Does anybody have a robot vacuum cleaner?

[fakenamefornow]

Are they any good?

Are there any other robots you'd recommend to help me clean my house?

I brought an irobot vaccum cleaner and it was a decent piece of kit. It's never going to be as good as a proper hoover but it does a decent job. I would recommend it:-)

Would it pick up fairly big pieces like cat litter do you think?

I have 2 newer model roombas and 1 days on, the days on is bigger so doesn't fit under 1 chair but does a better job all around.

How clear do your floors have to be with them? If there are a couple of small toys on the floor, does it just go around (or better still pick them up and put them away :)) . How do you programme it? Does it just go around the house while you're at work, then you take it upstairs the next day to do up there? Do you still need to use a manual hoover ever or is the robot on it's own good enough?

I'm thinking of getting one, but they're expensive so really don't want to waste my money. I also have seven different floor levels in my house, not seven floors, one step down to the kitchen, one step up to the study, that sort of thing.

Thanks for answering.

bandan

Just followed that link. That robot was only £60? The ones I've been looking at are around £500, I thought that was normal price, that's why I was hesitant to buy one.

I got fed up with our roomba - it did a decent job but always seemed to be beeping at me to say the brushes needed cleaning, the tray needed emptying, it had got stuck or had no battery. I decided it was probably quicker to vacuum rather than following it around the house!

That said, we do have a heavy shedding dog which makes the brushes need cleaning more often. Even at its best it was for keeping the floors clearer between 'proper' hoovers than a substitute, but it did a fab job of under the bed!

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Karmin makes the best professional robot vacuum in my opinion (Y)

I bought my brand new iroomba robot hoover in 2012 for £200 delivered on amazon. It was an older model, which meant there no timer (I have to be there to press 'start' and 'stop' each time) and there were no invisible walls you could set. So I have to close a door if I want to restrict where the roomba goes. But that's a small price to pay as my downstairs is all one level and quite open-plan (but with doors they can close too). I love that I can just press start, go out, and find the roomba is nearly docked after cleaning my house beautifully!

What it doesn't do it whip round quickly like you can with a manual hoover. I looked at a YouTube clip showing green light for the direction of travel on a robot hoover, and it was so random! The whole room got cleaned but not the most logical way, and certainly gives the impression that it's missing bits. The YouTube clip showed it completing a room which looked like it missed bits, then repeated it exactly but this time showing the green light of the path it had taken, and by the end the whole room was green which proved it covered every inch.

You can't do the stairs but it stops automatically from falling downstairs, fascinating to watch! You have to clear the floor or it either sucks it up (Lego) gets stuck on it (sheepskin rug) or bumps gentle into it (chair leg) and turns around to avoid it next time. It fits under a lot of furniture though, so I often let it rub round chair legs as it eventually squeezes in between and clears under the table. It in a helpful mood I'll maybe move one of two chairs to the side to make the gap bigger to save time. Sometimes if I can't be arsed to clear the whole room I will lie a chair down to block the lego off, and just do one area. The other option is to press 'spot' clean, which has the roomba do a few circles in one smallish area only, rather than freely roam the whole room.

You can't hoover a wet floor but I think most hovers are like that? I gather you can get some that moo for you now as well, but haven't seen any reviews and think you pay double the price. The empty mechanism is much more easy and efficient than my dyson cordless (which I use for stairs, car, if I can't be arsed to pick up all the toys etc).

Hope that helps!

*mop, not moo!

I got one for about £100 but it is designed for hard floors - great for me as I don't have any carpet.

It takes a while but does the job.

Here's one for a decent price

http://www.appliancesdirect.co.uk/p/roomba605/irobot-roomba605?refsource=Apadwords&gclid=Cj0KEQjw76jGBRDm1K-XLnrmuEBEiQA8RXYZ1ZtTT9ICB34VZA-bxo6s8nQuF95DBgCvok8XoEotsaAhtU8P8HAQ

Did I'm mention that when the battery is low it takes itself home to dock and recharge? This one seems to recharge then restart cleaning!

I have a roomba 880 which was about £600 I think.

The people above who say they're not great all seem to have a cheap one. Obviously.

The 880 is fricking awesome. I have 2 dogs and 3 preschoolers. It cleans round toys (duplo etc is just pushes away) and gets every single dog hair.

I can program it to come on from my iPhone or automatically on a timed schedule. It cleans and finds its way back to the base to recharge. I love it.

I love mine. Probably more than DH.

This is a GREAT read.

m.facebook.com/jesse.newton.37/posts/776177951574

Raining I have a cheap one and it's been the best hoover I ever bought!

I have the roomba 960. Very fun piece of tech but on the more expensive side. 614 roomba is a cheap good option. Have a look at this comparison. yoursmarthomeguide.com/smart-appliances/robot-vacuums/best-irobot-roomba-vacuums-2018