Robot vacuum cleaners

Terron

I bought one (Roborock S6) during the first lock down when my cleaner could not come and I was having trouble walking. It kept the carpets upstairs fairly clean and with the mop attachment also did a fairly good job on the laminate and tiles downstairs. It doesn't get right into corners and I have to lift up rugs before setting it off. I do not have to watch it continually.

kdotdotdotdot

I've got a roomba and love it, although of course it has its limitations, namely:

1. its suction is only medium, so it's fine for normal cleaning but not if you need it to clean heavy messes or a lot of, say, pet hair.
2. it can't easily get up onto thick pile carpets - I'd say it could do 2cm pile, but higher is hit and miss
3. obviously it can't do stairs or any part of the house that's separated by a step or barrier
4. you need to have clear floor space for it to work, eg: remove trailing wires/cables, clear up clutter, possibly move furniture so it can get around
5. it can sometimes get stuck under furniture and need rescuing, although that's not supposed to happen with its sensor

And on the plus side:

1. you don't have to vacuum yourself, nor do you need to watch it while it does its thing [ok, watch it the first couple of times, so you get an idea of what it can and can't do, plus get a feel for any hazards you need to remove from its path in future]
2. you can do your vacuuming much more often (even daily!), which overall results in cleaner floors
3. they're easy enough to empty - mine has a compartment that clicks out which I can empty into my bins and then click back in again, in a matter of a minute.  No vacuum bags!!

Remember that it takes longer to clean a room than you might take, but that doesn't matter in the least because you'll be sitting and enjoying a cup of tea and a biscuit (or whatever) instead of vacuuming, so what do you care that it takes longer?  

The expensive ones come with remote controls and special apps and settings etc and you can even schedule it to clean at certain times of the day.  If tech isn't your thing, get a cheaper version.  

You'll need to have a permanent home for its recharging base.  Mine's hidden behind a sofa.  

Soot2006

I love our Botvac. It is very satisfying to always have a clean floor as it runs round a few times a week. I had to set Alexa to remind me to tidy up the floor though as we have a puppy who leaves chewed things everywhere! (and could potentially leave an unpleasant deposit which would be a disaster lol)

nickwong

NeilAFawcett said:

Primrose said:

Has anybody got one?
Am becoming rather disabled and wonder if having one would make vacuuming easier for me
can anybody recommend a specific model?  A specific list of pros and cons pros would be really helpful.
Thanks. 

Things to note:-

1) And deep carpet/rugs it will not be happy with. It can go up and down say a rise/lip of 1cm.

2) You can have wires and stuff in the way. eg: Lamp leads with a fair amount of play might get caught in it.

3) Bar stools (say in kitchens) with the round rising bases are it's enemy. It gets beached on them.

4) You need to empty it after each big vacuum.

5) You'll need to do the odd bit of maintenance to it. eg: Change brush one a year. Check brush isn't getting wrapped up with loads of stuff like hair ever month or so.

6) You'll need to have a place reserved for it's little docking/charging station. I've placed ours in a playroom under a raised couch, so can't be seen.

Buying a robot vacuum cleaner is not as easy as it seems, you need to take into account various nuances. Everything you listed is only part of what needs to be taken into account. I advise you to read the recommendations before purchasing https://vacuumcleanerguru.com/how-to-choose-a-robot-vacuum-cleaner-full-buying-guide/