Can Roomba Have Two Home Bases? (Tips & More)

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Last updated on August 14th, 2022 at 01:24 pm

Roomba Robot vacuum cleaners are fast becoming popular in modern homes. Many people are investing in this machine with sensors that can detect obstacles and pick up dirt.

This vacuum cleaner can keep your house clean even when you’re away. The Roomba vacuum cleaner teams up with the base station to clean an area.

The vacuum detects the base and returns to it for recharging when it runs out of battery.

But, can a Roomba robot work with two bases? You may need to find out if you intend to get this robotic cleaner or if you’ve used just one base for your Roomba.

Yes, a Roomba can have two bases. They design this robot to be compatible with multiple home bases. Using multiple bases helps to clean large areas faster. The Roomba will sense the nearest home base and dock for recharging. Of course, you must ensure you set up your iRobot correctly to enable it to locate a home base after cleaning.

Can Roomba i7 Have Two Home Bases?

Yes, a Roomba i7 can have two bases. This model of Roomba can also handle multiple home bases. As long as the robot and the base are compatible, there won’t be any issues.

This Roomba home base is the standard docking and charging point for the i7 Roomba. It’s what you plug into an outlet while it sits on the floor, waiting for the Roomba to dock.

First, however, you’ve to ensure you place the base station strategically where the iRobot can easily sense and locate it.

Having more than one home base makes it easier for your Roomba i7 to clean a large space area and multiple floors. It’s also helpful in cleaning filthy spaces.

In addition, Roomba would clean faster as it would locate the nearest dock instead of returning to the first home base. 

However, having two Roomba home bases doesn’t mean the Roomba can automatically clean multiple floors with stairs for navigation when you’re not there.

Placing the different bases on floors that would need stairs to access won’t get your Roomba to clean these floors.

Instead, a Roomba can only clean floors with stairs manually. That’s if you’re there to take the Roomba up the stairs to the floors.

There’s an upgrade of the Roomba i7 called the Roomba i7+. This model can also handle multiple bases.

Below are the comparisons between the two.

Properties	Roomba i7	Roomba i7+
Home bases	Compatible with more than one	Compatible with more than one
Navigation	Smart	Smart
Camera	Yes	Yes
Voice command	Yes	Yes
Auto-emptying	No	Yes
Mapping	Smart. Can map up to 10 different floors	Smart. Can map up to 10 different floors
Price	Affordable	Expensive
WiFi and App	Yes	Yes
Recharge and resume	Yes	Yes

Last update on 2022-12-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Last update on 2022-12-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Can You Add A Base To A Roomba?

Yes, you can add a base to a Roomba. If you’re using one base for your Roomba and wish to use another, you can easily add another base.

You don’t need an additional setup to do this. You only need to find a compatible dock for your robot vacuum. 

In addition, some Roomba models use a clean base for auto emptying. This clean base also does the same recharging the home base does. You can also add this base to a compatible model for an upgrade.

For instance, the i7 comes with a home base only, while the i7+ comes with a clean base. So you can get this clean base much later for your i7. 

How Do You Add A Second Floor To A Roomba?

A Roomba can clean more than one floor. This robot vacuum cleaner has a lot of intelligence and sensors that help it navigate and map your space.

Roomba uses a technology called vSLAM (simultaneous visual locating and mapping.)

This technology enables the iRobot to create an intelligent Map that enables it to store multiple maps in its memory.

To add a second floor to your Roomba isn’t tricky. It doesn’t need a lot of work on your part. To add a second floor to your Roomba, follow these simple steps:

• Place the Roomba somewhere on the new floor and command it to clean everywhere

• You can use the iRobot app to send this command or press “TO clean” on the robot vacuum

It can take several trials for your Roomba to map a new floor. So, you can send it multiple times a day or place it on regular cleaning.

Also, a Roomba cannot climb stairs as it sees as an obstacle. So, if the new floor needs stairs for navigation, you would have to be there to take it up manually. 

Also, you can move the base station to the new floor instead of returning the robot for recharging. But, ensure that you program the robot on the new floor.

However, it would be easier to add another base so you can place it on the new floor. 

Why Use Two Home Bases For Your Roomba?

Your Roomba can work well with one home base. But, using two home bases for your Roomba makes the cleaning easier and faster. More than one base will work better if you clean a vast area.

However, it would help if you took note to place your home bases 8ft apart on the same floor.

This distance will help prevent mixing and interference of signals so as not to get your Roomba robot vacuum confused. Also, note placing both home bases within a good WiFi coverage. 

So, here are important reasons for using two home bases for your Roomba:

#1. Cleaning Vast Areas 

When you have a vast area to clean, using two bases will help your Roomba clean faster.

First, the Roomba vacuum cleaner can work for close to sixty minutes on a charged battery before needing to recharge. 

So, your Roomba would need to return to its base station for recharging, halfway through its cleaning exercise, for an extensive area.

Here, having two home bases would be useful. The Roomba would dock on the nearest home base for recharging instead of traveling far back to the first base. 

#2. Cleaning Multiple Floors

Using two bases or more makes the work more manageable when you’ve multiple floors to clean.

Rather than moving your home base alongside your Roomba to another floor, the easier way out is to get a new home base.

This way, your Roomba can work efficiently without any help. You just have to take your iRobot to the next floor for cleaning. 

#3. Cleaning Filthy Areas

Using two bases, with one having an auto-emptying feature, is exceptionally useful for cleaning filthy areas. When cleaning a filthy space, the Roomba dustbin will get filled up faster.

Therefore, having a second base capable of automatically evacuating the waste makes the work easier and faster. 

If you’ve two Roomba home bases, you must place them in the right location for efficiency.

In addition, placing them in the right location will help your robot quickly locate the bases for docking and recharging.

For example, you can place your base station in the following locations:

#1. Open Area:

Place your home bases in a clear space without obstacles a short distance away. This way, your Robot won’t have any issues locating the home base

#2. Away from staircase:

Roomba cliff’s sensors detect stairs as obstacles, so the robot will always move away from stairs. So, placing your home bases close to the stairs is not a good idea.

Your Roomba might topple over if it’s trying to locate the base and avoid the stairs at the same time. 

#3. On opposite sides:

Place two different home bases far from each other, ideally, on opposite sides of a space or 8ft from each other. In this way, you prevent the mixing of signals and your robot from getting confused.

#4. On different floors:

You should place your bases on different floors if you’re cleaning multiple rooms. This way, you only have to move the iRobot to the next room for cleaning.

Can I Change Home Base For Roomba? 

Yes, you can change the home base for Roomba. Once your home base is damaged, and you wish for another one, you can buy one separately without buying a new robot.

All you need to do is buy a compatible dock station for your model.

In addition, if you’re using a Roomba without self-emptying features, you can change the base much later to a clean base.

Changing only the base will save costs more than buying a new Roomba with a clean base.

Conclusion

Roomba robot vacuum can have two home bases. Using two bases or more is the best approach for cleaning large areas and multiple floors in your home.

However, first, ensure you get compatible bases for your Roomba. Also, you can change to a clean base with an auto-emptying feature for an upgrade.

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