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've currently got a non-mapping Eufy 30C. It's pretty stupid for a smart appliance but it does the job. Sometimes it gets obsessed with a spot and keeps coming back to the same place over and over again but I just let it bumble about on auto every day so if it misses a bit one day, it gets it another day. Once a week, I set it to single room mode so it spends 30 mins on each room. You can control it by the app or remote control if you want it to clean a particular area or set it to spot clean eg for a spill.

It's fine on hard floors and medium pile carpet (what I have). It copes okay with our long hair but you will have to detangle the brushes every few weeks.

I had an all singing and dancing, mapping Roomba before. It was maybe 5-10% better.

I am totally in love with my robot mop though. I think Eufy make a hoover/mop combo now.

I too am hoping to purchase a robot hoover on black friday and am trying to get my head around all the features.
This thread is so useful.

Can I ask 2 questions?

1. What do the boundary strip look like in situ? Are they clear and therefore don't impact the look of the place, or are they visible?

2)Will it push through the fabric skirt around my sofa or see it as an obstacle?

Mapping or not mapping? I can’t quite work out if makes enough of a difference for the extra cost.

The boundary strips are magnetic sticky tape. Mine are black. You can peel them off between cleans if you don't like the look but they will eventually lose their stickiness. I only really need them under furniture where there are electrical leads for lamps etc so they are out of sight.

I prefer the tape to the infrared boundary thingamajigs we had for the Roomba as you can define a much smaller space. However, that was a while ago so they might be better now.

It won't go under the fabric skirt on your sofa unless there is a gap. Mine goes under the clothes horse when there is only a few cm gap and knocks everything off if I forget to move it out of the way

I think mapping depends on the size of your rooms, how many obstacles there are, and whether you want it clean multiple rooms in one go unsupervised. I've had both.

It's useful in a big house if it needs to go back and recharge mid clean and then return to where it left off. I'm not sure all mapping hoovers have that facility though. In a small space with few obstacles (that make it turn), random movement will probably be enough that it doesn't miss any spots because it is spending more time in a smaller area IYSWIM or, if it does miss a bit, it will get it the next day.

We have the 15c Max too. He's a hero. We have a dog and cats and it picks up so much hair and general crap. He bimbles around every evening at the same time and I very rarely have to get the proper hoover out, only for some awkward spaces. Ours doesn't map but never had issues - he gets everywhere if you just leave him to it.

Our docking station is under coffee table so he just disappears off under there when he's had enough!

I bought a Eufy 30c a couple of weeks ago. Down to £160 on Amazon

It’s so good I bought one for upstairs too 3 days later…

I bought a Roborock which rates well against a Roomba. I love it as it mops and hoovers. I use it in between days when my cleaner comes so my floor is never particularly dirty and I think it does an excellent job. I’m pretty obsessed with watching it work while I lounge on the sofa with a cup of tea!

I thought I’d need the magnetic strips for things like pet water bowls. Nope. Haven’t ended up using it.

With an Eufy I think whether it goes under the fabric skirt will depend on the angle of approach.
If it goes towards it straight on it will sense it and change direction just before it reaches it, but sometimes it might go towards it from an angle and then would rely on the bump sensor, but with the fabric might just push through rather get bumped away.
I've got a curtain in an archway between the kitchen and conservatory and mostly it is deterred by it, but sometimes goes through.

Including one memorable occasion when the puppy had done a poo in the conservatory and no one had realised.
🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢

@BigSigh2021 .. Eufys currently reduced on Amazon … my model is £139, I paid £159, normally £219)

www.amazon.co.uk/Eufy-Upgraded-Super-Thin-Self-Charging-Medium-Pile/dp/B07DDDB34D?smid=A2PGPJL0BBLHLX&ref_=Oct_DLandingS_D_4d5aef87_61&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I had a Roomba for a while. It was... OK. It did a decent in-between job, I would say. I didn't find it hugely labour-saving, in all honesty.

It was very diva-ish and would get stuck all over the place. And it kept freaking out over imaginary 'cliffs' and refuse to do any work.

It stopped working entirely when we moved house and got new wifi. They don't connect to mesh wifi (mine wouldn't, anyway). So if you have that kind of system it would be worth checking it's compatible.

I ended up freecycling it and have replaced it with a normal vacuum and a rubber broom. I wouldn't buy another one.

I like mine. I have a dark rug and it looks so much better with the daily Eufyficate! (Yes, that's definitely that verb. )

The only problem I've had is it's out of warranty, and has started being noisier on hard floors. What's happened is that the pin that holds the roller in has worn away a bit, so on hard floors the roller drops a bit. I've effected a fix with a thin rubber band and some electrical tape, which seems to have sorted it for the moment.

We have a rug with tassles, would a Eufy just eat that?

@FolornLawn

We have a rug with tassles, would a Eufy just eat that?

We have two rugs with tassles. On one the tassles are about 1cm long and it's absolutely fine. On the other they're more like 4cm and it does get stuck on them.

Eufy 11s max - I think? Absolutely love it. Keeps on top of the dog hair, fine on hard floors and carpet. Doesn't fall down the stairs. I paid about £150 from them direct - they always have special offers. Best hoover I've ever had.😊

We have the eufy.
I think it’s really good for the price ( also a prime purchase a year or so ago).

It’s quiet enough. Ours is set to come on at 6.45am so it just hoovers whilst we are in bed or upstairs getting ready. Don’t watch it as it’s annoying if it misses a crumb the first time around.

F
And will read thread a bit later.

Is it worth splashing out on one that mops too?

I don’t think the mop one is as convenient as you have to add fresh water and detergent and then empty each time. So can’t just schedule it to come on when you aren’t there

We have an Eufy 15c. I had the same worries and posted on here and needn't have worried. I bloody love him. He's called Simon.

We have a large open plan area and complicated rooms and he pootles around daily. He makes it to most areas every day. I don't think mapping would help to be honest.

You do have to ensure all little bits that he can eat or get tangled in are off the floor (his favourites are secret socks, headphone cables and phone chargers). He likes to push flip flops and slippers round the house and hides them under furniture or humps them and then sends me a text to say he's stuck.

Drop sensor is great. He fits under the bed and one sofa and finds his way out eventually. If he can get in he can get out. Like a cat. He has shit the door on himself in the bathroom and has broken into the office while I've been on Teams calls but other that the humping and the trespassing he's gorgeous.

Easy transition from tile, to wood to carpet.

It's only two of us in the house and no pets and his little dust box is full everyday! No idea where he finds it!!

Hi,

I've got two roombas that I've had for ten years and they're still going strong. I've had to replace the batteries twice but that's all. They're wonderful and an absolute godsend. Can't recommend them highly enough.

We have the Eufy 35c, which we love - the only problem is that it seems to hate sunlight. If I set it to go in the afternoon when the sun is in our lounge, it can't seem to handle the light/shade and goes a bit crazy.

We have an iRobot. It's a few years old now - about 5or 6 years old. Have changed the brushes fully once, and the filters more.

Still works perfectly well - annoyingly, as I want to upgrade to a wet and dry one but dh is reluctant to get rid of a perfectly decent working vacuum!

Which one do you have, and what are the pros and cons?

IRobot Rooma]ba

Suction?

Works perfectly well\

Effectiveness with pet hair?

No pets but deals with mine and DD's long hair. We clear the rollers of hair every so often.

Different surfaces?

Have laminate, vinyl and carpet - all work well

How thorough is it?

At least as thorough as I ever was with a normal vacuum!
Under the bed and sofa are now done far far more often.

How noisy is it?

Not bad, but we aren't usually in the same room

Does the charge last long enough?

For at least a full floor if not two

Does it always manage to return to its charger before conking out?
Yes, unless it knocks a door shut to prevent it or gets stuck under the coffee table - very annoyingly just the wrong height but got the table before the robot.

@PurePeppermint

We have the Eufy 35c, which we love - the only problem is that it seems to hate sunlight. If I set it to go in the afternoon when the sun is in our lounge, it can't seem to handle the light/shade and goes a bit crazy.

Ours does the same! A shaft of light sends him loopy. I found him juddering in the corner of the bedroom after he'd gone in there in the shade and then tried to retreat and was boxed in by wall one side and shaft of sun on the other. I had to alter his routine to the afternoon when the sun isn't coming directly in. Someone on here told me it was his drop sensors. Dark to light is one way they spot it.

Dh bought me the eufy 30G by mistake when I wanted the 30C. But I love it, it's cool.