Let’s get the negative out of the way first.
You don’t get the suction of your Dyson, nor even the AmazonBasics bag less vacuums.
It tends to blow particles next to its run away which in some cases means back over areas it thinks is done.
It doesn’t do edges of the room as well as it does the rest.
It spends a lot of time banging up against obstacles. Some things it sees, other it thuds.
The map it produces isn’t accurate to floor plan and it seems to misjudge parallel run distances.
The dirt canister isn’t that big and particularly on your first runs and with new carpets doesn’t last a single charge.
And just like all robot vacuums you still need to do behind obstacles and doors, the stairs and you need to run round those edges before judging guests turn up, and don’t forget to remove wires, tasseled edges and light weight breakables from the area being cleaned.
So with all that why do I now own 2?
Robot vacuums can cost a fortune so if you want most of the issues noted addressed (but never the last) start looking at over£500 to around a grand and many (but not all) of these issues are addressed. I wasn’t willing to pay that much. In both cases with a sale on I paid less than a hundred each which is about what you would pay for a reasonable quality manual. For that I got a well made item that for all the points noted above does the job. My scoring reflects the value for money for the outcome gained.
And then there is cumulative effect. These are designed to pop out and do the job when you are busy doing something else. While I wouldn’t suggest having it hoover your room while you sleep, doing the ground floor while you are asleep upstairs does work. I started running my first every day and I went from having to empty the bin 3 times on the first run, to twice on the second and from then not filling the bin on a single run. That’s not because it’s not working, it’s because it got on top of the job. For maintaining I now run my first vacuum once every 3 days and it still doesn’t fill the bin up.
And that also means cleanliness, that first run picked up a lot but blew other mess around and did a poor job overall. That second days run gave me an acceptable result. The third a good result and ongoing regular use has maintained that with minimal effort and time on my part.
The cumulative effect on cleanliness and quality of job is what made me buy a second for upstairs. And that went through the same process although as on new carpet it’s still filling the bin every time.
So as long as you don’t expect overnight miracles, understand that multiple regular use is needed for acceptable results (schedule will depend on your personal needs taking into account pers, kids, etc.) understand the limitations of all robot vacuums and the features you can expect and not expect from price point in comparison to paying a grand for top end, this is a good buy.
It’s quick and easy to set up. Easy to run and schedule. Easy to empty and after a few initial runs has all my floors at a better than acceptable standard. And that’s for the whole house with my still having spent less time than it would have taken me to do 2 rooms. And to be clear, that’s from receiving 2 robots, opening the boxes, setting them up, emptying them and doing the areas they can’t get to in the first month. And the cleanliness they are maintaining is better than I would clean to and on a par with my wife’s expectation.
So I am happy I got 1. Happy I got a second. And very happy that I no longer have to waste so much time doing it myself.
Unfortunately in my household we are now having a discussion on division of Labour as my share of the jobs has gradually become automated (I’ve never regretted that first dishwasher either), but that doesn’t change the fact that with regular scheduling and patience to allow the cumulative effect to show, these have saved me time from doing a necessary job I don’t like. So as such, I’m happy.
| Product Dimensions | 25 x 20 x 5 cm; 3.58 kg |
|---|---|
| Form Factor | Portable |
| Batteries required | No |
| Included components | Filter |
