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

413x · 20 Jul 2022 at 09:21

Vandle said:
, I didn't really think it would just go flying off. What I meant was I presume you train it where to go. Can it differentiate between 3 different places? Do I just let it loose and tell it with a n app which floor its on?

My one builds a new map each time. It's fine for our smallish 3 bed.
It runs in straight lines so is efficient.

Didn't get a laser one as they are all too tall to go under the sofa!

It hasn't fallen down the stairs. Apparently it can detect drops. But I also slipped a magnetic barrier strip under the carpet just to be sure!

R.O.S.S.I · 14 Oct 2022 at 06:48

Now that we've had an offer accepted on a house which has a fully open plan, tiled downstairs the prospect of a robot vac is now much more appealing and feasible!

What are the go to brands and models ATM? I've just had a look on Amazon and there are hundreds which is quite overwhelming.

Are the mop and vac combos any good? That's quite appealing too.

Richdog · 14 Oct 2022 at 06:52

R.O.S.S.I said:
Now that we've had an offer accepted on a house which has a fully open plan, tiled downstairs the prospect of a robot vac is now much more appealing and feasible!

What are the go to brands and models ATM? I've just had a look on Amazon and there are hundreds which is quite overwhelming.

Are the mop and vac combos any good? That's quite appealing too.

Read the last few pages of the thread and make a note of the models talked ab out and then do a little research for reviews and see which takes your fancy.

Charlie Bravo · 14 Oct 2022 at 23:20

My Xiaomi Roidmi Eve Plus still works a treat. The mopping function isn't up to much but I didn't purchase it for that.

Sucking itself off also saves me a bit of work and enables me to achieve great heights of laziness.

bensonchi · 20 Oct 2022 at 09:09

currently I have a Deebot omni X1 and it is keeping our kitchen and living room clean, I only have to change out the dirty water once a week and add fresh water. I also had a chance to play with

Trifo Maxwell
Eufy LR30 hybrid+
Trifo Lucy
Bagotte BG700
Honiture Q6
Honiture G20

and a few more in between, most do what they say on the tin and added feature like CCTV, self emptying, room mapping will add cost.

Robot is great for daily clean to maintain a certain level of standard, it will work in the background and without rest if you want it to. The more expensive it is the more consistent the cleaning will be and less down time (stuck). Vacuum function is really mature tech for robots right now and I dare say it work better than most human given it can do it daily without fail where we will need to have the time and effort to keep up. Human is needed for the cleaning off spills and big mess, where a mop is needed to soak up excess puddle or caked in sauce etc. I also have a robot lawn mower which I bought 2nd hand a couple of years back and it has been life changing, it does not cut to the edge and often stuck at holes where the fox dug out but what it can do is again working in the background and keeping the grass low enough so when weekend comes and the stars, sun and moon align to give us dry weather I can go around to use a trimmer and finish off the edges. Without it I would have missed cutting the grass for months when every weekend is either wet or had family/kids plans.

gailjon · 22 Oct 2022 at 14:13

Charlie Bravo said:
Sucking itself off also saves me a bit of work and enables me to achieve great heights of laziness.

Hmm. Is this what you meant to say?

gpuerrilla · 22 Oct 2022 at 14:18

It is quite a brave statement to make.

Charlie Bravo · 22 Oct 2022 at 14:26

gailjon said:
Hmm. Is this what you meant to say?

Lol yeah. I just replaced out with off with regards to the main unit emptying the vacuum itself.

gailjon · 22 Oct 2022 at 20:27

Charlie Bravo said:
Lol yeah. I just replaced out with off with regards to the main unit emptying the vacuum itself.

Phew, that answers a question that should never be asked.

father-ted · 8 Nov 2022 at 17:32

I would say it depends on your house and furniture set up.
The time it takes to move chairs around the kitchen table etc that the robot gets stuck on, loses the shine for me......just as quick to do it yourself lol

bensonchi · 8 Nov 2022 at 21:18

father-ted said:
I would say it depends on your house and furniture set up.
The time it takes to move chairs around the kitchen table etc that the robot gets stuck on, loses the shine for me......just as quick to do it yourself lol

Some of the higher end robot with much better sensor and image identification of household object will not get trapped or tangled up with loose wire cable or laundry left on the floor...

father-ted · 9 Nov 2022 at 18:33

What price range for that?.....Ours cost around £300-400, so expect would be significantly higher?

bensonchi · 10 Nov 2022 at 23:55

At time of writing this 3D obstacle avoidance is available at 300-400 price range. The tech and cost of vacuum robot really leap forward very rapidly this year.

father-ted · 12 Nov 2022 at 10:24

The problem with our dining room chairs is that the feet are single spindles on a low angle, so the vac does not just bounce off them - it gets stuck part riding up them.

bensonchi · 12 Nov 2022 at 11:52

Never heard of the front bumper not working this way, it must be a very low angle. Bumper is usually vertical plastic with only the gap under the robot, I know some user tape on foam parts to the bumper to help with sharp object but in your case it may helps it to activate the bump stop?

father-ted · 13 Nov 2022 at 13:29

The legs are a very low angle, bump stop is working fine on everything else.

Kill_Phil · 14 Nov 2022 at 07:55

Will have had the roborock for 3 years come Jan. Has done 1558 cleanups in that time ha!

Had to replace the brushes and filters a few times but other than that been flawless. One of the best purchases we've made

FISHGUTS · 21 Nov 2022 at 15:37

I've just bought the Ecovacs Deebot T10 Plus on a Black Friday deal through Amazon.
I'm really impressed with it, especially the mopping, where it ocillates backwards & forwards.

throwaway4372 · 26 Nov 2022 at 11:32

Impressed with the Roomba 692 (£169) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B088KBQ4PV

It replaces my old Neato Botvac D85 (£360) which kept needing replacement batteries. I also have a Neato Botvac D602 (£560) which is fairly modern and performs basically the same as the D85.

Observations:
- Roomba app setup was slicker, I actually uninstalled the Neato app it was so nagging with firmware updates that would make the bot worse.
- Roomba's round shape is massively better than Neato's D-shape for navigating around without getting stuck and bashing against stuff to get unstuck.
- Roomba is a bit quieter, but both are annoyingly loud so run it while out.
- Roomba moves a lot faster, but overall clean time is similar.
- Amount of dust collected is similar.
- Roomba is less tall so can get under some furniture the Neato couldn't.
- Neato needed magnetic strips on the floor to stop it getting stuck in the same places every time, Roomba doesn't need that.
- Roomba is massively cheaper.

413x · 26 Nov 2022 at 12:21

Those squre fronted ones are such an odd design. Roomba seem to have come down a lot in price. I guess they have to compete our sub 200 eufy has been amazing I have to say.

Rarely does a piece of technology exceed my expectations.