Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo robot vacuum review: Bye bye, bulky dock

Best Prices Today: iRobot Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo

Robot vacs often have a small bin, meaning that unless you want to empty them weekly, a separate dock with a bigger bin is your only option. For those without dock space or desire comes the Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo Robot: featuring the industry’s first ‘onboard mechanical debris-compacting system’.

Put simply, vacuumed-up mess doesn’t just float around inside the bin, it’s squashed to one side, creating space for more dust and debris. The result? A robot vac that may only need emptying every two months or so, enabling you to set it and forget it.

Design and Build

• Slightly taller than average
• Large, compacting dustbin
• Treads allow climbing

Considering it has a larger bin than almost all rivals (around 1.55 litres), the dimensions of the Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo Robot vacuum aren’t noticeably bigger: at just H10.1 x W35.8 x D35.9cm, it can still fit below most pieces of furniture and scoot along kitchen plinths.

Once sucked up, dust is compacted by a rotating wiper

Once sucked up, dust is compacted by a rotating wiper, stuffing mess to the rear, away from the mouth of the bin. Nor is it especially heavy (3.83kg). However, it’s the compact charging base that makes the most difference in terms of space-saving: at H9 x W14.6 x D13cm, it’s far smaller than the self-emptying docks required by high end robot vacuums. And you won’t need to keep buying dust bags for a dock either.

On top, controls are fairly standard: there are two buttons for basic operations, such as sending it home or telling it to carry on cleaning if it’s stopped. Underneath, you’ll find everything you’d expect for a thorough clean: a sweeping side brush, rubber roller and a pair of robust wheels with a tread that allows the robot to climb rugs and different floor levels.

These are combined with decent suction – 70 times stronger than Roomba’s 600 series robots, according to the manufacturer – and a mopping module and pad that clicks on and off as required.

Performance and Features

• Low-level obstacles an issue
• Disappointing mopping
• Settings hidden in app

Getting started with the Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo Robot vacuum was more straightforward than some. We liked that our robot connected to the app first time, and that mapping was quick. Splitting spaces and naming rooms on the app was simple, plus you can draw on ‘clean zones’ – areas of high traffic that need more attention – and keep-out zones.

In addition, the robot found its way back to the base for charging without fail every time – even when we moved the base around, and, if moved off the base by accident, would travel back to it.

Another plus was that once the map was drawn, the robot was able to work out where it was if cleaning tasks had been interrupted or it had been moved. We also liked its ‘low power mode’, which can be engaged while it’s charging on the base to help save energy.

However, there were some features that we struggled with. For example, we were unable to command the robot to carry out spot cleaning. It either wouldn’t go or said it wasn’t possible without the mopping module attached – possibly the app was being buggy.

We also noticed that some settings didn’t save: despite changing the lounge carpet to vacuum only, once the app was reopened, it reverted to mopping and vacuuming for this space. And while the Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo Robot vacuum has carpet detection, it’s not always accurate at the boundary between a hard floor and a soft one, with the result being a wet mop pad being dragged across the carpet edges.

Overall, the robot’s LiDAR navigation was good: it didn’t bump into walls or furniture and didn’t become stuck on mats or rugs. It had less success with low-level obstacles: pet toys were sucked up, as was a glove that had been dropped. Other places it became stuck included piano feet, an armchair base, and a side table with thin, metallic legs.

We tested the Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo Robot vacuum on both hard and soft flooring, using flour to represent fine dust and oats as larger debris. On the hard floor, both flour and oats were picked up easily on medium, although it required a second pass to remove flicked around debris.

It delivered a good performance on carpet, picking up the majority of flour and oats first time, but we noticed that it tended to drop oats that hadn’t been sufficiently sucked up when returning to the base.

The mopping capabilities on hard flooring were disappointing. Its module only dispenses water, relying more on the microfibre cloth attached, and a back and forward motion, to remove surface dirt. This tended to spread the test mess around rather than remove it. It would work well for light maintenance, but doesn’t replace actual mopping.

Another issue we found is that, in a bid to make the app more user-friendly, much has been pared back. Cleaning settings are buried below the screen edge, so we had to swipe up to find them, while other information that you might refer to often, such as how much battery charge the robot has left, isn’t on the main screen.

Price and Availability

The iRobot Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo is priced at £399 in the UK and is available from Amazon and the iRobot website.

In the US, it has an MSRP of $449.99, but at the time of writing, you can buy it from Amazon for $295.

In both cases, this is a well-priced – and space-saving – alternative to a self-emptying dock. But you will be making compromises on its performance to get these benefits. For our top recommendations, have a look at our round-up of the best robot vacuums we’ve tested. We’ve also got options for the best budget models.

Should you buy the Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo?

The Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo Robot is many things: it’s space-saving, low-maintenance in terms of emptying, and generally delivers a good clean for different types of flooring. But there are areas that let it down: mopping is an afterthought and not especially effective, it has the same propensity as some other models to suck up items it should avoid and can get stuck more easily than you’d hope.

Plus, the soft flooring recognition needs a tweak, as does the app. That said, if less emptying is high up on your wish list, the 205 DustCompactor Combo Robot is a great alternative to a space-hungry dock and the bags you’d need for it.

Best Prices Today: iRobot Roomba 205 DustCompactor Combo