Robot vacuum cleaners - any experience?

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Davy

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#200255 10-Aug-2016 13:24

Just wondering if robot vacuum cleaners are worth getting yet?

If anyone has advice and experience I'd love to hear it. We have wooden floors, no stairs but a heck of a lot of dog hair which I'd like the device to look after. Currently on daily vacuuming duties thanks to that dumb dog of ours!!

Sideface

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#1608580 10-Aug-2016 13:42

Just Google: "Why You Shouldn’t Get a Roomba If You Own a Dog"

Ugly

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SumnerBoy

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#1608582 10-Aug-2016 13:42

No experience but very interested to hear others opinions. The new Dyson (Eye?) looks very good, but then again would require a re-mortgage of the house to buy it.

We have a very hairy cat so a nightly vacuum in the main living areas would be fantastic for keeping on top of the fur.

Davy

196 posts

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#1608621 10-Aug-2016 14:38

Sideface:
Just Google: "Why You Shouldn’t Get a Roomba If You Own a Dog"

Ugly

Haha, not too worried about that. Just looking for an effective picker-upper that can work during the day on its own, doesn't struggle with pet hair and doesn't scratch wooden floors :-)

neb

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#1608760 10-Aug-2016 17:03

I don't own one, but Consumer have reviewed a number of them, and they're pretty bad, typically the very worst of the standard vacuum cleaners is better than the best robot one. It really depends on what you want it for, if you've got a small apartment with thin carpets and no pets and don't want to be bothered vacuuming then it'll be fine (so perfect for folks in Silicon Valley, which is where most of the people I know who own one live), but they don't come anywhere near to replacing a standard vacuum for everyday use. In particular if you have pets then forget about it.

Dunnersfella

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#1608768 10-Aug-2016 17:14

Remember, there's a difference between 'sweepers' and 'vacuums'.

The robot vacuum have to constantly return to base to empty themselves as they're actually picking up hair / dirt - not just moving it around like the robot sweepers. Expect to pay a decent amount for a good one... I'd be interested to play with the Miele version, they have a history of performance in the vacuum market.

Hammerer

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#1608775 10-Aug-2016 17:25

Try a demo unit at your home as that's the only way to know what will happen.

Don't buy a cheap one.

They have tiny dust pans that have to be emptied often particularly if there is fur.
Long hair is the worst because even if it manages to get it off carpet it can roll around sweepers and can even jam the mechanism or wheels.
Many cannot reliably travel over the edge of a carpet or mat without getting stuck or occasionally entering an infinite loop if the "AI" is not intelligent.
Cheap homing mechanisms can be hit and miss. The one we had would return to base by moving around randomly until it had the two IR lamps directly behind it. It would run out of battery too often.