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I have moved your post to this already existing topic on Robot Vacuum cleaners. There is a member only review done by CHOICE that may be useful to you as well as member comments here that may also hold interest for you.
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Robot vac owners â weâd love your thoughts!
Weâre currently researching an article about whether robot vacs are worth buying. In addition to our test results, we are keen to hear ownersâ real life reviews and anecdotes about using them. Do you recommend them or not, and why? Weâd love to hear your stories, and please let us know which model you have.
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Currently, a waste of money.
Firstly, theyâre sweepers, not vacuums. Secondly, [in my experience] they only work well (at all?) on uncluttered rooms, with no rugs, and hard floors. Thirdly, the amount they sweep up before they are full is tiny.
I bought âone of the early onesâ from Godfreys; I took it back in two days, got an upgraded model, equally, did not work as advertised (got stuck at the slightest rise or rug, or under things).
A decade later I got a later model, much more expensive - almost unchanged in problems. It would park itself - sometimes. If it wasnât properly parked and charging, it bleated maddeningly. The electronic gates intended to confine it to certain suitable areas - pretty much did not work, irrespective of battery-changes, etc.
We tried using physical barriers - confining the machine to one area with heavy lumps of timber as barriers. These it (surprisingly) pushed out of the way without changing direction.
I donât think there was a single time where we set the machine to work and came back to a clean floor, no problems.
A year or so after getting a Dyson V11 battery-powered stick-vac, I threw out the old ârobot vacuumâ, having salvaged a few screws. The Dyson is quicker, better, and with me operating, (ahem) smarter. Weâve also kept a Wertheim for those twice-a-year heavy-real-vacuums.
Frankly I think weâll see self-drive cars before we see a robot vacuum worthy of the name (and affordable).
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Hi Brendan,
I purchased the Xiaomi Viomi V2 Pro during Black Friday sales last year. For $299 I couldnât be happier with the device.
At this price point I was happy to roll the dice on a robot vac without putting too much thought into it other than getting a general feel for the quality of the device from online reviews and comparisons my assessment was that it was comparable to devices around the $600-$800 range in terms of technology and performance, it definitely wasnât a planned purchase but I can say it has turned out to be one of my best impulse buys.
The mapping technology is fantastic, I am super impressed with the smart features that allow me to carve my house into sections and vacuum only what I need to, I can schedule vacuums, I can set the vacuum to a silent mode or a âstrongâ mode and I can even highlight a section of the house that might need a bit more attention. Iâm also constantly amazed at how much dust and dirt it picks up each clean (carpet and hard floors).
Yes the floors need to be largely free of clutter but once everything is away, the robot vac is free to work its magic while I move on to the next task.
I wouldnât say itâs ready to take on all cleaning duties in my house, and Iâm not ready to give away my primary vacuum but itâs a machine you can run daily that does 90-95% of the job of my barrel vac. The reality is my house is consistently cleaner and tidier since owning the device.
Iâm just about ready to ditch the barrel vac completely for a combination of using the robot vac daily and a stick vac for upstairs and very occasional downstairs use.
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Robotvacs are best suited to wooden or tiled floors [Shagpile? Forget it]. However, they are perfect for cleaning under beds and large tables etc. Make sure before you purchase that it will fit under the bed and always have the dock connected.
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Does an obstacle course test need to be included in the product assessments? Family cat included/excluded?
Although the latter appears not to be cat-tered for, pet hair is tested.
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I am using an iRobot Roomba, that a friend lent me to try out. She had used it for ten years, Iâve had it for about 12 months and am really happy with it.
We have a white haired dog that sheds A LOT and a light tiled floor, so it whizzes around to collect his hair that I sometimes miss because itâs difficult for me to see.
It is not great on the rug and it lets me know when to empty it as it deposits some of itâs collection if it gets too full! I close off carpeted rooms as I donât think it does a good job on carpet.
I do love that I can send it off when I leave the house and our house alarm system doesnât pick it up as itâs low enough to miss detection.
I accidentally left a tasselled throw on the floor one day and the Roomba got tangled in it. As I tried to extract the tassels I accidentally ripped out one of the three little sweeper brushes, but it still seems to be working fine with only two.
I would love to buy my own Roomba, but the cost is off puttingâŠdo I love it enough time to buy my own? I would probably just prefer to up grade my stick vacuum, as I have been very disappointed with the Dyson battery lifeâŠbut thatâs for another thread!
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I bought a Roborock S6 Pure in Black Friday sales and Iâm pleasantly surprised with how well it does the jobâŠespecially the mopping function⊠I have not used my normal vacuum since.
As a person who lives alone, I finally feel I can delegate that âresponsibilityâ to someone/something else. With visitors staying recently, I had piles of washing and cleaning to do, but I set off the robot and we were happily working together. It did upstairs (and I find it does the carpet well) and then later on, vacuumed and mopped downstairs. With 4 dogs in the house at the moment, I can run the vacuum every 2 days, or even schedule it to run every night at 1 am , and in the morning, itâs as if the cleaning fairy has been in.
I initially had a few issues with getting the app to work on my phone, but managed to work my way through a Chinese call centre. Once you have the mapping done, via your app, you are all sorted.
The app probably is a little difficult if you are not used to using such things, but you are then able to section rooms via your map, and draw âno-goâ zones.
It may not have the full suction of a regular vacuum, but it is pretty close to it, and where it wins out, is that it is running around the house cleaning a lot more often than I used to be. PlusâŠwho wants to vacuum the house, and mop, in the humidity of a Qld summer?
I am very happy that my daughter talked me into thisâŠas she also discovered, having the robot takes that cleaning responsibility away and it feels like you are getting help around the house.
It is also tied into my Google home set-up, and again, living alone, if I am not well I can direct everything with just voice controlâŠlights, tv, robotâŠ
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My daughter has one and sent me this review for CHOICE:
I have an irobot Roomba 600 series about 4-5 years old which cost about $550 I think. It is the basic model (eg manual operation & does not have a schedule mode).
Pros:
Love it as it saves me vacuuming all the time especially with cat hair
Does a pretty good job and I donât have to do a proper vacuum very often (once a fortnight usually)
I use it about every 3 days but I live in a dusty area. A friend has one she uses it every day (she has 5 cats though!)
I would buy another one tomorrow if this one died 
Works well on tile floors and carpets and thick rugs. Chews up my mats (which I pick up before it starts)
Cons:
I have to pick up all the mats and move cables & chairs so it doesnât get hooked up on them or cornered
If the floor is not level (I have a couple of spots) it can get stuck eg: my TV cabinet has one spot where it must drop a little & the irobot will get stuck unless I put something there so it goes around it.
Once I pressed the start button too many times & when it got stuck under the TV cabinet it started talking Russian. I had accidently changed the language! Had to search through paperwork to find the manual to work out how to change it back to English. I knew it was saying it was stuck thoâŠ
It doesnât like long human hair! Gets tangled around the spokes but still works just not very well until it is cleaned
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I bought the Xiaomi Mi Robot on Choice recommendation. I have vinyl boards on the floor. No carpet but have a shedding dog. It is fantastic. Cleans well. I remove dining chairs and small tables but leave the rest of the furniture in the main area. In the bedroom make sure cords are up and side tables moved out from the wall. In laundry/bathroom area just toilet mat up. I am really pleased with my purchase.
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I love my Rhoomba, as I have arthritis and I canât push a vacuum cleaner. Iâve used it almost every day for 12 years. Iâm on my second one, and the day this one dies is the day I buy another one. However, I bought a Samsung brand one as a gift for my sister and sheâs had nothing but trouble with it. I recommend sticking to the original Rhoomba brand.
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We have an LG roboking and it is great. We use is at least every second day as having 2 kids in a small house they can cover the floor in general kid detritus in a matter of minutes. It works very well on both hard floor and carpet. This is our second as the first ended up with limited battery life after about 6 years of use. My only 2 gripes with them (but this happens with the head of our dyson too) is that they need to be pulled apart a few times a year as my long hair likes to get wrapped around the brush and manages to ingress into the bearings on either side. About every 2 years we need to replace the bearings as my hair has managed to chew out the bearing. And that they like to âeatâ anything in their way. Our first managed to vaccum up a lizard that wasnât quick enough to get out the the way which was a huge mess to clean out of the cleaner and out second likes to mount the skirting board in order to eat our net curtains.
I highly recommend them as they are a massive time saver, and although it may be only a glorified carpet sweeper, it does mean that I donât have to pull out the big vaccum every day.
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My daughter bought one from Aldi. Itâs much better than mine that was over $800. Just remember to move mats, chairs and furniture out of the pathway.
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I had the Robomaid which I believe ceased trading in March 2020. It basically did what it was supposed to although it always got stuck on a fringed rug which my friendâs Roomba didnât. If it hits sunlight they donât work so that limits things. One time it fell down the stairs despite not being supposed to. I often had to help it get home before it ran out of juice. Long hair causes the rollers to stop.
The thing is, bar that one rug, I have timber floors and a large house. The robot vac would not be able to do the whole house in one go or probably even 2. I can clean my floors with a wide oates orange floor duster broom in minutes and either use a dustpan or my stick vac to pick it up in seconds. It was noisy and took ages.
I threw it out and now use the above regime. I use my Dyson baby stick vac to do the stairs.
I was thinking it might be better for people with carpet but having read that it sweeps not sucks, I very much doubt it! Definitely wouldnât buy another one.
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Good to hear I have just purchased one of these I will comment when I have given a thorough test drive.
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I purchased the NEATO BOTVAC CONNECTED in 2016 and had great results for three years until the battery died. I purchased a new battery and it no longer worked. I tried communicating with the interstate company, however, they wanted me to ship the vacuum unit to them and I was wary it seemed dodgy to me. The unit was still communicating with the app and all that wasnât working was the battery not charging. I had no way of checking if the Li Ion battery was a dud. I have now ordered a Xiaomi Mi 1C Robot Vacuum Cleaner due for delivery this week. Meanwhile I have purchased a Bosch stick vacuum but I am a true believer in the Robot Vacuum cleaners. The Neato worked well, was thorough on my tile and timber (yes carpets need the Wertheim power brush) and the app was easy to program. If anyone knows how to check Li Ion batteries I would be interested to know as I havenât thrown out my Neato.
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Iâm an invalidity retiree, I find the typical action of hand held vacuuming aggravates my neck and hand injuries. I bought a Roomba 500 series 10 years ago, it has been invaluable. I had two cats, and the first time it cleaned it filled with cat hair after only half the lounge room, seems my manual vac was not so good. I think the brush action helps with hair on carpet. On subsequent runs it didnât fill-up so quickly.
I donât use the automatic modes, I just drop it in a room, stick the virtual wall to confine it an let it go.
I have low skirting boards, it tends to mount these so is less efficient cleaning the edges, they also donât get right into corners, so you will need another manual cleaner. I have a Dyson handstick to do the fiddly bits, and stairs, robots are not so good with stairsâŠ
You do have to clean the brush bearings well, and if you donât like grime you wonât like cleaning the brushes. I found a seam ripper helps removing long hair/strings etc.
The NiMH battery eventually packed it in, after the 2nd went, I found a lithium battery (online via USA) which is both higher capacity, and lasts. The good thing about Roombaâs is that parts are easy to find, if youâre handy you can keep them going forever.
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Thanks to everyone who shared their robo vac tales and experience. You can check out the full article here.
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Did someone leave out the decimal place in the price of your top recommendation?
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at least not by us.