Roomba Keeps Going Over the Same Area – 12 Tips

Robot vacuum cleaners like the Roomba play a big part in helping people who are always on the keep their homes clean, don’t they?

They’ll not only keep your floors clean but also free up your time so you can dedicate yourself entirely to your interests. This makes it a necessary tool for every novice homeowner.

I’m sure the amount of invisible dust and dog hair it’s gathered has already surprised you. However, there are times when your Roomba keeps going in the same area back and forth or in circles, which is a big problem.

Not to worry; most owners of robot vacuums have started experiencing this. Before we can address the issue, though, we must determine its root.

Continue reading to see why these robust and advanced devices behave this way and easy solutions for the issue. Let’s get going!

Why does my Roomba keep going around in circles or cleaning the same place?

Cleaning the house with a robot vacuum that indefinitely circles or cleans the same area is impossible. So keep an eye out for the following causes that could be making your Roomba behave crazy.

1. Roomba area mapping

The fact that your Roomba is still mapping your room could be one reason it keeps cleaning the same spot.

Modern Roomba vacuum cleaner models map the floors of your home and keep the map in their memory. Doing this allows them to clean without bumping into furniture or other objects.

Is Roomba’s cleaning random? Some 500 and 600-series Roombas from the past are clean in random patterns. Roomba’s I series of more recent versions clean your home in neat, straight lines.

2. the stock bumper

The Roomba bumper could be stuck, which is one of the leading causes of your Roomba’s repetitive motions or circles.

Touch and light sensors integrated into the bumper help in Roomba’s mobility.

The bumper will become stuck if dirt, dust, fluff, and hair strands are collected inside it.

3. Dirty Sensors

The several sensors in Roomba vacuum cleaners help in navigation. If dirt builds up on these sensors, Roomba will have difficulty moving around your room.

Roomba can stay clear of stairs and other edges thanks to cliff sensors. Your Roomba won’t be able to identify objects correctly if these sensors are dirty.

Your Roomba will steer clear of an area if it thinks something is a cliff or an edge but isn’t.

4. Malfunctioning wheels

A broken or stuck wheel is another possible cause of Roomba’s circling motion. This situation will jam the wheel again because of the collected dirt and dust.

Roomba will perform the circle dance and repeat cleaning the same area if a wheel is broken or stuck.

If the wheel’s axle isn’t cleaned regularly, hair strands will block it.

5. Completed one room’s cleaning but is unclear on what to do next

Because it has already cleaned one room, your Roomba vacuum cleaner may be cleaning the same area because it is unclear where to go next.

Older Roomba vacuum cleaner models have mapping capabilities, making it impossible for them to move from one room to another. To begin cleaning, you must manually pick up the Roomba and move it to a different room.

6. The vacuum got stuck

The Roomba could also be stuck if it keeps cleaning the same spot or going around in circles. A Roomba often gets stuck behind furniture like a couch, bed, or dining table. And it will loop around in an attempt to get out of there.

You will have to manually remove the Roomba in this circumstance for it to begin cleaning the entire house.

7. Virtual wall placement

Roomba is blocked from entering or leaving a room by a virtual wall. Your Roomba won’t be able to leave that area to clean the entire house.

If you have installed a virtual wall at the doorway of your room. To allow the Roomba to clean the place, in this case, you will need to take down the virtual wall.

8. The presence of a black rug or carpet

You should know that Roombas or other robot vacuum cleaners are not your favorite dark area rugs or carpets.

The robot vacuum cleaners’ built-in cliff sensors mistake dark rugs or carpets for cliffs and edges. This is the cause of your Roomba’s propensity to either become stuck on dark-colored hairpieces because of fear of toppling over or to avoid areas with dark rugs or carpets altogether.

9. Unsuitable lighting

Most robot vacuum cleaners employ optical sensors to observe their surroundings, identify obstacles, and move around your home.

When there is some light present, these optical sensors perform best. Your Roomba will probably start running into obstacles and cleaning the same spot again if you make it clean the house in the dark.

10. The ability to detect dirt

The dirt detection technology in Roomba vacuum cleaners turns on when there is additional dirt around. As a result, Roomba first focuses on the dirt spot before continuing. The Roomba may begin cleaning the same area because it has noticed more dust there.

11. Software problems

Software is installed in Roomba models. The navigation of your Roomba is controlled by this program, which also keeps maps of your home.

While the software makes it easy to operate your Roomba from a smartphone, it still has limits. If the software is not updated on time, issues may occur.

Sometimes even newly released software will have issues, according to a Forum user who posted a time-lapse video of a Roomba having trouble docking and spinning around. The main problem was an iRobot software upgrade that wasn’t functioning correctly.

12. Many Roombas

Many Roomba vacuum machines in your home may be another significant contributor. The Home Base that Roomba vacuum machines connect to and get commands from.

Robot vacuums will become confused if multiple ones are cleaning in your home, and they will start to question what is going on and whose Home Base directions they should follow.

Read More: Why Does My Vacuum Smell Burnt? Best 3 Reasons.

How to get Roomba to do the whole house cleaning

It is simpler to choose the appropriate solution to make your Roomba clean the entire house and stop it from traveling in circles once you have identified the leading cause of why it keeps cleaning the same spot or in circles.

1. Bumper cleanup

It’s essential to clean the Roomba vacuum cleaner’s bumper carefully. The bumper’s first touch with dirt and debris tends to collect dirt and dust more often.

2. Wash the sensors.

The sensors may ultimately get covered in dust and fluff. This has to be cleaned thoroughly. The eyes of a robot vacuum cleaner are sensors. The Roomba won’t be able to see around objects if its eyes are covered in dust.

Your Roomba’s sensors should be cleaned with fresh melamine foam (magic eraser). The arrangement of sensors on several Roomba models is shown in the following image.

3. Wheel cleaning

Vacuum cleaner Roomba needs maintenance. Your Roomba vacuum cleaner will operate more effectively and last longer if you clean it often.

Roomba may be made to halt its round dance by cleaning the caster wheels and wheel modules.

Remove and thoroughly clean the caster wheel and both wheel modules. Hair tends to accumulate in the wheel axles, clogging them. So be sure to clean the axles of all hair and fluff.

4. Clean up your floor.

You should clear your floor of clutter if you want your Roomba to clean your entire room or house without missing a place.

Before allowing your Roomba to begin cleaning, remove all the toys, socks, towels, and other household items.

Additionally, keep your cables and wires orderly. In addition to making it more straightforward for your Roomba to go around your home.

Aligning the cables along the walls will also make it safer for you and other family members to prevent getting tangled in the cords.

5. Turn “Edge Cleaning” on.

The Roomba will avoid the edges of the “Edge Clean” feature being disabled in the home app. The advantages are where dust and dirt tend to gather the most. Therefore, verify that the Edge Clean setting is enabled.

To activate the Edge Clean, adhere to these procedures.

  • Visit the iRobot Home App.
  • Activate “Cleaning Preferences”
  • Switch on “Edge Clean”

Roomba Comparison

 The differences between each model of the Roomba are described in detail in this comparison.

Roomba i7

What Makes the Roomba i7 Superior to the Roomba i3?

The motor has been moved inside to use the carpet boost and high-powered suction better. This enables it to collect more trash.

The i7 versions, primarily, depend heavily on a camera to aid with navigation. It now has a wealth of modern features.

The robot will identify sections of your house that need to be cleaned regularly and mark such locations on its internal map. Now, the i7 can continuously map and recall up to 10 different floor plans.

Available in “Imprint Smart Mapping”. This implies:

  • You can identify your rooms (such as the kitchen, living room, and bedroom) and request a cleaning specifically for those rooms.
  • Saying, “Alexa, tell Roomba to clean the bedroom”, will cause the robot to go off and clean only that room when using Amazon/Google devices.

Areas for Development

  • Not emptying itself (but can be upgraded)

The i7 is better than the i3 if you have the money. The cost is the only drawback. The automatic garbage disposal is not included, but if you change your mind, you can easily purchase it later and effectively upgrade the i7 to an i7+.

Roomba i7+

How does the Roomba i7+ different from the i7?

1.DifferenceThe huge docking station’s ability to self-empty.

The dock has been primarily unchanged for every other Roomba available on the market; they are low profile and take up little floor space.

Whenever the i7+ docks, the Clean Base automatically removes everything from the dustbin.

But the process is loud.

If you’ve owned a Roomba, you are familiar with its cleaning sound. The Clean Base is unique because it sounds like a full-sized corded upright vacuum when it starts to suction the dirt out of the Roomba.

Of course, this sound only lasts a short while. But even when you’re not in the same room, it is audible. No matter where you are in the house unless you are in a mansion, you will be able to hear the robot empty itself. This can be enjoyable if you enjoy hearing that your robot is doing its job.

We must give iRobot credit for the Clean Base’s design because, despite its vast size, it takes a little more space than the Roomba itself.

The 18.5 inches of “airspace” above the Roomba is the only additional space the Clean Base needs when the robot is docked.

2. Difference: The i7+ bin features an entrance with a rubber flap so that the Clean Base can suck out the contents, even though it is the same size as the i7.

The contents can’t spill back onto your floor by closing the flap. The Clean Base starts to suction out the contents after identifying this seal.

The robots are similar, save for the two mentioned variations. If you change your mind later, you can upgrade from the i7 to the i7+.

Because of this, I only suggest the i7+ if you dislike cleaning the trash. The i7 performs all tasks just as well, despite the i7+ being the finest of the best (minus the self-emptying).

Although you can always upgrade later (but not downgrade), the price premium is reasonably considerable.

Areas for Improvement

  • The Clean Base is quite audible.

In this day and age, using disposable vacuum bags feels like a step backward. An optional, reusable huge dust bin could be helpful. It doesn’t take much effort to empty a trash can.

The Roomba i7+ makes sense for folks who detest emptying the trash and those with severe dust allergies. The i7 is a far less expensive choice for everyone else.

Conclusion

You have it, then, people. It makes more sense now that you know why your Roomba keeps going to the same spot repeatedly.

Hopefully, if you use the advice above, you’ll be able to solve this issue without too much trouble.

Remember that impediments or slight sensor malfunctions bring on most of Roomba’s problems. De-cluttering your home is, therefore, preferable to running a cleaning cycle.

Given all the benefits Roombas provide, tiny inconveniences like the one outlined above are readily overlooked. I thank you for stopping by today; you guys are the best. Enjoy your day!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I pick up and move my Roomba to another room?

If you pick up Roomba and move it manually, it can have trouble locating its Home Base.
Allow the Roomba to run through its entire cleaning cycle for the most excellent results. To guarantee that the Home Base has been set up in the ideal spot.

How long does a Roomba take to complete a room’s cleaning?

What’s the catch, though? How much time does a Roomba need to clean a room? Cleaning times change based on Wi-Fi connectivity, floor type, and Roomba.

How can I teach Roomba to identify a new room?

By selecting the “+” in the top right corner of the screen or the “Create New Map” card, you can launch a mapping run from the Maps list screen.
By learning about your house through mapping runs, your Roomba may concentrate solely on exploring rather than Floor Cleaning.

Does Roomba learn more as it goes along?

According to Vacuumsilk, chief product officer at iRobot, “the beauty of iRobot Genius is that our robots get smarter over time and consistently give consumers new options to clean where, when, and how they want.”

Should Roomba be cleaned daily?

It’s up to you. We recommend doing so four to seven times every week.