Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask if your robot hoover or hoover-mop works?

57 replies

Oncemorewithsome · 05/07/2026 09:48

We are a busy (read messy!) household with kids and really busy work lives. I’m keen to look for ways to keep things ticking over.

Do the robot hoovers work? What happens if it encounters a toy/sock/piece of lego? (Yes, yes I know… but real life here, this will happen at some point!).

What about the mop function?

What make do you have?

If you have a picture perfect, tidy at all times home please scroll by because sadly this won’t be the lived reality for our new pet robot 😁

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
WeddingInvitation · 07/07/2026 14:13

Our roomba is very good - though I think it's coming up to replacement time. He's probably 15 years old now. Outlasted 2 cats and coped with numerous dogs and visiting dogs and my long hair.

The Brava Mop was a waste of time. It just didn't do the job very well.

It does help if the floor is generally fairly clear as otherwise you look at it and think, I can't be bothered to pick up all the lego, leads, etc and you don't use it.

DesperatelyConfused6 · 07/07/2026 12:41

I have a Roborock vac & mop.
I can't really fault it, it does a decent job. I do once a fortnight give all the hard floors a going over with a proper mop & once a month vac everywhere with my regular shark upright. It keeps the house ticking over nicely so it's never too grimey. If only there was an auto bathroom & toilet cleaner thingy then I'd be laughing 👍🏻😅

DopamineDeficient · 07/07/2026 12:36

DogGawn · 05/07/2026 18:14

@DopamineDeficient the mop is good I find, I always hoover first though!

Thanks, I will get round to it, I believe I have to map out the rugs

Twoweeksinaugust · 06/07/2026 06:45

I've got a Shark, wouldn't be without it.

I send it round every evening, but close the playroom door as I really don't want to have to clear the floor every day. A couple of times a week I take it upstairs and let it run.

You need to pick up any stray socks or charging cables, but that's not a bad thing, we can be a bit messy as a family so it does encourage us to tidy up.

I've not used the mop function as I don't actually mind mopping.

My only criticism of the Shark is that once it returns to the dock it doesn't do a few more spins to fully suck up what's in the rollers, so if you want to pick it up and move it it will often leak a few bits that were semi sucked up.

ChocolateCinderToffee · 05/07/2026 23:26

ShinyBlueTractor · 05/07/2026 17:28

Watching this with interest! DH is against them as he can't see the time saving if they only do one floor and not the stairs - but I'm assuming they are portable?

There's also some worry robo vac might terrify our mature, nervous rescue cat, don't know if any pet owners can advise?

But these all sound like positive experiences, also I kinda just want a wee robo pal lol😍

My cat completely ignores my Eufy, unless it actually bumps into him. I carry it upstairs to do upstairs.

ChocolateCinderToffee · 05/07/2026 23:24

I have a basic Eufy. It does the job, does tend to get stuck in one corner of my bedroom but I know where to find it! You quickly learn to clear the floors before running it and as I’ve got a cat, I don’t programme it to run when I’m not in. I can unrecommend the Dyson Eye, cost a fortune and didn’t work nearly as well.

idontknow54789 · 05/07/2026 21:46

We have a Roborock that vacuums and mops. Best thing I ever brought! It has a clean and dirty water tank so just need to empty these about once a week but my floors have never been cleaner. I’ve zoned our rooms so if there’s toys out I can’t be bothered to move I’ll just get it to not clean that area. It’s usually our kitchen and dining room that need doing twice a day. The mop doesn’t quite get the edges but is great to keep it floors to a decent standard.

LiquoriceAllsorts2 · 05/07/2026 21:41

I have a dreame one and it’s great

Shrinkhole · 05/07/2026 21:37

7238SM · 05/07/2026 11:45

We have an eufy X10 Pro Omni which mops and vacs. DH did a lot of research before we got it. It can raise itself on/off rugs and knows not to mop those. Some vacs get jammed on rugs. Its never got trapped in a corner but that might have only been a problem with earlier/cheaper robo vacs.

I think the mop heads need changing now, so occasionally something dried on the floor needs an extra scrub, but otherwise we are really pleased with it. Our downstairs is all tiled, a few rugs and 1 level, so its perfect for that. We have dog toys around which have never been a problem- it can see the obstacle and goes around them. It can also detect smaller things apparently (like dog poo!) although that's never been tested. I'm unsure how small it can detect and if it would see lego though, you'd need to read the spec or watch youtube reviews.

We tend to prep the room and run it when we are out. We pick up shoes, dog bed and things off the floor for a better clean. We did try running it at night without tiding up beforehand but the dog went ballistic thinking if was some sort of robo intruder! Sometimes we run it during the day with stuff still on the floor, and it just goes around them.

We have the same one and find it pretty good. We have teens not small kids but they leave a fair amount of bags and shoes and hair ties etc around. We have a big floofy shedding dog too.

It never gets stuck and it just goes around the crap left on the floor but if there is too much obviously that means the cleaning is not so good. I programmed it at night (our dog doesn’t care) and put all the chairs up and bags and crap off the floor last thing at night so it can do its job well.

The hoover suction isn’t as good as the Shark we also have and it can’t manage skirting boards and stairs and stuff so we have to do a big hoover at weekends for those but it keeps on top of the day to day dog hair and kitchen mess very well

I would say it would hoover up a Lego brick as it hoovers the dogs kibble which is that size. It has only ever had an issue with hair ties, ribbons and bag straps which get tangled in the roller but mostly it does a good job.

Kalanthe · 05/07/2026 21:28

I have two iRobot roombas (one on each floor) and I've given up on them... You have to remove all obstacles and put chairs up (or it will get stuck between them). It will suck up plants, skin charger cables. Honestly the prep alone was so long I'm better off hoovering quickly with a cordless Dyson. I regret buying those roombas

Justploddingonandon · 05/07/2026 20:42

Also got the eufy omni X10 and it does a pretty good job, though I am going to try the drop of Milton in the dirty water tank as despite near daily use this smells rank when emptying.
It’s pretty good at avoiding objects such as cables or shoes, but would pick up small stuff like Lego.

TwoBlueFish · 05/07/2026 20:39

I’ve got a Tapo vac/mop. We do move things out of the way on the nights it runs as it tends to get stuck if we do (for example we put the dining chairs upside down on the table). It does a decent moping job (engineered wood floors) which was our main reason for getting it as I hate mopping.

Dbank · 05/07/2026 20:34

I have two vacuum and mop robots, ECOVACS DEEBOT X8 PRO OMNI, and a Switchbot S20. I marginally prefer the EcoVac.

I schedule them to run the early hours, so I pick up any obstacles before going to bed. If they were let loose with sock and cables everywhere they would probably be more hassle than they are worth.

You might find it manageable in one area first, if you're able to use it as I do.

Bamboozled5 · 05/07/2026 19:50

I bought a Vexilar which hoovers and mops. Unfortunately it just can’t cope with the amount of dog fur and just gets blocked all the time. The mop head kept getting folded over and didn’t do a good job. Then it forgot pre-programmed maps and got lost. Overall it looks like our dogs are too much for it!

ThatGreenFawn · 05/07/2026 19:35

We've got the eufy hoover and mop. Its the one that has the self cleaning and drying mop. This means that is doesn't leave streaks and the mop head doesnt smell as its always clean and dry.

We wouldn't be without it now. Our entire downstairs gets hovered and mopped every morning before we get up and it makes such a massive difference.

We upgraded from just a robot hoover and would now never go back.

But wait for the next prime day as they are much cheaper then.

CheshireDing · 05/07/2026 19:31

We have been through a few of them, cheap one from Aldi about 10 years ago (was only £150 and was fab), then another I can't remember the name of, lasted a few years, then the Roomba, didn't last a year was shite and loud and the unit it lived in for huge, it kept breaking so was returned. Currently have had a Narwhal for about a year, it can either just vac or can mop too. It seems pretty good so far and it's the quietest of all that we have had.

Any of then will get stuck by socks etc.

PeloMom · 05/07/2026 19:25

7238SM · 05/07/2026 11:45

We have an eufy X10 Pro Omni which mops and vacs. DH did a lot of research before we got it. It can raise itself on/off rugs and knows not to mop those. Some vacs get jammed on rugs. Its never got trapped in a corner but that might have only been a problem with earlier/cheaper robo vacs.

I think the mop heads need changing now, so occasionally something dried on the floor needs an extra scrub, but otherwise we are really pleased with it. Our downstairs is all tiled, a few rugs and 1 level, so its perfect for that. We have dog toys around which have never been a problem- it can see the obstacle and goes around them. It can also detect smaller things apparently (like dog poo!) although that's never been tested. I'm unsure how small it can detect and if it would see lego though, you'd need to read the spec or watch youtube reviews.

We tend to prep the room and run it when we are out. We pick up shoes, dog bed and things off the floor for a better clean. We did try running it at night without tiding up beforehand but the dog went ballistic thinking if was some sort of robo intruder! Sometimes we run it during the day with stuff still on the floor, and it just goes around them.

I have the same and happy with it. I also try clear up the floors before I leave the house; my kid loves magnetic tiles and once I left his intricate build on the floor thinking the eufy will go around. It didn’t, bulldozed the build, went over it and carried on.
if it gets stuck on something it stops and I get a notification. It restarts once I fix whatever is stuck (has happened once only)
ive heard (and people with pets can chime in if its true- I haven’t RTFT) that if you have pets and a pet commits or poops, the vacuum will smear it all over the house.

youalright · 05/07/2026 19:14

7238SM · 05/07/2026 19:05

I already posted up thread. We have a poodle X who doesn't moult, but its my hair that gets everywhere! DH looks after our eufy. We've had it 2yrs and I've never heard him mention my hair- until just now when I asked him and he said he cleans it out all the time! Today he also cleaned out the henry brush and did moan and point out my hair without me asking, so I do wonder how much of an issue the hair in the eufy is! 🤔

Thankyou I appreciate that

KitsyWitsy · 05/07/2026 19:08

I have a roborock hoover mop with full station. It was nearly 1k and is pretty good. It is supposed to recognise dog poo etc but it didn't once and that was an unpleasant clean up experience but other than that, it's fine. Like a PP said, it doesn't always do the edges great and you do need to do the floors properly sometimes but it's great for keeping on top of things. Also, you need to keep the floors clear because it will get stuck on cables, socks etc.

7238SM · 05/07/2026 19:05

youalright · 05/07/2026 17:40

Im interested to can anyone advise for a household of females with long hair im currently using a shark with anti wrap technology which works brilliantly but am interested in a robot hoover that can handle hair

I already posted up thread. We have a poodle X who doesn't moult, but its my hair that gets everywhere! DH looks after our eufy. We've had it 2yrs and I've never heard him mention my hair- until just now when I asked him and he said he cleans it out all the time! Today he also cleaned out the henry brush and did moan and point out my hair without me asking, so I do wonder how much of an issue the hair in the eufy is! 🤔

Etherealcelestialbeing · 05/07/2026 18:57

You can set the Roborock with different maps so once a week I carry it to the top of the stairs and set it going. It copes well with long hair in our house (me + 2DD)!
I don’t worry about the kids being in and out of the garden now as I know all the grass/muddy footprints will be gone the next morning.

Chocolatecustardcreamsrule · 05/07/2026 18:21

We have a shark one and it’s great for maintenance, it goes off every day and keeps on top of pet hair etc. It switches between hoovering and mopping. We still have to do a deep clean once a week. If it’s something big on the floor (like the cat) it will go round it but hair ties, wires it just eats which is annoying. It also doesn’t cope well with mats. We have also had one horror movie episode where it pushed around a dead mouse so it was smeared round the entire house.

FuzzyBumbleeBee · 05/07/2026 18:21

I love mine, we use a tapo as it links in with our security cameras but it does have its downfalls

Ours hovers and mops
Copes quite well with corners in general small items like Lego either get moved around the floor if it's a larger piece or hovered up
I do the edges of the rooms every other day and tend to do a deep clean eg move the sofa once a week but that's because I have 2 dogs that shed like it's an Olympic sport as well as 2 cats and 2 dc so the poor hoover really does well all things considered

If it encounters a sock it eats it and just switches off same if the dogs pinch a loo roll tube and leave it chewed up on the floor it will try to hoover up a large piece and just stop

I have a step in my home so we built it a ramp and we put that out so it can go everywhere
I love not having to faff when I need to hoover under beds!

Ours can map rooms so you set it off to do specific areas and it'll only do where you ask it to, also love being able to set it off on my lunch break and come back to a clean room

ClayPotaLot · 05/07/2026 18:17

We have a Roomba. It avoids socks, etc. Sometimes gets stuck on trailing wires or tight spaces where we've left chairs near the wall or the like. It's pretty good but it's not a powerful suction so on carpet you still need to vac with a handheld from time to time (we often leave it a month, which is probably too long).

I think the Roomba is good, but my understanding is that there are better out there nowadays.

DogGawn · 05/07/2026 18:14

@DopamineDeficient the mop is good I find, I always hoover first though!

Swipe left for the next trending thread