Robot vacuum

[notanotherpothole]

Does anyone use a robot vacuum, and which would you recommend. Preferably not massively expensive. Was hoping to get one to use in the kitchen every morning, let it run while I walk the dog, and save myself some time.

We have a Eufy which was cheapest option with good reviews. We used to have her downstairs running at 4am, but would also send her round during the day as needed. Now she is upstairs.

She has quite a small bin, so we (cats and dogs here) need to empty her every time she's used. Sometimes, she gets stuck and the battery drains, so when we want to use her, she's unavailable. But, generally, so long as we remember to make sure she's docked herself and empty her, she is pretty much maintenance free.

Also, we're much tidier now - she will run over cables, but gets tangled in charging leads, so we have tidied up those. Definitely worth having for us.

Hi there is a long thread on Eufy ones love at the moment. I've gone for a Eufy 11s on special offer I just needed one to go in certain rooms etc so far it's been ok but tbf it appears I have a battery problem with the model so Eufy have agreed to swap it out. I like it so I'm hoping the new one - Alfred - will be better on battery life. I have a robot mop and that is fantastic I love it 🥰

@mommybear1which robo mop do you have. I Invested in a Eufy After reading Mumsnet reviews end,essay and have had it two weeks. Life transforming with a Decent hand held For stairs etc.

@NunchukNinja if you thought your Eufy was life transforming wait till you try the robot mop! I have a iRobot Braava Jet - photo attached - her name is Connie and I would save her over my Eufy any day she is fantastic.

Oooooh @mommybear1 thank you for posting! Off to research now. I just love that the Eufy pootles around while I tidy up or read the papers etc. The volume it picked up initially was shameful but now I put it to work so much more often the house is noticeably cleaner and less dusty. Can’t believe how happy it’s made me 🤗

@mommybear1 I love the idea of a robomop but am put off by the reviews complaining that after a few minutes, it's just squirting tepid water and wiping around with a dirty cloth.

When I mop, I use hot water with a scoop of bio washing powder or, if I'm being good and doing them regularly, hot water and floor cleaner. Either way, I'm constantly rinsing out the mop head, and when it's really grim, I'll quickly go over again with a clean one. My floors don't look that bad, but the colour of the water tells a different story.

How do you get round the dirty mop head issue without constantly changing them while it's going round, defeating the robo function?

@NunchukNinja I feel the same about the robot mop

We have a Neato and my mum has a Eufy. Eufy is better by far! The brushes make it much more effective.

@Cynderella I'll be honest I didn't hold out much hope about the robot mop but I thought I'd try it and if I didn't like it send it back. The first few uses I wasn't convinced however I have a hard floor cleaner (Karcher FC5) that I love and cleans the floors brilliantly. I used to use the Karcher every night in the hall and kitchen (high traffic areas) and was disgusted at the colour of the waste water. After the first few uses of the robot mop I used the Karcher- the waste water was relatively clear . I was amazed as I didn't think the robot mop was doing that much.

So what I decided to do was use the robot mop more often. I have some extra mop heads for it and batteries. What I do now is set it to go in the Hall for example let it do its thing and then at the end of its clean if the mop pad is dirty/has bits etc I'd change the mop pad again and let the robot mop go over the Hall again and repeat until the pad was clean. I also use Method floor cleaner which you spray/squeeze onto the floor then set the robot mop off. The robot mop seems to map the area as well so I know the path it will take and if I think it's particularly dirty I let it go through to say the top of the Hall and stop it and change the pad before it goes back down (hope that makes sense!). I still Karcher my floors once a week with Zoflora (given our current times!) but the waste water is almost entirely clear.

Hope that helps feel free to ask me anything I've missed or not answered clearly.

@mommybear1 That sounds reassuring although extra batteries and mopheads is making it seem even more expensive :-( How long does a battery take to charge from flat to full?

Also, I have all hard floors downstairs but two rooms have big rugs - what does the robomop do when it comes to carpet, please?

I got my extras from eBay (both the mop heads and batteries). I'm not sure on battery life tbh I will check tomorrow for you and report back. I never run the battery to flat just pop a charged one in when it's finished its run ready for its second go or new room to mop. I have a large hall and kitchen so I found it would last for a whole room but if you wanted it to go over the area again you'd have to wait for a charge.

I don't have any rugs on hard floors so I'm not entirely sure how it would navigate those but I have on occasion left the pushchair or a bag in the hall and the mop goes round them. I suspect it would do the same with a rug depending on the height of the rug ie if it could mount it, it possibly would.

Thanks, @mommybear1mommybear1

Tempted, but not yet convinced. That said, I know I'll end up getting one!

@Cynderella the battery takes about 1 hr 45 to charge from flat - hope that helps.