This is my Robot vacuum cleaner
It's the iRobot Roomba 980
It has been out for a couple of years
But I've had the opportunity over the last month
to test it out in my own home.
I'm curious about whether these things are actually worth buying
or if they're just gimmicky and you end up having to do the vacuuming yourself anyway.
Considering this top-spec Roomba 980 costs the better part of £1000
Is it actually worth buying? Does it keep your house clean?
basically - should you get one?
away!
Its all about convenience - how important is your time.
I mean I vacuum my house - which to be fair isnt even that big - probably once a week.
With the Roomba, its more like once a month.
With the higher end models like the Roomba 980, you get WiFi and app support, so you
dont even need to set it off yourself, you can program a schedule.
Ive got my robot which I called Steve - for some reason - doing the round every monday,
wednesday and friday at 10am.
I get little app notifications come up when hes finished, if hes full, if hes stuck - which
occasionally he does get.
Basically, except for emptying him out once a week and plonking him at the top of the
stairs to do my upstairs - its a very hands-off experience.
Suction and cleaning power will vary depending on what model of robot vacuum cleaner you
go for - with a variety of Roomba models available.
My roomba will last 2 hours on a single charge before it returns home to the docking station,
and takes about 30 minutes to do my kitchen and living room.
It starts off pretty methodical, going back and forth, but then as it gently bumps into
chairs and walls it maps out the space and then seems to end up going in all sorts of
directions.
But regardless of the route it takes, fair play to it - it does cover all the space,
and unlike the Dyson 360 eye is small enough to go under my sofa and my bed which is another
handy advantage over a traditional upright vacuum cleaner.
I was impressed with how it handled wires and cables too, sometimes it would get itself
a bit worked up but 99% of the time it got free and so far..
Hasnt chewed up or damaged anything.
I dont have pets though - and while this would definitely be useful for regularly vacuuming
cat or dog hair - i would be afraid what would happen if it drove through your pets...lets
just say mess.
I also find that when I know Steve is about to go off on his rounds, ill move furniture
out of the way or try to clear as much floor space so he can clean everywhere - although
at that point i'm thinking well i may as well just do it myself, im already moving furniture
about.
But on the whole I have to say i am convinced, not necessarily by the slightly eye-watering
price, but the idea of a robot vacuum cleaner - providing regular cleaning to your house,
and then backed up by you doing a proper vacuuming session - once a month or something.
Vacuum cleaners arent the sexiest or most glamorous gadgets to talk about - but more
than once Ive found myself just watching Steve go around, impressed by how he gets right
in the corners, can navigate around awkward stalls and pushes my shoes out of the way
in the hallway.
So this top-end Roomba 980 costs �899, which is an awful lot of money.
Although Roombas start from about £350 - although they lack app support and dont have high-power
carpet cleaning modes.
Theres also strong competition from more budget robot vacuum cleaners like the Xiaomi Mi Robot
- which could be a good starting point to see if its something you want in your home.
But after a month of use, I have to say I really like my Roomba and I would recommend
it.
Its definitely a luxury rather than a necessity, but whichever model you go for, I think every
house or apartment should have its own little steve doing your chores while youre out.
Although for 900-quid, I also kind of expect it to make me a cuppa tea and bring me breakfast
in the morning.
Maybe on next years model.
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