How to Clean Roomba Brushes (Step-by-Step With Pics)

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A Roomba has two brushes: the main brush rollers and a side brush. These brushes are often neglected and become dirty over time, reducing the effectiveness of a Roomba. In fact, iRobot recommends cleaning the brushes once per week and twice a week if your home has pets. Here’s how to clean Roomba brushes.

How to Clean Roomba Brushes

Why Should You Clean the Roomba Brushes?

A handful of dust, hair, and other potentially harmful contaminants build up around the parts of a Roomba every time it goes for a cleaning run, especially the brushes. That is why you need to regularly clean the brushes of a Roomba to ensure its longevity. A little bit of maintenance from your end goes a long way.

Approximately a robot vacuum may endure five to eight years of solid, hard work. However, you need to maintain its parts frequently to keep it running smoothly like a well-oiled machine. Once you realize how fast dust and debris can build up inside a Roomba, you’ll want to clean it as soon as possible!

What Tools to Use:

  1. A Standard Phillips screwdriver – A standard screwdriver should get the job done. Alternatively, a small coin can do the trick.
  2. Microfiber cloth – You need this to wipe dust and grime. Not only are they lint-free, but they are soft, too.
  3. Rubber gloves (optional) – These are perfect to avoid fingerprint marks on your Roomba.
  4. Alcohol wipes (optional) – Alcohol wipes can clean and disinfect effectively. They are a simple alternative to a microfiber cloth.
  5. Can of compressed air (optional) – You can clear dust buildup from in and around the parts of a Roomba. Use it if the brushes are particularly dirty. It is extremely useful for cleaning small, tight spaces and can be easily bought on Amazon.

How to Clean Roomba Side Brush

Your first order of business is to clean the side brush. When you forget to clean it, the side brush may stop spinning freely. Thankfully, cleaning the side brush is very easy to do. While the Roomba series has slightly different variations, the side brush cleaning process is the same for the Roomba 500 to 900 Series.

  1. Remove the side brush. Start by turning your Roomba upside down. To take the side brush off of a Roomba, use a screwdriver or a small coin to remove the screw.
  2. Clean the side brush module. Once the side brush is removed, clean the side brush and the side brush post. Hair is often found underneath the side brush.
  3. Reinstall the side brush. Simply put the side brush back into place and tighten the side brush screw. Your side brush is now clean.

How to Clean Roomba Brush Roller

The iRobot Roomba has two brush roller models. The first one is the older brush with bristles, commonly found in Roomba 400, 500, 600, and 700 Series. Newer models, like the Roomba 800, 900, i Series, and s Series, use the new-and-improved multi-surface rubber brushes that get tangled less often.

While cleaning the side brush is easy, you need more effort to clean a Roomba’s brush roller. Just like the side brush, hair and dust inside the brush roller may hinder its motion. This is why it’s paramount to regularly clean a Roomba brush roller. With that said, here’s how to clean a Roomba brush roller:

Cleaning the Roomba Main Brushes (400, 500, 600, and 700 Series)

  1. Remove the brush guard. Start by turning the Roomba upside down. Push both yellow tabs to open the brush guard.
  2. Remove both brushes. Once the brush guard is open, remove both the bristle brush and flexible beater brush from the cleaning head module.
  3. Clean the brush bearings. Remove the yellow brush bearings and clean them around and under them. Hair often accumulates here.
  4. Clean the bristle brush. Use the Roomba cleaning tool to easily remove hair from the bristle brush by pulling the tool over the brush.
  5. Replace everything back into place. Once everything is clean, replace the brush bearings onto the brush. After cleaning, reinstall both brushes into the Roomba while making sure the bearings are in place.
  6. Close the brush guard. Once both brushes are firmly in place, close the brush guard and press lightly to snap it into place. Done!

Cleaning the Roomba Rubber Brushes (800, 900, i Series, e Series, s Series)

  1. Open the brush guard. Start by turning your Roomba upside down. Open the brush frame release tab by pushing down on the tab on the right side of the cleaning head.
  2. Remove the brushes from the Roomba. Once the door is open, remove both brushes. Then, remove hair and debris from the square and hex pegs located at the ends of the brushes.
  3. Remove the gray brush bearings. Once the ends are clean, remove the gray brush bearings and clean them around and under them.
  4. Clean the green shaft of each brush. Once the bearings are clean, clean the green shaft of each brush. The new rubber brushes are excellent for repelling gunk, reducing potentially stuck hair. Repeat this process for the second brush.
  5. Reinstall everything into the Roomba. Start by reinstalling the bearings onto each brush. Then, reinstall the brushes back into the Roomba, making sure the bearings are in the right place. Press lightly on the release tab to lock it into place. 

Heads up: Did you know that not all robot vacuums have brush rollers? If you are tired of having to clean the brush rollers all the time, why not consider a tangle-free robot vacuum? Check out the top 3 right here.

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Final Words

As you can see, cleaning the side brush and main brush rollers of a Roomba takes a little time to complete. But the impact of doing them regularly is definitely profound. By learning how to clean Roomba brushes, you are doing your part to keep an important part of the household running smoothly for years to come. 🙂

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