What am I looking for in a robot vacuum cleaner

[user1471526265]

Hi. I'm planning to get a robot vacuum cleaner soon - hopefully pick up a decent bargain in the black Friday deals. I just don't know exactly what I am looking for.

I want one that you can set a plot of where you want vacuuming so it's not just going around in circles, missing dirty spots, or getting caught up in things (dogs and cat bowls especially) . I'd prefer not to have to use any strips to close off areas.

Can this be got in a robot vacuum cleaner? Preferably in one on the cheaper side (under 300-ish). And if so, what terminology am I to look for in the descriptions?

Also, if anyone has any recommendations, that would be great.

Thanks.

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https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B5L2SN16?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

This is the one I ordered this year. I use it for the kitchen/diner, both hallways and the downstairs bathroom ( Ive two hallways downstair ) , mixture of tiles and vinyl. I have an ever shedding pug and cat - it does a great job

It self maps

the rooms I dont want it in I just close the doors

I do lift the dog bowl up and I put the chairs up on the table - it can get around them but it bangs against them so for me its no bother to lift them. Does the whole area in about an hour ( big house ) . I set it to go when we finished dinner, dishwasher loaded. You control it via an app and can set times . I just find for our life, setting it off after dinner works best for us

For the price, its good

Wow, that looks seriously cheap at the moment. Can you choose the rooms to do? I think I would like say the kitchen done every day, but some of the other rooms would only be every other day. House is a dormer bungalow with some bedrooms downstairs with hard floors (& huge rugs to be fair). I could just close the doors admittedly, but there's always someone leaving doors open, & my dog can open some of doors too!

Possibly, probably , tbh Im not sure

I live in a dormer as well. My problem is Mother who's old and miserable, as her bedroom, sitting room and bathroom downstairs , and I have to work around her so I just shut her bedroom door and she can cope with her living room door shut for an hour after dinner - she has extension leads for her chair, lamp and IT so I dont let it in there , plus she gives off at the noise. Its not hugely noisy , less then a vacuum but can be bumping for a while till it works its way by

For £99 , ( I think it gets cheaper ) its worth just setting it manually whilst we are home , well it suits us

It really has made a HUGE difference on how much pet hair we cart about us.

I also bring it upstairs now and again where we are carpeted and let it loose under the beds ( which are too heavy to shift ) and furniture where the normal vacuum doesn't reach. On carpet Id say its and ok job, if used daily it would be a good job.

Its not the best, it has its limitations , but for less then £100, it does do a good vacuum ( brushes are long and get right into corners and because it maps it doesn't miss anywhere ) but I cant advise on programming because thats just too much for my brain :)

Thanks for that. Definitely worth a watch anyway.

Your basic one - does the room in a uniform pattern. Mine would auto or edge mode. These are fine if you have a big self contained space - as my big kitchen diner livingroom is. Can't avoid anything but will avoid hazards

Mapping - it maps the room layout and you can set to different areas. There are different kinds of mapping so you need to read the features. This guide is helpful https://www.eufy.com/blogs/robovac/how-do-robot-vacuum-maps

Forget about the mpo - unless you get an expensive machine they are not worth using.

I'm looking to upgrade and looking at the Eufy x8pro.

Thanks for the. Very interesting article. I think the better ones look beyond my price range y, but the eufy L60 may have what you I need. Off to do a bit more research.......

I have 2, the first one is a very basic one which just bounces around from wall to wall. It lives upstairs and often gets lost.
My newer one is eufy L60ses. The ses means it self empties, and cuts hair off the roller after each run. As I'm disabled this is so useful.
I have cats and their litter is no problem, the filters need cleaning every now and again. I can set it to do specific rooms and no go areas around my husbands computer desk which always has lots of wires.
I wouldn't be without one now, the manual states that you should still use a regular vacuum cleaner occasionally, Haa, never used it since.

It's hit and miss in my experience. We had an excellent Debot one that had a remote you could direct it with, as well as it mapping the floor itself. It picked up well, too well in fact, it ran over puppy poop and had to be binned. We bought a replacement, supposedly an upgrade that also 'mops' the floor, which can be controlled via an app. It's not a patch on the previous one, the mapping is rubbish; it skips bits, the app doesn't allow you to direct it like the remote control did, and the pick up is terrible. Plus it needs emptied after one room as the collection container is tiny as most of the space is given over to the water container.

My advice would be think about what you want it to do and research very carefully. Be aware that reviews, particularly of expensive ones are often positive as people don't like to admit they wasted their money, but love to be seen to have the latest gadget, or the right brand.

Would you mind saying which one you currently have? I'm here for real life reviews, so good to know how they compare with the specs.

This one definitely seems promising. Currently 299 on amazon, so bang on budget.

Following this thread for ideas. We had an older Eufy but the storage capacity was tiny which ruined an otherwise good machine.

I have a eufy60. It pisses me off no end. We’ve just come back from holiday and because it’s not been used for a fortnight it’s deleted the maps off my app. It gets lost all the time, despite having good WiFi, the number of times it cannot find the base when it’s literally 2 inches in front of it is infuriating.

Oooh, that's a shame. It was on my shortlist.