To ask you to tell me, like I’m an idiot, about your robot vacuum cleaner?

AngryBirdsNoMore · 2023-12-16T23:35:54+00:00

I keep seeing these raved about on Mumsnet. But I can’t see how they’re useful unless you have very shallow carpets and entirely flat floors. so please tell me… Is yours worth it? Can it go between rooms easily, even if there’s a little lip / bump thing (no idea what that’s called)? Wpuld it be able to hop onto a foam playmat, maybe a centimetre high? Can they do corners and edges or do you just get grime gathered there? I have an indoor/outdoor cat, a baby and a toddler and live in a long, narrow ground floor flat. Probably too much shite on the floor. Prams mean leaves everywhere constantly which I HATE, and they bring in dirt too. halp.

murasaki · 16/12/2023 23:41

I have a roomba, hard floors downstairs, amd two hairy cats.

It can go up the lip into the kitchen, about 3/4 inch. There's a spinning brush thing on the edge so while it's not great at corners/edges, it sweeps stuff into its path, if you see what I mean. It has a sensor so when on carpets upstairs, it doesn't fall onto the landing which is down a step. Ut does like to hide under beds, it can be a lazy bugger on occasion.

I love it, but use it as a top up between cleaner visits to keep on top of stuff. And obviously it can't do stairs but that doesn't sound like an issue for you. It's called J Edgar.

murasaki · 16/12/2023 23:42

You have to pick up cables, it likes to eat those, and unwinding them from it is an arse.

DragonMama3 · 16/12/2023 23:43

eufy!

Hello39 · 16/12/2023 23:44

I love mine but we only have one carpet and it's not great on it. Great for hard floors.

Can do edges better than a regular vac as there are brushes that go right under the skirting boards. Can't get right into corners.

Might struggle with leaves.

You have to pick up everything off the floor that it might get tangled in..e.g. shoes with laces, cables, bags with straps.

Brilliant for cat hair, dust and debris.

Depends on the type of saddle board. Some are fine and some it gets stuck on.

Aposterhasnoname · 16/12/2023 23:45

I love mine, but it’s not a replacement for the main vac. It goes out daily and keeps things at an acceptable level until the big clean on a weekend.

Original poster

AngryBirdsNoMore · 16/12/2023 23:47

Very, very helpful so far, all further info gratefully received. Thank you for taking the time.

So far I’m not…convinced…

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DragonMama3 · 16/12/2023 23:47

it's a life changer.

Oblomov23 · 16/12/2023 23:52

I have a Dyson, and a eufy. Use both once a week, works out nicely.

10speckledfrogs · 16/12/2023 23:56

We have a eufy - robot vacuum that also mops - with its own charging base that sucks the dust out of the actual vacuum cleaner so we don't have to empty it constantly- they have small dust collectors so you have to do it after each clean otherwise

We have a house full of german shepherd hair, cat, parrots (which leave feathers and seed everywhere) and two kids

It isn't a replacement and I still go round with a big vacuum cleaner once a day. But I have it programmed to go round every three hours. Keeps the level of dog hair and parrot debris down to a minimum and saves me having to hoover 5 times a day like I was before I got it

You do have to make sure everything is tidy or it tries to eat things and they get stuck on it, cue annoying error message letting you know it's wheels are suspended or the rolling brush is stuck

As you have pets...... please do not set it to go overnight. You do not want to see the havoc even the one with supposedly amazing sensors causes when the cat vomits and it auto cleans right through the sick pile 🤢 not a pleasant thing to wake up to

LockdownLisa · 16/12/2023 23:57

We've just bought a Eufy, I love it. We have high threshes (over a cm) and it manages them. It helps me be tidier because I have to clear the floor for it. I wouldn't be without it now. I did notice some dust in a corner earlier today but it's not a big deal to vacuum it up every now and then.

AlltheFs · 16/12/2023 23:57

We had one in our old house, it hoovered and mopped. It was great in our large, relatively open modern house with relatively level floors (slate and carpet). It rarely got stuck but we did have to hoover proof each room first and it hated toys (cat and human). But it kept it very clean.

We ditched it when we moved to this cottage, there are too many levels and nooks and crannies and it just couldn’t navigate. It got stuck in each room which is small. So it was sold.

I miss it though, but we do not have the right house.

SingingSands · 17/12/2023 00:08

We have a Eufy, which does a circuit of the living room and kitchen floors after we've left for work/school. It means I don't come home to the spilt cereal/porridge oats/protein powder/toast crumbs that DH and DS scatter like confetti on a daily basis.

It has made us a bit neater because you have to make sure there is nothing trailing that it can get snagged in.

I like coming home to clean floors. Still use the Henry every few days and Eufy only does downstairs, but it makes a difference as our living room and kitchen are high traffic due to not having a hallway.

Original poster

AngryBirdsNoMore · 17/12/2023 00:15

murasaki · 16/12/2023 23:41

I have a roomba, hard floors downstairs, amd two hairy cats.

It can go up the lip into the kitchen, about 3/4 inch. There's a spinning brush thing on the edge so while it's not great at corners/edges, it sweeps stuff into its path, if you see what I mean. It has a sensor so when on carpets upstairs, it doesn't fall onto the landing which is down a step. Ut does like to hide under beds, it can be a lazy bugger on occasion.

I love it, but use it as a top up between cleaner visits to keep on top of stuff. And obviously it can't do stairs but that doesn't sound like an issue for you. It's called J Edgar.

I read this as three or four inches and was agog.

Three quarters of an inch seems more reasonable. Alas.

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ncob · 17/12/2023 00:17

@10speckledfrogs this blows my mind. Do you really have it programmed every three hours?!?! is it basically going round constantly?? Were you for real hoovering your entire home five times a day?!

i mean no disrespect at all, genuinely curious.

wideawakeinthemiddleofthenightagain · 17/12/2023 00:22

We've had one for a couple of years. I do like it but it's not as life changing as I had hoped. It wouldn't have been any good at all had we got it when the children were younger as there would have always been lego or Playmobil on the floor.

murasaki · 17/12/2023 00:22

@AngryBirdsNoMore that really would be an achievement!

murasaki · 17/12/2023 00:24

Also, I was amused that the instructions said not to let the cats sit on it. Fat chance, the first time I tried it, fatboy ran into the garden and hissed at it from a safe distance. They both hate it.

Twofurrycats · 17/12/2023 00:25

I have an eufy. I love him. We have hard floors and rugs and it makes a decent job of them. I still have to hoover but not as much as I did before. With two cats, a dog, log burners and a partner who's a builder it has made things way easier.
Mine has an edge setting where it finds a wall and then sticks to it so it's pretty good at corners where dust bunnies lurk.

WenttheDayWell · 17/12/2023 01:13

My Miele is excellent and the Eufy is ok but not anywhere near as good as a full size vacuum. If the cat has chucked any litter out of her box it can’t pick it up.

LovelyBranches · 17/12/2023 01:29

I have a eufy and it’s very helpful. You do need an alternative vacuum for stairs and deeper cleans but the daily dust is gone. Mine used to be programmed to 11am everyday, but that ended after DH’s earphones kept getting stuck as he kept leaving them on the floor.

I find it is a good motivator for the kids to put away bits of Lego or playmobil in the evening. Then you can come back downstairs to a room with tidy floors after bedtime.

10speckledfrogs · 17/12/2023 10:36

@ncob

Yup. German shepherd completely blows his coat twice a year and the amount that comes off him is crazy. And the parrots are the worst mess makers in this house especially when they are Moulting, but even just generally. They free fly most of the day and drop feathers, pick up mouthfuls of seed or vegetables and throw it all over the place, plus parrot poop.

Add in the baby who is crawling on the floor and I refuse to have it covered in hair, seed and feathers. Every three hours keeps it safe and means the baby isn't picking up things it shouldn't. Parrot dust can be bad for your lungs and can cause asthma so the more often that's cleaned away the better. We have an air purifier for the same reason (and also because bad air quality kills birds)

Felt like hoovering was all I did all day before I got the robot vac

Original poster

AngryBirdsNoMore · 17/12/2023 16:54

wideawakeinthemiddleofthenightagain · 17/12/2023 00:22

We've had one for a couple of years. I do like it but it's not as life changing as I had hoped. It wouldn't have been any good at all had we got it when the children were younger as there would have always been lego or Playmobil on the floor.

Yes, exactly this. Between toys and wires I wonder if we maybe aren’t on a winner here…

A question, is it a case of, the more you spend, the better a robot vacuum you get? Or can I get a good one for a more modest price?

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Original poster

AngryBirdsNoMore · 17/12/2023 16:54

I genuinely don’t know how the floors get SO dirty…

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Original poster

AngryBirdsNoMore · 17/12/2023 22:54

Also I greatly enjoy how many of you refer to them as ‘him’ or by name 😂

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