How often do you hear the annoying sound of a vacuum cleaner or robot vacuuming? If you live in a house with pets, then you probably don’t want to hear it every time you turn around. The noise can be very distracting and even bothersome if you’re trying to do things around the house.
Your Roomba is making a lot of noise while cleaning. That’s why you should check if it’s working properly. You may need to replace or repair it.
Roomba makes loud sounds because it needs to be cleaned. You can turn off this feature by going into Roomba settings. There are many ways to make Roomba cleaner without making noise.
This article will cover several ways to make your Roomba quieter, even silencing the Roomba. Newer models also have Quiet Clean and Quiet Drive modes that can help.
Why is My Roomba Making a Loud Noise?
Your Roomba could be making loud noises due to loose parts with the roller brushes, wheels, or other parts.
Roomba motors can get stuck if they aren’t cleaned regularly. Clutter can block the brushes and gears, causing them to break down.
A loose brush frame release tab can cause the machine to make a loud noise. Broken head modules can cause the robot to stop working.
If you haven’t cleaned the Roomba in a while, you may want to give it a cleaning and see if there are any loose or broken parts.
Which Roomba is the Quietest?
Most Roomba vacuum cleaners run between 60-70 decibels (dB). However, some vacuums may be louder than others.
The quietest Roomba are the Roomba j7 and j7+ series models. It’s the newest Roomba model they released and has been designed for homes with pets. This model is the quietest Roomba. See the Roomba j7+ vs s9+ comparison.
Learn more about how loud different Roomba models are.
1. Remove Floor Clutter Before Cleaning
Your Roomba is programmed to stay away from staircases, drops, walls, and furniture.
But when it comes to small objects like socks, accessories, cables, etc., the Roomba may not see it as something to avoid. Clutter on the floor can cause your Roomba to get stuck, and make loud noises.
And if your Roomba sucks up small items, it might get clogged. That will lead to more noise.
Before you set your Roomba to clean, make sure there are no obstacles on your floor. Remove anything that could be damaged by the Roomba. Then, roam around your house and pick things up that could get in the way.
2. Press the Brush Frame Release Tab Down Before Cleaning
The newer Roomba vacuum cleaners come with a brush frame release button. This is relevant to the Roomba e, i, j, and s series models.
This button should be pressed down to close the release tab whenever the Roomba vacuum cleaner is being used.
This helps prevent the Roomba from creating loud sounds while vacuuming. If the tab isn’t closed, it will scrape across the ground as it moves across the floor. Make sure the Roomba vacuum’s parts are secured properly before use.
3. Turn on “Quiet Clean” Cleaning Preference
If you have a Wi-Fi connected Roomba vacuum with iAdapt 3.0, there’s a way to make your Roomba quieter by turning on the Quiet Clean feature in the cleaning preferences.
The Quiet Clean mode tells the Roomba to clean quietly by using less power. The disadvantage to using less suction power is it might not pick up the small dust particles as easily. It will also lead to longer cleaning times as the Roomba will see the floors continue to be dirty.
You can turn on Quick Clean in the app’s cleaning preferences
- Open the iRobot Home app.
- Go to Roomba Settings.
- Select “Cleaning Preferences”.
- Select “Quiet Clean”
4. Enable “Quiet Drive” To Only Clean Specific Areas
You can use Quiet Drive to make your robot vacuum cleaner work quietly on when it’s in the area it’s supposed to be cleaning. It will only make noise when it reaches its designated cleaning areas.
Rather than the Roomba making using energy and making noise all the way to the room that you want to clean, Quiet Drive will only allow the Roomba to activate suction once it reaches its destination area.
This mode will also help preserve the Roomba’s battery power as it’ll only be cleaning the rooms it’s supposed to.
5. Clean Roomba Brushes and Extractors
The rubber brush rollers and extractors can become clogged and start to wear out.
The brush or extractor could get clogged with dirt and hair. This causes the machine to make noisy, clicking sounds because it’s having a hard time turning.
You should clean your machine at least once per month, depending on how often the Roomba cleans.
6. Lubricate Roomba Wheels
The wheels on your Roomba can become sticky or difficult to turn if they lack adequate lubrication. Dry lubricant helps keep the wheel bearings running smoothly.
Wet lubricants can cause messes when it drips onto the floor, so dry lube is best.
To apply the lube, it’s best to open the Roomba and properly apply lube to the wheels. If you’re not sure how to open the Roomba, you can apply it from the small hole on the outer side.
Make sure to clean the Roomba wheels, so there is nothing to affect wheel movement.
Here’s a great video on how to apply lubricant to squeaky wheels:
7. Clean the Cleaning Head Module Gearbox
The Cleaning Head Module (CHM) holds the brushes and extractors on the Roomba. The CHM gearbox needs to be clear of debris for the brushes to turn and do their cleaning.
Just like the brushes and wheels on a Roomba, the gearbox can be clogged by dirt, debris, or hair.
If this happens, then it could cause the brush head to become loose from its housing, resulting in an annoying thumping noise when using the brush.
Clean it by first opening the gearbox and then unscrewing the sides of the cleaning head module. Be careful when cleaning this as it can stop your Roomba from working if anything breaks here.
It might be best to call in a robot vacuum professional if you’re at this advanced stage of trying to figure out why your Roomba is so noisy.
8. Replace Cleaning Head Module
You should never open a machine unless you know what you’re doing! Machines are very complicated, and there could be many problems that may arise when you start messing around with them. In this case, you should get a new Roomba cleaning head instead of trying to fix it yourself.
Making the Roomba Quieter Final Thoughts
All in all, making your Roomba quiet is pretty easy. Just follow the above steps and you’ll have no problem getting rid of those annoying noises.
Check out these other articles for more Roomba tips and troubleshooting guides:
