Knowing how to choose a robot vacuum can be a bit tricky especially with the different models available online.
Gone are the days when you would have to rub and scrub all day long to make your floors look brand new again.
Nowadays, you can get a professional upright vacuum cleaner which is lightweight and cleans the floors thoroughly, a canister vacuum or even better, get a robot vacuum cleaner which does the job for you while you sit on your couch, watching television.
Robot cleaners are very varied, increasingly inexpensive, and more and more sophisticated. What can be more beautiful than watching one of those little gadgets doing the work for you? Even your cat will love them!
However, it is a good idea to do a little bit of research before buying a robot vacuum. Some of them are more suitable for houses with hardwood floors, others are perfect for homes with carpet floors while other still are designed to eliminate pet hair in an instant.
Keep reading this article to find out more about them.
How to Choose the Best Robot Mop or Vacuum
Type of floor
As mentioned earlier, some robot cleaners are designed to work better on various surfaces.
All of them are practical for wooden floors, bamboo floors, carpets, linoleum, ceramic tiles, etc, but certain ones can make hardwood floors spotless quicker and easier.
If you have a house with hardwood flooring, look for a robot which is designed to clean this type of floor.
If you have carpets, look for robot cleaners which can instantly make them shine. If you have a combination of both or other types of floors, get a standard robot cleaner which works best on both surfaces.
You are probably wondering what happens when you put your robot vacuum to clean your floors and you have a combination of hardwood with carpets.
Well, sophisticated robots have a self-adjusting height which basically means that they will automatically lift themselves up when they encounter carpets and continue the cleaning process.
These sensors are extremely sensitive and can immediately adjust the height of the robot according to circumstances.
Area covered
This aspect relies mostly on the battery, motor, and overall efficiency of the appliance. For example, most robot vacuums can cover an area of at least 1,000 square feet while more sophisticated ones can go up to 2,000 feet in some cases.
This basically means that you can rely on them to clean your house completely in one go before they need recharging.
Type of cleaning
Since robot vacuums are quite different one from the other, their cleaning mechanism is also different. For example, some of them rely on suction power to absorb dust and store it in a special container, just as a regular vacuum cleaner does.
Other robot vacuums use different types of brushes for cleaning your floors. These brushes spin rapidly and eliminate dust, lint, pet hairs and other types of impurities.
Both of these cleaning methods are efficient, but if you want to give your house a more thorough cleaning process, you might want to choose the suction method.
Pet-friendly vacuums
Just as some robot cleaners are specially designed to handle hardwood floors or carpets, others are better suited for homes with pets.
Photo credit: everythinginspirational.com
These devices are particularly useful at eliminating pet hairs and other pet-related dirt. If you have a cat or a dog in your house, go for a pet-friendly robot cleaner for best results.
Water tank or dust tank
Some robot cleaners use steam to eliminate dirt and bacteria from your floors, therefore, they need water. These appliances come with a built-in water tank which can have a capacity of about 1 lb.
This water is used to produce steam to clean your floors thoroughly. Other robot vacuums don’t use steam technology, so they basically rely on suction to clean your floors.
The accumulate dirt needs to be stored somewhere and this place is called a dust tank. Similarly to the water tank, this storage area has a capacity of about 1 pound or more and it needs to be emptied every now and then.
Cleaning modes
Depending on the type of robot cleaner you bought, it can come with multiple useful cleaning modes such as Edge Cleaning, Spot Cleaning, Auto Mode, Concentration Clean, etc.
All of these are great ways to eliminate dust and dirt from different types of floors such as wood, ceramic, carpet, tile, marble, and so on.
It is a good idea to give every mode a try and see how it goes. The Auto Mode is particularly useful as you just press a button and let the machine do the cleaning chore for you.
Thanks to its incorporated sensors, the robot cleaner will scan the area for obstacles and automatically change its course. It will stop if it stumbles upon borders, furniture items, etc, and in about 30 or 60 minutes, it will give your house a thorough cleaning job.
Some people were concerned about the noise levels, but these are usually low. For example, most robot vacuums can have a sound level between 40 and 60 decibels which is not dangerous for the human hearing.
Weight
This aspect is also important because usually the lighter the robot cleaner, the longer it can clean your house.
Most vacuums weigh between 4 and 6 pounds, so they are not extremely heavy. They are portable and can be easily transported from room to room or from house to house.
The larger the vacuum cleaner, the more spacious its water tank, dust storage bin or battery.
Battery and runtime
Speaking of battery, since your robot vacuum needs to be cordless, it uses a lithium battery just like your phone does.
The battery usually has a capacity between 2,000 and 3,000 mAh and this means that you can use your cleaner about 100 minutes.
Obviously, the actual runtimes differ from gadget to gadget, but you will always get more than an hour of work from your device.
The actual runtime can also be influenced by various other factors such as the type of cleaning selected, the intensity of the suction, etc.
Some high-quality models come back to the docking station automatically when the battery level is low, so you don’t even have to recharge them manually.
If you go for a less sophisticated model, you might still need to plug the robot into a 120V power outlet, but this is not a big burden at the end of the day.
App compatibility
Pretty much all gadgets have an app these days which gives you the possibility to control them using your phone.
Some robot vacuums are synchronized with Alexa while others come with an app released by the manufacturer.
These apps are compatible with iOS, Android, and Windows phones and they allow you to schedule cleaning times, see the battery level, choose the right cleaning method, etc.
Nothing can be more beautiful than sitting in your armchair watching a movie and tapping the screen of your phone to send your diligent robot vacuum to work!
Accessories
A good robot vacuum also comes with multiple accessories you can take advantage of such as charger, additional battery, filters, brushes, cable ties, etc.
These accessories will help your robot clean various flooring options more efficiently.
Some robot cleaners also come with boundary accessories which basically allow you to create a perimeter in your house and the robot vacuum will eliminate dust and dirt from that area only.
Warranty and price
You might be happy to find out that all robot vacuums come with a warranty period of 1 year which covers the cost of part replacement, if necessary.
Customers who ever encounter problems with their units should contact the manufacturer and use the warranty card accordingly. When it comes to price, there are robot vacuums for every budget.
For example, the usual price range for this product is something between $75-$100 and $300-$350 in some cases.
There are numerous factors which influence this price such as runtime, cleaning method, self-adjusting height, compatibility with apps and Alexa, design, accessories included, etc.
More sophisticated models definitely offer the best cleaning process, so if you want that, consider spending more on your robot vacuum.
On the other hand, if you’d like a standard one just to see how it works and to save you around 1 or 2 hours every week, go for a regular robot vacuum priced around $150-$200.
Here’s a video that explains things:
To Conclude
In the movie “I, Robot” with Will Smith, you saw a more humanoid robot which can do virtually anything. Modern technology is not there yet, but we’re getting close.
By buying a robot vacuum, not only that you can save time, but enjoy a cleaner house every day and live more comfortably in your property.
All that you have to do now is to set a budget and assess what types of floors you have in your house.
Once you know that, look on the market for robot vacuums that can tick all your boxes, taking into account whether or not you have pets, you want the robot to be synched with Alexa, your prefer suction over brushes, etc.
Most customers are satisfied with a robot vacuum and would never go back to cleaning the house manually, so you might enjoy this piece of technology as well!
