Robot vacuum experiences & recommendations please

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nadz77

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#306399 18-Jul-2023 23:08

Looking at investing in a robot vacuum. Have never owned one before so would be great if anyone could give me some tips or recommendations please. Average size home - 3bdrms with mixture of tiles and carpet. Need one that is capable to pick up cat fur and has an auto emptying station.
Looking at mop/vacuum combo type. Any thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Willing to spend up to 2k if product is worth it. Thanks.

billgates

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#3105831 18-Jul-2023 23:16

Will this be your only vaccum or you have a primary corded vaccum as well? Robot vaccums are ok for top up cleans but they cannot deep clean like a corded canister or upright can. Also the mop on robot vaccums, all it does it drags the dirt around when mopping.

Do whatever you want to do man.

rp1790

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#3105848 19-Jul-2023 07:48

I have the S7 not + version of this and it's great. Also, have a cat and it's great at picking up all her fur. I hardly ever vacuum or mop. The mopping is ok, these S7's have a thing where the mop vibrates from side to side so it does a wee bit of a better job than the traditional ones where it just drags a damp cloth over the floors. The mop picks up light spills of juice and/or coffee.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/HOMRBK0017/Roborock-S7-Plus-S7-Smart-Robot-Vacuum-Cleaner-2-i

jonathan18

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#3105866 19-Jul-2023 09:25

Have a read of some other threads here as well as they’re often discussed, eg:

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=73&topicid=306399

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=73&topicid=306239

The comment earlier re mopping is not totally accurate - while the cheap versions and older models do simply rely on dragging the pad around (and don’t have the ability to lift it over carpet), others may have a vibrating pad (as per the Roborock mentioned above) while others may have circular rotating pads. These more fancy models will also often come with the option of a base in which dirty water’s automatically transferred for clean, and some models even have an automatic cleaning solution dispenser. I spent much of my time off sick last week looking at many reviews of such machines and clearly they’re far better at cleaning than the dragging type (I’ve never bothered using the basic mop feature on mine), but you do pay for it - the two models I’ve been looking at most closely are these ones that retail at $3k:

https://robomate.co.nz/product/dreame-l10s-ultra/

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/HOMRBK0008/Roborock-S8-Pro-Ultra-White-Smart-Robot-Vacuum-Cle

Depending on how many features you’re after you can often get the same Roborock vacuum with a self-emptying base (so no water transfer) or just a basic charging base, though I’d totally recommmend at least going for the self-emptying base (as otherwise you’re ideally looking at needing to empty it after each clean of the house, as they don’t function as well if left to fill up completely).

While the cleaners from the Xiaomi stable (Roborock, Mi, Roidmi…) are usually the most recommended for best bang for buck, Ecovacs is another brand that seems to offer excellent value for money (though others have reported they can have similar issues as the others re flaky software). Personally, I’d only go with a LIDAR-equipped model (which rules out the full range of Roombas) as I like the ability of mine to run at any time of day or night.

jonathan18

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#3105868 19-Jul-2023 09:29

billgates:

Will this be your only vaccum or you have a primary corded vaccum as well? Robot vaccums are ok for top up cleans but they cannot deep clean like a corded canister or upright can.

I think that’s also fairly easily managed by more regular cleaning - we typically had the time previously to only vacuum the house fully once a week when doing it manually, but with a robot cleaner the main living areas are now vacuumed three times a week and the rest of the house twice a week, so less opportunity for the build-up of dust. I find it’s more a matter of keeping on top of the areas in which the robot cleaner can’t get to.

MikeAqua

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#3105923 19-Jul-2023 12:28

billgates:

Will this be your only vaccum or you have a primary corded vaccum as well? Robot vaccums are ok for top up cleans but they cannot deep clean like a corded canister or upright can. Also the mop on robot vaccums, all it does it drags the dirt around when mopping.

We still have couple of stick vacs for the areaa it can't reach.

The prompt for buying this was the cannister vac being broken beyond repair - it was a Dyson 😥

I have the Roomba cleaning the piglet zone 5 days a week at 9am and 9pm and cleaning the whole house the other two days. So far, so good. The house has never looked so clean and no issues with increased hayfever symptoms.

Mike

neb

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#3106262 20-Jul-2023 14:30

Friend of mine got one of these a while back, apparently they're good bang for the buck:

Come to think of it I haven't heard from him for awhile...

BlargHonk

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#3106288 20-Jul-2023 15:10

We have recently got an Ecovacs Deebot N8 from Amazon Aus. Vacuuming on carpet is great. Pulls up way more than expected. Moping is sub-par but I don't know how that compares to other vacs. The main letdown is the app and mapping. It seems to corrupt the map quite a bit or get it rotated.

Now that I have dipped my toes in the water and seen the benefits, I would get a Roborock next time.

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Klathman

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#3106301 20-Jul-2023 15:30

We've had a Roborock S6 for a few years now. It does a really good job overall and we only get the normal vacuum out for major spills.

The only downside, which might be specific to the S6 is that dust builds up on the motor filter which reduces the suction. I pull it all apart about once a year to clean the filter, which takes about an hour, and then it's all good again.

The mopping on this model is....OK. We do use it but it's not great. Definitely easier than doing it manually which means it happens far more frequently at least.

I would definitely go for one that maps out the rooms rather than the simpler ping-pong variants.

nadz77

14 posts

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#3106303 20-Jul-2023 15:34

billgates:

Will this be your only vaccum or you have a primary corded vaccum as well? Robot vaccums are ok for top up cleans but they cannot deep clean like a corded canister or upright can. Also the mop on robot vaccums, all it does it drags the dirt around when mopping.

No, we'll also have a normal vaccum too if needed.

MikeAqua

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#3106325 20-Jul-2023 16:19

Klathman:

The only downside, which might be specific to the S6 is that dust builds up on the motor filter which reduces the suction. I pull it all apart about once a year to clean the filter, which takes about an hour, and then it's all good again.

Blocked filter seems to be a thing on many compact vacuum designs. We have a Dyson stick and an LG stick. Both need a regular blast out of the various filters with the air compressor to run well.

Mike

jonathan18

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#3106335 20-Jul-2023 16:53

MikeAqua:

Blocked filter seems to be a thing on many compact vacuum designs. We have a Dyson stick and an LG stick. Both need a regular blast out of the various filters with the air compressor to run well.

Yep, I've found both our current and previous robot cleaners (both from the Mi stable) perform much better if regularly cleaned out with an air compressor; I had been doing this weekly but recently have switched to fortnightly and it's been ok. I've never found I've needed to do a full tear-down to clean them, so regular maintenance seems to negate the need for this perhaps. (I do the same with the Dyson stick but that's infrequent as we don't use it that much.)

BlargHonk:

We have recently got an Ecovacs Deebot N8 from Amazon Aus. Vacuuming on carpet is great. Pulls up way more than expected. Moping is sub-par but I don't know how that compares to other vacs. The main letdown is the app and mapping. It seems to corrupt the map quite a bit or get it rotated.

Now that I have dipped my toes in the water and seen the benefits, I would get a Roborock next time.

It's posts like these that have ruled Ecovacs out for me, though I would note I have similar map problems with our Roidmi which is why I'm looking at higher-spec models that clearly have better/more modern mapping. I hadn't thought about buying from Amazon; I see they have the Dreame model I'm looking at for $260 cheaper than it'll cost in NZ, and I imagine it could come down cheaper at different times. (Oops, I see it's advertised as 120v; I wonder if it really is limited to this?

https://www.amazon.com.au/Dreametech-Self-refilling-Self-Emptying-Navigation-Compatible/dp/B0B7J95MHN/

Handle9

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#3106338 20-Jul-2023 17:04

MikeAqua:

Klathman:

The only downside, which might be specific to the S6 is that dust builds up on the motor filter which reduces the suction. I pull it all apart about once a year to clean the filter, which takes about an hour, and then it's all good again.

Blocked filter seems to be a thing on many compact vacuum designs. We have a Dyson stick and an LG stick. Both need a regular blast out of the various filters with the air compressor to run well.

When you live in a desert fine dust is a persistent issue in vacuum cleaners. We have to clean the filters on our bog standard vacuum pretty regularly otherwise it chokes.