Is Shopping for A Robotic Vacuums Price It?

We owned a Roomba robotic vacuum nearly a decade in the past as a result of it sounded so good in concept. One thing that does the vacuuming for you when you sit on the sofa? Signal me up. However in actuality, we had SO MANY ISSUES with it. It was extraordinarily loud, steadily bought caught, and didn’t cowl many areas earlier than the battery died. Did I point out it all the time bought caught? It felt like babysitting somebody who was poorly vacuuming to the purpose that our time was higher spent truly doing the vacuuming. We lastly ended up promoting it on Craigslist.

So at this time we’re breaking down a ton of knowledge for you, like:

• What actual robotic vacuum will we personal?
• How a lot does it price?
• The way it works & what options we love most
• Useful ideas for getting essentially the most out of it
• What different folks love about it

What Is Our Favourite Robotic Vacuum?

Earlier this 12 months we bought a Eufy RoboVac 11S after Sherry’s greatest good friend waxed poetic about hers. We stated “no we hate robotic vacuums.” However she was unrelenting in how a lot better her expertise along with her newer robotic vacuum has been, and, properly, she wore us down. So we determined to click on “order” as a result of it was on sale for $159 and totally returnable. That was 8 months in the past and spoiler, it undoubtedly didn’t get returned.

We run our Eufy EVERY SINGLE DAY. There’s an excellent handy schedule you may set so it’s autopilot, and it has develop into an important a part of our home cleansing routine (that’s finished by somebody, er, one thing aside from us). It’s most likely a little bit of a stretch to name it “a member of the household,” however even the youngsters tackle her by identify (“Is Eufy in your room?” “Yeah, she’s cleansing beneath my desk.”).

We tried a extra artistic identify – the youngsters referred to as her Cheerio for a short time – however Eufy simply caught. Sherry extremely enjoys listening to all of the intelligent names that individuals have give you for theirs on Instagram although. Some favs embody: Meryl Sweep, Dustin Bieber, Sir Sux A Lot, and Optimus Clear.

How A lot Does It Value?

The opposite factor that makes having this specific robotic vacuum “price it” is the associated fee! Our Eufy RoboVac 11S retails for $199.99 however the value is commonly discounted (in the meanwhile there’s a $60 off coupon on Amazon). This makes it one of the reasonably priced robotic vacuums available on the market.

It’s basically the price of one or two skilled home cleanings, but it’s right here each single day, working away for hours whereas we sit on our butts – and it comes again full every time. Many different fashions will be lots of of {dollars} extra (some properly over $1,000!) and even essentially the most reasonably priced Roombas (made by iRobot, the “large identify” in robotic vacuums) are dearer than the one we now have and love.

Clearly, the dearer the mannequin is, the extra options it’s prone to have. Pricier vacuums might include wifi connectivity, voice management, telephone apps, and even self-emptying mud assortment stations. However we’ve been past proud of our entry-level Eufy.

So should you’re anxious about not getting your cash’s price out of shopping for a robotic vacuum, our recommendation is to not fret about splurging on bells and whistles. Our Eufy was half the price of the usual upright vacuum we personal, and lately we depend on our robotic vacuum waaaaay extra (it does about 95% of the vacuuming in our home). And the very best half is that our home has by no means felt this clear!

How Our Robotic Vacuum Works & What We Love Most

A robotic vacuum automates the vacuuming chore in your own home by wirelessly touring round your property, vacuuming because it goes, after which it parks itself again on its charging base when it’s finished. Our Eufy 11S mannequin is delightfully uncomplicated, nevertheless it nonetheless has the important options you’d need in a robotic vacuum – which we’ll get into beneath. However first, right here’s a fast video the place we present precisely the way it works and the way we use it in our dwelling (psst- should you fear a couple of dog-poop-smearing incident, we tackle that within the video beneath):

Now on to what we love about it…

It Runs On An Computerized Each day Schedule

Utilizing the included distant, we arrange our robotic vacuum to start vacuuming at a chosen time each morning. So with none effort on our finish, Eufy “wakes up” (she beeps from her charging base as a warning) after which emerges & does a 90-ish-minute cleansing of our first flooring each single day. We are able to additionally manually begin or cease it at any time with the distant or the button on the vacuum itself, nevertheless it’s largely a “set and overlook” kind of routine.

I do know we speak quite a bit in regards to the distant within the video, however actually, we RARELY use it. As soon as we programmed our each day begin time, it turned very autopilot. We use the button on high to pause or restart it, if wanted, so our distant normally simply lives in a close-by drawer.

It Navigates Round Obstacles Gently & Doesn’t Bang

Sensors on the vacuum assist it gently transfer round objects like chair legs, cupboard bases, and another obstructions. Sherry has been requested if she strikes the kitchen chairs for instance or does something to “arrange” the home earlier than it vacuums day by day. Aside from calling out “Eufy’s beginning, decide up any charging cords that may be on the ground!” to our children, we do nothing (keep in mind: Eufy beeps earlier than rising, which is a very nice warning).

Sherry used to do a lap round the home to verify nothing was going to catch Eufy up, however we’ll share later how we stopped needing to try this. Anyway, it vacuums all the things – together with beneath tables, desks, and chairs… even after we’re nonetheless in them!

Our Eufy feels a lot smarter than our previous Roomba vacuum (which used to bang round much more) and it by no means leaves scuffs or scrapes on partitions, baseboards, cupboards, furnishings, or home equipment. It deftly maneuvers over ridges like thick carpet edges and by no means falls down the steps when operating on our second degree. Really, it’s a completely completely different expertise than our previous Roomba from 9 years in the past.

It’s A lot Quieter Than Our Previous Robotic Vacuum

We used to really feel like we couldn’t hear ourselves assume when our first robotic vacuum was operating again in our second home – however fortunately the newer fashions are a lot much less noisy throughout the board. Now we have zero points working or chatting whereas it’s operating, and our canine Penny is totally unbothered as properly.

It Reaches Spots That We Can’t (Each day!)

The S in RoboVac 11S stands for Slim, that means this specific mannequin – coming in at 2.85″ – is a decrease profile than many others, which are sometimes 3.5″ or 4″ inches. Whereas that will appear to be a negligible distinction, that inch or so could make an enormous distinction in what furnishings it will probably squeeze beneath. In actual fact, one of many largest promoting options for us has been how Eufy can simply get beneath issues we couldn’t very simply vacuum in any other case – like beneath our mattress, our loveseat, and the self-importance in our toilet.

We’d have tried to scrub these areas throughout an occasional deep clear, however they undoubtedly weren’t spots we had been getting recurrently, and positively not day by day.

If you concentrate on how a lot further mud and filth it eliminates from your property by being slim sufficient to go beneath issues like that, it’s sort of mind-blowing. It’s particularly useful if anybody in your own home has mud or seasonal allergy symptoms, as a result of it’s eliminating built-up mud and filth which have most likely been hiding for years AND conserving it from coming again.

Its “Whiskers” Get Into Tight Spots

Even when our Eufy can’t go beneath one thing, just like the range or the fridge, the little whisker arms that poke out from all sides of it attain past the footprint of the vacuum itself. This implies it will probably seize issues which are hiding beneath the small cracks beneath home equipment (I like that it cleans past its footprint, which an everyday vacuum cleaner doesn’t do). It sounds bizarre to place a lot inventory into these extending whiskers, however they simply depart issues so clear that they deserve a shout-out.

Works In Large & Small Homes Alike

We undoubtedly reside in a a lot smaller dwelling than after we had our previous Roomba (in our final home), however Sherry’s greatest good friend who beneficial the precise mannequin that we now have has a really giant two-story home. She carries it up and down the steps often, identical to we do. Nonetheless, we each discover that we now have to scrub the upstairs much less steadily since a clear first flooring means quite a bit much less will get tracked upstairs within the first place. In brief: you actually don’t want a small home for this to give you the results you want.

That being stated, should you reside in a big home with two ranges and don’t wish to carry it upstairs, you may all the time get a second Eufy for the second flooring. This isn’t your cue to order a number of Eufys proper off the bat, however hold it in thoughts as an answer should you discover {that a} second one may be useful down the highway.

It Transitions Over Completely different Terrain

Sherry will get questions on the way it navigates going up onto a thick rug or over a small wooden threshold in a doorway, and it’s undoubtedly made for a number of surfaces like rugs, carpet, wooden, tile, and many others. So that you shouldn’t actually have any points with it hopping up and down over small issues like that. If you happen to do have a big threshold that you just fear about, you may simply let it do one part of the home after which carry it over the brink to try this different space. Really, it’s very easy to determine small issues like that out. Don’t fret.

It Doesn’t Fall Down The Stairs Or Off Ledges

I’ve stated It already, however I felt like this wanted its personal heading too. Eufy has sensors to maintain it from falling down the steps, so we’ve by no means had any points with that. We not solely have a entrance a part of our upstairs steps the place she checks this parameter, however we even have a straight drop from the facet, and he or she by no means, ever has any points with both of those. 100% success price of sensing a drop, turning round, and persevering with to scrub the remainder of the realm.

It Robotically Returns To Its Charging Base

When our Eufy has accomplished its each day routine, it routinely navigates again to its base to recharge its battery and await its subsequent each day cleansing. Our base is plugged in beneath the loveseat in our downstairs sitting room, so our Eufy stays utterly out of sight when it’s not in use. And since that spot is centrally situated, it’s good and straightforward for Eufy to seek out. We simply seize it from beneath the couch to empty it each day – or use the distant to name it out so we are able to decide it up and empty it when it rolls out.

It Comes Again Full (So You Know It’s Working!)

Ours all the time comes again to the charging base with a stomach stuffed with filth and mud. Each day. Individuals typically say to Sherry, “it appears to be operating on such a random sample – how do I do know it’s working?” and for us, the visible proof is that our flooring look extraordinarily clear AND it comes again stuffed with mud every time.

Somebody who used to work for a vacuum firm truly DMed Sherry on Instagram and stated: “regular vacuums are supposed to go over the identical spot 4 occasions for it to be thought-about clear.” If you manually vacuum you’re hardly ever hitting the identical spot 4 occasions from 4 completely different angles, in order that’s why it might sound to you want Eufy is doing one space an excessive amount of at such a random zig-zag sample, nevertheless it’s simply hitting issues a number of occasions to suck up numerous mud & filth. There’s a technique to its insanity in any case.

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Robotic Vacuum

Listed here are some ideas & methods to get essentially the most out of your Eufy with out having to fret about it each day. Autopilot cleansing that’s finished by a robotic as an alternative of you actually is a life hack… however it could take slightly little bit of prep up entrance. I promise you it’s price it! If you sit on the sofa whereas Eufy cleans for an hour and a half EVERY SINGLE DAY, properly, it feels nice.

Choose Your Charging Spot Correctly

If you happen to put your Eufy in the very best spot, you’re going to find it irresistible a LOT. For us, it was essential to discover a spot that was:

• Completely hidden
• Centrally situated
• Straightforward to entry (for each us and the vacuum)
• Close to an outlet

Bigger properties might need an apparent spot in a laundry room/mudroom/toilet, however in our small dwelling, we didn’t wish to dedicate seen flooring house to an unpleasant charger. Fortunately this spot beneath the loveseat checked the entire bins! I scooted the sofa out so you may see what the charging base appears like:

Safe Your Charging Base

We discovered that Eufy can often push the bottom round slightly bit when it parks itself to cost. Generally it will develop into skewed and it might now not align itself with the charger as simply. So we used a 3M Command Strip to stay it on to the ground, guaranteeing that it will keep in place. Zero points since then.

Wrangle Your Free Cords

If a nemesis for Eufy exists, it’s wires – particularly the unfastened finish of a telephone charging twine. She might attempt to suck them up and even pull them out of the wall (at which level she normally beeps and stops, and her cleansing cycle isn’t accomplished till you restart her). So after we bought Eufy, we took a couple of half hour to corral all of our cords off of the ground, particularly beneath beds and furnishings. This meant tying some up in a bundle with zip ties (they embody 5 within the field!) and placing others into low baskets like this, which we then shove beneath the mattress. Voila: all the bin of wires is hidden, however Eufy can’t get tangled anymore.

Even with that finished, we nonetheless remind our children (and one another!) to verify their iPad chargers are off the ground. Due to that beep earlier than it begins, no one actually forgets anymore, and it’s a pleasant option to encourage slightly each day tidying to verify issues aren’t everywhere in the flooring.

Do (Or Don’t Do) A Little Each day Prep

You don’t should prep for Eufy day by day, however you may develop some routines to verify your own home is prepared for her each day vacuuming. Like we stated above, we simply remind the youngsters to choose up their charging cords when Eufy sounds that beginning beep. However listed below are another issues you could possibly do (emphasis on COULD):

• Do a fast loop to choose up garments, blankets, or towels on the ground in any bedrooms/bogs
• Choose up small toys, like tiny Lego items or dolls with hair that may simply get sucked up
• Shut the door to any rooms you don’t need it getting into (like in case your child’s bed room flooring is a catastrophe that morning)
• Transfer light-weight furnishings, even simply barely, to let Eufy hit a spot she couldn’t get to the day earlier than. Often we roll a plant out of a nook to provide her higher entry.
• Sherry’s greatest good friend often places her eating chairs on the desk so Eufy can clear quicker. We by no means transfer ours, it simply takes Eufy extra time to bounce round ’em, however she will get it finished.

Once more, these items are completely optionally available however they could save Eufy from getting caught attempting to eat a twine. It’s not an enormous deal if that occurs, it simply interrupts an in any other case automated cycle. For us, having Eufy run day by day has been an amazing checkpoint to verify we’ve picked up round the home slightly bit every morning. It solely takes a minute and typically it’s so simple as the youngsters simply tossing issues on their beds as an alternative of the ground.

Have Backup Equipment on Hand

Like with conventional vacuums, Eufy makes use of small filters and stuff that can want occasional cleansing or changing. We purchased this $16 pack of alternative components to have available in case one thing breaks, wears out, or goes lacking. It has already come in useful after one of many whisker attachments got here off beneath a rug and wasn’t discovered for just a few days. Fortunately we might simply pop on a spare so Eufy didn’t miss a day.

SPEAKING OF THE WHISKERS: while you get your Eufy you’ll want to snap these suckers on firmly. If you happen to don’t hear the snap they’re doubtless not all the way in which on and also you’ll run it and be like “why the @%#&$ do these hold falling off?!” So snap them on firmly and so they’ll keep put for the lengthy haul.

Perceive That It Doesn’t Clear Each Spot, Each Day

Since this entry-level mannequin doesn’t have any fancy digital mapping or programable information, Eufy kind of simply charts a brand new random path every morning. Some days she spends extra time beneath the mattress, and on different days she does one go across the toilet as an alternative of ten. However over the course of the week, she’s going to nonetheless make it to each spot many many occasions. In eight months we now have by no means come throughout a single spot that she will entry that’s been missed.

I can’t categorical to you the way a lot cleaner our home appears and feels due to operating Eufy day by day on such a straightforward autopilot schedule. We even discover that we now have to do much less dusting as a result of when Eufy is operating each day to get rid of filth and particles on the ground, they’ve much less of an opportunity of build up and floating up onto tables or cabinets or window ledges.

Know That You’ll Nonetheless Want To Vacuum Generally

Don’t throw out your common vacuum simply since you’ve bought a robotic one. For example, we hold this one in our utility closet. For one, Eufy can’t do stairs, so we nonetheless vacuum these manually as soon as per week. She can also’t transfer furnishings, so there are undoubtedly some corners she will’t get (like behind a plant stand or trash can until we transfer them earlier than she runs). So these are areas we simply sort out ourselves after we do the steps.

Additionally, should you spill one thing like filth from a pot, Eufy does have a “spot clear” mode on the distant, however we discover it’s not essentially the most environment friendly option to clear up after an enormous mess. We normally simply sweep issues up or seize our small handheld vacuum to sort out that sort of job.

Empty It Each day

The built-in mud canister on our Eufy is often utterly full after each cleansing. At first, I believed we had been simply exceptionally soiled (how is there THAT MUCH mud EVERY DAY?!) however we’ve heard numerous others report the identical factor. Now I’ve determined to be glad these piles of mud make their approach into the trash and aren’t nonetheless on our flooring.

Our Eufy doesn’t have an automated self-emptying function (they name it dust-collection and a few fancier fashions switch it into their charging base, just like the Roomba i3+ EVO or Eufy RoboVac L35 Hybrid+, each $550). These nonetheless should be emptied ultimately, and we don’t thoughts the each day routine of simply manually emptying ours so it’s able to replenish once more the subsequent day. We advocate setting an alarm in your telephone should you discover that you just overlook, or group this motion with one thing else you do day by day (like while you take your nutritional vitamins, for instance).

It’s fast & straightforward to empty – the compartment simply pops out of the underside. So we normally simply attain beneath the loveseat and pull it off its charging station for a fast empty. It’s also possible to decide it up when it begins vacuuming to empty it from the day earlier than (it routinely pauses when lifted off the bottom). Then simply put it again down and press the button on the highest & it’ll decide up the place it left off.

What Different Individuals Assume About It

We thought it will be useful to listen to from different Eufy homeowners as properly (maybe with larger, hairier canines), and due to the great folks of Instagram, Sherry has heard from a whole lot of different Eufy homeowners. You may learn extra within the archived circle on Instagram beneath our bio referred to as Robotic Vac, however right here’s a sampling beneath:

“Between our previous doggies and sandy soil this has been the very best buy I’ve ever made.”

“My life is modified. Now we have 3 canines (!!!) and three kids and I used to be vacuuming day by day. Now Eufy does it each night for me. I don’t know the way, nevertheless it’s higher than my Dyson. Is it simply that I don’t should do it? Perhaps, however I’m right here for it.”

My husband was adamant that we might by no means have a robotic vacuum. Purchased the one you beneficial and ran it proper after the cleansing girl left. It was utterly full after operating on our foremost degree (not even beneath the sofa or on the rug) simply principally all open areas that had simply been cleaned. Husband has been transformed and now appreciates the robotic vacuum.”

“Final week whereas watching your tales, I believed if I bought that, it’s potential that it might take away an enormous stressor for me. I purchased it that day (which I by no means do) and have LOVED it day by day since! It vacuums my kitchen whereas I’m cooking dinner, gives leisure to my two littles, and cleans up no matter filth my boys all the time handle to usher in. I simply didn’t assume it was potential for one thing to carry such reduction!”

“I introduced it to my mother and father’ home whereas visiting them for the weekend. That they had vacuumed in preparation for my go to, and we had been all SHOCKED at how a lot it nonetheless picked up!”

“Obtained a robotic vacuum nearly instantly after your story final week… ten days later and I’m dwelling an entire new life. And right here’s the very best half: it solely runs on our foremost degree, however I haven’t wanted to scrub upstairs as a result of there isn’t a particles to trace up!”

It’s LIFE CHANGING! We bought a brand new canine that sheds in every single place and I used to be able to lose my thoughts. Our loving and ever-so-hard-working Eufy has made the canine hair a non-issue. And now my mother and sisters have purchased one!

“We had our home professionally cleaned, bought a Eufy the subsequent day, and have run him 3X a day for the final 3 days. Our home appears spotless and and not using a crumb, however someway he comes up with a full dustbin each time! Recreation changer. Finest cash we now have spent in a very long time.”

And so ends this lovefest for an merchandise we had actually sworn off nearly a decade in the past. Hooray for smarter robots that may clear your own home however will hopefully by no means take over the world sometime.

Oh and if you wish to see another methods we automate and simplify our dwelling, these posts may curiosity you:

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