Life with a robot vacuum
May 28, 2020 7:53 AM Subscribe
Thanks to the responses to this question, I'm now considering getting a robot vacuum. But I have questions!
I've been reading reviews that have clarified some things, left some questions unanswered, and raised many more questions. And so, I turn to the fine folks here for help.
I'll get the (potentially) stupid question out of the way first. How do you cover two stories of your house with one robot vacuum? I know it won't go up or down stairs, but do you need to relocate its dock to the floor it's vacuuming? Does its self-mapping technology get confused or think it's dealing with two different houses?
The only place I can think of in our house where I wouldn't want the vacuum to go is the placemat with the dog's water bowl. Will the vacuum learn to avoid it, or there are provisions I need to make to accommodate? Are there other potential no-go spots I'm not thinking of?
How do you set the vacuum to work to minimize disruptions to humans and canines, especially if at least one person is generally home at any time? What tricks and tips have you developed to get the best use from the vacuum? Does it keep the general level of dust noticeably lower in the house? Do you still need to vacuum in the traditional way?
What sorts of considerations should go into deciding which vacuum to purchase? We have fairly high pile carpets (the darkest being a medium gray) in most of the house, hard floors in high traffic areas like the kitchen and hallway, and just a few area/throw rugs. You can assume that price is no object for this purchase; I'm much more interested in getting a vacuum we'll be happy we bought than in minimizing the cost.
I've been reading reviews that have clarified some things, left some questions unanswered, and raised many more questions. And so, I turn to the fine folks here for help.
I'll get the (potentially) stupid question out of the way first. How do you cover two stories of your house with one robot vacuum? I know it won't go up or down stairs, but do you need to relocate its dock to the floor it's vacuuming? Does its self-mapping technology get confused or think it's dealing with two different houses?
The only place I can think of in our house where I wouldn't want the vacuum to go is the placemat with the dog's water bowl. Will the vacuum learn to avoid it, or there are provisions I need to make to accommodate? Are there other potential no-go spots I'm not thinking of?
How do you set the vacuum to work to minimize disruptions to humans and canines, especially if at least one person is generally home at any time? What tricks and tips have you developed to get the best use from the vacuum? Does it keep the general level of dust noticeably lower in the house? Do you still need to vacuum in the traditional way?
What sorts of considerations should go into deciding which vacuum to purchase? We have fairly high pile carpets (the darkest being a medium gray) in most of the house, hard floors in high traffic areas like the kitchen and hallway, and just a few area/throw rugs. You can assume that price is no object for this purchase; I'm much more interested in getting a vacuum we'll be happy we bought than in minimizing the cost.
edit: I want to add up top the Roomba I didn't think I'd like turns out I love, am fascinated by and also picks up so much fucking shiiiiiiiiiiiit. Especially with cats in the house.
Does it keep the general level of dust noticeably lower in the house?
DEAR GOD YES.
How do you set the vacuum to work to minimize disruptions to humans and canines, especially if at least one person is generally home at any time?
You can put it in a room and close the door, it'll clean that room. Make sure all cords are picked up. Cords (especially chargers) are the enemy.
I got mine because my mom just decided I needed one apparently so that was my Christmas gift. It was amazing. Just moved to a new house and need to run it more, having multiple levels makes that kind of awkward.
I know it won't go up or down stairs, but do you need to relocate its dock to the floor it's vacuuming? Does its self-mapping technology get confused or think it's dealing with two different houses?
I just take it upstairs and run it. It doesn't need the dock to "map" because that's not how it actually works turns out. It just bumbles around criss crossing and gets mostly everything naturally by way of moving kind of erratically back and forth. Over time, it will cross the same areas multiple times but also get everything.
I own a Roomba 675 or some model close to that. It was like $300 I think and is mid tier. I think fancier ones will map things but mine doesn't. Doesn't seem like it really needs to.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 8:33 AM on May 28, 2020
Does it keep the general level of dust noticeably lower in the house?
DEAR GOD YES.
How do you set the vacuum to work to minimize disruptions to humans and canines, especially if at least one person is generally home at any time?
You can put it in a room and close the door, it'll clean that room. Make sure all cords are picked up. Cords (especially chargers) are the enemy.
I got mine because my mom just decided I needed one apparently so that was my Christmas gift. It was amazing. Just moved to a new house and need to run it more, having multiple levels makes that kind of awkward.
I know it won't go up or down stairs, but do you need to relocate its dock to the floor it's vacuuming? Does its self-mapping technology get confused or think it's dealing with two different houses?
I just take it upstairs and run it. It doesn't need the dock to "map" because that's not how it actually works turns out. It just bumbles around criss crossing and gets mostly everything naturally by way of moving kind of erratically back and forth. Over time, it will cross the same areas multiple times but also get everything.
I own a Roomba 675 or some model close to that. It was like $300 I think and is mid tier. I think fancier ones will map things but mine doesn't. Doesn't seem like it really needs to.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 8:33 AM on May 28, 2020
Most of them come with little LED towers that you can position in front of things you don't want it to head-butt, like pet bowls.
I've had a Neato and a Roomba. The Neato was ... neat-o, in that it has frickin' lasers that map its environment so as not to cover the same area twice, and it was brushless and easy to clean. The Roomba is better at collecting pet hair, but you have to take it apart every week or so to clean the brushes and unwind hair around spindles.
I used it with tile floors, and didn't have to use a traditional vacuum often (but the grout is another story)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:09 AM on May 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I've had a Neato and a Roomba. The Neato was ... neat-o, in that it has frickin' lasers that map its environment so as not to cover the same area twice, and it was brushless and easy to clean. The Roomba is better at collecting pet hair, but you have to take it apart every week or so to clean the brushes and unwind hair around spindles.
I used it with tile floors, and didn't have to use a traditional vacuum often (but the grout is another story)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:09 AM on May 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
We have a Neato and use it up and down. Just hit the “room clean” button and it works fine.
It comes with a no go strip that you can put around sensitive areas. We also pre clean by putting everything up so the floor is fairly bare.
I hate the noise so we run it before we leave or during busy bath bed time it gets run downstairs.
It is an amazing device and I love coming home to clean carpet complete with parallel vaccume lines. The best!
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:31 AM on May 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
It comes with a no go strip that you can put around sensitive areas. We also pre clean by putting everything up so the floor is fairly bare.
I hate the noise so we run it before we leave or during busy bath bed time it gets run downstairs.
It is an amazing device and I love coming home to clean carpet complete with parallel vaccume lines. The best!
posted by St. Peepsburg at 9:31 AM on May 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
You need to carry it up and down stairs. Mine doesn't use LIDAR mapping so I can't speak to that.
Roombas have little gadgets you can set to block off areas. I use them around the pet bowls. Some other brands have strips.
It very noticeably reduces dust and fur. I still vacuum traditionally because it can't do baseboards or behind furniture. But those get substantially less dusty with the robot around so I do it less often.
Smarter vacuums (mapping) struggle more with dark rugs and thresholds, whereas bump-and-roll ones have less errors but vaccuum less consistently since they don't have a map. It's a trade off. None of the robots deal especially well with high-pile carpet.
Some models are louder than others. I can't sleep or focus with mine so I set it to run when I'm in the other area of the home - you will find your own logistics based on how loud yours is and your tolerance.
Best tip I was given: don't watch it work, it ruins the suspension of disbelief. Otherwise you can think of it as a particularly dumb but cute pet.
posted by epanalepsis at 9:58 AM on May 28, 2020
Roombas have little gadgets you can set to block off areas. I use them around the pet bowls. Some other brands have strips.
It very noticeably reduces dust and fur. I still vacuum traditionally because it can't do baseboards or behind furniture. But those get substantially less dusty with the robot around so I do it less often.
Smarter vacuums (mapping) struggle more with dark rugs and thresholds, whereas bump-and-roll ones have less errors but vaccuum less consistently since they don't have a map. It's a trade off. None of the robots deal especially well with high-pile carpet.
Some models are louder than others. I can't sleep or focus with mine so I set it to run when I'm in the other area of the home - you will find your own logistics based on how loud yours is and your tolerance.
Best tip I was given: don't watch it work, it ruins the suspension of disbelief. Otherwise you can think of it as a particularly dumb but cute pet.
posted by epanalepsis at 9:58 AM on May 28, 2020
Oh also: follow the suggested maintenance and cleaning schedule for filters, brushes, wheels, etc. Performance suffers greatly with neglect.
posted by epanalepsis at 10:01 AM on May 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by epanalepsis at 10:01 AM on May 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
What tricks and tips have you developed to get the best use from the vacuum?Keep the floor clear of small objects, socks, charger cords, connector cables, etc. Like a small child, the vacuum will try to eat anything it can put in its mouth so it's prone to getting "indigestion" (or mangling) things it can consume part way.
posted by 4rtemis at 10:01 AM on May 28, 2020
I have a Deebot from Ecovacs that I got because it was on special offer. I also have three shaggy dogs, and three shedding cats. It is the greatest thing ever!
I did have some problems with it around 3 months after I purchased it, but sent ot back and got it fixed with no problem. I also bought my parents one and they use it constantly too.
Mine doesn't map the house, it just has a pattern that covers all the available floor. It bumps into things and turns. All my floors are wooden-laminate with some rugs on them, I rarely have any issues with it snagging on them. One of my rugs is deeper and occasionally it'll catch up that. It bumps the dog & cat bowls but hasn't caused any issues with knocking them, obviously that'll depend on how light your bowls are.
It is noisy enough, I wouldn't be able to sleep through it, but my partner doesn't wake when I turn it on in the mornings, so ymmv.
As for tips, move cables, they are the big issue. Apart from that, just let it do its thing, but do remember to clean the brushes and empty the dust container.
Edited because I forgot to say I just carry it upstairs when it needs doing.
posted by Fence at 10:45 AM on May 28, 2020
I did have some problems with it around 3 months after I purchased it, but sent ot back and got it fixed with no problem. I also bought my parents one and they use it constantly too.
Mine doesn't map the house, it just has a pattern that covers all the available floor. It bumps into things and turns. All my floors are wooden-laminate with some rugs on them, I rarely have any issues with it snagging on them. One of my rugs is deeper and occasionally it'll catch up that. It bumps the dog & cat bowls but hasn't caused any issues with knocking them, obviously that'll depend on how light your bowls are.
It is noisy enough, I wouldn't be able to sleep through it, but my partner doesn't wake when I turn it on in the mornings, so ymmv.
As for tips, move cables, they are the big issue. Apart from that, just let it do its thing, but do remember to clean the brushes and empty the dust container.
Edited because I forgot to say I just carry it upstairs when it needs doing.
posted by Fence at 10:45 AM on May 28, 2020
You have a dog. Does it ever have accidents in the house? The robot will spread it everywhere. FYI
posted by Splunge at 1:47 PM on May 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 1:47 PM on May 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
We first got a "dumb" robot vaccuum and returned it for a LIDAR one (Roborock). The random bumping around didn't seem to get anything much cleaner. If money is not object for this thing, definitely go higher. It was also very nice to be able to mark "no go" spaces in the app instead of with physical markers.
We use ours in the dining room (daily) and living room/bed room/hallway stuff (weekly or twice weekly). It's made a huge difference in the level of crumb and dust tracking. It's also helped keep the legos off the floor, because "the robot" is forcing the issue instead of "mom nagging for you to clean up". We run it manually from the app, rather than on a schedule, thanks to a mangled pair of earbuds.
I felt like it was kind of a silly purchase at the time, even though I instigated it, but this is one of those things that has made my life a zillion times better.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 2:21 PM on May 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
We use ours in the dining room (daily) and living room/bed room/hallway stuff (weekly or twice weekly). It's made a huge difference in the level of crumb and dust tracking. It's also helped keep the legos off the floor, because "the robot" is forcing the issue instead of "mom nagging for you to clean up". We run it manually from the app, rather than on a schedule, thanks to a mangled pair of earbuds.
I felt like it was kind of a silly purchase at the time, even though I instigated it, but this is one of those things that has made my life a zillion times better.
posted by peanut_mcgillicuty at 2:21 PM on May 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
If it is within budget, the irobot with the self-vacuuming dock is life-changing. It's wonderful to be spared from the cloud of fine dust that poofs up when emptying the bin manually.
posted by dum spiro spero at 10:29 PM on May 28, 2020
posted by dum spiro spero at 10:29 PM on May 28, 2020
I love my robot vacuum.
However, ever since THE INCIDENT, the robot vacuum isn't allowed out of its dock until I check to make sure the cat hasn't missed the litter box.
To quote my roommate, "Well, at least it got me to mop the house."
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:31 PM on May 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
However, ever since THE INCIDENT, the robot vacuum isn't allowed out of its dock until I check to make sure the cat hasn't missed the litter box.
To quote my roommate, "Well, at least it got me to mop the house."
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:31 PM on May 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
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They absolutely reduce general dust and fluff but they can’t replace occasional deep cleaning, they can’t get behind and under certain things. So keep your traditional vacuum cleaner for that kind of thing.
I am a sound sleeper and mine used to run during the night with bedroom door closed or while I was out. The person at home will have to figure out what works for them and with their routines.
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:09 AM on May 28, 2020