Robot Vacuum Cleaner 101 & Buyer’s Guide
What are the most frequent reasons for buying a Robot Vacuum Cleaner?
Cleaning takes care of itself.
Ever find yourself rushing about to vacuum the floor before someone comes over to visit? Do you get tired of coming home to dirty floors, knowing that you have to vacuum? A robot vacuum cleaner takes care of all of these things for you. Now, you can come home to perfectly clean floors and stop fretting when company is coming.
Fewer allergies.
Because of the fact that a robot vacuum cleans your home constantly and some even come with HEPA filters, your family will breathe cleaner air. Imagine comfortable breathing, less coughing, and less irritation. All of these things are achievable with the help of an automatic vacuum. (More …)
Less time cleaning and more time with family and friends.
Face it – vacuuming is a menial task and no one truly enjoys it. When you can automate the process, you have more time to spend with your friends and family, whether your family includes your parents, your children, your husband, your pets – or even a combination of these.
Sit back and relax.
Even if you live alone, you still do not want to come home to a dusty, dirty floor. Whether you work 70 hours a week and you are just too tired to clean or you work part-time but choose to wrap yourself up in your hobbies, there is one less task for you to worry about, and all you have to do is relax and enjoy it.
A c
omfortable home that is the apple of your neighbors’ eyes.
Not only will you notice that your home is cleaner when you invest in a robotic vacuum cleaner, but your friends and family will notice, too. They will want to know how you keep everything so clean – and you will be able to tell them that it is all thanks to your new automatic vacuum.
Bring the future home.
With so many people standing in line for days on end to purchase the latest smartphone or video game console, others have discovered a brand new type of technology in the robot vacuum cleaner. What’s more, you will not have to wait in line for days to get one. When it arrives, you will marvel in the technology and feel as if you have just leaped into the future.
Funny robot vacuum movie of the month:
Why Do Robotic Vacuum Cleaners Fit Our Time?
Today’s world is busy. We are busy. Our kids are busy. We go to work 40 hours or more each week, and our kids not only go to school, but they attend sports practices and do their homework, too. The fact that many people find the time to tend to anything around the house is a miracle, yet we do it. We do the laundry, we load and unload the dishes, and we even scrub the bathroom down once or twice per week.
What if you could automate some of that cleaning? What if you could spend far less time cleaning and much more time enjoying the simple things in life and even life healthier? What if you could kick back, relax, and watch, as your home got cleaner by the second? What if you could buy a product that could do your housework for you?
Today, you can. With an Automatic Vacuum Cleaner – otherwise known as the Robot Vacuum Cleaner – one of the world’s most exciting and innovative technologies.
Vacuuming is one of those time-consuming activities that every household has to do, especially if they have pets or allergies. Automatic Vacuum Cleaners make things simpler and easier by automating the process of removing dirt, debris, pet hair, and even allergy-causing dander from your floors. You will have a cleaner, more hospitable home, and you and your family can breathe nothing but clean, filtered air around the clock. And by the way, how cool is it to have a robot do the homework?
Whether you are a single parent with multiple kids, you live alone and work 70-hour weeks, or you are part of a small family who would rather spend their time with each other than with monotonous cleaning tasks, a robotic vacuum cleaner is for you.
The Buying Process: Getting the Best – Not the Rest.
The above described healthy, futuristic feeling and experience is what you will get if you choose the right product, and picking it in the beginning can be kind of tricky as there is tons of information and lots of promises out there. You really want to do your homework before you buy one; otherwise, it can be a pretty expensive and frustrating experience. That’s what this website is all about; we’ve tested many of them and we are able to help you pick the best products.
This is what you get when you chose state of the art today:
Aside from the fact that they look incredibly advanced, they actually are incredibly advanced. In fact, a robot vacuum can change your life in many ways. Here are just a few examples:
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The market.
Only a few manufacturers are really making a difference. iRobot is the market leader by far, but others including Neato Robotics, Samsung, LG, and even Dyson, which is going to have a new model soon. You may want to check out our reviews section above to find out about the robots we have tested thus far. In this post, I just want to present the results to help you understand what to look for, which, after all, is simple.
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About the Manufacturer: What to Look For
- First of all this is a relatively new technology; these vacuums only have been around for about 15 years. You want to look out for a manufacturer who has expertise in this high tech market.
- Second, you want products known for high quality, so make sure to check out reviews on manufacturer’s website or Amazon, for example.
- Third, if you have questions, you want answers. Check out how much info and support you can get from a manufacturer’s website, and find out if they offer support or live chat, etc.
- Last, but most certainly not least, if anything is broken you want help – fast. Are spare parts available? Do you have to send it in? Should you find a repair shop or can you do it yourself? As a tip, do not take good service for granted since every manufacturer understands support and customer care differently.
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Our Choice Is iRobot.
is the world leader in robotic vacuum cleaners with their Roomba models (Roomba Comparison), and these came as a result of a long, complex history. iRobot’s products have homes with SWAT teams and military installations, helping them diffuse bombs before they cause injury. They even produce technologies allowing families to remain in virtual contact with one another, despite the number of miles between them. Thanks to the geniuses at MIT, all of these things are possible – and you can experience the 21st century technology in your very own home with a Roomba robot vacuum.
No doubt that there are other companies with great ideas, and there is no denying that new technologies come about all the time. For now, iRobot offers the world’s state-of-the-art products. Since we will keep testing, we’ll let you know if that changes.
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Choosing a Suitable Model
Choosing the right model is not difficult when you consider your budget. This is a high-tech market, so in our experience, there is no such thing as a product that is both cheap AND good. Quality entry-level models start at about $400, and you can often find them cheaper on Amazon, these are Amazon’s current best sellers. You can always buy a cheaper robot vacuum since there are certainly plenty out there, but what you are buying is not a state of the art model. It cannot and will not provide you with the experiences pictured above. There are no horrible reviews here, either. This website is all about recommendations – not bashing.
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Our Preferred Model – The Roomba 880
Although iRobot is the parent of several robot vacuums, including the Roomba 630, Roomba 650, Roomba 770, Roomba 780 and Roomba 870, there is just no denying that the Roomba 880 is the best robot vacuum cleaner conceived yet. It won awards immediately after its release, and engineers touted it as the best innovative development of the year. We have attached a link to each mentioned model; feel free to check those out.
And for a quick over view here’s a video:
The Roomba 880’s unique iAdapt Technology out-cleans the competitors, literally sweeping them under the rug. Extensive testing revealed software and sensors, which guide the vacuum throughout the home, essentially giving it a “brain” and allowing it to clean more efficiently (considering cleaning results) than any robot vacuum before it in our experience. No matter how large or small your home, and no matter how unique your floor plan, you can rest comfortably in the knowledge that the Roomba 880 has you covered best possible to date. It comes with a host of unique features that make it a top contender, including:
- Dual HEPA Filters make it a great choice if you want to breath clean air, especially if you suffer from allergies.
- Virtual Walls and Virtual Lighthouses that guide the robot from room to room, improving efficiency with every pass.
- Cleans next to baseboards, in corners, and under most furniture effectively, without being stuck or falling down stairs.
- Does not tangle in tasseled rugs or hang up when transitioning from one floor height to another.
- Goes around objects you would ordinarily have to move: lamps, dog beds, plants, etc.
- Rubber bumpers prevent damage to walls, baseboards, and furniture.
- Lots, lots more! To find out all about it check out this link: iRobot Roomba 880 review.
Bottom-line: If you are a home owner, have pets, even suffer from allergies or just love the feeling of breathing clean air this is the best available. Using Virtual Lighthouses, it gets things done really fast and efficient.
You can check it out on iRobot’s website, clicking the image below.
The Details.
Air Filters 101 and Allergies.
Air filters take on many different forms. Some of them are designed to capture particles of dust that may otherwise escape, and some, like HEPA filters, can capture even the smallest particles to help you and your family breathe easier. All of this is pretty confusing at first, and there are certainly many different filters out there, but remember that HEPA filters are the only industry-tested standard filters available in robot vacuum cleaners today.
HEPA stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air, and this is a mechanical air filter, which forces the air through fine mesh to trap particles like pollen, dander, dust mites, and more. They simply allow the vacuum to catch finer particles in the exhaust system, reducing the amount of dust and dirt thrown back out into the air, helping (in our experience, at least) to improve allergies and asthma.
Aside from the HEPA filters found in air purifiers, in our understanding, they are even more efficient in vacuum cleaners since the vacuums prevent the debris from getting into the air in the first place. Particles and allergens are everywhere – from rugs and bedding to upholstery and even drapes. Without proper filters, the vacuum stirs them around but never catches them. That is never pleasant, whether or not you have allergies or pets. Because we have no way to test filters and tell the differences between them, we always choose HEPA filters. Because they are industry regulated, they must meet certain standards for quality. What’s more, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, or AAFA, recommends them, along with WebMD.
Before you can really remove all of the dust from your floors, you have to give it time to settle. Most experts agree that this takes about two hours. Thus, a robotic vacuum cleaner gives the dust and allergens time to settle; you will not swirl it all up yourself while you are vacuuming.
Another awesome point to consider is the fact that even if the vacuum does not have HEPA filters, it does the cleaning for you. You will not be standing directly behind it while it picks up the dirt and dust from the floor.
If you choose a robot vacuum with a HEPA filter, that is even better. All of the particulates that trigger allergies and asthma get trapped in the filter, and all you have to do is wash it from time to time. (Wear a mask if you have sensitivities.)
Finally, you can use the scheduling feature to allow your robot to clean your house regularly (and in this case, almost constantly). This means that you and your family can live in a constantly clean, allergen-free environment, which certainly feels better to me.
AI & Cleaning Efficiency
Neato Robotics will show you the following video in their advertising:
What the video shows are the cleaning passes of Neato and “other” robots. Our tests revealed the exact same cleaning behavior. The Neatos really move around like they actually have a brain, drilled to efficiency. It really seems as if they wouldn’t go over an inch twice, which makes them much, much faster than the Roombas and every other robot we’ve tested yet – and look a lot smarter. When we experimented with Neato’s XV-21 and XV Signature Pro and the Roomba 880, the Neato needed about 1/3 of the time the Roomba needed until it returned to the charger, which was really awesome. You may click the links to check out the comparison.
That’s not really what this contest is about, right? In our understanding, the prize goes to best cleaning results and not to the first to finish the job. It’s a bit like a kid who wants to play outside but still has homework, isn’t it? This really is a speed contest, at least to the child! As a parent, you might care about the result a bit more.
To compare cleaning results, we arranged dust and some pet hair all around hardwood floors, and the Neatos and the Roomba 880 both cleaned it up; we couldn’t tell a difference. But the Neatos were definitely way faster. Cleaning results are a tie and therefore Neato is winner by speed or else Neato would have it by brain alone.
The next time we tried them, we set them loose in our own homes with pets and/or kids, not a test environment. The carpet contained dirt and debris from outside, pet hair, and more, and, of course, our kids walked all over it. The Neato again was very quick, but when we checked, it didn’t clean well. There was still dirt and debris left behind.
Why that happened, we believe, isn’t difficult to understand. You’ve probably had that experience yourself when you’ve vacuumed manually. No matter how powerful your vacuum is, you need to visit some areas at least twice until they are clean, right?
iRobot’s designers seem to have had that experience themselves, because that’s exactly what the Roomba series 700 and 800 models do, besides using advanced cleaning technology. Because of their moving behavior, they seem to go over almost every spot at least twice. That, of course, gives them more than one chance to pick it all up and, by nature, takes longer.
The Neatos and other manufacturer’s robots, on the other hand, have to pick it all up at once, which does not seem to work – even if it is true that they do have more suction power than the Roombas. Maybe someday technology will become so evolved that once is enough. However, in our experience, we simply have not reached that level yet.
Furthermore, the Roomba doesn’t have to rely only on its more-than-once room covering technique, it also detects dirt, and actually that’s kind of funny to watch. VIDEO:
Thus, the Roomba cleans like you and I would. It detects (sees) dirt and goes over the spot until it’s clean. That, of course, takes even longer, but the floor is clean(er) afterwards, so it all just makes sense. iRobot calls that the Persistent Pass Cleaning Method, by the way.
Our conclusion.
As long as the cleaning isn’t much of a challenge, the Neato and other hyper-efficient robots clean just as good as a Roomba (we didn’t actually count each single picked up pet hair, but we believe the result is accurate) and are much quicker. If cleaning is a little bit more of a challenge, the Roomba takes more time going over the same spot at least more than once, and picks up more than the Neatos and other models we’ve tested.
Noise
Noise seems to be another marketing argument, and sure, if a robot is so quiet that it is barely noticeable, that would be awesome! In our experience if a vacuum is significantly quieter, the noise reduction is a result of sacrificing suction power, which leads to poor cleaning results.
By the way, noise should not be a concern in a high-quality vacuum, so please do not let anyone tell you otherwise. They are all vacuums, so you will hear them, but none of them is annoying by any means. In addition, when we recommend them, they feature scheduled cleaning, which allows you to make them clean when you are not even home. Which is, being honest, the kick I get from these devices the most. I do not do anything, and I come home to a clean and admirable place just like the maid had left. I love it.
Why the Roomba 880 is the Cream of the Crop
Out of all of the other models that iRobot makes, the Roomba 880 is the best. We recommend this particular robot vacuum to readers who expect nothing less than the best, and you can read a full firsthand review by following this link: iRobot Roomba 880 Vacuum Cleaning Robot. It gives you more cleaning power than you would expect and it leaves absolutely nothing behind. With the Virtual Lighthouses, which are iRobot’s best practice to make cleaning less time consuming, and other technologies, including the Extended Life Power Management and X-Life Battery, each charge is more productive and you can charge the battery more over its lifetime.
The Roomba 780 vs. the Roomba 880
The only thing differentiating the Roomba 880 from the 780 is the improved cleaning technology, called AeroForce Performance Cleaning System in the 880. Both models have Virtual Lighthouses, Dual HEPA Filters for clean air, and long-life batteries, and both are perfect for those who have pets and/or allergies, but the 880 gives you a deeper clean that you will feel every single time you inhale. Learn more about it here: iRobot Roomba 780 Vacuum Cleaning Robot For Pets.
You may check out the AeroForce Performance here:
And the Virtual Wall Lighthouses here:
The Roomba 770 vs. the Roomba 880
The Roomba 770 is another great performer, and while it offers automatic cleaning, scheduling, and plenty of power for picking up pet hair, it does not have the same features as the 880. What’s more, there are no Virtual Lighthouses, and you can get these when you spend just a little more on the next model up, the 780. Read more about it here: iRobot Roomba 770 Vacuum Cleaning Robot for Pets and Allergies.
The Roomba 650 vs. the Roomba 880
The Roomba 650 is an outstanding value for the money. The price does not break the bank, and while the features are limited, they are sufficient for many households where allergies and pet hair is not a concern. It cleans sufficiently enough, and the only feature missing that would make the 650 better for the price is the full bin indicator. Overall, this is a great introduction to the world of robot vacuum cleaners if you do not want to spend the money for an 880 right out of the gate. Learn more about it here: iRobot Roomba 650 Vacuum Cleaning Robot.
iRobot vs. the Competition
Neato seems to be the second biggest player on the market, at least measured by Amazon appearance. If you are interested, check out our reviews of the Neato XV 21 Pet And Allergy Automatic Vacuum Cleaner and the Neato XV Signature Pro Pet And Allergy Robot Vacuum Cleaner, which is the new model after the XV 21. Both clean faster and seem to do the job more efficiently, but cleaning results aren’t as good as the Roomba overall. The Neato Botvac and Botvac D will follow as soon as we get a chance to test them.
If you are curious about how the iRobot automatic vacuums compare to some of the competition, you will be pleasantly surprised. Even the Roomba 770 outperforms the notorious Bobsweep PetHair Edition vacuum cleaner and the iClebo Arte Robotic Vacuum Cleaner, which both cost more than a 770 and do not come close to providing the same results.
Any iRobot outperforms the LG HOM-BOT, too, which turned out to be quite the disappointment in our reviews. Though the LG is quieter, that is about the only thing “better” than the iRobot Roombas. The LG vacuum does little to clean the floor, and its mapping system certainly has flaws, to say the least.
The Simple Conclusion
[fontawesome icon=”fa-check” circle=”no” size=”medium” iconcolor=”#1a80b6″ circlecolor=”#ffffff” circlebordercolor=”#ffffff” flip=”” rotate=”” spin=”no” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ alignment=”left” class=”” id=””]If you want to enjoy more time with your family or hobbies and spend less time worrying about how clean your floors are, then a robot vacuum cleaner is a fantastic investment. It will not replace your manual vacuum cleaner, but it will definitely decrease the frequency with which you use it.
[fontawesome icon=”fa-check” circle=”no” size=”medium” iconcolor=”#1a80b6″ circlecolor=”#ffffff” circlebordercolor=”#ffffff” flip=”” rotate=”” spin=”no” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ alignment=”left” class=”” id=””]If you have family members suffering with allergies, especially small children, then a robotic vacuum cleaner helps to pick up dander and other allergens that settle onto your floors over time. They will breathe easier, and you will feel better as a husband, a wife, a parent, or a child.
[fontawesome icon=”fa-check” circle=”no” size=”medium” iconcolor=”#1a80b6″ circlecolor=”#ffffff” circlebordercolor=”#ffffff” flip=”” rotate=”” spin=”no” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ alignment=”left” class=”” id=””]If you have an illness or injury that prevents you from cleaning as often as you should – or even as often as you would like – a robot vacuum is an investment in your health and safety.
[fontawesome icon=”fa-check” circle=”no” size=”medium” iconcolor=”#1a80b6″ circlecolor=”#ffffff” circlebordercolor=”#ffffff” flip=”” rotate=”” spin=”no” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ alignment=”left” class=”” id=””]If you have pets, a robot vacuum not only picks up their hair as they shed, but it also removes dander that causes itchy eyes, runny noses, and even itchy hives.
[fontawesome icon=”fa-check” circle=”no” size=”medium” iconcolor=”#1a80b6″ circlecolor=”#ffffff” circlebordercolor=”#ffffff” flip=”” rotate=”” spin=”no” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ alignment=”left” class=”” id=””]If you want to completely automate floor cleaning, and you want a robot vacuum cleaner that does the job right the first time, then you need a Roomba 880 with its advanced features such as Virtual Lighthouses, exceptional suction, powerful brushes, dual HEPA filters, and programmable interface. And if it’s above you budget, feel free to check out our Roomba 650 or Roomba 770 reviews. Those are both cheaper and very good vacuums too.
[fontawesome icon=”fa-times” circle=”no” size=”medium” iconcolor=”#dd3333″ circlecolor=”#ffffff” circlebordercolor=”#ffffff” flip=”” rotate=”” spin=”no” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ alignment=”left” class=”” id=””]Never “settle” for something that looks good on paper, and do not believe everything you read on the internet. Instead, read our in-depth automatic vacuum reviews, written by real consumers with real families, pets, allergies, and more, and discover a brand new world. In just a few days’ time, you could be enjoying a brand new robot vacuum cleaner that will give you a cleaner home than ever before and transport you directly into the 21st century.
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