Is it worth getting a robot vacuum?
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I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to review some of the best robot vacuum cleaners here at TechRadar, and honestly, no two are the same. Every robot vacuum cleaner that comes through my front door to review in my three-bed home brings something different to the floors, which is refreshing and keeps me on my toes to learn more about these fantastic cleaning machines.
It will come as no surprise to learn what a robot vacuum cleaner is supposed To do; they run an automated vacuum of the floors in the residence, which is set on demand. As a result, you no longer have to carry a larger vacuum cleaner and charge it before or after use. Some robot vacuums even empty and clean themselves, so you don’t have to do anything – except clear the way for them because they can’t clean up for you (yet).
Some are more complicated than others; from furnishing to maintenance. Sometimes it’s worth it, and sometimes it’s not. You also often get what you pay for. The cheaper robot vacuums tend to struggle with the transition between carpets and hard floors, so they prefer just the one-story type, and they’re more likely to get lost around the house because their mapping isn’t quite right.
That said, the more premium robot vacuums don’t always come with a card from the start. Some will just go up and down with no cards, but that’s because they’re smart.
A big giveaway on what a robot vacuum cleaner is capable of is to look at the specs. I’m a little afraid of a robot vacuum cleaner that doesn’t empty itself, doesn’t clean and doesn’t have zone cleaning. The fantasy runs wild when it can’t do all this, although I have high requirements. But this does entail costs.
As an example; I tested the Dreametech L10s Ultra. On first impression it was disheartening to see the large docking station and large integrated water tanks. Dream is notorious for making large and heavy robot vacuum cleaners, which take a bit of effort to lift and get into the house. Set up of our ‘Kevin’ was easy with a water tank fill, cleaning solution positioning, full charge and app download.
It is really a dream to use it. It didn’t have to make a first trip as such to map out our house – the first outing was to vacuum and mop. While there’s the ‘Fast Map’ option, it’s not essential as the robot vacuum cleaner is smart enough to determine the lay of the land and get back to base without getting lost. Having a map is also useful to set the zone to clean separately with different cleaning modes.
With a price of $999.99 on Amazon US (opens in new tab) / £1,099 on Amazon UK (opens in new tab) however, this is certainly a hugely expensive robot vacuum cleaner. A good benchmark for buying a good robot vacuum cleaner is to spend $400 / £500 and up, to ensure the features that make a robot vacuum cleaner worthwhile.
The minimum things to look out for include suitability for carpets and hard floors with enough suction power to boot, automatic return to base after cleaning, and accurate mapping. If your robot vacuum cleaner has all of this: it is So worth the effort.