subject: Guide To Getting The Best Robot Vacuum [print this page] I may be dating myself, but I remember when I was a kid watching the Jetsons and thinking how neat it would be to have a robot clean up the house, and have food delivered at the push of a button. Well, the former is coming more to life with the advent of the robotic vacuum cleaner.
These little cleaning marvels have "swept" the cleaning world with their technology and their ability to keep your home somewhat clean with little intervention from you. But, there are some things you need to consider when looking to buy a robotic vacuum.
First, do not replace your upright vacuum. I would not recommend you ditch the upright until you know that your new robotic vacuum is going to pass muster in your home. If you have a home with a lot of carpet, you will still need that upright for the deep cleaning of the carpets. The best robot vacuum cleaners are good for maintaining that floor from pet hair, dust and dander, but you should consider still doing a regular cleaning with an upright vacuum.
Second, do you have pets? If you have pets you may want to look for models that are specifically designed for pets. iRobot, for example, has several models that are designed for homes with multiple pets. Their cleaning bins are bigger and they have a little more power to pick up that difficult pet hair. You may find yourself cleaning out the dustbin more frequently so they are not totally hand off. But, it will still help cut down on the everyday cleaning that needs to be done so you can do other things.
Third, consider the noise level of the vacuum. If you are going to be running the vacuum at night then you will want to see if you can find anything about the noise level, or better yet, see if you can try one out so you can see firsthand what the noise is like. Will it keep you awake or does it run quiet as a mouse?
You will also want to consider the layout of your house, especially if you have stairs. Even the best robot vacuum cannot work on stairs currently so you will need to plan for this accordingly. You can run it one cycle downstairs and another cycle upstairs. There are ways around this limitation.
Investing in one of the best robot vacuums like an iRobot 560 can be a good investment for the busy home, but you should consider these factors before making the purchase. Many of them are still expensive, but can be huge time savers if your expectations are set accordingly.
