Roomba Home Base Placement | Troubleshooting & Guide

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Gained early experience with automation technology in the private and industrial sector, can turn his living room into a movie theater with one voice command and is the owner of this website. He is happy to share his accumulated experience with every new article.

The Correct Placement of the Roomba Home Base

When the vacuum cleaning robot approaches the charging station, it can be a bit rough. The reason for this is quickly explained. A small amount of pressure has to be built up so that it can drive into the charging socket and be charged correctly.

It is therefore not recommended to place the charging station free-standing in the room. A firm and stable background, for example in the form of a wall or a cabinet, will provide sufficient support.

The station is fixed and can no longer be moved backward. Your little household helper is able to dock without any problems.

Enough Space is Important

For this reason, it is particularly important to pay special attention to the placement of the home base or docking station. Make sure the area where you want to place the Roomba Home Base is clear.

The station itself should be placed on a straight wall. If there is still free space on the wall to the left and right, this makes it easier for the robot to find its way home. There should be no obstacle in front of Base within a radius of one to two meters. This also makes it easier for the little helper to locate his Base Station.

Bumping into Objects is Normal

You have already observed that the vacuum cleaning robot bumps into its charging station and even moves it? It’s nothing to worry about.

During the cleaning process, the robot does not recognize the station as a charger, it classifies it as an obstacle. Usually, the devices are heading towards it.

Depending on the model, they slow down and usually, there is only a light touch. Nevertheless, it can happen that the helper moves the loading device when cleaning the rest area.

There’s not much you can do about it. One possibility would be to glue the station to the wall or the floor. Here the type of floor plays an important role. But please approach this matter with caution. This is the only way to avoid damage to the equipment.

The Most Important Information About the Home Base Placement Briefly Summarized

Set up the Home Base in an open and tidy area. If the robot has a WiFI module, it receives information via the corresponding iRobot HOME app and finds its way back to its docking station. Please note: If the mobile device has WLAN access at one location, it is necessary that the signal strength for your vacuum cleaning robot is also sufficient.
An even surface is necessary: To enable the robot to perform its tasks efficiently, the Home Base should be set up flush with the wall on a flat floor surface. If the Base is set up at an angle, the vacuum cleaning robot starts working diagonally to the wall.

The Following Distances to Home Base are Recommended

At least 50 cm (~ 20 inches) on each side of the Home Base.
In front of the charging station at least 100 cm (~ 40 inches). Obstacles, such as tables or chairs, should not be in this area.
A distance of at least 120 cm (~ 50 inches) is recommended between the Home Base and a staircase.
If you have set up Virtual Wall barriers*, a minimum distance of at least 240 cm (~ 8 feet) is recommended by the manufacturer.

To ensure that your little household helper is charged on the base, it should always remain plugged in. When you connect to a power source, the green power indicator light flashes for a few seconds. While the robot continues charging, this light goes out.

Please note: This applies to Home Base and robots with energy-saving function.

Docking Troubleshooting

If your vacuum cleaning robot returns to its home base but cannot dock, it will try again and again until it succeeds or the battery is empty.

Once docked and connected, the Home Base light will change from flashing mode to a solid green light.

Proper Home Base Maintainance

To ensure your safety and prevent damage to the device, the Base must be disconnected from the power supply. To do this, simply unplug the base from the power outlet.
With a clean and dry cloth, you now wipe the charging contacts on the Home Base and the vacuum cleaning robot. The manufacturer recommends doing this once a week.

The Roomba, more than 20 Years of Innovation

The Roomba series is manufactured by the US-American company iRobot. Besides the Roomba models, the floor cleaning robot Scooba* is one of the company’s best-known products.

The company was founded in 1990. iRobot developed military and security robots for about 26 years. In summer 2012 iRobot acquired the company Evolution Robotics. This was also connected with the takeover of a floor cleaning robot.

In 2002, the manufacturer launched the first model of Roomba vacuum cleaning robots on the market. The different models differ in their performance and equipment.

The Roomba 600 Series

The Roomba 600 Series is the entry point to the entire product line. The smallest and therefore most affordable model is the Roomba 606, which is able to clean hard floors and carpets independently and reliably. In addition patented Dirt Detect sensors and a double brush system are used. They are able to detect areas with heavier contamination and perform concentrated cleaning there.
The navigation of the robot is realized by a complete suite of sensors. To detect dirt, dust or animal hair, the system uses a combination of optical and acoustic sensors. Even corners and angles are thus cleaned quite reliably.
With its low-profile design, Roomba is able to undercut most furniture and bumpers. This means that the days of dirt accumulating under sofas, chairs and the like are finally a thing of the past.
To prevent falls, for example on stairs, the devices are equipped with an abyss detection system.
Between cleanings, Roomba automatically returns to its Home Base to be charged. Therefore, it is always ready for cleaning.

Here* you can check out the latest Roomba 600 Series offers.

The Roomba 675* is equipped with a WiFi module. A three-phase edge-brushed cleaning system is designed to reliably remove and pick up dirt from all types of floors while protecting the floor.

Thanks to its programming capability, Roomba cleans when it’s convenient for your schedule. Programming is made especially convenient with the iRobot-HOME app.

The Roomba 960

Equipped with a WiFi module, it uses 5 times more suction power (compared to the AeroVac 600 series system). It is able to cover more rooms per cleaning operation.

Even more practical: If it is coupled with the Braava Jet m6* cleaning robot, the latter will start wiping automatically when the vacuum cleaning robot has finished its work.

With the help of vSLAM technology, the little household helper is able to collect more than 230,400 data points per second. He is thus able to create a detailed map of the environment and knows at all times exactly where he has already cleaned and which areas still need to be treated.

As with the 600 Series, the manufacturer also uses a three-phase cleaning system for the Roomba 976. It consists of two rubber brushes with additional rubber profiles. Thus the vacuum cleaning robot is able to reliably master all challenges from small dust to coarse dirt. A specially designed corner and edge cleaning brush complements the system for optimum cleaning of corners and edges.

Check out offers for the Roomba 960 on Amazon here*.

The Roomba e5 Vacuum Cleaning Robot

The Roomba e5* is a specialist for households with pets.

Animal hair lying on the floor is lifted, loosened and removed by two rubber brushes. Pollen, around 99% of all moulds, house dust mites and allergens from pets are caught by the advanced filter system. This contributes to air purity in the room.

If there are dirtier areas in your home, the Dirt Detect sensors detect them and clean them more intensively. This way, even heavily frequented areas remain pleasantly clean, just like the rest of the house or apartment.

The Roomba i-Series

This product line consists of the Roomba i7+ and the i7*.

These models are equipped with the proven three-stage cleaning system with two rubber brushes. Thanks to intelligent room detection and control technology, Roomba i7 is able to map rooms completely and adapt to any room.

This allows individual cleaning. You can also specify exactly what is cleaned when, how and where. You can easily control the robot from your smartphone with the iRobot HOME app. As an optional accessory iRobot offers an automatic suction station for the i7.

Cleaning is even easier with the Roomba i7+. He is equipped like the i7 model. However, this product comes with the Clean Base automatic extraction station. Once the vacuum cleaning robot has docked with the extraction station, its collection container empties automatically. The dirt gets into a large bag that has space for 30 loads.

Attention: When installing electronic equipment, please be sure to observe the manufacturer’s safety instructions. You have to take care of your own safety. The information on this site only helps you to learn.
Disclosure: This website is the property of Martin Lütkemeyer and is operated by Martin Lütkemeyer. Martin Lütkemeyer is a member of the Amazon Services LLC Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to enable Web sites to earn advertising revenue through advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Links marked with * are affiliate links.