The Lydsto R1 is a Lidar-guided robot cleaner with a self-empty cleaning base that has most
of the features of flagship competitors but cost half of the price. Right now it's available on
Amazon for less than $400 which is the best price I've seen for a self-empty robot vacuum. As usual,
I made a bunch of tests with this device and want to share my thoughts about this robot.
The box contains the robot, self-emptying base, 6 disposable bags, 30 disposable mopping pads,
and user manual. The base station uses a bagged system. One disposable bag holds up
to 3L and according to the manufacturer it can be replaced once per month.
Right now our expert is checking the build quality of the self-emptying base.
The front part has two charging contacts and a suction inlet through which it sucks the
dirt out of the robot you can adjust the cord length by hiding it behind the base
the Lydsto is a two-in-one device and it can vacuum and mop at the same time. A combined
two-in-one water and dust container is attached to the backside of the robot. The three-stage
filtration system includes a screen, pre, and HEPA filters. The cleaning brush roll side tips are
removable. Thanks to this the roller is easier to clean of tangled hair. The robot has a wall
sensor. When the robot cleans along the edges, the sensor helps to keep it close to walls. After the
first run, the self-emptying base was able to suck up all the dust and hair out of the dustbin. The
robot can be paired and controlled by the Lydsto app and as well as other Lidar robots it shows
the mapping and cleaning process in real-time. It takes 48 minutes to clean the 51 sqm area.
When the first cleaning is finished and the map is saved, you can merge, divide, and name the rooms.
The robot supports up to 3 maps so it's suitable for multi-level houses.
I placed a few plants and sneakers to test how well the robot covers the room.
It did a great job without missing any spots and without dragging objects around.
To test the cleaning performance, I made a few tests with 100 grams of
sand and debris on hard floor, low, and medium-pile carpet.
On low pile carpet, it picked up 88% of sand which is on par with more expensive models. However,
in the test with 100 grams of sand on hard floors the result was worse than average. Not sure why it
struggles with sand on hard floors so bad, maybe the roller brush is not close enough to the floor.
It does a great job in corners. The results was better than average.
It also shows a good result on the low and medium-pile
carpet at picking up debris scoring almost 100%.
While its performance on hard floor with sand was below average,
it did much better with debris pick up.
To make the robot increase suction on carpet automatically,
you have to turn on auto boost which is off on default. This feature helps to optimize
battery life for those who have carpets and hard floors. Its debris pick-up ability on
hard floors and carpet is one of the best, definitely better than average.
When testing with long human hair I noticed that most hairs got wrapped around the brush
which is a common issue with most robots. However, it takes a minute to clean the brush.
the Lydsto performs very well with cat hair all the hair in my test has been picked up.
To test the self-emptying base I made a mix of sand, debris, and cat's hair.
The base was able to suck up more than half of the dust out of the bin.
After the second attempt, the dustbin was empty. It's an extreme test, in normal conditions the
base works pretty good. The water tank holds 250 milliliters of water and is controlled by
an electronic water pump. It is enough to mop a 100 sqm area. Besides the standard mopping cloth,
the robot comes with 30 disposable mopping wipes which you can use if you don't like to
wash the cloth manually. The app allows setting different mopping and vacuum modes for each room.
The mopping pad has to be removed after mopping so it does not damage your floors. Keep in mind,
the manufacturer does not recommend adding a cleaning solution as it might clog the water pump.
For the mopping test, I used sauces and coffee to make stains and let them dry.
the Lydsto removed coffee in mayo stains but didn't remove soy sauce. I would say
that the mopping performance is just average, not the best but also not the worst I've seen.
The robot can climb on a 2 cm plank without the mopping pad, but with the mopping pad attached,
the climbing ability is a bit worse, yet it still climbs a 15 mm plank easily.
If you want it to fit under your furniture ensure there is at least a 10 cm gap under.
the app allows setting no-go zones, virtual walls, and no-mop zones. The no-mop zones are active only
when the mopping pad is attached. A no-go zone keeps the robot off certain areas no matter with
or without the mopping pad on. As you can see, the robot does well at avoiding restricted areas.
Aside from the features mentioned, you can send the robot to clean a specific room or a few,
set a cleaning zone, or a spot. When setting the schedule you can
select a suction mode and water level and whether to clean a room or a whole house.
There is also cleaning history, maintenance, remote controller, and edge cleaning mode.
The Lydsto app is not perfect and has some bugs, but since it's a new robot
vacuum I hope it will be improved over time. I received a new firmware update a week ago,
so looks like the company contains fixing and improving the software.
Lydsto is a new player on the market so before buying I would recommend checking reviews to see
if the company provides decent customer service and if spare parts available on the market.
Vacuuming and mopping performance is good enough for this price range and navigation is on par
with other high-end competitors. For a Lidar robot vacuum with a mopping feature, self-emptying base,
lots of accessories in the box, and the price tag under $400, the Lydsto R1 is a decent device.