So, anyone got an iRobot Roomba or other robot vacuum cleaner?

Richdog said:
Get 2x robots, one for each floor if you have that kind of budget. That way there will be no faffing around. You can get 2x of these Xiaomi Mi Robots and they will do the job brilliantly. They have LIDAR and SLAM navigation and a great app to go with it. That's all you need. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Xiaomi-M...865553?hash=item1ceb9aa7d1:g:XF8AAOSwsChe2I2M

I will only ever buy Xiaomi as long as they continue making such amazing vacuum robots.
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Excellent recommendation there! these Xiaomi's are great i recommend them as well.

there's only one down side is that the first version isn't great for ultra thick modern light coloured carpets. Easiest way to test is... if you're carpet is really thick and say a light silver colour if you a shape into it or part the weave does it leave a dark spot?? what i find it this sets of the stair sensors which stops the hoover as it parts the carpet for cleaning. i believe that xiaomi fixed this on the v2 version or what roborock call an S5 but add ££ to the price.

anything medium weave or less just get a Xiaomi Mi Robot i picked a new one up for about 150 last year great value
 
jamief said:
I don't find it a big issue, carry it up when I'm going up, turn it on, done. I'd rather have one great robot vacuum rather than 2 not so good ones.
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I think something like an S5 Max would suit. If I get fed up taking it upstairs I'd by a cheaper one for that. Upstairs is substantially smaller, so I'd rather a better spec'd unit downstairs.
 
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I don't suppose anyone knows if the Samsung Jetbot 90 AI+ is coming to the UK? It was announced at CES with a H1 2021 release but looks like that date is referring to the US only.

I've been holding out for the perfect bot to upgrade from my Neato D7 and this looks to be it as it uses LIDAR and VSLAM, isn't round and based on the shape, the brushes are at the front of the machine.

I'm not a fan of round machines as if you have carpet they can't get up close to the skirting board as the brushes are between the wheels/a good .c 3 inches from the edge of the bot.
 
Mekrel said:
I don't suppose anyone knows if the Samsung Jetbot 90 AI+ is coming to the UK? It was announced at CES with a H1 2021 release but looks like that date is referring to the US only.

I've been holding out for the perfect bot to upgrade from my Neato D7 and this looks to be it as it uses LIDAR and VSLAM, isn't round and based on the shape, the brushes are at the front of the machine.

I'm not a fan of round machines as if you have carpet they can't get up close to the skirting board as the brushes are between the wheels/a good .c 3 inches from the edge of the bot.
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The Deebots have brushes on both sides of them, not just one and they sweep right into the skirting boards. Round machine do miss the very depth of a corner though, but only by a couple of cms. Also, most single brush machines have a brush on one side, not in the middle so they do get the skitrting boards
 
Mekrel said:
I don't suppose anyone knows if the Samsung Jetbot 90 AI+ is coming to the UK? It was announced at CES with a H1 2021 release but looks like that date is referring to the US only.

I've been holding out for the perfect bot to upgrade from my Neato D7 and this looks to be it as it uses LIDAR and VSLAM, isn't round and based on the shape, the brushes are at the front of the machine.

I'm not a fan of round machines as if you have carpet they can't get up close to the skirting board as the brushes are between the wheels/a good .c 3 inches from the edge of the bot.
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The problem with these robots that have the large stations to empty the bin is that you can see them. I have my Xiaomi under a cabinet, it is therefore invisible until it comes out to clean and it only needs emptying once per week which is easy to handle.
 
gailjon said:
The Deebots have brushes on both sides of them, not just one and they sweep right into the skirting boards. Round machine do miss the very depth of a corner though, but only by a couple of cms. Also, most single brush machines have a brush on one side, not in the middle so they do get the skitrting boards
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I'm talking about the main brush, not the side brush. The main brush on most round machines are between the wheels and the side brush isn't going to do anything for getting deep into the carpet near the skirting boards. The side brush is only useful for hard floor or perhaps agitation of carpet surfaces only.

Brush type and placement has the biggest impact on deep carpet cleaning, this has been confirmed by Vacuum Wars YT channel, the Roombas still come out on top for carpet cleaning because of the dual brush design even though their suction rates are usually lower than other brands.

Richdog said:
The problem with these robots that have the large stations to empty the bin is that you can see them. I have my Xiaomi under a cabinet, it is therefore invisible until it comes out to clean and it only needs emptying once per week which is easy to handle.
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My D7 lives under the TV media unit and it's nice that it's out of sight. I'm not too fussed about auto empty, but would put up with a large station if someone made a bot that was D shaped, with LIDAR, VSLAM and it's charging dock happened to be a large self emptying unit.

The D7 is such an annoying device because it ticks most of those boxes but I find the navigation algorithms to be poor vs say Xiaomi. What I'm finding is:

  • The bot will often get into a tight spot, then will back out of it whilst attempting a pointless turn which will result in the back of the bot climbing up the skirting. All it needed to do was reverse straight, turn on thr spot and edge forward during the turn if it detects possibility of the rear hitting the skirting board.
  • The D shape could be used more to an advantage. It'll often be following a wall and when it comes across a recess, it'll gradually decrease distance to the new boundry - leaving a triangle of space not touched. What it should do is hang a hard right to get the D shape right into the corner and then back out.
I know these machines require an element of sacrifice such as not getting the perfect coverage for an easier life, but I find especially on carpet, you will need a proper vacuum cleaner to do the edges and corners.

Perhaps it's a moot point as you're likely to keep a proper vacuum cleaner for stairs, car and/or vacuum storage bags but this is such an easy fix.
 
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I often get the S6 to do a room but I'll shut the door behind it so it can do behind the door. Once it's finished it goes back to the door, tells me it can't get to the dock and blocks the door from opening. So I have to tell it to go somewhere else. A bit annoying.

It does an ok job of the carpet but I still go round the edges with the hoover.

Two kids and a cat really put it through its paces but I'm still so impressed with it.
 
I've got a deebot 500 (i think thats the number) and it was brought on discount as a "maybe it will be great" and to be honest its made life so much easier. We don't have it on a schedule but it comes out most evenings after dinner and before we sit down for the evening and does a great job, wife loves it and talks to it like it understands her :)
The room has to be prepared a bit, there are a few things that cause it issues like a table that it likes to get stuck under and a cat mat it likes to chew on, oh and the kitchen bar stools that it likes to mount repeatedly until it has no idea which way its pointing but that given for its cost it does a great job and I think we will end up getting a second for upstairs but maybe spend more on the next one as its proved such a success.
 
I love my deebot T8 AIVI but I'm getting really tired of how long it is taking for them to release the accessories for it as they are all available in the USA / EU and could have imported them before brexit but they advised they would be out dec. No auto empty bin and no ozmo vibrating mop attachment.
 
Would anyone recommend a robot mop? Our downstairs flooring is mostly stone tiles, and I'd be interested in getting one just to help maintain the floor with the occasional more thorough mopping.

From reading and watching reviews on the iRobot range, they seem pretty hit and miss?
 
Our S6 mops (well it drags a wet cloth behind it, which stays moist thanks to a water tank). It's fine for a quick job but we find we still need to give the floor a proper mop once a month.
 
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Got a Braava jet to compliment the mop on the T8AIVI and its brilliant for how cheap it was on eBay. That picture above is why I went for one with object recognition ai :D
 
bloodiedathame said:
Our S6 mops (well it drags a wet cloth behind it, which stays moist thanks to a water tank). It's fine for a quick job but we find we still need to give the floor a proper mop once a month.
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There is no replacement for a steam mop and I never use the mop on my S6. A steam mop is essential imo for any home.
 
We've had a Roomba (model 605, I think) since 2016 and I absolutely hate the thing. Most of the time all it does is make a lot of noise, bang into the doors and get wedged under the furniture. If by some luck it hasn't wedged itself under the TV unit then it manages to clean the same part of the flooring over and over again whilst managing to avoid the vast majority of the floors. It'll also manage to move it's charging base around on the dining room floor to the extent that it can't dock itself.

I know it's an old model and I'm sure they're better now but I really hate the thing. My girlfriend really likes it, mostly because I get so annoyed with it doing a half arsed job that I end up getting the vacuum cleaner out and doing the hoovering myself. What I can do in < 10 minutes will take the Roomba all sodding day and it'll still have missed large areas of the kitchen floor.

I hate the thing so much that I'm tempted to chuck it out and be done with it. Safe to say we won't be getting a replacement.
 
the-evaluator said:
We've had a Roomba (model 605, I think) since 2016 and I absolutely hate the thing. Most of the time all it does is make a lot of noise, bang into the doors and get wedged under the furniture. If by some luck it hasn't wedged itself under the TV unit then it manages to clean the same part of the flooring over and over again whilst managing to avoid the vast majority of the floors. It'll also manage to move it's charging base around on the dining room floor to the extent that it can't dock itself.

I know it's an old model and I'm sure they're better now but I really hate the thing. My girlfriend really likes it, mostly because I get so annoyed with it doing a half arsed job that I end up getting the vacuum cleaner out and doing the hoovering myself. What I can do in < 10 minutes will take the Roomba all sodding day and it'll still have missed large areas of the kitchen floor.

I hate the thing so much that I'm tempted to chuck it out and be done with it. Safe to say we won't be getting a replacement.
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Haha! Get an S6; find true love.
 
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