Sometimes, you never know when and where your dog poops. An adorable puppy may poop in the kitchen, other times in the living room. And if you use a robot vacuum to clean your house, it may accidentally run over the poop and spread it all over your house, including all over itself! So how do you solve this smelly disaster?

How to clean a Roomba that ran over poop: If your Roomba ran over poop, you need to deep clean it by removing the side brush and back cover. Clean the wheels and brushroll thoroughly, including the wheel housings and suction port, by using isopropyl alcohol wipes. Let the Roomba dry before reassembling.

If you have dogs in the house, prepare yourself. A spokesperson from iRobot told the Guardian that this incident happens quite often. Fortunately, with a little knowledge and a bit of elbow grease, your beloved Roomba should be clean in no time. In this post, we will show you how to clean a Roomba that ran over poop. 

What You Need to Clean Roomba from Poop:

Roombas have come a long way and changed our lives for the good. Say you set up your Roomba to automatic cleaning, you go to bed, and wake up the next morning only to find dog poop smeared all over your house. So do you throw the expensive Roomba away? The answer is no. It is salvageable.

Now, to salvage your Roomba from the “Pooptastrophe”, you need to be extremely methodical in cleaning it. This procedure of deep-cleaning your Roomba can take a lot of time, so you need to dedicate a chunk of your day for the best results. Here are the things you need before you start cleaning poop from your Roomba:

1. Gloves
2. Screwdriver
3. Q-Tips
4. Brush
5. Damp Cloth
6. Isopropyl Alcohol

Additionally, it is best to perform this procedure outdoors, where there is plenty of ventilation and airflow. Dog poop can be very smelly and the last thing you want is to add more stink and residue into your house. Work on your Roomba on top of old newspapers so you can easily clean up the mess afterwards.

How to Clean a Roomba That Ran Over Dog Poop:

Now that you are outdoors and everything is set up, it is time to clean your Roomba. Be sure to have paper towels handy and wear your gloves before starting, unless you are okay with touching dog poop with your bare hands. With that said, here is how to clean a Roomba that ran over dog poop:

1. Start by Detaching the Side Brushes

The first thing you need to do is to remove the side brushes from the Roomba. Depending on the robot vacuum, some models will have one side brush, while some will have two. Detaching the side brushes will make removing the back cover much more easier. Leave the side brushes to one side so you don’t lose it.

In most cases, however, it is simpler and more hygienic to buy a new replacement side brush, instead of washing the old side brush that is covered in dog poop. Thankfully, you can easily find replacement side brushes for each robot vacuum model. Just be sure to buy the right side brush for your specific Roomba.

2. Remove the Back Cover

Once you have detached all of the side brushes, you need to remove the back cover. This will make the Roomba a lot easier to clean. Use the appropriate screwdriver to remove the screws. After you remove the back cover, it is highly recommended to remove the battery to prevent any shorting of any circuits.

3. Remove the Front Wheel, Dustbin, and Brushroll

Next, with the side brushes and the back cover removed, go ahead and remove the front wheel, dustbin, and brushroll. Chances are, the dustbin has come in contact directly with the poop, so you can easily wash the dustbin as needed with soap and water. Just be sure to remove the filter prior to washing the dustbin.

With the brushroll removed, now take a damp cloth and wipe the Roomba from the inside out. Be sure to wipe the suction intake (the place where the brushroll is located) and the areas around the suction. Since the poop is already dry by now, you can use a brush to scrape any poop lingering on your Roomba. 

4. Clean the Wheels and Wheel Housings

Now comes the trickiest part: cleaning the Roomba’s wheels. For this task, you are going to need several q-tips to clean in between the grooves of the wheels of your robot vacuum. Based on our experience, cleaning the wheels can take anywhere from one to two hours, depending on the seriousness of the mess.

One area you need to give extra attention to is on the wheel grooves, where the wheels actually sit (where it raises up and down). We found the best way to clean poop from this area is to use several q-tips that are damp. You can also wet the q-tips with isopropyl alcohol to remove any lingering stain.

5. Clean the Suction Port and Sensors

Once the wheels and wheel housings are clean, the next area to clean is the suction port. This is another tough area to clean just because of how tight the space is. While it may take some time to clean, we found that using a damp cloth or isopropyl alcohol wipes (link to Amazon) can get the job done very well. 

Finally, the last part you need to clean are the cliff sensors and the other floor sensors on the robot vacuum. These sensors also have deep housings which we recommend using a q-tip for. On some robot vacuums, you can remove the bumper to make it easier for you to clean the nooks and crannies.

6. Let the Roomba Dry and Assemble

Once you have successfully cleaned your Roomba, it is recommended by iRobot (the manufacturer) that you wait at least 12 hours to let the unit fully dry before replacing the battery. Other robot vacuum manufacturers may have different instructions, so we suggest contacting their customer service center.

After letting the Roomba dry for at least 12 hours, go ahead and assemble the brushroll, the side brushes, and the wheels (if you removed them). Last but not least, assemble the back cover back into place, all the while making sure that it is tight. Congratulations, your Roomba is now clean from poop.

Prevent Your Roomba From Running Over Dog Poop

So how do you prevent your Roomba from running over dog poop in the future? The manufacturer, iRobot, recommends not scheduling any cleaning runs if you have pets in your house. This ensures unwanted surprises and smelly disasters during the middle of the night, or while you’re not at home.

You might also like: Best Robot Vacuums with Mapping Technology

Bottom Line

And there you have it, the complete guide on how to clean a Roomba that ran over poop. We hope that this article can help you clean and salvage your beloved Roomba after running over dog poop. If you have dogs at home, it is best to employ your Roomba manually and supervise them during each cleaning run. 

As of time of writing, there is no robot vacuum that can specifically avoid poop. There are, however, two robot vacuums designed to avoid obstacles and are equipped with cameras, so you can see what the robot sees. You can even remotely control where you want the robot to go, just like an RC car!

You may also want to read our comparison reviews:

• Roomba 980 vs. 985
• Roomba 670 vs. 675
• Roomba 675 vs. e5
• Roomba 614 vs. 675
• Roomba 890 vs. 960
• Roomba 675 vs. 960
• Roomba e5 vs. i3
• Roomba i3 vs. 675
• Roomba e5 vs. i7
• Roomba 614 vs. e5