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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

thinking of buying a Roomba

30 replies

Mrburnshound · 04/02/2025 14:58

I've seen budget roombas for about £150 that i want to use on my ground floor. It only has the kitchen and hallway (there's too much lego in the rest of the house to use it upstairs!) But my kitchen does get very crumby/lots of random dust.

I also have the worst textured tiles ever that trap every piece of dirt.

Would a roomba help with this? I know I would need to hoover still generally

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TheFlis · 04/02/2025 15:28

We have a Beko Robot hoover and it’s one of the best things I have ever bought!

Mrburnshound · 04/02/2025 19:06

Youve twisted my arm im going to get it 😉

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NeverDropYourMooncup · 04/02/2025 19:14

Didn't take much twisting really, did it?

Have you looked at the ones that mop as well? You might want to if you find the entry level robot is good...

Mrburnshound · 04/02/2025 23:08

Haha no!
Although im now looking at the eufy l60 vs the roomba combo essential (with mop).

Im 50/50 on the mop version as we have laminate in the hall and dont want it getting stuck and getting it too wet.

I think im leaning slightly towards the eufy

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Mrburnshound · 04/02/2025 23:10

I also have loads of hair so trying to see which is best for that!

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murasaki · 04/02/2025 23:14

I have a roomba, he's pretty good but does have a tendency to hide under beds. Or just stop for a strop and i have to go and find him. Worth it though, I got an earlier model for about 150 and we've since bought a new set of brushes but that wasn't much, 20 or so. He's more a midweek top up than a proper clean.

JillyBoel22 · 04/02/2025 23:19

We have had a Eufy robot vacuum and have recently upgraded to the version with the mop and vacuum. Both have been brilliant, if they get stuck they do let you know with a beep/phone notification and usually an easy fix like removing something from the brushes. Our new one empties itself whereas our original budget version needed emptying manually. I suppose the only other consideration is whether you want a model in which you are able to map the area that it covers/the 'route' it takes - our original budget version didn't have this feature so it just went wherever it wanted and tended to get stuck more than our new one. Eufy is a great brand overall in my experience as we have some other of their products. Hope this helps!

samarrange · 04/02/2025 23:22

We have had a low-end Roomba for about 4 years, in a flat with no carpets and no pets. It's brilliant. The ordinary hoover has been banished to the shed and we just have a handheld baby Shark (doo doo doo-doo doo-doo) for corners and ceiling edges.

It is meant to take itself back to the charging station at the end of every run. In practice it does this about two times out of three. So we get home and say "Did Rodney make it back?", and if he didn't, we have to look for him. Note that it is mandatory to give it a name, preferably slightly silly and beginning with R, otherwise the guarantee doesn't apply. 😉

After about a year it died, very suddenly. We called the service centre and after they gave us a couple of checks to do to make sure it wasn't jus tthe battery, they sent a "new" (reconditioned) one of the same series, if not quite the same "710-8xx-14/B" model designation. About a year ago the battery started to have problems charging and we replaced it with a compatible one that cost about £25 and seems stronger than the original.

For our 900 sq.ft flat if we run it three days in a row it will fill its bin 100% on Monday, 80% on Tuesday, and 30% on Wednesday. At that point we assume it has visited most of the floor area. The biggest problem is forgetting to put it on (we are retired, so don't go out and leave the place empty all day every day). Also we have to remember to pick up the bathroom scales because otherwise it humps them and can get stuck.

It seems to work best if you don't sit and watch it. Not really, of course, but sometimes it visits one spot more often than it needs to, a bit like how a random playlist might give you the same tune more often than seems "random". So just let it run, come home, empty the dust, and run it again tomorrow.

murasaki · 04/02/2025 23:29

Ha at Rodney, ours is Jeddy, as in J Edgar Hoover.

murasaki · 04/02/2025 23:31

Oh yes, Jeddy is not good at going back to the docking station. He's a bit of a twat, all told, but I am fond of him. I should stop anthropomorphising household appliances. He annoys the cats, which I find funny.

LittleOwl153 · 04/02/2025 23:33

Roomba fan here... Eufy just doesn't work as well (of the few we've had!

I have a wet and dry... the mop part is really just a damp cloth level so your laminate will be fine. You don't leave the water in the hoover in most of them anyway.

Biggest issue on whether it's worth it is how clear are your floors. Kitchen and hallway here are a dream for it. Lounge/diner I have to move occasional tables dining chairs etc as it can't cope - well it can but it isn't very effective! It's a hassle - but probably worth it.

Bedrooms it hasn't got the hang of as there isn't much space around the beds...

But get one they are fab!

GammonAndEgg · 04/02/2025 23:34

I have a Eufy. I love him like a child. He has googly eyes stuck on him. I congratulated him out loud yesterday when I found him hoovering the kitchen in the pitch dark - sometimes I forget he’s inanimate because he’s real to me.

murasaki · 04/02/2025 23:35

Oh yes, don't leave cables from phone chargers etc on the floor, you need to do an initial clear or it will eat them.

TicTac80 · 04/02/2025 23:39

I’ve got a Eufy (which does the mopping too, it has the spinny mops). Amazing bit of kit, I program it to do twice a day mopping and vacuuming downstairs, and once a day for upstairs (I have two kids and four cats). I’ve got wooden floors with the odd rug. Eufy has never skipped a beat, and I wouldn’t be without it. I highly recommend them!

ToSecretGardensInMyMind · 05/02/2025 00:08

GammonAndEgg · 04/02/2025 23:34

I have a Eufy. I love him like a child. He has googly eyes stuck on him. I congratulated him out loud yesterday when I found him hoovering the kitchen in the pitch dark - sometimes I forget he’s inanimate because he’s real to me.

exactly this!

Mrburnshound · 05/02/2025 15:52

Oh wow thank you all! Lots to mull over.

The roomba model i was looking at has no mapping so i have discounted that option

Im now leaning towards the roborock q5 pro, the eufyl60 is currently in 2nd position, self emptying is unimportant to me i think but mapping is as i have 2 sets of stairs

My 1st and second floors are untidy but the ground floor is mostly toy free @LittleOwl153 i mostly want one for all the kitchen crumbs and dry mud that's been tracked in

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StuntNun · 05/02/2025 15:58

If there's a lot of hair, choose a model that automatically cuts the hair off the roller brush. My old one didn't and I was constantly having to clear the brush.

MauvePurple · 05/02/2025 16:01

Do you have pets? My Roomba found a cat poo that had escaped the litter tray today. I'm not a fan at the moment. I might recover when the new wheels turn up.

murasaki · 05/02/2025 16:11

MauvePurple · 05/02/2025 16:01

Do you have pets? My Roomba found a cat poo that had escaped the litter tray today. I'm not a fan at the moment. I might recover when the new wheels turn up.

Oh god, a nightmare.

Re mapping, mine doesn't, I don't think, but has a cliff sensor so doesn't fall down the stairs.

Mrburnshound · 05/02/2025 16:27

Oh no! I dont have pets but do have a lot of hair!

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AgathaX · 05/02/2025 16:51

We have the Eufy that mops too. It's wonderful and surprisingly effective. I just wish it would get right into the edges instead of leaving a small gap.

LittleOwl153 · 05/02/2025 22:00

Not sure you would need the mapping function from what you describe. Map only works when the robot runs from it's docking base so if you dock it downstairs you'd have to move the base upstairs each time and put it in the same spot to use maps there. (Even the most basic robot won't fall down the stairs). Maps are useful when you have lots of spaces - doesn't have to be complete rooms - on the same level and you can tell it to do some bits not others - so for example, the lounge end but not the dining end of a lounge diner. So I guess it might be useful if you want to mop the kitchen but not the hall... but you might need to switch bins to mop or not depending on the model...

Mrburnshound · 05/02/2025 22:50

Im torn between the eufy l60 and the roborock q5

I would actually like the top floor done but run the vacuum from the bathroom then just straight into the ensuite so i would use the mapping up there

Im now thinking the mop functionality would be more useful than i first thought

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ToSecretGardensInMyMind · 05/02/2025 23:33

StuntNun · 05/02/2025 15:58

If there's a lot of hair, choose a model that automatically cuts the hair off the roller brush. My old one didn't and I was constantly having to clear the brush.

I didn't know this feature existed and now I need a new robot immediately!

Mrburnshound · 06/02/2025 11:40

Ok.....

I think* my final decision us a eufy x8. Does anyone have this?

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