We understand whether it is worth buying a robot vacuum cleaner: the pros and cons of an automatic device
Laziness is the engine of progress, no matter how strange it may sound. A long time ago, a man was too lazy to walk long distances, and he invented the wheel.
Then, the man was too lazy to weave his own fabrics, and he invented the world's first manufactory machine.
Today, robots do a lot of work for us, which undoubtedly helps us and moves progress forward even faster. Robots are increasingly replacing us in physical labor.
But this is not about that, but about a robot vacuum cleaner designed to help us in everyday life, how robot vacuum cleaners deserve our attention and how much they correspond to their price tag.
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Features and purpose of the robot vacuum cleaner
This robot is designed for cleaning premises, it can:
- Recognize objects on the floor: thanks to a special camera, he notices in time all objects that can interfere with the cleaning process, and bypasses them;
- Automatically increase power when needed: If you live in a large area and have carpets, you should pay attention that the robot can automatically increase the working power by driving on the carpet. For a hard floor, the standard mode is enough, but the carpet requires more power.
- Perform dry and wet cleaning at the same time: the cleaning process takes much less time when the robot can both vacuum and wash at the same time.
Advantages and disadvantages of automatic vacuum cleaners
The advent of the robot vacuum cleaner has made human life easier. There is no time for cleaning - turned it on, and the house became clean.
But it's not as simple in reality as it is in theory.An automatic vacuum cleaner has both advantages and disadvantages, so it’s worth weighing the pros and cons before deciding whether such an assistant is needed in the house, or is it better to do the old fashioned way and do the cleaning yourself.
Advantages
- The first and most important advantage is that it cleans itself, no fuss with the hose, no running from outlet to outlet. You just need to press the button on the vacuum cleaner body - and the fight against debris began. A navigation system with different sensors helps him move without human intervention. In advanced models, you can also build a map of the room, draw walls so that you don’t go where you don’t need to, and generally control it from your smartphone. Particularly noteworthy are models that can return to the docking station if they need recharging, and then go back to cleaning.
- The second advantage is that cleaning in the house is possible even when a person is absent. This requires that the robot can be controlled using an application on a smartphone. We started cleaning while you are at work - and by the time you arrive, the apartment is clean and tidy.
- The third advantage is compactness. But there are pluses and minuses all rolled into one. The advantage is that it can be stored both on the floor at the additional station and in the closet. You can't just put a vacuum cleaner with a corrugation against the wall. It’s a little easier with batteries, but if there is no vertical parking, you will also have to get confused. And the downside is that it is impossible to fit a large dust container into such a compact size, so it will often have to be emptied.
Flaws
- The first drawback on the surface is that he does not know how to clean himself. There are brushes that themselves are cleaned of hair and wool, but all the same, the garbage gets into the container, and it needs to be cleaned. If the volume is small, then you will have to clean it often.
- You can’t just take and turn on the robot, you need to clear the territory for it. Of course, optical sensors will help you avoid obstacles, infrared sensors will save wires, help you drive onto the carpet and not fall down the stairs, and ultrasonic sensors will orient you in doorways and under furniture, but sometimes some of them may be missing or not work correctly, and the robot will crash in anything and everything. In general, you need to prepare a site for cleaning. At a minimum, move chairs, remove boxes and other rubbish.
- Corners, furniture bases, skirting boards. It's all about the design. It is sometimes difficult for a round robot to cope with a corner and clean out all the garbage. Although, reinforced brushes solve this problem, when instead of three bristles there are six, they solve only partly.
- Price. Few can afford a robot vacuum cleaner, just look at the prices and compare with the prices of conventional vacuum cleaners.
And there are a number of points with which it is not so easy to decide whether this is a merit or a disadvantage, from which side to look.
- The first of them is associated with the difficulties of driving under low furniture, if it is too high, and with overcoming thresholds. But, if you pay attention to this moment when choosing, you can avoid situations related to this.
- The next point concerns wet cleaning. Firstly, not all models can do this. And secondly, those who can do it are not so good that they can forget about the existence of a mop. They can walk and remove dust, but washing some kind of stain is difficult, rather even impossible.
- The third point is carpet cleaning. Yes, robots can drive on the carpet and clean it, especially if the carpet is low pile, but if the pile is high, then, with a high probability, the vacuum cleaner will not cope.
How significant these shortcomings are and whether they overlap the advantages, everyone decides for himself.
How to choose a robot vacuum cleaner and not be disappointed
You never want to start cleaning, but sooner or later you have to. Fortunately, this task can be partially taken over by a robot vacuum cleaner. But how to choose it correctly so as not to be mistaken?
Here are some points to pay attention to:
Cleaning type
First of all, you need to decide what kind of vacuum cleaner you need: for dry cleaning or for dry and wet.
If you choose a vacuum cleaner with the possibility of wet cleaning, then you should know that such a vacuum cleaner cannot become a full-fledged replacement for a mop or washing vacuum cleaner, but it can simply walk on the floor and remove dust.
Opening hours and declared area
Also, the battery life and the declared area are important.
When the area of the house is 150 square meters, and the robot can only do 50, then you don’t want to clean in several passes, or decide what is more important to clean now and what else can wait.
Sensors and navigation system
The next important point is the sensors and the navigation system, which saves socks and wires from chewing, and the robot itself from falling.
The sensors are different.
Optical, which help to detect and avoid obstacles. A good option for a small apartment with a minimum amount of furniture.
Ultrasonic, which tell you where the doorways are, help drive under and out of low furniture. Just a good option for a multi-room apartment. But you also need to look at the height of the thresholds that the robot can overcome, the minimum should be 1.5 centimeters.
Infrared sensors are needed so that the wires remain on the floor, the robot does not fall down the stairs and can drive onto the carpet. By the way, there are robots that can drive on carpets with high pile, models with such sensors are suitable for those who have a multi-level apartment or house.
Laser - with their help, the vacuum cleaner can build a map of the room and remember it. In the case of a multi-storey apartment or house, this is ideal, but their vision is not perfect.
But the important thing is that no matter what navigation system the vacuum cleaner has, judging by the reviews on the Internet, during the first start it will still fight against everything and everything.
Types of movement
Next, the main types of movement of the vacuum cleaner.
This can be a chaotic movement, in a straight line, a spiral, for a more thorough cleaning, and a zigzag, as is the case with washing robots.
Which of the three modes is better, everyone decides for himself, but cleaning an apartment with an area of 60 squares will take 40 minutes if the device can build a map of the room, and about an hour if the trajectory of movement is chaotic or spiral.
Also, the vacuum cleaner can repeat the area already passed, which still delays cleaning in time.
Dimensions and shape of the robot
The smaller the body in height, the more likely it is that the robot will be able to drive under low furniture. But there is a small nuance: a large garbage container and a large capacity battery will not fit in a small case.
They are mostly round in shape, and there is one significant drawback: this shape does not allow you to fully clean the corners of the room.
Also, there are square and D-shaped, in terms of walls and corners they feel more confident.
brushes
In budget models, these are often brushes, in more expensive models - turbo brushes, and in some models both.
Dust container volume
If it is small, then even a long operating time will not save, and you will have to clean the garbage container during cleaning, which is not very convenient.
The minimum value from which it is worth starting from the area of \u200b\u200ban apartment of 60-70 squares is 0.5 liters.
How to maintain the robot vacuum cleaner after cleaning
To begin with, you need to immediately unfasten the container with water, unfasten the rag from it and wash it with soap. Pour out the water from the container, leave the valve on the container open.
Next, remove the trash can, discard all the contents from it, snap off the filter and clean it with a special brush that is included in the kit for this.
Wash and dry the waste container. Next, you need to wash the brushes of the vacuum cleaner, you can simply rinse them under water and insert them back. Wipe the vacuum cleaner from the inside.
Repeat this procedure every 2-3 cleanings.
Useful video
The question of whether to buy a robot vacuum cleaner will be answered in an informative video clip:
