Do Roombas Scratch Hardwood Floors? Mostly Not, But...

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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.

Hardwood Floor vs. Roomba

Hardwood floor is despite its name sensitive than many other floors.

It becomes clear when we compare it to stone: It gets scratched very easily.

Therefore, many people wonder whether they can use a Roomba at all on a hardwood floor. Some even deliberately do without it: Sure, they don’t want to risk anything!

Depending on the make of the hardwood floor, scratches are not so easy to remove. Once they are there, the entire hardwood floor may have to be resealed. And what do you do if the robot vacuum causes more scratches the next time it’s used?

Constant monitoring can’t be the solution either. That’s the whole point of a Roomba: you can let it work and devote your time to more important things.

Not all Hardwood Floors are the Same

If you have a hardwood floor in your apartment or house, you probably know: there is sealed and unsealed hardwood floor. A sealed hardwood floor closes the pores in the wood. It also protects the delicate subfloor with a layer of varnish.

But some find it nicer when the hardwood floor is only oiled. Then the pores in the wood remain open. The oil can penetrate deep and hardens the hardwood floor itself.

You should be especially careful with the use of vacuum robots on sealed hardwood floors. But even on an oiled hardwood floor, the little helper can cause a lot of damage. However, this is not a reason to completely do without its help.

There are two pieces of news here, one good and one bad. The good news: Most of the time you can prevent the worst-case disaster.

The bad news: If something goes wrong, the Roomba itself is rarely the cause. Rather, it is often due to operating errors.

To prevent this from happening, you should know a few things about handling Roombas. It would be annoying if your fault caused scratches!

How Roombas Can Cause Scratches

As ingenious as it is, a Roomba has a few weak points on hardwood floor floors: these are the parts on the underside. So wheels and brushes.

Both of these should be in place for robot vacuums so that they don’t scratch delicate floors. This has been attempted with the Roomba: Rubber rollers are used exclusively on newer models (manufacturer’s designation: multi-surface brushes).

In addition, the two side wheels are also made of rubber. Through these parts themselves really no scratches can occur.

But wait, isn’t there a third wheel? The guide wheel that allows Roomba to maneuver in the first place?

We will come to this guide wheel later! First of all, another fundamental question.

Can the Roomba’s rubber rollers themselves cause scratches?

Both rubber rollers generate an airflow through which the dirt is sucked in. This is done by their counter-rotating movement.

So they don’t pick up dirt directly from the floor and therefore can’t cause any scratches at all.

However, it is rarely the parts themselves that cause damage. Whatever you do, it leaves traces on the floor: crumbs, hair, or your kids drag in sand from the sandbox.

Maybe something breaks and you miss a few tiny pieces of glass.

Such tiny objects can get caught in the Roomba. Alternatively, they can get into the rubber coating of the wheels.

What can leave scratches: Checklist

Charging cable
Shoelaces
Sand from outside, bird sand, small stones
Pet or human hair
tiny glass shards
scattered sugar, salt
hard plastic particles, for example from toys

In addition, everything else lying around. In case of need catches something in it that scratches!

But isn’t it the job of any Roomba to remove exactly that?

Sure it is. However, you should help the little one a little bit. Only then can he do his job perfectly.

This is no different with the Roomba than with other vacuums: the better you care for it, the better it works.

If you take a closer look at the objects, I’m sure you’ll notice that some of them are really small. It’s hard to believe that they can cause such scratches!

Two things about this. First, even sandpaper with the finest grit can cause scratches on your hardwood floor. All you have to do is apply enough pressure.

Beyond that, things aren’t necessarily causal. For example, if you drag hairs across the hardwood floor, they will hardly damage it. However, hairs are objects that can get caught in your robot vacuum.

Then they block the corresponding part and prevent it from further work. Whether it is the rubber brushes or the wheels, then almost does not matter. The result will be scratches!

And even if the hairs do not block the wheel, they, in turn, can catch other objects and drag them. If they are hard enough, there are also scratches.

What can happen with the Roomba: Potential problems on hardwood floors

Affects only the guide wheel: Wheel jammed. Roomba drags jammed idler wheel across the floor.
Hair gets caught in the wheel/rollers. Other objects get caught in the hair and scratch the floor.
Splinters, small stones or the like settle in the grooves of the drive wheels.
Roomba was not assembled properly after disassembly: Protruding parts will damage the floor.

Front Roller Blocked

This is a common source of error and not necessarily operator error. As mentioned, Roomba’s side wheels are made of soft rubber.

However, there is another wheel underneath the robot. This is the guide wheel that helps Roomba maneuver. Roomba calls it the front caster.

With older models there were special problems here: There the front wheel was not rotatable. There were increased scratches and complaints. Since it can be rotated, this became better. Unfortunately, it is not completely out of the world, because it is not made of rubber like the other wheels.

Rather, this one wheel is made of hard plastic.

Normally, this is also suitable for hardwood floors, after all, it moves. But if it gets stuck and Roomba drags it across the floor, ugly scratches will result.

Hair Gets Caught and Drags Sharp-Edged Objects With It

Above we had already written what all can cause scratches on the hardwood floor. Not many people realize how long this list is!

Be it at the dining table, children playing or pets: There’s no way to 100% prevent something from ending up on the floor. And it will stay there until Roomba arrives!

Even hair from animals or people can become dangerous. They eventually get caught between the rubber rollers or in the wheels. Either the part in question then blocks.

Or you don’t notice anything at first, which is actually worse. Because the hair now collects what the Roomba should actually swallow. In operation, the robot drags them along until you remedy the situation.

Sharp Edges in the Grooves of the Wheels

Roomba is designed to vacuum where it rides. Sounds simple, but it also means the rubber rollers that work the floor are no wider than the distance between the two side wheels.

It can therefore happen that the Roomba picks up something with the wheels before it is sucked up.

As nice as it is that the wheels on the Roomba are extra soft: They have grooves where hard, small objects can settle.

Because of its weight, Roomba will push these objects into your floor. Depending on the model, it can weigh up to four kilos!

Often these are small stones, but they can also be any other small objects. How often this happens in practice is not known.

But you should know and check your Roomba from time to time.

Roomba Incorrectly Assembled

Opening Roomba is really only necessary for maintenance. You may want to repair something yourself or replace a part.

Problems can occur if Roomba is not properly assembled afterwards. Depending on the model, this can affect different parts.

For example, the models of the 800 series have an outer frame that holds the rollers in place. You have to reattach this frame correctly after every cleaning action, otherwise it will drag across the floor.

Replaceable with Roomba:

Battery
front castor, side wheels
Filter and collection container
complete cleaning head
Rubber brushes
Edge cleaning brush and brush module

How to Prevent Scratches from Roombas

Prevention is better than repairing the hardwood floor. Depending on the type of hardwood floor, this can be really expensive!

Therefore, use your Roomba wisely and you will enjoy a sparkling clean home for longer. What does this mean in concrete terms: You should never send your robot through a very dirty living area.

You should also check it regularly to see if any foreign objects are caught in it. Thirdly, you should not leave the insert unattended on particularly sensitive surfaces.

Regularly Clean the Apartment by Hand

To avoid scratches, you should clear the way for the Roomba. This is not just about charging cables, shoelaces or small stones from outside.

Rather, you should clean your home by hand once or twice a week.

This is because fewer small parts collect on the floor. And the fewer there are, the greater the risk of foreign objects getting caught in the robot.

Checking the Roomba for Foreign Objects Before Each Use

However, you should always expect this and check the robot regularly. You do not necessarily have to disassemble it.

Best protection against scratches on the hardwood floor: Check before each use!

Do all wheels and castors turn freely?
Are there foreign bodies on the rubber rollers?
What about the grooves on the wheels?
Are there any hairs visible?

Not before every use, but regularly, you should check the following points. Only a well-maintained Roomba can function properly!

With disassembly – examine regularly!

Are the paths clear?
Is the filter functional?
Is the dust container full?

Only Allow Sensitive Surfaces to be Cleaned Under Supervision

If your whole apartment consists of nothing but hardwood floors, it can be a real pain. After all, you bought the robot to take the load off you!

However, you should decide what’s more important to you. Most of the time, you don’t have to watch Roomba.

All you need to do is stay in the same room. Then you’ll know when Roomba is blocking and can take action immediately.

How to Notice and Remove Blockages

The simplest case of a blockage causes the Roomba to no longer move through the room as usual.

What happened: If the front caster locks, it stays in place. Roomba can still vacuum but is unable to maneuver.

Alternatively, one of the two side wheels locks. Then the Roomba drives pointlessly around in circles.

If you are not in the room, you will hear a beep. The number of beeps tells you the type of error.

Roomba Warning Tones Help with Troubleshooting

Then, you can respond quickly instead of taking the whole device apart. Assuming you know what each beep means. Here are the relevant ones for our topic:

One time: Roomba is stuck. Or one of its side wheels has lost contact with the floor.

What to do: Turn Roomba onto its back and examine it. A foreign object may have become trapped.

Five times: cleaning of the grooves required!

What to do: Carefully remove any foreign matter that may be clogging the grooves. Compressed air can help best here. Scissors or other pointed tools are also suitable, but extreme caution is advised.

Seven times: Both side wheels are restricted in their function. They do not turn or do not turn correctly.

What to do: Turn Roomba on its back. Try to turn the locked wheels free.

If the blockage persists, you should open Roomba. Each of the two wheels can be removed along with the module. You can then attempt to repair Roomba yourself.

What to do if the front roller jams:

This module can also be quickly removed and inspected on the Roomba. This should be done if it is jammed but no problem is visible from the outside.

However, there are testimonials that the roller itself causes scratches on the hardwood floor. Customers have used the following tricks in this case.

Wrap the metal band over the plastic part
Perform similar with a sturdy rubber band

Attention, the impeller should still be able to turn freely in any case. Otherwise, the whole robot becomes maneuverable!

How to Remove Debris from the Roomba: Maintaining Rubber Rollers

Manufacturer iRobot itself recommends checking the multi-surface brushes after each cleaning process. To make this manageable for users, they can be easily removed:

Open the flap of the cleaning module
Remove both multi-surface brushes
Thoroughly inspect all parts, including cone and bearing!
Remove foreign objects to avoid scratching the hardwood floor.
Check: Is the suction line underneath free?
Assemble.

Note: You can also notice a possible blockage of the rubber brushes by the fact that the suction noise becomes quieter. If you notice something like this, troubleshoot immediately!

No Roomba for Hardwood Floors at All?

For hardwood floors, some experts recommend not vacuuming at all. As an alternative, they suggest a mopping robot, or optionally a combination of both.

As we’ve shown, that’s being overly cautious. Nevertheless, we want to give you the opportunity to get to know the advantages and disadvantages of a robot with a wiping function.

Roomba with wiping function

Damp mopping is more thorough than just vacuuming
Dosing function provided: almost as good as by hand
can put the whole hardwood floor under water in case of mistakes

What is a dosing function: You use it to adjust how much water is used when mopping. Even if this type of hardwood floor care is perhaps better, other problems arise here!

If the robot takes too much water, you will have water damage. Hardwood floor likes it damp, but not soaking wet.

Conclusion

Roomba vacuums are designed not to scratch hardwood floors. However, when this happens, it’s often your own fault. It can be prevented with regular checks and good care. If you take care not to leave the robot vacuum unattended, you will be able to enjoy your beautiful hardwood floor for a long time to come!

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.

Do Roombas Scratch Hardwood Floors? Mostly Not, But…