How Good Are Robot Vacuum Cleaners?

Posted on 14/08/2015

Should You Get a Robot Vacuum Cleaner?

There is a popular fad nowadays that gets more and more popularity. One day you will walk into a home and people will warn you to be careful not to step on their cleaner. As you trot along the hall, wondering what they meant, you suddenly stumble upon a curious circular object that makes hushed sounds and bounces off walls as it seeks to cover as much ground as it can. Yes, your friend will tell you, that is the Roomba – the new robot vacuum cleaner.

Yes, robot vacuum cleaners are the thing of the future – something that will probably fill the floors of most households to replace all vacuum cleaners, mops, and effort required to use them, leaving the housewife free to do other chores. But how good is it actually? Is it only practical because it saves you time vacuuming? And does it actually do a proper job even though that is its only job?

Some people complain that the robot vacuum cleaner scare their pets. If constantly kept on, that might become an issue, yes. Some pets are more skittish than others and will have a problem with a strange machine circling around the house. The contraption has no sense of propriety, so it will bother them even as they are trying to have a nap in their bed. Some pets will ignore it, and some pets will have fun with it, yes, but how sure can you be that your pet will react the same?

Another problem with the robot vacuum cleaner is that it has a random trajectory. It never does a thorough house cleaning as it only moves at certain directions until it reaches an obstacle. That leaves untouched areas for you to take care of. That does raise the question, why did you get that expensive moving gadget that you have to both maintain and go after to make sure it did a proper job? Some models have a stronger suction, yes, and do reach the harder places easier, but is it actually worth investing more money just to save a daily ten minute routine?

The robot vacuum cleaner is also something to always have in mind while it is functioning. After all, before you get used to it and know to watch out, you will have a hard time remembering you have to watch where you step in your own home. That is quite the inconvenience, especially if you completely forget about it one day and step hard enough to crush it. You will be left both without the money you paid for the contraption, and without the robot itself until it gets fixed – so you better be sure you are buying the robot from a store that offers a good repair service.

That being said, robot vacuum cleaners can be useful as well. For instance, if you don’t have pets and you have to go out, you can turn it on to sweep around the house while you are gone and later return to a less dusty home. It does save you a lot of time you have to otherwise spend carpet cleaning or mopping. If you are wary of stepping on it, you can always just store it somewhere safe and only use it when there is nobody in the house. The robot cleaners are also quieter than vacuum cleaners, so that will also work well on your ears.

As with everything technological, there are plenty of reasons not to use something and there are plenty of reasons to use it. You can always be the trial-and-error type of person and buy the contraption to see where it gets you, or you can just ignore it and stick with your usual daily routine. It is up to you, as usual.