Finding the Best Roomba Replacement Parts: Our Research

When buying replacement parts for a Roomba, the decision often comes down between two choices: name-brand or OEM parts . . . or those made by a third party.

One factor: sometimes the manufacturer’s own parts are out of stock or hard to find, especially for older models that are now discontinued. 

Of course, the key question is: what is the quality? Does it make sense to shell out more for the official replacement parts . . . or will the third-party be an acceptable trade-off? 

To find that answer, we surveyed our parent readers (we have over 2 million copies of our books sold since we started writing in the 1990’s). We wanted to know which worked best in the real world.

Along the way, we heard a few tips from our readers about using third-party replacement parts:

• Parts that made a loud noise (rollers for example) are a bad sign. We didn’t include parts that had a large number of complaints like this.

• Durability for third-party parts may not be the same as the manufacturer’s official parts. However, we found that in real world experience the best third-party brands are very comparable . . . hence it is worth the trade-off, as the official parts are often much more expensive.

• Don’t jam it in. If the part doesn’t fit, don’t try to make it fit in your vacuum. This may seem obvious, but we see quite a few reports from users who were upset about ill-fitting parts. We eliminated those brands from our results.

After seven hours of research and comparing real world experiences, here are the Roomba replacement parts we think are best.

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

How We Pick Products To Recommend

We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

We also fact check manufacturer information with our own measurements. If a maker claims a product weighs X pounds, we will weigh it to make sure. If the battery life is supposed to be six hours, we will see how it stands up in the real world.

In some cases, we will do interviews with experts in the field to get additional feedback on products.

To get hands-on time with products, we regularly meet one-on-one with gear companies and even tour manufacturing facilities. (When we do this, we pay our own travel expenses).

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research, evaluating products with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

We make our living from affiliate commissions, but we always recommend what we think are the best bets for our readers (not the ones that are the most expensive). We are always looking for products that offer the best bang for the buck.

Our independence is a key reason why we have been doing this so long. As we mentioned above, when we purchase a product for hands-on testing, we do so with our own money.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!