot of suspension and help the vacuum adjust to different surfaces and transition over thresholds of .5 inches. Like most Roombas, the e5 doesn't have a remote, you must use the iRobot app to control it remotely however, you can start the vac without the app. It has the signature handle for easy carrying. It avoided getting caught in rug tassels and power cords. Features: Automatic, spot cleaning modes and find mode for when the robot is lost. App: iRobot Home version 5.0.1: allows you to schedule cleaning and view the status of the vac and the cleaning job. You can also gain access to some features with the app including cleaning away from home and managing the cleaning schedule. The app is also compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and also maps where the vac has cleaned. Battery: Li-Ion (19/24 V, 1.25 A) Includes: One dual mode virtual wall barrier, docking station, charging cord. 1year warranty.

The iRobot Roomba e5 is part of the Vacuum Cleaners test program at Consumer Reports. In our lab tests, Robotic Vacuums models like the Roomba e5 are rated on multiple criteria, such as those listed below.

Carpet: Shows how much surface litter (cereal, rice, and peas) and embedded dust the vacuum picked up from a medium-pile carpet.

Bare floors: Indicates the vacuum's ability to remove surface debris from a bare laminate floor.

Navigation: A composite score that includes combined coverage over multiple runs, clearance under furniture and obstacle and entrapment avoidance.