Robotic vacuums? Anyone?

[jo]

So little posts on these useful and convenient machines. My Sister has a roomba…it’s very loud and annoying to me…my Brother has a different brand of robotic vacuum and it is smooth and quiet like a Miele canister. I think I’d be open to getting one provided it’s not loud like the roomba but I do like to manually vacuum at times but not all the time.

Anyone have one they like?

 

[fan-of-fans]

I don't have one, but one of my friends has one that they have run a few times a week. They have a cat and dog and says it helps with the pet hair.

It was running when I was there a while back. They "told" it turn off via an app and it backed up to this docking station and a loud vacuum started up and sucked up the dust from the rover itself I guess?

The Roomba rover part itself was pretty quiet but the docking station was pretty loud. It only ran for a few seconds though.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I forgot to mention they have all concrete floors (and maybe a few rugs) so deep cleaning isn't an issue for their house.

 

[huskyvacs]

I have a stack of Roombas I bought to play with since they mesh with my hobby of R/C cars, but no I'd never use one in my house.

 

[fanofvacuums2]

I was super interested in the LG CordZero R9 until I saw the price. The same thing goes for the Dyson robotic vacuum cleaners. I would only ever buy one because I think the technology is cool and not necessarily because I have a use for one, but they are too expensive to warrant a novelty purchase. I am just crossing my fingers and hoping to find one second-hand for a reasonable price.

 

[blackheart]

I've had some

very limited experience with them here. If you had hard floors they'd be fine, but on carpet they're certainly not a vacuum replacement they're really more of a surface cleaner but great for maintaining the appearance of clean.

Roomba 600 series. This was the first one I used I wasn't terribly impressed with it as this still used that random bump navigation it was rather funny to watch the cat interact with it the first few times.

Neato Botvac D80 This replaced the roomba It was much better navigation wise as it would do a perimeter and then start at one end of what it thought was a room working back and forth till the space was complete. The only gripe with it was it was difficult to keep it away from things as I lacked the magnetic stripping used to signal them to keep out.

Neato D3: Found this on martketplace. It lacks a side brush but the app controls are a lovely feature with them I can draw no go lines on the app to keep it away from the cat's water dish and such.

 

[compuvac]

I have a cheapo robot vac that has no brushroll and only a squeegee and it works pretty well on hard floors.

It's not as loud as a normal vacuum but it's not as pleasant sounding as a normal vacuum either.

Unlike more high-end robot vacuums it doesn't have a lidar so it's navigation is really poor. It also doesn't have those invisible wall things that prevent it from going into certain places.

Mine likes to go in the showers and then the bin gets all moist and it's a pain in the *** to clean it afterwards.

I much prefer just using my normal vacuums than having to babysit a dumb robot vacuum.

My experience would have been better if it were a high-end robot vacuum but I still prefer using a normal vacuum either way. Although my normie friends think otherwise.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I bought a NIB Hoover

robot, just to have it.
I'd imagine cat 'spit up' might prove to be nasty.

 

[parunner58]

John there were a few YouTube videos about worse than cat vomit being spread throughout the house when the roomba did its thing. After watching them, if your not home and have pet don't have it run by itself. Pet accidents happen.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

indeed

The NIB Hoover will stay that way. With 400+ vacuums, I think I'm ok. lol

 

[dysonman1]

There should be a non-robot mode and a hose with attachments so the robot vacuum would actually be useful as a vacuum and not just a floor sweeper.

 

[huskyvacs]

Maybe a clip-on handle to convert it into a self propelled stick vac at least?

 

[tolivac]

Not only cat barf-the robot vacuums can spread dog poop around,too!A Rumba was brought to the vac shop here some time ago-It spread the poop around-and the owner "executed" it for the crime with his shotgun.And he asked if it could be fixed-vac shop said NO!!Too badly blown up!

 

[geor2]

I recommend Thamtu G11

I have a Thamtu G11 robot vacuum cleaner. Its cleaning ability is not bad and it is not very expensive. I think it’s cool~ If you have hard floors, they will perform well.









https://thamtus.com/products/thamtu-g11-robot-vacuum-cleaner

 

[mieles5380leo]

I’ve had some experience with robot vacuums specifically iRobot Roomba’s. My first was an iRobot Roomba 440 and it was decent and basic because at the time it had a fair amount of technology and features. The next was an iRobot Roomba 530. That was a really great machine it just bounced off of the furniture really hard and I was concerned it would damage some of the wood furniture. After those two I ended up with a Neato XV Signature Pro. Neatos we’re fairly new to the market then and had some really sophisticated technology. It was awesome, for about a year. It lost its marbles after that. I still have it packed away, it no longer functions. I then got another iRobot Roomba this time a 790. I still use it to this day and have had it nearly five years. It is truly exceptional and I’ve only had to replace the battery on it just recently. A couple of years ago I added to the 790 an iRobot Roomba 801 that I use occasionally as well in the bedrooms of the house. The Roomba’s really shine for me because I have guinea pigs and they kick out bedding and hay sometimes and the Roomba scoops it all up and gets beneath the cage and all. That’s all I need it for is surface pick up on the carpet. That’s what they’re good for right? I still vacuum with the main vacuum from time to time. It does really great with gay though because of the two counter rotating brushes and the big gaping opening in the bin that they throw all of the dirt into. The 790 is better at big pickup though because the opening is much larger on the bing and brush area than the 801 which I believe is supposed to be more concentrated for improved suction. The 790 cleans better I feel. It is louder, yes, but it came with the really nice accessory case with tons of replenishment items including the wireless command center. I am also one of the only ones who is given robot vacuums at my job to repair because the other technicians get confused with them.

 

[kansasking]

I like robots in certain situations.

Robots aren't going to replace a corded or even cordless vacuum. They are surface level cleaners but they serve their purpose very well depending on the circumstances. The robots are pretty good these days and many even avoid pet droppings and other things that could smear around a house. Overall, if you keep you're floor relatively clutter free, robots can really reduce the amount of time you need to spend vacuuming and they can keep a house much cleaner. I'm always amazed at how much my relatively cheap ilife robot picks up off my hard floors even if I run it every day. Robots are less successful on carpet but if you run a robot multiple times a week, you certainly don't need to go over with a full-powered vacuum as often. The Roomba's dual brush roll is effective on cleaning carpets and if I had a lot of carpet, I would own one.

Are robots the sole future of floor cleaning? I doubt it but with battery and motor technology improving so much, it wouldn't surprise me if they replace the vacuum in many households for better or worse. With whole home carpeting becoming less and less favorable, I could see some "less modern" companies biting the dust. Notably, Kirby, Rainbow, etc. If a company like Kirby doesn't innovate, I don't see people continuing to buy their expensive and inconvenient vacuum. I have two Kirby's that I refurbished for under $100 total. They are great carpet vacuums but they are heavy and inconvenient to use. With the current state of robot vacuums, I could see a lot of people dropping $$$ on a decent robot and then buying a cheap Bissel or having a cordless vac on the side and nothing more.

 

[luxlife]

I’m a proud robot owner of a Neato D7!

My life is complicated and I don’t have time to drag out a vacuum every single day or “geek out” and spend an hour in each room of my house using every single tool that comes with my Miele Capricorn. I save that for the weekend, but letting the Neato run every day is a tremendous help, even if it’s only an autonomous dustbuster.

 

[tekjunkie28]

I got one as a gift this Christmas. It's a iLife v3 pro I think. It has no roller brush just 2 spinning sweepers. I have never wanted one but after having this I'd say I would never not have one. For as cheap as this thing it I wasn't expecting much. It cleans very well as an everyday cleaner on hard floors. It's useless on carpets but it's great if you have a lot of hard floors and pets. None of them will replace deep cleaning but they do well on hardwoods and I expect them with brush rolls to do well on carpets. I just hope they will last a few years. That being said if you don't have pets I don't see much reason in getting one as you won't have near as much dirt as I do.

Cleaning hard floors 8-9/10
Cleaning carpet 0/10
Longevity TBA
Smarts 6/10
These are my ratings for the iLife v3 pro. I'm not sure I would want a smarter one bc I'd rather they just go over the same area until battery runs out. If it had more air flow and the air flow exited upwards then maybe a smarter one would be better.

I have never wanted one but mainly that was bc of cost. It will NOT replace regular vacuuming though. It has cut down on my urge to vacuum the kitchen and dining room.

 

[ocscott3085]

Robot vacuum

I have the Roomba i7+ that empties itself after cleaning. Much like my Dyson V11 cordless, I know it is not a replacement for an actual vacuum but it has its place in my house. I keep it on the main floor of my house that's all hardwood flooring with area rugs. It does a great job keeping the floors dirt and dog hair free in between regular cleanings with our central vac or Miele Marin. It cleans in a methodical manner (unlike older Roombas) and you can block off rooms, tell it to clean certain rooms, schedule, etc. It has an app but I normally just tell Alexa what zones I want cleaned and off she goes. The bags last a good amount of time and they get packed with hair/dirt much like the Miele bags. I will say that I won't run it when the dog is home alone after an accident from a few years ago. My old dog had vomitted and I had my Neato going. It was a mess.
Basically, if you have a busy household and understand the limitations, I'd go for the Roomba i7+. The self-emptying feature has been such a game changer leaving it virtually maintenance free.