Are robot vacuums any good?

[londongirl12]

I really want a robot vacuum. My DS8 is like a crumb making machine wherever he goes, even if he’s not eating!! Are they really any good? Can I get one that travels from room to room? Or am I expecting too much from AI yet? 🤣 I’m on the look out for anything now that just makes life easier!

I love mine. I just open all the doors.on that floor and let it go. But you do have to keep the place tidy otherwise it cant do its stuff. And don t let it fall down the stairs. I also do a vac with the upright to get in all the corners.

Yes love ours, it also has a mop. We have mainly hard floors all downstairs & 4 pets so lots of pet hair & dust. It’s a lifesaver. We still have a cleaner once a week & I’ll go over corners & places the robot can’t reach once a week but it keeps on top of the general day to day mess.

Mine’s a bit of a twat - he keeps going into the same corner and getting stuck. Quite good on the hard kitchen floor, doesn’t leave scuff marks - I just need to supervise and yank him out the corner every few mins

I haven’t found mine great. It gets stuck regularly and I’m not good at keeping the floor clear.

also my cats hate it.

@op may I hijack your thread?

Do the robots have trouble getting on and off thick rugs?

I like mine! The first time, you just leave the internal doors open, let it go and it makes a map of your house. Then it knows where it's supposed to clean forevermore (except for occasionally after updates).

The only downsides is that, because robot vacuums are round, they're not brilliant at doing corners. Also, if you have dogs that like to shed everywhere, they block up the roller bar underneath (even if you use it every day!). I now have one for upstairs and one for downstairs. They're brilliant when you remember to put them on every day... especially if they also have a mopping function!

I love mine and he's old now, at least 5 years old. Yes, I need to go round and clear the floor and I put the dining chairs onto the table so he can properly get under there. The only place I find the corners an issue is the kitchen, so just sweep the debris out into the room a bit before the vacuum goes. Doing this literally takes less than 5 minutes, and then the job is done as robovac will go round for the hour. Does sometimes get stuck but I know it's likely spots now. Mine came with some magnetic strips if you want to keep it out of certain areas e.g he always gets stuck under the floating toilet so I have one under there. Mine isn't the map the room type, it's random, but over the full cycle it does do the full space. You do need to vacuum more frequently than with a regular vacuum but I put him going while I WFH or doing other jobs and it's great getting two things done at once. I get new sweepers, roller brush and filter about every 18 months to keep it working well. Mine is Eufy brand.

This made me chuckle. I love it that we call them “he” 😂

Oooh yes this is what I want, one with a mop as I’m really lazy in moping our floors.
luckily we have laminate all downstairs. Would you recommend your brand?

I read something (probably on MN) about one of these robo vacs that ran over a dog poo and spread it all over the lounge.

Poor little vac, bimbling around, thinking it was doing a super job, while leaving a trail of devastation behind it.

I still want one.
I don't have a dog.

Me neither. The worst mine would be at risk of sucking up is Lego 🙄.

Eufy x10 omni pro I think it’s called.

mine can identify objects & goes around them. It even says what objects they are on the app.

Oooh that’s clever!! There’s so much choice I don’t know what one to go for.

Get one that has a self emptying station then you can let it do it's thing on a schedule all week without it asking to be emptied.

Love mine. I have a Eufy and it bumbles around every morning and keeps on top of the dog hair.

I’ve also heard the dog poo story so I don’t let it start until I’ve been downstairs and checked the dog hasn’t pooed over night.

Yes.
All robots are good.
They are always right and don't make errors
All robots are good.
They are always right and they
All robos are good
make errord

I bought one a few weeks ago, and I love it. I bought a cheap one from amazon to start with as I wasn't sure if it would work well.

It's brilliant and saves so much time. The mop isn't great, but ok for a quick wipe if you're desperate. It maps and the app is great. It doesn't get stuck. I just have to remember to empty it. I have a Lefant M1.

My friend has had a few and she’s now onto this one https://amzn.eu/d/00yU5vG that she’s says is the best she’s ever had. It memorises its route around the house rather than by bumping into objects, plus the brushes underneath are rubber not bristles, so it’s dead easy to clean. Mops and self empties too.

Mine wasn’t cheap - I actually asked my DP for it as my present for last Xmas, and he said I’m not buying you a hoover for Xmas! I said no honestly this will be the best present ever! And it genuinely has been! He did get some vouchers off work to make it a bit cheaper but I’m impressed. It identifies wires, trainers, dog bowls etc.

They are great. I think if you do a big Hoover and then set him off every day on a timer he’ll keep it reasonably clean so the big hoovers don’t have to happen as often.

Main cons are having to tidy up for him (he will ingest anything on the floor) so cables, slippers, socks, toys all have to cleared away or you will find him humping them or choking on them. I often get panicked texts from ours while I’m at work saying ‘I am stuck’ and then have to do a search and rescue operation when home to extricate him from under a bed or he’s ingested half a rug and has to be untangled.

He also got lost one day in the summer when we had all the doors open and I found him earnestly hoovering the garden.

The dog also hates him and he has bite marks all over him and he lost a brush to the dog but he soldiers on regardless. Also his dust box is too small so needs emptying everyday

we love him.

Ours is Eufy too. Random rather than a mapper. We originally call him Oofy.

Cackling with laughter at this....

If you knew someone with a Which? subscription they could look up their recommended models. Which would look something like this…

Love this post 😂