Here at Robot Chores, we are all about finding robots how to make your life a little easier. One of my least favorite outdoor chores has to be cleaning out the gutters.
We have several large maple and oak trees in our back yard who just love to drop tons of leaves onto our roof. So this leads to me spending a lot of time on a ladder, in the Fall months, cleaning out leaves and gunk from the gutters.
This is where a gutter cleaning robot would come in handy, right? Exactly!
Luckily, iRobot makes such a thing. The iRobot Looj 330 Gutter Cleaning Robot.
We have a full review for you on this little leaf-plowing robot. We’ll tell you how it works, how well it works, and if it is worth your hard-earned money.
PROs Of The Looj Gutter Robot
- Easy to install in gutters
- Easy to remove and clean
- Good remote control
- Lightweight
- Waterproof
CONs Of The iRobot Gutter Cleaning Robot
- Robot tends to flip over
- Can get stuck with wet clumps of leaves
- Won’t break through a decent blockage
- Hard to find in stores or online
I gave the iRobot gutter cleaning robot a try on my rural home in Northeast Ohio. We definitely get a fair share of leaves in our back gutters. Here is what I found.
Does The Looj Gutter Cleaner Work?
The gutter cleaning robot does well when it is up against dry leaves or minimal amounts of wet leaves and blockage.
I found that when faces with large clumps of wet leaves, it often struggled to break through. More often than not, it would flip over and make its way back towards me.
The Looj 330 also had trouble when it ran into other types of debris. It was unable to clear the path when blocked by medium-sized pieces of branch and bark.
If the blockage is too large, the robot either returns back in the direction it came or flips on its side completely.
How The Gutter Robot Cleans
iRobot was smart when they developed a way to clip the Looj to your belt, making it easy to climb the ladder while carrying the robot. Simply clip it on and you can scale the ladder with ease, with both hands free.
Once you reach your gutters, you simply place the Looj in the gutter, using the handle, and then remove the detachable handle. That handle is also your remote control.
From the remote, you can turn the gutter cleaning robot on and it will be on its way. You can set it to run automatically or you can manual operate the robot from the remote control.
The augers spins at a pretty impressive 500 RPM, which is more than adequate when clearing the path of dry leaves and lightweight debris.
The Looj 3 Series uses long rubber tracks, located on both sides of the device, to help it move up and down your gutters. The tracks are made from a quality rubber that will not damage or mark up your gutters.
How Long Does The Looj Take To Clear Gutters?
The iRobot Looj 3 Series can clean a 30 ft section of gutter in approximately 5 mins.
This is of course assuming the gutter cleaning robot doesn’t run into any tough or hard to move debris.
How To Clean The Looj Gutter Robot
One big positive of the Looj 330 is its waterproof build. This not only allows it to deal with wet leaves and water in your gutters, but also makes it easy to clean.
Simply lay the gutter robot on the lawn and give it a good spray with your garden hose. Very easy!
The rubber tracks can be removed, making sure you get all the gunk and dirt of them.
You can also disassemble the auger to make sure you clear it from all grime, dirt, and other build up.
How Long Does The Battery Last?
The rechargeable lithium ion battery is rated to last for approximately 200 ft of gutter cleaning.
The actual time will vary, but you can simply stick the batter back on the charger for a few hours and then be ready to go again.
Is The Looj Gutter Cleaning Robot Worth It?
The Looj 330 can be hard to find in stock. I am not sure if that is because they sell so well or because they never took off so supplies are limited.
Your best bet is try on iRobot’s website to see if they have them in stock. They will run you around $299.
You can sometimes find the on sale at Lowes or Walmart for around $150.
I would never pay the full retail price of $299 for the Looj. I might consider it at $150.
iRobot definitely came up with a great idea, because no one likes cleaning out the gutters.
The Looj Gutter Robot removes a lot of the danger from cleaning your gutters. No longer do you have to reach out to try and clean debris while barely clinging to a ladder.
Unfortunately, the Looj 330 just doesn’t work efficiently enough for me to really consider it a good value. It continually had problems with clumps of wet leaves and debris. It also flipped on its side more than I would have liked to see. This made me climb the ladder more than I had hoped when using a robot to clean my gutters.
So, for me, it would probably be a pass, unless I got it on sale for a good price. I would also take it as a gift, in case you were looking for ideas for me.
But let me know your thoughts. Do you own a robotic gutter cleaner? If so, do you like it?
As always, thanks for reading and please share if you found it helpful!
