Which robot hoover is the best?

[BigSigh2021]

I’m going to be looking out for decent Black Friday deals on robot hoovers. Recommendations please! Eufy? Roomba?

Which one do you have, and what are the pros and cons? Suction? Effectiveness with pet hair? Different surfaces? How thorough is it? How noisy is it? Does the charge last long enough? Does it always manage to return to its charger before conking out?

I’m not too fussed about fancy WiFi and linking to voice assistants, as I don’t use one.

Thanks is advance.

I don't know but I'd like to know as I'd like one too OP.

Also, robot owners, how does it not fall down the stairs? Or get stuck under the sofa?

I have a Eufy 15C max. Seemed to be a popular option on MN.
No pets but it copes ok with my hair, although you do have to pull it out of the roller brush.
Never falls off steps. It's pretty impressive to watch it go right up to the edge and stop suddenly.
Not too noisy, you can definitely hear it running if it's in the next room say.
Generally finds its way back to the dock fine.
Isn't clever enough to realise that the dock is on a different level, so if it runs out of charge upstairs will just potter about forlornly for ages trying to get home.
If it can get under something it can generally get out again. Better not to watch as with the semi random movement it can take a while... We have one bit of furniture which is just the wrong height and it has jammed itself in once or twice. But you learn, and block places off if needed.
Suction is good. The floors look clean all the time. That doesn't mean it always picks up everything on a first pass, but that's not what they're designed to do. You just have to set it off and let it do its thing.
Overall it's brilliant.

Oh, I need one! Following.

This has been on my wish list for ages.
Love the idea of setting it, going to bed and waking up to a lovely vacuumed living room.

We have bought the iRobot Roomba S9+ vacuum and their Braava jet m6 as a bundle. Worth having a look for black friday deals!

Hair: Two adults with long hair, normal short haired cat. Very effective with human and pet hair (the vacuum is on a schedule to go around three times a week and the floors are immaculate).

Noise: It's great, but far too loud on wood floors for me (though I am v.sensitive to noise, and you could put it on when you leave the house). Absolutely fine on maximum power on vacuum setting. It's much quieter than a normal vacuum cleaner - when it goes back to the base it's pretty loud but it's a very quick whizz to drain the internal bin - 15 seconds or so.

Falling down stairs: the roomba has a sensor to stop it falling downstairs - like a little camera just underneath the front, and when it moves if it detects there's no floor it just backs up a bit until there is.

Suction etc: you can choose different settings.

Charge: charge works plenty well enough for three bedrooms and a hallway upstairs. When we had it (briefly!) downstairs it was good enough to do 6 different rooms, never had a problem with charge at all.

Cons/notes: It works best if you have zero clutter on the floor. I do mean zero. When it sets up the "map" for the first time you can scoot everything into the centre of the room so it finds the edges, and then you're good, but generally it doesn't like finding new things. We have an alarm to remember to move any loose things onto beds etc. You can set up "no go zones" for pet food bowls etc, but you set those up after the first mapping run. It takes a little while to settle in.

I was highly sceptical of both, and I wouldn't go back.

And btw the mop is amazing. I tend to whizz around with a normal vacuum downstairs and the mop is on a schedule that does high traffic areas three times a week. You just have to fill up the water/cleanser tub inside. Easy peasy.

Thank you, these are the comprehensive reviews I was after! Will have to spend time this evening researching prices on these.

Can I join in to ask @rhubarb84 a question?

I’m struggling to think of somewhere I could set up a docking station. I have a wide tv unit with space underneath a bit like the photo. As the docking station is so small if I put it against the wall under the tv stand do you think the Eufy would be able to find it and send itself home there?

@JewelleryBox

Can I join in to ask *@rhubarb84* a question?

I’m struggling to think of somewhere I could set up a docking station. I have a wide tv unit with space underneath a bit like the photo. As the docking station is so small if I put it against the wall under the tv stand do you think the Eufy would be able to find it and send itself home there?

I'd think it should be fine. The dock is slightly taller than the robot so check that will fit. It will work best if it has space for a clear run in. If the approach is diagonal so that it has to come in and then manoeuvre round a table leg it will be slower. Being under furniture is no issue, you just have to see if the table legs get in the way. It doesn't care if the ceiling is 3m or 15cm high.

Thanks so much @rhubarb84

I see on Amazon currently, the Eufy C15 max mentioned above is £140 whereas the irobot Roomba S9+ is £1500!!

So I think I'll be looking more at Eufys to start with. Maybe the Eufy BoostIQ Robovac 15C max?

What are people's thoughts on mapping vs non-mapping? Our ground floor is fairly large and I fear it will waste a lot of time if not mapping. But of course that adds to the cost...

We've just moved into a new house and I've treated myself to the Eufy 30C Max. It's great but random where it goes although I set it on a routine to go every day downstairs and the floors look clean. It seems to pick up loads. You do need to make sure your floors are clear as it gets tangled in things so needs a little babysitting. I chose the 30C max as it came with the strips you can stick to the floor so it avoids certain areas like under the TV cabinet where all the cables are.

If I was buying another one I'd def get another Eufy but I'd go for the G30 Edge which apparently does straight line cleaning rather than a random path.

Well, I've never seen a mapping one at work so I might be being unfair here... but I quite like that our one doesn't map! Stuff moves around in our house (kids move chairs, airer might or might not be out), and it just works around what it finds. It probably is a bit less efficient than a mapping one, but it doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

I have an Ecovac & a Eufy…..Ecovac seems better in that it picks up more from the carpet.

@rhubarb84

Well, I've never seen a mapping one at work so I might be being unfair here... but I quite like that our one doesn't map! Stuff moves around in our house (kids move chairs, airer might or might not be out), and it just works around what it finds. It probably is a bit less efficient than a mapping one, but it doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

Good point. This would happen in our house too.

I just got an okplife k3. I think it does mapping, but I cannot work out how to get it to talk to the googlelady, but tbh it's hardly a chore to set it going in whatever room and let it get on, it came with a remote that will set it to do a spot clean, or edge or random, or can direct it.

I bought it as there was some sort of deal with £60 quid off, so it was £90 thereabouts.

It wasn't that hot on the bedroom carpet tbh but that's going soon, and it's the bees knees on the hard floors

not that noisy either, but the cats are unimpressed

It's a little obsessed with trying to get into the fire place, but I cordon that off with the pouffe and that's put a stop to that.

We’ve got a Eufy, 15Cmax. it maps. I wasn’t sure what the point was of this before we got it.
It doesn’t map it, then save for next time, it’s a fresh map each time. It’s basically so you can look on there to see which rooms/bits of rooms it has completed. Once it’s finished the rooms and the outer edges of each room it will return back to charging base.

I am so over the moon with ours, it’s much better that I thought it would be.

We’ve all got long hair in our house, I do have to sometimes remove the suction wheel thing (takes seconds) and cut the hair off!! You get 2 filters, so can swap/wash these when you need. It’s got 3 levels of suction, I keep it on level 2 and it’s fine. We’ve got a mix of carpet/Lino type flooring.

It’s pretty quiet, much quieter than our old dyson.
Does edges well, and is so slim it gets under most of our cupboards.

If you want to get a Eufy, get directly from their website. They have money off vouchers.

I would say a robovac is good for houses with no internal steps etc. We occasionally take it up stairs to do bedrooms, but I find they don’t need vacuuming all that often.

The rubbish collecting bit is fairly small, but as we’ve now go into the routine of switching Eufy on daily, it doesn’t get full up as the floors stay much cleaner. It works amazingly for us. I wasn’t keen at first!!

I wish ours mapped... We've got a large, mainly open plan space downstairs with a few rooms off the main area and the random, chaos theory style of our non-mapping eufy doesn't quite work for our space.

I did a lot of reading up on them

Originally I ordered a £400 one but I returned it and got the Eufy 30c max for £189

I didn't feel the extra money was worth it as all your getting is more technology for mapping etc

The hoovering up side of it is exactly the same

I've a very large down stairs area with wood throughout

I lift up dining chairs etc then set it off when I head out. It goes for 100 minutes and by time I come home house is clean

Upstairs I have carpets , I do 1 run on boots which is 50 minutes and again it looks lovely up there

I think the eufy 15/30 max are a fantastic hoover for value

If money is no issue absolutely pay more for napping etc but if cost is you won't go wrong with a eufy. Your floors will look the best they ever have.

@Flippyflops2021

We’ve got a Eufy, 15Cmax. it maps. I wasn’t sure what the point was of this before we got it. It doesn’t map it, then save for next time, it’s a fresh map each time. It’s basically so you can look on there to see which rooms/bits of rooms it has completed. Once it’s finished the rooms and the outer edges of each room it will return back to charging base.

I am so over the moon with ours, it’s much better that I thought it would be.

We’ve all got long hair in our house, I do have to sometimes remove the suction wheel thing (takes seconds) and cut the hair off!! You get 2 filters, so can swap/wash these when you need. It’s got 3 levels of suction, I keep it on level 2 and it’s fine. We’ve got a mix of carpet/Lino type flooring.

It’s pretty quiet, much quieter than our old dyson.
Does edges well, and is so slim it gets under most of our cupboards.

If you want to get a Eufy, get directly from their website. They have money off vouchers.

I would say a robovac is good for houses with no internal steps etc. We occasionally take it up stairs to do bedrooms, but I find they don’t need vacuuming all that often.

The rubbish collecting bit is fairly small, but as we’ve now go into the routine of switching Eufy on daily, it doesn’t get full up as the floors stay much cleaner. It works amazingly for us. I wasn’t keen at first!!

The 15c doesn't have mapping it's from the bounce range

You must have a different model I think.

@LondonTan

I wish ours mapped... We've got a large, mainly open plan space downstairs with a few rooms off the main area and the random, chaos theory style of our non-mapping eufy doesn't quite work for our space.

This is what I'm worried about. Currently looking at Eufy i-something (i8??) which does mapping and is £450-ish.

I got the eufy 30c max a year ago absolutely love it! It doesn’t nap and I don’t use the app but it gets LOADS of dirt. It developed a fault a couple of months ago and I stupidly took the front off it to try and fix it and couldn’t get it back I properly. I left it for a couple of weeks and used my dyson which I hate. I kept looking at the eufy trying to work out what to do and how to fix it. I emailed eufy customer service and explained the fault and what I’d done. They sent me a video of something to try and said If that didn’t work they would replace it as it was in the year warranty. I tried their fix but it still kept beeping with the fault and I emailed them back and THE VERY NEXT DAY a new eufy arrived. Didn’t even need to send the old one back: absolutely the very best customer service I have ever received. The amount of dirt the new one picked up was unbelievable it really does get everywhere. You do have to empty it frequently but it’s quite satisfying to see how much it collects. I also have to cut hair out of the roller frequently but that’s to be expected with all the girls in this house. Basically best £200 I’ve spent in long time. Wait for black Friday you’ll probably find a good deal on one 👍

Doesn’t map that should say!! He is napping right now 😂

I got the Eufy 15 c max after seeing reviews on here. Absolutely love it. We've got 3 people with long hair, 2 dogs and 2 cats. Everyday I'm amazed at how much it picks up.

Think it's kind of cute without mapping. It just sort of bumbles about merrily. Thinking of getting one for upstairs as well.

I got the Eufy 30C Max a year ago. I keep it downstairs but have been using it all over the house. Love it so much and have just bought a 15C Max for upstairs.
The difference between the two is the 30 comes with boundary strips but we don't need them for our house.