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Roomba vacuum robots are super practical but not exactly cheap. That’s why you always listen very carefully when something sounds strange.
To remove most of the strange noises it is enough to clean the Roomba completely or to plug it in another charging station or socket while charging.
In this article, we will discuss some of the most common problems and show you how to eliminate the noises created by them. In addition, the beeping error codes of all Roomba models are listed at the end.
Table of Contents
Ticking Noise During the Charging Process
Customers often report that their Roomba makes strange ticking noises when charging.
Unfortunately, this error occurs quite frequently, but it is very easy to fix.
The first thing you should try is to connect the charging station to another socket. Most of the time the noise is already gone after that.
Roomba Tech Support will then recommend pulling the dirt container out slightly during the loading process if the noise is persistent.
On some models, this noise also comes from the loudspeaker. However, this is very rare, but can still be solved quite easily by turning off the loudspeaker.
If the ticking noise continues during charging, it could be that your charger is broken.
Check here* for the right charger for your Roomba.
Noises While Your Roomba Is Running
If you hear unusual noises while your Roomba is cleaning, it is usually because something is mechanically blocked or twirled somewhere.
To turn this off, you must systematically rid your Roomba of dirt and foreign objects. If you clean the following components, your vacuum robot will be as clean as it was at the beginning, so there should be no annoying noises:
- The brushes
- The extractors
- The cleaning head
- The vacuum impeller
To find out which of these parts is responsible for the noise, you can remove them one by one and run the Roomba without them. For example, if you remove the extractors and the noises disappear, the extractors are the issue.
How to Clean the Brushes in a Roomba
Thumping or clicking noises during operation are typical when the built-in Roomba brushes cannot rotate properly.
For Roomba models up to the 600 series* these brushes resemble traditional vacuum cleaner brushes with bristles. From the 800 series* the brushes are made of rubber with a special pattern.
No matter which model you have, these brushes can get caught by objects, dirt or hair and can no longer rotate properly. This results in an abnormal noise.
To clean the brushes, follow the steps below:
- Remove the housing plate of the brush.
- Remove the brush from the Roomba.
- Also remove the suspension of the brush.
- Now clean the inside of the Roomba and the dismantled parts.
- Reassemble the Roomba.
In this video you can see the process in the example of the 600 series:
How to Clean the Extractors in a Roomba
Cleaning the extractor rollers on a Roomba is very similar to cleaning the brushes. The complete process should not cost you more than a few minutes.
Here are the individual steps listed to free the extractors in a Roomba from disturbing objects that can lead to a noise:
- Open the Roomba.
- Remove the extractors and remove the suspension pieces at both ends.
- Remove all dirt and hair that you can find.
- Put everything back together like it was before.
In this video you can see the process using the example of the 800 series:
In most cases, it is sufficient to clean the Roomba brushes or extractors to eliminate annoying noises.
Make sure that you are very thorough when cleaning because the dirt that causes the noises sometimes sits very deep and is not easy to reach.
Clicking Noises Due to Wrongly Placed Extractors
Sometimes clicking noises can also be generated by extractors that are not correctly placed in the cleaning head.
You can check this very easily by removing and reinstalling the extractors. Most of the time you can see directly where the mistake lies.
On the official website of iRobot, you can find more information.
Noises After Replacing the Extractors
There is another very special problem that occurs when you have replaced the extractors of a Roomba 800 series or higher.
Then it can come to the fact that the new extractors are a little too big in the diameter and rub together. This is not quite so bad at first and will subside by itself over time as they rub against each other and thus remove the irritating spots all by themselves.
How to Clean the Cleaning Head of a Roomba
If the brushes and extractors are not the cause of the noise, you could try disassembling, cleaning and reassembling the complete cleaning head.
Sure, you could also just buy a new cleaning head*, but if you have some technical understanding and patience, you can also clean and repair the head yourself.
If hair or other dirt accumulates in the gearbox of your Roomba, the gears will become increasingly stiff or even completely blocked.
In principle, the process is the same for all Roombas. However, the steps described below apply primarily to all Roombas up to the 600 series. For newer models, an official iRobot video is attached at the end of this section.
The cleaning head contains a lot of gears and other moving parts which can be restricted in their freedom of movement by dirt and especially by hair.
This not only means that your Roomba has to work harder during cleaning and the battery suffers, but also that unwanted noises are generated.
Complete disassembly of the cleaning head is a lengthy process – especially when compared to cleaning the brushes.
Fortunately, you don’t have to remove and clean the cleaning head so often, because dirt and hair rarely get lost there.
Here are the individual steps listed with which you can remove and clean the cleaning head:
- Remove the dirt container.
- Remove the side brush.
- Unscrew the cover plate and remove it.
- Now you see the cleaning head in front of you. Unscrew its screws and remove it from the housing. If it is sometimes not possible to unscrew the screws completely, this is the intention. You can also remove the cleaning head if they are only half turned out.
- The gearbox of the cleaning head is located on the left side. Open the housing with a normal screwdriver.
- Hold the cleaning head vertically with the gear on the upper side so that the loose gears do not fall out when removing the upper plate!
- Once you remove the cover, you’ll see the gears. They all have a slightly different size making it difficult to sort them back into place once you have completely removed them. So only remove one gear at a time or remember the position carefully.
- Clean the gears and the housing. You’ll probably find a lot of lint and hair between the gears.
- After cleaning, you have to grease the gears a little so that they can run smoothly.
- Then reassemble everything as it was before.
Even if the cleaning head was not the source of the noise, by cleaning the gears you will have made its function much smoother than before. This means that your Roomba doesn’t have to work so hard during its next cleaning cycles and consumes less power.
How to disassemble the cleaning head of the 900 series can be seen in this video:
How to Clean the Vacuum Impeller on a Roomba
The vacuum impeller is the component that is responsible for the vacuum function in your Roomba. Since this is obviously a very important component, you should be extremely careful when cleaning.
The brushes and extractors can really be cleaned by anyone, you should have some technical understanding with the vacuum impeller.
If you don’t feel comfortable with this, you should contact Roomba Support – especially if your device is still under warranty!
If you still think you can do it, here are the individual steps listed with which you can clean the vacuum impeller:
- Dismantle your Roomba so that you can reach the motor shaft.
- Remove the vacuum impeller from the motor shaft.
- Clean all the dust, dirt and hair off the whole part.
- Oil the suspension of the rotating parts a little.
- When assembling, you need to ensure that all moving parts can move freely and that there is no friction anywhere.
Roomba Beeping Error Codes
Older Roomba models communicate their error code with a beep. They always beep as often as the number of the error code is. So it beeps five times for error number five.
The following table lists what these error codes mean and how to correct them:
| Error | Error description | Possible solution(s) |
| 1 | Roomba is stuck | Remove obstructive objects from wheels |
| 2 | Brush cannot rotate | Clean brush |
| 5 | Wheels do not rotate | Clean the wheels |
| 6 | The cliff sensor falsely detects a cliff | Wipe the sensor with a slightly damp cloth. |
| 8 | Motor can no longer work due to a dirty filter | Clean the filter |
| 9 | Bumper permanently detects an obstacle | Clean the sensors on the bumper |
Where can I get Spare Parts for my Roomba?
If you notice during cleaning that the noise comes from a defective component, you will unfortunately have to replace it.
Fortunately, Amazon has spare parts for every Roomba model*.
There you’ll find not only new brushes* and extractors*, but also batteries* and new filters*.
If your Roomba is completely destroyed, you’ll find cheap models in this article: 🏆 The 3 Best Intelligent Vacuum Robots for Small Money*.
Summary
Most of the noises a Roomba makes during its lifetime can be eliminated by thorough cleaning.
The most common reason for annoying noises is hair, lint or dirt inside the housing. If you clean the brushes, extractors or even the entire cleaning head, 90% of this noise will be eliminated. In rare cases you may also need to remove and clean the motor and vacuum impeller.
In addition to these mechanical noise sources, the charging process can also be guilty. To find out, you can simply change the power outlet, pull out the Roombas’s dirt container when charging, or deactivate the speakers.
I hope you have found the solution to your problem in this article so that you can continue to have fun with your automatic vacuum robot!
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.
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