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AIBU?

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Original poster

Does anyone have a robotic vacuum cleaner?

225 replies

SummerBreezemakesmefeelfine · 07/11/2019 21:52

I would be interested to hear views from Mums netters on this. We recently visited a "stately home" which had robotic lawnmowers keeping the grass cut short.

It set me thinking that although our garden is not big enough to justify this expenditure, a robotic vacuum cleaner might be affordable.

OP posts:
BreakfastAtSquiffanys · 08/11/2019 06:07

Yes I have Eufy which is much cheaper than a Roomba.
Picks up embarrassingly well.
It is programmable to clean automatically but you do need to make sure that the area is clear of debris so I prefer to use it on demand.
We have a coffee table with odd shaped legs which it gets stuck on (repeatedly moving forward and back) so I like to keep an eye on it.
Seriously considering getting a second one for upstairs

Marnie76 · 08/11/2019 06:08

We have an alarm, will it set that off?

Namechangeforthiscancershit · 08/11/2019 06:16

They're so tiny. Where does the dirt go and do they need emptying a lot?

Triglesoffy · 08/11/2019 06:22

How do you empty it? Does it have a bag? Or is it like a bastard Dyson where you open the section up and all the dust explodes into your hair?

Also, do you take the new bot out of the box and use it straight away? Or do you have to programme in your room coordinates before you start?

Triglesoffy · 08/11/2019 06:27

Have just had a quick google and the prices vary from £150 to £1,150. How much were yours and are the cheaper models OK and reliable?

I recently moved to a house surrounded by farmland. Every time I open the door the house fills up with dust. Sometimes I have to vacuum the floor 3 times a day and it’s doing my head in.

TheBrockmans · 08/11/2019 06:37

Would the cheaper models cope with uneven floors (old house and floors slope)? There are also mini steps - maybe 5cm high. Would that be a sufficient barrier?

Wondering about getting a robot lawnmower too - though again that is sloping, plus a pond, so would probably need a good one.

81Byerley · 08/11/2019 06:41

@Triglesoffy I have a Roomba, I keep it on charge under the sofa, and I bought a remote control for it to get it out. My routine is to get it started, then empty the bin on it. It really is very small, but will clean all one floor before needing to be emptied. I don't find a problem with loads of dust like you get with the Dyson. You just get the new one out of the box and get it started and it sorts itself out. I used to have it programmed to start at 7am, but now I put it on every day when I'm about, as I have a cat, and I'd hate it to try to vacuum up cat vomit....

Flurgle · 08/11/2019 06:44

iRobot- couple of hundred quid. Love it. You need to properly vac sometimes because stairs/skirting boards etc but it really saves time and effort.
I only use it when we are in because of the dog Grin

Triglesoffy · 08/11/2019 06:54

Thank you! Christmas is coming Grin

maybenextyear · 08/11/2019 06:55

We have an Ecovacs Deebot- was only £150 ish from Amazon, it's fantastic, you can set it to come on at a set time every morning (or choose specific days), there is an app to control it or you can use Alexa. I'm constantly horrified by how much it picks up Blush. I never need to vacuum now, although as another poster said, once in a blue moon I might need to get the dustpan and brush out and do the corners of the room (he's round so can't quite reach). We have wooden floors so can't speak for carpets but he copes well on any (flat weave) rugs we have down.
Had him (Dave) about 12 months and no problems.
Cons- I have to check the floor every night for crap my kids have left out that might get sucked up
It's a bit noisy (so I set it to go off when I've left for work)
We have an annoying step in the kitchen, it's only about 2cm high but he really struggles to get up it.

Allycumpooster · 08/11/2019 06:58

We have a cheap one and it is great.
The dogs ignore it.
It does get a little stick under some furniture and can spend a long time reversing back and forth trying to get out. It’s very clean under there.
It copes with rugs and a very small step (2cm) it won’t fall down a big step as it has a sensor. I was nervous about this at first as we have horizontal banisters so I stood under it when it was on the landing ready to catch Grin.
It did pick up some charcoal yesterday In the sitting room, we now have some interesting marks on the carpet Hmm. I’m sure it will come off but it is a reminder to be careful.

hedgehoglurker · 08/11/2019 07:00

I have a Deebot. We love him! We usually manually set him off in the morning after the children go to school, and he is programmed to go every afternoon too - apart from Sunday "bath time", when my husband does the maintenance clean - washes the filter, removes the brush bar etc. The phone App to control and programme him is amazing.

jay55 · 08/11/2019 07:02

I had a room a, it's recently died, needs a new battery. I loved it but don't miss it. But I only live in a one bed flat.

AgnesGrundy · 08/11/2019 07:04

My mum bought us a room a but I found it useless, perhaps because we have a box of hard floor and rugs and too many books and crannies it couldn't get into which looked even dirtier if the floor near them had been hoovered.

I found you had to pick up for the rooms (instead of while you go while hoovering yourself), hoover the awkward spaces after it, and clean and empty the thing itself as well as the regular hoover which was still needed.

So overall it created work and was irritatingly half arsed and unsatisfactory.

However I realise most people seem to be fans.

We sold ours on eBay, it just annoyed me in the end.

AgnesGrundy · 08/11/2019 07:05

Sorry, so many typos.

Roomba

Mix of hard floor and rugs not box of...

snozzlemaid · 08/11/2019 07:56

My Eufy was £190 on Amazon. It was on offer, £100 off, so keep your eyes on there as they may be reduced on Black Friday.
It has an app to control it and a remote control also. Ours is also linked to Alexa so we can ask her to set it going.
You can set a schedule so it'll go automatically at the same time each day/week.
And you don't have to block off the stairs if it's doing upstairs as it has sensors to stop it from from falling.
It's brilliant. I no longer have that dread that I've got to drag the hoover out yet again.

LadyCarolinePooterVonThigh · 08/11/2019 10:30

brockmans you asked about robot mowers. We have friends with one. They have a gently sloped garden and it is fine. As regarding obstacles, the basic models need a perimeter fence, it can be a DIY job to do it...think wire on the ground staked down - or the the mower shop would do it for a fee. They have a little house for the mower to return itself for recharging.

We thought about it for our current garden which is an acre, and a suitable basic model is about three grand, Robomow I think. There are much cheaper ones for small gardens, though. ATM my DH is free, so using him for now Grin As we get older I think it's a good idea!

TheBrockmans · 08/11/2019 10:39

Think the garden is probably only about 200ms, but fairly sloping, like the house 😂. Though bizarrely sloping the other way. Very tempting as then dh could be deployed elsewhere!

LadyCarolinePooterVonThigh · 08/11/2019 10:56

Yes I've been so enthralled by my vacuum cleaner I will definitely get a mower when we move!

If only there was a robotic window cleaner....sigh........Wink

ArfArfBarf · 08/11/2019 11:07

In my experience (have tested several models/brands for work):

Can they negotiate all the legs below a dining table and six chairs?
No

Can they get up onto a thick rug from a laminate floor?
No

Can they go in and out of bedrooms if you leave the doors open and block off the stairs?
Yes

Can they make me a cup of tea?! grin
Sadly not

Personally I found the general concept a bit flawed. The ones I tried were only really good on the centre of an already cleared open space and I can vacuum that space myself in about 30secs. The tricky, time-consuming bits of vacuuming are the pulling chairs, tidying up first etc.

haggisaggis · 08/11/2019 11:46

OK I've just ordered a Eufy - reduced on Amazon at the moment. DH has been debating getting a new cordless vacuum cleaner for a while so will try this instead (1 hairy dog, 2 hairy cats - lots of fluff & pet hair)

Fluffycloudland77 · 08/11/2019 12:38

If you have pets don’t program them to come on unless your in, our cat missed his tray and had diarrhoea all over the floor. It wouldn’t have been pretty.

The Americans invented a clothes folding robot.

k1233 · 09/11/2019 03:30

@LadyCarolinePooterVonThigh my dream is they will use little drones to do the dusting. Could you imagine that!

LadyCarolinePooterVonThigh · 09/11/2019 10:13

k1233 that would be amazing! I've got a goat hair cobweb brush. It's very gentle and effective so maybe a flock of tiny goat hair dusters buzzing around. OR, some trained bluebirds like in Snow White.....they would shit on the floor but it wouldn't matter because you'd have a ROBOT MOP.

TheHootiestOwl · 11/11/2019 14:09

I’ve been looking at them, you lot have persuaded me to get one! They’re on offer on amazon as well. Is it worth waiting for Black Friday?

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