Cleaning your house can be exasperating at times. It, for sure, is a tough job to do. And, if not always, sometimes, you do feel like having someone else do it for you, right? But, do you have that much time to hire a maid service for doing it? No, right? Hiring a maid service is not only time consuming but will also cost you more than a robot vacuum cleaner. These artificially intelligent machines can prove as a great help for you to perform your daily chores. They are a one-time investment and can work efficiently without getting much assistance from you.
Robot vacuum cleaners are available in a huge variety depending upon their size, shape, price, function, and many such things. Not sure of what all functions your robot vacuum cleaner should comprise of? Or which one will help you better clean your pet dirt? You obviously, might be having a number of questions in your mind. If this is the case, then here is a robot vacuum cleaner buying guide that might help you decide what all functions your robot vacuum cleaner should incorporate based on your needs and other such stuff.
Buying a robot vacuum cleaner is not an easy job so, here’s a robot vacuum cleaner buying guide to help you!
In this robot vacuum cleaner buying guide, you will see a few features that you might want to consider while buying a robot vacuum cleaner.
1. Why Do You Need Robot Vacuum Cleaners?
This is a technology-driven world we live in, a place where we cannot spend a second even without a gadget. A place no one had imagined of before, this is the future. In this technologically advanced world, machines have made our lives simpler in every possible way. And, when I say every possible way, it would also include the help gadgets give in our daily household chores. We, at this point, have machines doing our work, even cleaning. Almost every work, including driving, sky navigation, and even cleaning is done by robots. Robots who used to, earlier, find their ways through road traffic, and the open horizon can now also find their way through your furniture.
A robot vacuum cleaner can keep your house relatively cleaner and can also save you the hassle of scheduling a maid service for doing the job. Your kids too, won’t get angry at you for telling them to do their room or clothes, unless, obviously, you want to trouble them on purpose 😉
A robot vacuum cleaner, for sure, cannot replace a deep house cleaning, but will surely help you clean the food crumbs fallen on the floor or on the couch. They would help you clean hair (of all types), pet litter, dust bunnies, and every dust particle that we are likely to leave behind on the floor, couch, or at any place while residing in a house. Not only do robot vacuum cleaners work in house, but they can also help you in your office cleaning. The last thing you want to worry about when on a deadline is why your table is still having food crumbs of the lunch you ate.
You can schedule a time for these vacuum cleaners to perform their task according to your convenience. You can schedule their working time as often as once a day or multiple times in a week. Some of the robot vacuum cleaners are also available with their companion apps, which can be utilized for a smooth operation of these robot vacuum cleaners. If allergies and dust concern you, you can opt for the models which come in with a built-in HEPA filter.
In this robot vacuum cleaner buying guide, I will give you guidance about how to choose a robot vacuum cleaner depending upon various factors.
2. How to choose the right robot vacuum cleaner depending upon your needs/expectations and house type?
How Big Is Your House?
Before browsing through Amazon and Flipkart, consider knowing the size of your house. This will help you choose the perfect fit according to your needs. How does the size of your house matter in choosing the vacuum cleaner? The size matters because a few vacuum cleaners work better in smaller spaces like apartments and townhouses, while some work better in larger environments that have multiple rooms and floors. Why? You will get to know it after you use them 😉
Along with the size of your house, you will also have to figure out the room you have under your furniture for the vacuum cleaner to pass through. Some vacuums are taller (about 4 inches), which prohibits them from fitting and thus clean under dressers and beds while some are comparatively smaller in size, about 3 inches tall, which gives them an easy time navigation through compact and heavily furnished places.
What Type of Flooring Do You Have in Your House?
Generally, most of the robot vacuum cleaner models can handle cleaning on both carpets and hardwood. But, the difference is that some vacuum models are better at cleaning than the others. Higher-end robot vacuum cleaner models can adapt to rapid surface changes while some cannot. They can escalate their power whenever a carpet is detected and then can quickly limit their power down whenever it senses hardwood. Rugs, too, should be an aspect in your buying decision. Lower-end models might catch you up in tassels.
Settle on A Budget
Robot vacuum cleaners come in several models. Some cost less while some are more expensive than the others; some are small while some are big, they come in various shapes and, most importantly, at varying prices. One principle on which our life or, more precisely, our thinking works on, the more you spend, the more features you have access to. Likewise, if you opt for a more expensive vacuum cleaner, you are more likely to get better features with it. However, there are exceptions to everything; you might find that some vacuum cleaners serve you with better cleaning being less expensive while the expensive ones cannot. So, choose your cleaner wisely.
Battery Life
On an average, most of the cleaners can unremittingly keep cleaning for an hour and a half. Some high-end vacuum cleaner models can last two hours even. Some vacuum cleaners, even navigate back to their base stations, charge up and then finish cleaning, like a good kid.
What About Pet Cleaning?
Fortunately, most of the vacuum cleaners are suited for cleaning up after pets. These models can successfully pick up a considerable amount of pet hair along with dirt on both hardwood and carpets. If you suffer from allergies, you can opt for vacuum cleaners that come with HEPA filters. They will purge allergens hanging in the air.
If you want to have a vacuum clean-up after your pets, you will have to make sure that you schedule frequent clean-ups and maintenance. In this case, the roller brush, side brushes, and the HEPA filter will keep wearing out after a period of time. In this case, you would also need to make sure that you keep your vacuum cleaner well maintained. You will also have to consider the dust bag size while choosing the vacuum cleaner. Look for dustbins that are larger than 600 milliliters. With a larger dust bag size, you won’t have to worry about emptying the bag frequently.
3. Features to Look for In A Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Stair Detection
Stair detection feature in a robot vacuum cleaner helps it detect and sense any step or ledge. With this feature, the robot vacuum can immediately back off when it senses stairs, thus avoiding a damaging stumble.
Virtual Wall
Virtual Wall is used to create a virtual barrier that would block off open doorways or other areas in the house that you don’t want the robot vacuum cleaner to enter into.
Programmable Times
This feature will allow you to set timings beforehand for your vacuum cleaner to operate. You can set it to function at a particular time in a day or week. The robot vacuum will automatically start functioning at the selected times.
Automatic Docking and Charging
With this feature in your vacuum cleaner, the device will automatically go back to the charger and would dock automatically whenever the battery is low.
Noise Level
Generally, Robot Vacuum cleaners are quieter as compared to the standard vacuum cleaners. But as there are always exceptions, here too, some do make exasperating high-pitched whistle noises while some make mechanical grinding noises while working. This feature might be a little less important for you to consider while buying a robot vacuum cleaner if it mostly functions while you are out on your job, but it may annoy your neighbors, which will be bad if you still want them to share their Christmas cookies with you.
Mopping and Wet Mopping Functions
The mopping function in the robot vacuum cleaner usually involves putting a small amount of water into a tank. The water then moistens the microfibre pad attached to the vacuum’s base. The vacuum will wet the floors to remove stubborn dirt and debris.
4. Extra Function You Might Want to Consider While Buying A Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot Vacuum Cleaner Apps
Most of the robot vacuum cleaners are smart-home enabled. These robot vacuum cleaners will connect with your wireless router and will work a devoted app to succor you control your cleaning schedules.
Though the functionality of the app would vary depending upon how sophisticated the vacuum cleaner is, the app should have the ability to turn the cleaner on and off or to pause the cycle and to program the vacuum cleaner at your preferred time.
Other functions that the app might include are a map of the places where the vacuum cleaner has cleaned, vacuum cleaners history, spot cleaning, manual cleaning, vacuum cleaner’s battery status, and notification when the vacuum job is done.
Webcams
Some high-end vacuum cleaners even double as a security camera. You can, from anywhere, in conjunction with an app, can log and monitor your home.
Remote Control
A majority of robot vacuum cleaners come with a remote control, which can be used to control the vacuum cleaner, change its settings, or to direct it around the room.
Pricing of the robot vacuum cleaners
When on a search for robot vacuum cleaners, you will find numerous vacuum cleaners distinct in functions and prices. According to the latest research for the pricing of robot vacuum cleaners, the cheapest one would cost $159 while the most expensive ones are worth $1999.
What will you get in the cheapest model?
You can get low to mid-end robot vacuum cleaners at the lowest prices. They offer long cleaning times, have larger sized dustbins and low profiles. But in order to save you a few dollars; they often omit things such as Wi-Fi connectivity and sophisticated navigation.
What will you get in the most expensive model?
If you don’t really have a budget then you can opt for high-end vacuum cleaners that offer functions such as floor mapping, Wi-Fi connectivity, etc. Some vacuum cleaners even come with functions such as recharging base, dustbin that would automatically suck the dirt out of the vacuum cleaner, robot mop, etc.
5. Are Robot Vacuum Cleaners Worth It?
I won’t recommend any robot vacuum cleaner as a complete replacement for your regular barrel, stick, or an upright vacuum cleaner, especially if you have carpeted floors. Nevertheless, robot vacuum cleaners can be a great choice for in-between cleans. Robot vacuum cleaners can also be used on a daily basis if you remain out of the house, most of the time. They don’t need much help in the functioning and can be easily monitored and commanded to operate remotely.
In spite of their autonomous nature and functionality, they would still need cleaning of its dust bins, filters, and brushes on a regular basis. Robot vacuum cleaners can be of great help for you. They would lessen your work without needing much parenting. Robot vacuum cleaners are also a good one-time investment, which will save you a few bucks. They will also save time needed for hiring or scheduling a maid service for the same job.
Hope this robot vacuum cleaner buying guide helped you deciding the functions you would want to incorporate in your robot vacy. Happy buying!
