Hey there fellow ozbargainers, was just posting if anyone has bought and used a robot vacuum cleaner? Just wondering which brands are good or if anyone has any recommendations.
Cheers
Has anyone had a good experience with a robot vacuum cleaner?
sleepyowl on 14/11/2013 - 13:32
Comments
I could be biased but I got the Russell Hobbs R-Vac online and had too many problems. it worked quite nicely for about 3 weeks, we schedule it to run in the afternoon in one room (lounge) which can be completely closed off. We're not home during that time so I don't know how it goes but majority of the time when we get back, it's already on the base charging. Until one day on the weekend it started running around really fast and kept on bumping into things. We called Russell Hobbs, even got the manager involved but they don't take in repairs at all, basically they don't have a service center and don't do repairs full-stop. The only way to get a replacement is to send it back to the online seller, then the seller will send it back to Russell Hobbs, I will then either get a replacement or refund. All I'm saying is don't buy it online, you can buy it from a shop and even if it malfunctions at least you can take it into the shop and you don't have to pay the shipping fee to send it back.
Very happy with my two Roombas.
Godfreys sell a $99 one that works just as good as my Roomba.
I bought a Samsung Navibot 3 years ago and love it. I keep it out of the loungeroom though as it gets too tangled in the dozens of cables I have in there. It works great and picks up a lot of dirt and my cat & wife's hairs.
It doesn't do corners very well though and so about once every month or so I'll pull out the vacuum and do the corners and skirting boards.
My only real issue has been lack of Samsung spare parts. You can't really buy them and when the battery dies, it's difficult to replace. Took about 2 months to find a supplier who would actually be bothered to order one for me.
I have a roomba, which I do like, but if I had my time over I wouldn't have bought it.
I have 2 longhaired cats so I have to clean the brushes every time I use it, and sometimes when it's halfway through cleaning a room which is a pain in the arse. It also takes an hour to do a room that I can do with my Dyson in 3 minutes. It also manages to get tangled or stuck on something within 5 minutes of me leaving for work so nothing gets done while I'm out which is what I got it for.
These days I pretty much only use it for under the bed and my sunroom/catroom.
He does look cool with his goggle eyes though :-)
I have a cat too, and I found mine performed much better with better suction and waste capacity after I changed the catch bin to the Aerovac model, which I got off eBay. It seems to suck up the hair better from the carpet and not get caught so much on the brushes. Even though my place looks like a bomb hit it, it doesn't get tangled up in anything. It is supposed to sense when it gets tangled and stop the brushes and reverse itself out of trouble. I still do regular vacuuming, but I think it is great for in-between maintenance cleaning which it does very well for me.
New Roomba's are coming out with brushless technology. Better suited to those with lots of cat/dog hair
Would be awesome. It's not a big issue but dehairing the brush is slightly annoying.
Looks fantastic, I agree it will be better for pet owners, it appears to be a feature of the new Aeroforce system. Coupled with an Aerovac bin that they use on the existing pet cleaners, it will make an awesome and welcome addition. Hopefully it will be available as a spare part and able to replace the existing brush cage, that's the nice thing about them being so modular.
I had a roomba, was fantastic, great to offset vacuuming but not a replacement.
however it all changed the day the dog got scared (thunderstorm) and pooped in the dining room.. roomba picked up the poop then proceeded to smear it all over the dining room floor and kitchen before we came home and stopped it.
Just something to keep in mind.
That's just bad luck. But you can't really blame the robot, it was just doing what it was programmed to do. It was the dogs fault! :)
LOL this could actually be a serious problem as my brothers dog has a "weak bladder/explosive diarrhoea" problem when it gets scared. Did not consider this. Thanks!
Ex owner of samsung navibot for 3years, but sold it for an upgrade with extended bristles, to be clear and honest, you need to do some reasearch and go to a shop for demo is the only way to know. Robotic vacuums obviously will not ever replace normal handheld vacum cleaners. They simply just won't pick up everytging due to its suction power. Also they tend to get stuck in places and clogs up when there is to much hair or in the wrong area. It certainly won't clean corners very well, that is why I upgraded to another better model. Every year new models come out and only the battery life and sound reduction is improved generally. This things are great when your on the run, when no ones at home to do the cleaning.
I have one for the lounge and hallway. Wood floor. Works great. Still need to vacuum manually though the robot catches alot of the dust. It loves getting tangled up with cables though.