Are robot vacuums worth it? Like…really, really worth it?
They look cool, BUT do they clean.
Well…spoiler alert: YES. Robot vacuums, can do a great job.
After the first week, my sentiment was “why did I wait so long to get a robot vacuum? These things are great.”
Our home has primarily hardwood floors so any dust, grit & etc. is easily felt underfoot. This feeling is one of my pet peeves – which used to result in me vacuuming our kitchen & living areas multiple times a day. Not anymore. Now that’s Gary’s job.
Yes, we named our robot vacuum. Why, Gary? It’s fun to say “Go Gary Go” – Do you remember the TV ad from the mid-2000s? IYKYK
Choosing a Robot Vacuum?
When choosing a robot vacuum, I ultimately narrowed it down to three brands: Roborock, Ecovacs & iRobot.
Based on the 100’s of reviews I’ve read, my feeling is that if you were to buy a robot vacuum from any of these 3 brands, you’d be pretty happy.
Each of these brands offers slight variations & feature combinations – which one suits you best, will depend on your personal circumstances (home size, floor types & budget).
Which robot vacuum did we choose?
TL;DR: We ultimately choose the Ecovacs DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI.
Besides it being a terrible mouthful of a product name, we’re very happy.
All three brands above offer more affordable options & higher-end models. Generally speaking, iRobot’s robot vacuums are more expensive than Ecovacs and Roborock, especially when you’re considering their high-end options. For example, we picked up the high-end Ecovacs for $999, the equivalent iRobot retails for approx $2,899.
Is an iRobot s9 2.9 times better than the Ecovacs DEEBOT? I doubted it.
So due to this, I narrowed my search to Ecovacs and Roborock.
Specifically, the Roborock S6 MaxV & the Ecovacs DEEBOT OZMO T8 AIVI.
Functionally, they appeared almost equal – at least, based on our needs.
The Differences that mattered.
There were 2.
- The option to add an auto-empty station at a later date if we felt we needed one. This isn’t currently possible with Roborock.
- The improved mopping function of the OZMO Pro Add-on.
Robot Vacuums + Mopping
Most robot vacuums fit into 2 categories when it comes to mopping, they either don’t do it OR they drag a damp pad along behind them to “mop”.
iRobot’s robot vacuums don’t mop, instead they’ve gone with the option of providing a separate robot for that: iRobot Braava Mops. A very effective, but also more expensive option.
Roborock robot vacuums fall into the other category, of dragging a damp pad around behind the vacuum.
Electric Mopping Action
The OZMO pro unit which came with our robot vacuum actually scrubbed the floors. It oscillates underneath the unit to provide a pretty effective scrubbing/mopping action.
Smart Home Integration
Robot vacuums are a great addition to your smart home. All three of the above brands offer robot vacuums with voice assistant/smart speaker integrations.
You can ask your robot vacuum to start/stop cleaning with your voice. You can even automate them by including them in smart routines. Why not have your lights turn off & your floors automatically cleaned when you leave the house? Well, now you can.
Robot Vacuum: Should You Buy One?
This is a strong yes from me. If you’ve got room in your budget for a robot vacuum, then I think you’ll be very pleased to welcome one to your household.
