Scooba is an automated robotic floor washer produced by iRobot. It was released in limited numbers in December 2005 for the Christmas season with full production starting in early 2006. The company introduced a lower priced version, the Scooba 5800, in the second half of 2006.[1]
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The Scooba uses either a special non-bleach cleaning solution nicknamed "Scooba juice" (made by the Clorox Company) that cleans the floors and prevents rust or skidding, or the newer Scooba Natural Enzyme cleaning solution. The robot prepares the floor by vacuuming loose debris, squirts clean solution, scrubs the floor, and then sucks up the dirty solution leaving a nearly dry floor behind. The robot is safe to use on sealed hardwood floors and most other hard household surfaces, but it cannot be used on rugs. Scooba avoids rugs and stairs, and can clean about 200 square feet (19 m2) on a single tank-load of solution.
The Scooba is the second major commercial product made by iRobot, which popularized vacuum robots with the Roomba. The Scooba is available in over 40 countries.
The Scooba uses approximately 2 US fluid ounces (59 ml) per cycle, mixed with 32 US fluid ounces (950 ml) of water to fill the cleaning solution tank. The Scooba comes with four packets of the new "Natural Enzyme" cleaning solution, which is enough for about four washes. Additional Clorox cleaning solution comes in five- and nine-packs of 32 US fluid ounces (950 ml) bottles, which provide enough solution for about 16 washings per bottle. Polysorbate 20 and tetrapotassium EDTA are the primary ingredients. It can also use white vinegar in place of the proprietary solution.[2]
Recharge times may vary, but typically take 3 hours.
Scooba 5900 was the first Scooba, it could be used with the Scooba Cleaning Solution, or other suitably conductive solutions, but was discontinued in favor of the Scooba 5800 version (basic floor washing model) which could use plain water in its cleaning tank. iRobot shed several of the 5900's premium features to produce the lower priced 5800 model. There were no changes to the basic floor cleaning machinery.
The Scooba 5800 can clean about 250 square feet (23 m2) per battery charge.
The Scooba 300 series replaces the original 5000 series robots. They are similar in design to the original Scooba and can use Scooba cleaning solution, vinegar solution, or water. The robots in this series are differentiated by the area they can clean on a single charge and the accessories supplied.
The Scooba 230 is a smaller model, less than half the diameter of the larger Scooba. In order to get the size down, the clean and dirty tanks are replaced with a pair of internal bladders, allowing the dirty water storage to expand as the clean water is used up. Only Scooba cleaning solution and water are recommended. The initial vacuuming stage present in other Scooba models is also removed, requiring users to sweep up ahead of time. It will clean up to 150 square feet (14 m2) in one charge.
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