Product Description

Keep your iRobot Roomba 500 Series Vacuum Cleaning Robot operating at peak performance! The innovative new sidebrush design for iRobot Roomba 500 Series Robots reaches deeper into corners and edges to remove more dirt, dust and debris. Side brushes are easy to remove and replace as part of routine maintenance. Includes three replacement Side Brushes and a screw for each.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #417 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: Roomba 500 Accessories
• Model: 81901

Features

• Includes three replacement Side Brushes and three screws.

Customer Reviews

It's official: Less is More
Like most reviewers here, I love my Roomba 550 (to the extent that a man can love a Horseshoe Crab, that is), but feel disgusted by the poor durability of the spinning side brush. The first 'arm' of the side brush broke off after just two weeks of use. Within two months, my Roomba was completely 'armless'. So I ordered this 3-pack Roomba 500 Series Side Brush one month ago.

The new brush has only three 'arms' compared to six in the original design. This has alarmed some reviewers, who thought they have received counterfeit replacement parts. But according to the official iRobot web site, the three-arm version is indeed the new design. I was initially skeptical of whether three arms are better than six in terms of durability. But so far the new brush seems to be working just fine. At least there is no sign of any arms breaking off (yet).

Apparently, iRobot has received massive complaints about the series 500 Roomba side brush, and is offering a replacement brush to each owner. Just go to "irobot dot com slash support", select your Roomba's model, and enter "order spinning side brush" in the search bar. You will then be able to 'order' a side brush for free - after you complete the product registration page.

[Update on Dec 16, 2008]
I received a free side brush from iRobot 10 days after filling in the request online. The downside is that I started to receive 'special offer' emails from iRobot every single day! Luckily there is an option to unsubscribe to those offers.

[Update on Feb 20, 2009]
All three arms of the new side brush are still intact after three months of moderate usage (once every two days). So it looks like the new design is indeed better.

Helpful hint:
When installing the new spinning side brush, make sure to press it down hard until you hear a definite 'click'. The first two times I did not install it correctly, and the side brush kept falling off after a few days.

Love the roomba, order replacement parts early to avoid backorders!
We LOVE our Roomba (570). We have 2 dogs and a 10 month old so vacuuming is critical and also a luxury of time we don't have. The roomba is great but the side brush only survived a month before one of the "arms" broke off. It still works but now that I'd like to order one for replacement, they're on backorder everywhere. Get these early and store them.

A necessary, but poorly manufactured product
I've been using the Roomba for about six months and the side brush has falled apart so often I'm looking for my fourth brush already. And now I'm seeing prices for $39.95 for a package of three. I've purchased them for $14.95 elsewhere, so I'm feeling twice as ripped off now. How is it possible for Amazon to sell a product for more than twice what others sell it for?