Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Original poster

Robot vacuum cleaners

24 replies

carbuckety · 02/04/2018 11:56

Thinking of one of these for our house. To supplement main beast if a vacuum. But how noisy are they? How good are they? Can't decide whether to get top of the range one ( iRobot 980 or Neato Botvac Connected) or just a basic one . Would want to use it most days to keep Down dog/cat grubbiness really but daughter is chronically sick and hypersensitive to nose ( so I can't vacuum her room daily like I used to).

OP posts:
Original poster
carbuckety · 02/04/2018 21:24

Bump

OP posts:
Wilson2 · 05/04/2018 15:22

Ooh I've been thinking the same so thought I would join this thread and see what people's suggestions are! I love the idea of turning on a robot vacuum and have the house properly vacuumed when I get home - seems fabulous!!

bakingdemon · 05/04/2018 15:25

I love the idea but they all look so expensive!

Loonoon · 06/04/2018 11:55

I bought one before Easter after much research. It was this Eufy one from Amazon (i think I paid £199 for it). www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01M5BCRJR/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?psc=1&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8

When it arrived I was very impressed. It pootles about on its own and does a good job even on the edges. The only drawback was it's height, we have a big coffee table made of engineered wood which means it's height varies by a few millimetres in places. Mostly it was too low for the Eufy to fit under it (which didn't bother me) but at one point it can just squeeze in and then it would get stuck under there buzzing around trying to escape until the battery ran down. Needing to supervise this process meant I couldn't set it to run while I was out which defeated the purpose a bit. By this point I was hooked on the robot vac process so I decided the Eufy could be sent to our seaside flat and I would get a taller one for the house.

Again, after much research I went for this one. www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00O1UNC0K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?psc=1&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8. I paid £375 for it.

I was pleased with the Eufy but the Roomba is even better (as it should be at twice the cost). It is much more solidly built, the battery lasts longer and it goes faster. It also has a bigger dust box but since they need emptying pretty much every use anyway, that's not a big issue.

They probably aren't good enough to replace a proper vacuum cleaner but for a hassle free daily (or more often) going over between 'proper' cleans they are great. My house generally looked nice anyway but it is even better now and with absolutely no effort from me. It was particularly useful on Easter Sunday. After cooking a massive roast the kiitchen looked like a war zone. I delegated loading the dishwasher and wiping down the surfaces. I then set the robot vacuum going and soon it looked perfect again.

I write this sitting in the seaside flat looking at a couple of dust bunnies. I could vacuum but DH will be driving the Eufy down here later and I want to leave it something to do.

Abra1de · 06/04/2018 11:57

Ive been pleased with my Neato. Mine is a fairly basic one and I use it to throw into the sitting room every other day because that’s where the dog hangs out. Also use it in larger bedrooms. It’s great for getting under sofas and beds.

Loonoon · 06/04/2018 12:10

POstscript. I didn't go for the top of the range Roomba because as far as I could see they don't offer better cleaning. The extra cost pays for wifi capability and extra programming choices. That didn't seem worth the extra cost to me. I didn't want the bottom of range Roomba because they didn't come with remote controls and I find having a remote useful. But as far as I can make out all the Roombas are the same basic cleaning unit. The costs increase according to how many extra programming/control choices they have (and maybe battery life?).

TittyGolightly · 06/04/2018 12:12

I 💕 my eufy.

Namelesswonder · 06/04/2018 12:20

I’ve had a Roomba for a few years now - love it! ‘Robbie’ cleans the kitchen every night, and shower rooms every few days. Supplements main cleaning, means I clean much less often. Will be replacing when he stops working.

ArieltheMermaid1720 · 06/04/2018 12:30

I love my Roomba. Definitely one of the best purchases I've ever made. Ours is called Claude and he hoovers upstairs every weekday. Ours is pretty basic, I've had him since 2015 and have just replaced his battery.

AalyaSecura · 06/04/2018 12:36

I have a neato botvac and it's great. But... I'm not a super tidy person, neither are the DC, and while I would just avoid the odd thing lying out if I was vacuuming myself, I tend to only set the robot off if I've prepped and fully cleared the floor. Buying it has made me more disciplined about doing this downstairs, but the bedrooms get done less often as they're more cluttered. So I'd recommend still, but it's better if you're tidier than we are!

NoSquirrels · 06/04/2018 12:38

Where does your robot hoover 'live'? We have one and have fallen out of the habit of using it, and have moved house. I struggle to find somewhere that I can put the charger unit as its home that isn't intrusive. Perhaps I just need to accept seeing it around all the time?

AalyaSecura · 06/04/2018 12:41

I got this one here, but paid less than £450 - I stalked roombas, dysons and neatos on the camelcamelcamel site until one went below £500.

AalyaSecura · 06/04/2018 12:43

Mines tucked between the sofa and bookcase, unless I'm taking it upstairs. Don't think I give it the official clearance space but it works fine. We could put it under the sofa as there's enough space and it's remote controlled, but it's not very visible where it is.

Weezol · 06/04/2018 12:50

I've been pondering one of these for ages as an 'inbetween cleans' thing. I have some limitations and often just can't physically manage the proper hoover.
How does it do with pet hair? I also really want to see how the cat reacts to it and deploy it like a tank when she does her violent pounces on me at 3am.

Doublechocolatetiffin · 06/04/2018 12:59

I have the botvac connected too and think it’s good. There are a few bit where it doesn’t get right to the edges, but otherwise it does a fab job of cleaning my house every day.

I bought it in preference to others on the market because:

  • it would cope with a large area on one charge
  • it doesn’t take too long to do it
  • it can run at night which solves the whole toys lying in the way issue as we just clear up every evening (which has been a good habit to get into)
  • it maps the house so doesn’t just bumble around randomly which means it takes much less time

Like AlayaSecura I only paid £450 for it, I found an online deal. I’ve had it 2 years now and have been very happy with it.

Abra1de · 06/04/2018 20:50

My Neato has just vacuumed the sitting room, tv room and entrance hall and left then immaculate, even flattening out the rugs.

fia101 · 06/04/2018 21:00

What about robot mops?

ItchyBites · 07/04/2018 18:29

I have a Dyson, which I love! We have four mostly indoor cats, and it is excellent for keeping on top of the amount of fluff tumbleweeding around the hard floors downstairs. I haven't ever used it on the upstairs carpets, so I can't comment on that. The battery life is great, and it can do the whole of our downstairs in one charge. I had a Neato in the past which couldn't do that.

I did live in fear of one of the cats doing something disgusting on the floor and it being spread around by the vac, but now I set it off when I go to bed at night, when the cats are shut away in their beds. It's quite nice coming down in the morning to a clean floor Smile

orangeblosssom · 08/04/2018 13:43

I got a Dyson one too. It's great.
However it's noisy.

StealthNinjaMum · 08/04/2018 15:05

I have an iroomba that cost about £300 8 or 9 years ago and I love it. I have recently started using it again after it didn't really have a home so now it just lives in my hall. We've got quite a large house so it won't do the 4 rooms it advertises very well so everyday I set it to do hall plus one other room and I vary the rooms by opening and closing the doors (although we do have devices to control where it goes which I've never used). At least the most 'public' areas of the house are always hoovered.

NeedMoreSleepOrSugar · 12/04/2018 12:56

I've been coveting one of these for ages, but have mostly tiled floors, so not sure if it would work well?

Also I have long hair, not sure if any stray hairs could cause it problems with getting wrapped around mechanisms etc.

Would love to hear recommendations for vacuums/mops!

mommybear1 · 18/04/2018 16:36

Hi I am really tempted to get one of these we have a large tiled hall, kitchen and utility that I would like to use this on but I am worried as another poster has said re using it on dark tiles and also with my very long hair! I would be looking to use this at night just to get rid of the dust bunnies - is one of the newer models better in terms of use in dark tiles floors? I note poorly have also asked re robot mood any feedback on those please? I have eyed up seriously researched Winkthe iRobot Braava Jet and it has some excellent reviews but again I am looking for any MN feedback? TIA

mommybear1 · 18/04/2018 16:37

*people not poorly Hmm

BelleEtoile · 22/04/2018 14:43

@carbuckety did you make a purchase?
I'm very close to buying a Eufy 11 🤔

New posts on this thread. Refresh page