Should You Use Robot Vacuums?

Robotic cleaning technology is designed to make your life easier. Gadgets like the Roomba will clean your floors for you, but there may be some drawbacks you need to know about before you make a decision to buy one. We are going to run down many of the pros and cons of robot vacuums for you here so that you can make a more informed decision and determine if this kind of technology might be a good option for your home.

Pro: Clean Where You Can’t

These automated vacuums do a great job of cleaning in places you cannot get to, like under furniture and appliances. They can get all the way under your couch and clean the floor there without you having to move that heavy piece of furniture. This is perfect for people who have mobility issues or who are not in great health, because it saves them so much work in their home cleaning. The robot vacuums are able to clean more effectively than you might in those areas, because many people just skip cleaning in places where they would have to move something heavy to access it.

Con: Poor Corner Cleaning

We said something good about the robot vacuums, and now let’s look at a downside. Most of them are circular gadgets, so they can move around very easily, but this design also makes it difficult for them to clean in corners and along walls. They can clean open areas very well, but they have trouble along the edges of your home, often leaving those spots for you to clean.

Many of them are designed to clean at least a little bit in the corners using their side brushes, but they don’t do it very effectively.

Pro: Saves You Time

Another advantage to using a robot vacuum like the iLife or the Shark is that they can do your cleaning while you relax at home or even while you are away. You can automate the cleaning cycle so that they clean periodically, even cleaning while you are asleep, if you are a deep sleeper.

You can save a lot of time by having one of these in your home, and it can clean for you when you are too tired to clean or you are busy doing something else. For those times when you have cooking to do and errands to run, who is going to clean the house? The robo-vacuum can do it for you and save you a lot of hassle.

Con: Does Not Clean as Well as You

Of course, you might wonder if this device can do the job of cleaning your home as well as you can. That is a concern that a lot of homeowners and renters have, because they may have high standards of cleanliness and they expect their home to look a certain way. The truth is that robot vacuums will not clean as well as someone who knows what they are doing and who cleans their home well. These devices do a good job of picking up physical dirt and small debris, but they fail when it comes to fine cleaning. They also can’t clean anything other than your floors.

You could supplement a robot vacuum with some professional cleaning services, like what this site offers. Between the two of them, you can have a clean house without having to do much at all yourself.

Pro: Plenty of Features and Functions

The functionality of the modern robot vacuum is pretty impressive. They can clean at scheduled times, and you can set them to do different kinds of cleaning. You can even program them to clean specific rooms. As the device learns the layout of your home, it will clean more effectively and become more useful. You can probably control yours by smartphone as well, which allows you to remotely operate it and change settings on the device while you are at work or out shopping. Imagine getting housework done while you go to the movies! That’s kind of amazing technology, and there are tons of different features these vacuums offer that can give you so many great cleaning options.

Con: You May Have to Unstick Them

Roombas and other robot vacuums have a big drawback that does not get talked about very much- they get stuck often. How badly they get stuck and how often it happens will depend on the kind of device you get and the layout of your home. Some of these devices just can’t handle carpets, stairs, and other obstacles very well.

It is certainly frustrating when you expect the vacuum to clean for you while you are out of the house and then you have to wait for it to finish until you get back because it needs your help getting unstuck.

Is a Robot Vacuum a Smart Purchase?

Because these devices can be quite expensive, ranging between $100 to $1,000 or more, it is probably not something you want to rush in to buy. You should first look at some reviews and see what people have experienced with using the vacuums for themselves. This will give you some idea of how they work and whether they might be a good option for your home.

You also want to compare the different features. What kind of functionality would you like it to have and what kind of budget do you have to work with? It may be more cost effective in the long run to buy a quality robot vacuum with a lot of features that will save you time and effort in cleaning your own home.

Keep in mind the weaknesses of these devices and how some of them might not be a good fit for your home. Consider the possibility that you might have to spend a lot of time unsticking the vacuum and dealing with its shortcomings rather than enjoying the work it does for you.

We hope this helps you as you try to make a decision whether or not to get a robot vacuum for your home.