does roomba clean under furniture
Kristina Davis

We all had this question before – does Roomba clean under furniture? Can it reach the far ends of your couch without you crouching down?

Would it be able to clean places that your vacuum cleaners find hard to reach?

In this guide, I’ll be going around the topic of discussing whether your robot sweeper can reach far ends of furniture or not.

Yes, your Roomba can go and travel underneath your furniture. It can clean the underside of your couches, tables, chairs, beds, and even the corner-most parts of certain rooms.

To start it off, let me briefly discuss the basics of using your iRobot vacuum and mop, or Roomba, for short.

What Can Your Roomba Clean?

what roomba can clean

Roombas are heaven-sent simply because they move on their own without you having to stoop down low and duck, also you can clean the floor without exerting effort.

Your lower backs will be safe from dull pain and aches!

There are a number of surfaces your Roombas can clean, and among these, the most common ones include but are not limited to:

  • Hardwood floors
  • Laminate floors
  • Tiles
  • Carpets
  • Rugs and Mats
  • Hard floors

Can Roombas Clean the Whole House?

can clean the whole house

iRobot, the company that manufactures Roombas, claims that these devices are capable of cleaning the entire house, from the central parts of the flooring to the edges of the walls.

However, there will be instances where it can skip several areas and parts of the houses because of programming, the structure of some rooms, as well as the amount of dirt in the area.

To help you understand it better, Roombas are designed to specifically clean the following areas in your home:

Flooring (Center to Edges)

They’re vacuuming robots, so, the first instance you use them would be on the floors.

From there, they’ll travel around the house, sweeping and vacuuming through your flooring.

the flooring

Depending on where it’ll start, it will work its way to the areas where regular vacuums find hard to reach!

If there’s dirt, dust, hair, or any type of crumbs scattered all around your floors, you can expect your Roomba to clean it.

Rooms

At first, I thought that iRobots only clean the room where you start it.

Like when I turn it on and activate it in the living room, it will just clean the living room, but no, it works better and more fantastically than that.

Note: Your automatic vacuum robots can move from one room to another as long as it is within the vicinity of the home base and there are no stairs in between.

For instance, if your living room is adjacent to your living room and there’s no barrier in between, then there’ll be no problems with it moving.

But, if a door is closed, if there’s a barrier, or if stairs are involved, it would be impossible for it to go to a different area. 

Around Furniture

around the furniture

And, of course, Roombas are also capable of going around each of your furniture to clean your floors all the way through.

It can go and travel around your couches, your chairs, and tables, your piano, or any other type of furniture to get rid of dirt and dust.

I remember a time when I saw my iRobot going around my table to scoop up the crumbs from dinner – and I was left in awe because of how flexible it is!

These are the areas reached by your Roomba. That being said, what about areas under the furniture?

Can your Roombas clean them, too? If they’re able to clean the whole house, they should also be able to clean under and around the furniture, right?

Does Roomba Clean Under Furniture?

clean under the furniture

Yes, Roomba can clean under your furniture, too. One simple thing to remember about it is that, if the iRobot fits in a space, it will go and clean that spot.

If your couch has ample headspace in proportion to the size of the Roomba, then, it can go under to clean it and rid it of dust, dirt, or any type of crumbs/debris.

It’s designed to clean every inch, corner, and edge of your home where it fits. You can expect it to clean and reach the underpart of your furniture that typical vacuums do not.

On the contrary, if the space under your furniture doesn’t fit the Roomba, then there’s a chance for it to be stuck under the furniture without you knowing it.

This is actually one of the most common problems Roomba users have. In this case, what do you do? What steps can you take to avoid your iRobot vacuum getting stuck under your furniture?

My Roomba Gets Stuck Under Furniture, What Should I Do?

roomba gets stuck under furniture

It’s not rare for a Roomba to get stuck under the furniture, especially if the space is tight.

My couch has a headspace of about 3.6 inches, which is exactly the height of Roombas.

The problem with it is that it does not have enough space for the Roomba to move freely.

Yes, it can move under it, but I’ve seen it become stuck multiple times because of the lacking space.

To avoid this from happening, here are a few tips I do, and I have found over the process of making sure that it does not happen again.

Reposition the Dock

Robots work by getting signals from their home base or their parent device.

So, there could be possible interference if the robot gets too far from its base.

reposition dock

What you need to do in this case is to reposition the dock at a central location.

Plug and install it at a spot where it can reach and detect the robot wherever it goes.

Tip: Don’t just place it where you think “it’ll look best;” strategy matters!

Use Furniture Risers

Furniture risers offer a lot of benefits – ensuring that your Roomba doesn’t get stuck underneath it is one, among others.

You’ll find many different types of furniture risers in the market, but the most common are blocks that are about 3 to 5 inches tall.

These can elevate your furniture, giving you more space underneath.

Invest in Elevated Furniture

furniture risers

In case you find furniture risers inappropriate, or if you think they aren’t safe, you can consider investing in furniture and items that are elevated.

Whether it’s your couch, bed, table, or even chairs and sofas, there’ll be many.

I fell in love with elevated furniture not so long ago, and what I got was definitely a steal!

Turn the Lights On

Robots need light, too! Roombas or any other cleaning robots are equipped with optical sensors, which makes it easier for them to move around, maneuver, and navigate.

Turning your lights off can jeopardize their condition because they might bump and crash constantly.

Make sure that you keep your lights on to help your cleaner do its job!

Install 3M Hooks on Your Roomba

3m hooks

You know what they say, if it’s only making things worse, it’ll be better to just restrict access! You can purchase 3M hooks and install them at the edges of your Roomba.

Place 2 to 3 hooks around the iRobot, with each side pointing backward.

This will keep the Roomba from going underneath furniture, which runs the risk of getting Roombas stuck.

Use Bumper Extenders

Another accessory you can install on your Roomba is bumper extenders.

Akin to hooks, these can help restrict your vacuum from going underneath the furniture because it’ll just bounce off the edge.

That being said, it’ll change its direction when it bumps off of the furniture’s edge without scratching or damaging the Roomba.

Are you sick and tired of your Roomba getting stuck under your couches, beds, cabinets, or any other furniture? Follow these and never be worried again!

FAQs

the questions

In case you still feel like you have more questions about it, here are a few of the most commonly asked questions about Roombas reaching and cleaning under the furniture:

How Does Roomba Work Around Furniture?

Roombas can navigate around furniture via its 2 patterns: random and wall following.

Typically, it takes a Roomba around 3 to 5 minutes to find the path around the whole vicinity – which is around 1 to 2 minutes around furniture.

Can I Pick Up My Roomba and Move It?

Yes, it’s totally fine to pick your Roomba up to move it to another room.

In doing so, though, you need to make sure that you move the home base with it so that the Roomba can detect it.

However, it’s advisable to allow the Roomba to finish a full cycle first before you move it.

Final Thoughts

So, does Roomba clean under furniture? They sure do! These iRobots can travel anywhere as long as they fit!

Just make sure that you have everything set up. Then, you can expect them to clean all the edges and corners of your home even without your supervision!