Why I waited so long to buy a Vacuum Cleaner Robot?
Since I got my Robot Vacuum, my life has changed.
My wife and I decided to buy a robot vacuum cleaner right after moving into our new apartment in New York.
I started my research for the perfect vacuum cleaner on Amazon.com. Years ago I bought a Roomba for my mother, but I was convinced that I did not need an expensive Roomba, or to spend $1000 dollars on functionalities we did not need. I was looking for the perfect Robot: amazing comments and a decent price.
The one Vacuum Cleaner Robot that got our attention (and later on, love) is ILIFE V5s Pro Robot Vacuum Mop Cleaner with Water Tank, Automatically Sweeping Scrubbing Mopping Floor Cleaning Robot.
Should you buy a Robotic Vacuum Cleaner?
Our ILife V5s has been nothing but incredible. Since we don’t have a dog, this is our pet and we even have a name for it: Beetle!
If you are like us, and you don’t yet have one you might be wondering:
- Can I leave the robotic vacumm cleaner doing his job without doing anything?
- How often a robotic vacuum cleaner get stuck on furniture?
- How does it recharge itself?
- How do you maintain a robotic vacuum cleaner?
- Is it worth the money?
- How does it work on 2 floors?
Can I leave the robotic vacuum cleaner doing its job without doing anything?
Yes! Since we got our Beetle in Feb 2018, we haven’t used the vacuum cleaner ever. Beetle has been cleaning our apartment every day, starting at 2 pm and finishing after 4 pm. Automatically! 2 hours of free cleaning, going under the tables, the chairs, the bed, the sofa, under anywhere it can fit.
When my wife and I get back home after work, the floor is always clean.
I am impressed as I have not been able to find dust in the house since we got beetle.
Doesn’t a robotic vacuum cleaner get stuck?
It got stuck a few times, on random items left on the floor. It took us 2-3 weeks to make the place safe for the vacuum cleaner to go around the apartment without any issue. We had to learn not to leave cables on the floor, especially iPhone chargers. Today we rarely leave anything on the floor, a positive effect helping us to keep the apartment tight.
For example, Beetle used to get stuck under our shoe rack, so I added a small sticker under it, and now it can’t access that place, and he does not get stuck anymore.
Sometimes on a random day, we still find the robot stuck somewhere, but that is not a major issue.
By cleaning every day, our apartment is never dirty. When we get home, we can always turn it on and let the robot clean while we do our stuff.
How does it recharge itself?
Whatever model you will end up buying, get one with a scheduling functionality. Our Beetle is programmed to clean for 2 to 3 hours until it runs out of battery. When done cleaning, slowly approaches its charging station. It is actually cute to see it trying to dock itself for charging. Beetle has its own personality when doing it.
How to maintain a robotic vacuum cleaner?
In all honesty, we don’t do much. Every week we empty the little box full of dust. The entire operation takes less than 1 minute. If you have a dog or children, you might have to do this more often but it really takes a minute, no more.
What about mopping the floor?
I am glad you asked. Our Beetle has a mopping function.
- Attach the special mop under the Vacuum Cleaner
- Fill the tank with water (no special water needed)
- Change the box, instead of the dust collector insert the water tank
- Start the robot.
- The Robotic Vacuum Cleaner will go around the apartment mopping it.
- We do it once/twice a month
We also don’t wear shoes inside the apartment, drastically reducing the need for mopping.
Is an automatic vacuum cleaner worth the money?
If you consider 20min average a day vacuum cleaning, it’s at least 1 hour a week, meaning 52 full hours of your life. For some people vacuum cleaning is meditative, for me, it isn’t. It’s very noisy so you can’t listen to anything else. It’s also not so good for your back and it’s just simply tedious. Even if you have somebiody cleaning your apartment, they could be spending their time doing something more valuable while your ILIFE V5s Robot Vacuum Mop Cleaner is cleaning the floor.