Robotic Vacuum Cleaners review

Is this false advertising as I thought these devices only have brushes, no vacuum, so should be called Robotic Brooms ?

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I don’t own one, but Choice has tested them, Choice June 2016 p.63 “__Robot Vacs are not a casual purchase - you could be wasting hundreds of dollars if you don’t do your research._”

The range is wide. I own a Robo Sweep which is the dumbest of the lot and isn’t in the league of a Robot Vac. It is simply an asymmetrically weighted ball with rechargeable battery that rolls pushing a plastic cage with a cloth attached. It wanders randomly and reverses when it hits an obstacle. When it is finished you remove the cloth and pick the fluff off it. It is only for very smooth hard floors.

More advanced Robo Vacs have intelligent software that can sense drop-offs (stairs), return to base on low battery, dock and recharge, timer delays, virtual walls (only clean where you want as opposed to random wanderings). Some have small rotating brushes on the front corners to dislodge dust at the edges where the vac can’t reach (skirting boards, chair legs), and most (not mine!) have a battery operated vacuum for carpet and hard floors, with a dust receptacle (which you have to empty - they ain’t that smart yet!).

In previous tests, Choice has noted that you will still need to use a normal vacuum, as “the carpet scores for these aren’t great.” But this will depend on your situation, your floors and your expectations.

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Here’s a link to our robot vacuum guide in case other readers would like to check it out. If you have any experience with a robot vac, feel free to post it in this thread.

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2 posts were split to a new topic: Cost of CHOICE Membership

As I know, many people use irobot roomba and with tattu 3500 battery, can last for 2 hours

Robot vacuum cleaners we’ve tested do have a vacuum function - typically a powered fan that helps capture the dust picked up by the brush and sucks it into the onboard bin. So it’s not actually wrong to call them robot vacuums, but the suction can be pretty weak and in many models isn’t able to extract much dirt from carpet. Most robot vacuum cleaners are indeed better thought of as robotic brooms or carpet sweepers.

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We’ve updated our robot vacuum cleaner review (member content) to show you which machines perform the best. We also share three of the worst robot vacs from our lab test.

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Our robot vacuum review has been updated (member content).

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Tweeted a link to the article and made mention of it being member only content but that if they want access they can join CHOICE.

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This Aldi robot vac might be cheap, but it didn’t perform too well in our tests:

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Our testing indicates these are three robot vacuum cleaners to avoid:

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And the winner, oops, loser is Kogan.

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At least with the worst performance it was the cheapest unit to waste money on…a very small consolation prize but the one that was $999 was staggering in cost and terrible (not as bad as Kogan’s) in it’s performance. That would hurt much more my pocket and expectations. Bang for buck in it’s case might be how much dynamite I could buy to blow it up.

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Just had an email from a Clothing Store offering a robot vacuum cleaner marked down fromm $999 to $199 ! Wouldn’t you be cranky if you had just bought one at full price.

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I wonder if it is a real sale/discount or an inflated RRP to give the impression of a good deal.

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I’m looking for an affordable robotic vacuum because I have pets whose furs keep on sticking on the floor and carpet. I hope to find a durable and dynamic brand.

CHOICE has updated it’s review of Robotic ones this year. The link that @BrendanMays provided in July 2019 will take you to the new review. If you are a member you can sign in to see the recommended models and all the details including ratings for pet hair removal. If not a member of CHOICE there is a membership purchase options link on the page to allow you to see the full content. Just in case you missed the link above I have copied the page link here:

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The $199 Robot Vacuum Cleaner was on sale on WLane website, I don’t know what Choices rating was for this unit though.

Whether that model was or was not tested forum members are encouraged to honour Choice member content. Non-subscribers can often find Choice Magazine in many libraries (even online at some libraries), or pay per view for particular reports.

An alternative source for information includes productreview.com.au which is a collection of opinions, accolades, and gripes, and sometimes interesting price comparison data points.

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Robot mop & vacuum cleaners

Has anyone got one they are really happy with? we have no pets, a low level of dirt, mainly dust etc

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