How to choose a robot vacuum cleaner for homes and apartments

Despite the high cost of such devices, when choosing a robot vacuum cleaner, you should pay attention not to the price, but to performance characteristics. Budget models may well be just useless.

content

What to look for when buying
The main selection criteria for robotic vacuum cleaners
additional characteristics
How much are robot vacuum cleaners
The best manufacturers of robotic vacuum cleaners
Video on the choice of the robot vacuum cleaner

How to choose a robot vacuum cleaner

We recommend to read an article from an expert on the main criteria for choosing a vacuum cleaner for home.

How to choose a robot vacuum cleaner for your home and apartment: what to look for

When choosing a robot vacuum cleaner, you should pay attention to the following parameters:

Cleaning method;
Cleaning area;
Type of cleaning brushes;
Volume and type of waste bin;
Battery;
Extra options.
Also important is the manufacturer.

Cleaning method

As usual, robot vacuum cleaners are divided into three types:

For dry cleaning;
For wet cleaning;
For dry and wet cleaning.

Vacuum cleaning robots for dry cleaning

The most classic and inexpensive version of the robot vacuum cleaners. They simply remove dust from a variety of flooring - which is enough for most users.

Virtues

Relatively low price and wide range of models;
Suitable for cleaning various floor surfaces - laminate, parquet, carpet and high-grade carpets with a short nap.

disadvantages

Only dust and medium-sized garbage are removed, serious pollution will have to be cleaned on its own;
Periodic self-cleaning floors still need.

Wet vacuum cleaning robots

robot vacuum cleaner

The design of such vacuum cleaners includes two containers - for clean and already dirty water - and a spray that applies moisture to the flooring. Therefore, when working, they carry out a full cleaning.

Virtues

Suitable for cleaning hard floors (laminate, parquet, etc.);
Remove not only dust, but more extensive contamination.

disadvantages

Not suitable for cleaning carpets and carpets, because the sprayed moisture is not completely sucked;
Work on a small area due to the small volume of containers.
They work exclusively with purified water, otherwise internal communications may be clogged;
They require constant maintenance (replacement of water in tanks);

Vacuum cleaning robots for dry and wet cleaning

These are universal devices that are suitable for both daily cleaning and maintenance of cleanliness, and are also compatible with all types of floor coverings.

Virtues

Purify both dust and more serious impurities;
Suitable for maintaining cleanliness and daily cleaning;
Suitable for cleaning hard and soft flooring;

disadvantages

The water in the tanks should be changed regularly;
Such robotic vacuum cleaners are a device for full automatic cleaning of an apartment and a house;
Due to the small volume of water tanks, small rooms are maintained.
Programming and creating a room map is required (so that the robot vacuum cleaner does not accidentally flood the carpet);

Which robot vacuum cleaner to choose

If the house does not use soft flooring, the ideal solution would be a robot vacuum cleaner for wet cleaning. However, it is required to periodically change the water.

For cleaning rooms with soft flooring, a robotic vacuum cleaner is designed for dry cleaning. For apartments with a mixed coating - for dry and wet cleaning.

But if you want full automation and minimal maintenance, you should purchase a model for dry cleaning. It is enough to clean it once a week. Models with water tanks will have to be serviced daily.

Selection options for robotic vacuum cleaners

When choosing a robot vacuum cleaner, its following operational parameters and technical characteristics should be taken into account:

Cleaning area;
The type and number of cleaning brushes;
The volume and type of garbage;
Battery type;
Additional characteristics (function of overcoming obstacles, speed of movement, time of cleaning, soft touch mode, cleaning according to the schedule, power, filtration system).

Cleaning area

The cleaning area of the robot vacuum cleaner should ideally correspond to the area of the total available floor in the apartment. But since it is very difficult to calculate it, it is enough to subtract 10-15 square meters from the total area of the apartment - this is the amount of space occupied by wardrobes and similar furnishing items.

Thus, a robot vacuum cleaner for 60 square meters is suitable for an apartment of 70 square meters.

It is better to take "with a reserve", because the device can move along a complex trajectory and repeatedly go through the same sections.

Cleaning brushes

The vast majority of models of robot vacuum cleaners use static long-hair cleaning brushes. They are sufficient for cleaning hard and some types of soft flooring.

There are models that are equipped with movable brushes with a long nap. They are suitable for removing large debris.

Modern vacuum cleaners, such as the latest models from iRobot, are equipped with rubber scrapers. They are more effective in removing dirt from hard and soft short-nap flooring than traditional brushes.

For regular cleaning of relatively clean surfaces (for example, from pet hair), models with static brushes or rubber scrapers are suitable. If the task of the robot cleaner is to remove large debris, such as scattered cereals, for example, then you should choose a device with moving parts.

Volume and type of waste bin

The vast majority of models of modern robotic vacuum cleaners are equipped with container garbage containers. Such containers are easy to clean and effectively trap dust. Bag-cleaning robots are very rare and are definitely not recommended for purchase.

The volume of the garbage can is a decisive factor:

Up to 0.4 l. Such vacuum cleaning robots are not highly recommended for purchase - unless, of course, you plan to use them within the same room or you are ready to clean them daily;
From 0.4 to 0.8 liters. Such robot vacuum cleaners are suitable for use in homes and apartments with an area of more than 80 m2 .;
More than 0.8 l. It is advisable to buy only if the house is constantly observed serious pollution flooring.

Battery type

The robot vacuum cleaner uses three types of batteries - Ni-Mh (nickel-metal hydride), Li-Ion (lithium-ion), Li-Po (lithium-polymer).

Ni-Mh batteries

Ni-Mh batteries are most commonly used in vacuum cleaning robots.

Virtues

Low price;
Environmental friendliness;
Large operational period (batteries of this type withstand 10-20% recharge cycles longer than lithium);

disadvantages

Memory effect It manifests itself due to reversible loss of capacity after charging with an incomplete discharge;
Loss of capacity during prolonged storage;
Self-discharge up to 10% per day;

The memory effect manifests itself as a loss of part of the capacity due to incomplete discharge. That is, for example, if a robot vacuum cleaner, “getting up” from the base with 100% battery charge, travels around the apartment and uses only 20% of the battery, after which it returns to charge, with the next operating cycle, only those received 20% will be available to it.

To get rid of the memory effect, periodically fully discharge and fully charge the battery.

Obviously, vacuum cleaners equipped with a battery of this type are best purchased for large apartments (with a cleaning area of 50 square meters).

Li-Ion batteries

Li-Ion batteries are found mainly in premium-class robotic vacuum cleaners. This is due to the high cost of such batteries.

Virtues

The mass and volume of such batteries are small enough while maintaining a high energy density;
High charging speed;
No memory effect;

disadvantages

The high cost of both the batteries themselves and the vacuum cleaner robots equipped with them;
Pronounced aging, manifested in the loss of battery capacity over time (with an increase in the number of charge cycles).
Mechanical instability, with sharp and strong shocks, batteries are damaged, sometimes "additionally" by "burning" the electronics of the device itself;

The disadvantages of lithium-ion batteries are minor, so vacuum cleaners equipped with such batteries can be used in any conditions.

Li-Pol batteries are almost the same as lithium-ion batteries, except that they have a slightly lower energy density - but they are more mechanically stable.

additional characteristics

Additional characteristics determine the convenience of using a robot vacuum cleaner rather than its practical operating parameters. Among such properties:

The function of overcoming obstacles;
Movement speed;
Cleaning time;
Soft touch mode;
Scheduled cleaning;
Power;
Filtration system

Obstacle override function

The function of overcoming obstacles can be implemented in two forms. The first is the ability of the vacuum cleaner to move through the rapids. Of course, such obstacles may have a maximum height (usually no more than a few centimeters), as indicated in the description of the device.

The second implementation of the function of overcoming obstacles is the operation mode of the vacuum cleaner, in which it independently determines the way to bypass various objects, furniture and other objects on the floor.

It is worth acquiring a robot vacuum cleaner with the function of overcoming thresholds if there are such obstacles in the house. It is worth considering the height of such barriers. If there are no thresholds in the apartment, then a vacuum cleaner with this function is simply not needed.

Similarly, regarding the function of overcoming obstacles in the form of an independent route construction. Vacuum cleaners equipped with it, it is worth buying, if the house is often rearranged furniture - there are movable chairs, armchairs and similar interior items.

Movement speed

The speed of the robot vacuum cleaner is one of the factors that affect the quality of cleaning. If it is too high, the device can leave trash on the floor. If, on the contrary, low - this will lead to the fact that the robot vacuum cleaner in an autonomous mode will not be able to go through the whole apartment.

The best solution would be to buy a robot vacuum cleaner with a customizable speed of movement - through programming or choosing from preset modes. This makes it possible to create maximum compatibility with the floor covering used.

Cleaning time

Harvest time is a parameter that also determines the quality of garbage collection. It is worth remembering that most of the batteries used in vacuum cleaning robots heat up during operation. Therefore, the ideal solution would be to buy a device that can clean at fixed time intervals (for example, 10 minutes of work to complete a certain area, then a break, and again to pass this area in 10 minutes).

However, vacuum cleaning robots with a continuous, long cleaning time can show greater productivity in relation to the removal of debris.

Soft touch mode

The soft touch mode is designed to protect the electronics of the robot cleaner and the surrounding furniture from damage due to shocks. It can be implemented in two ways - software and hardware and hardware.

The hardware-software method implies equipping the vacuum cleaner with proximity and position sensors, due to which it determines the distance to the nearest obstacle and reduces the speed of its movement.
The hardware method is simpler - rubber bumpers are placed on the case of the robot vacuum cleaner, which absorb shocks.

Vacuum cleaners equipped with proximity and position sensors are characterized by a long operational period, since the blows in them are better absorbed and cause less damage than on devices with bumpers. However, they are more expensive. And the ideal solution would be to buy a robot vacuum cleaner with both of these methods of touch damping.

Scheduled cleaning

Scheduled cleaning is a convenient feature to automate the operation of a vacuum cleaner. For example, he can clean the apartment while its owner is absent. The only drawback is that you need to spend time setting up the schedule.

Suction power

The suction power of the robot vacuum cleaners is usually not very large - but the noise level is minimal. The power consumption is similarly small - even in top models it rarely exceeds 40 W per charge. This parameter should be considered only if the house has old wiring.

Filtration system

The filtering system in almost all vacuum cleaning robots is the same - this is a multi-layer HEPA filter. The higher the standard level, the better the air emitted from the device is cleaned. For example, HEPA H13 robotic vacuum cleaners are suitable for use in apartments where people live with allergies, asthma, or simply hypersensitivity to dust. And HEPA H10 is suitable for most ordinary users.

How much are robot vacuum cleaners

The cost of the robotic vacuum cleaners directly depends on the functionality, configuration and other parameters. It starts from 10-12 thousand rubles, but the vast majority of models are in the price range of 25-35 thousand rubles.

However, top models, such as the iRobot Roomba 980 or Samsung PowerBot, can cost much more - up to 50-60 thousand rubles.

The best manufacturers of robotic vacuum cleaners

The best robot vacuum cleaners are produced by the following companies:

iRobot, Samsung, Kärcher - belong to the premium segment, are quite expensive, but provide high quality cleaning;
Panda, iClebo - simultaneously produce low-cost and high-quality robotic vacuum cleaners with good performance characteristics;
Neato - produces one of the most expensive robot vacuum cleaners, but at the same time the devices from this company differ in the broadest functionality and design, thanks to which they can climb under the furniture.

You can also highlight the company LG, Polaris and Philips, which produce devices of the middle class.