# Robot Cleaners



## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Seeing as I have so many yard toys, I was thinking of getting SWMBO a Robot Vacuum. Anyone one have suggestions, recommendations, Pros/cons, Special Deals, Where to buy, etc.?


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

Well, they're great, one of the best things I ever bought. It takes off after I leave for work, does its job, then goes back to the base to recharge. I have a Roomba model without WiFi, WiFi would be cool but I don't really miss it. It's a good idea to get a virtual wall too so you can confine it to a certain area if need be.

If you have pets that tend to have "accidents", give that some consideration because if it runs over "it", it's going to smear "it" everywhere.


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

Buy the sensors to add to the stairs.
The basket fills up fast if you have shedding pets.
Takes about 3 hours to vacuum 1500sq ft because it has to re dock to recharge twice.

I wouldn't purchase one if you have a large animal.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

We have two roomba. One for the first floor and one for the second. We have a 90lb lab that sheds like crazy. The Roomba is a huge help. We vacuum his room with an upright and then set the Roomba to do the rest of the house. We only manually trigger to avoid spreading accidents (mainly from the 2yr kid).

Costco and Amazon had deals for Black Friday. Costco will normally have a similar deal in January. The Costco one has a larger capacity battery.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

I have a ranch with about 2800 sq ft, 50/50 hardwood/tile and carpet floors. No pets, just g'children and their crumbs.  Also have painted white baseboards which is a major concern. What do you guys think of the Neato Connected and the Roomba 960. In youtube videos, the Roomba seems to hit base boards and furniture pretty hard and the Neato, much less so.


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

We just put a Roomba 980 into service and it's made a noticeable difference already. Downstairs is nearly 2k sqft and it needs to recharge at least once if not twice to get it all. Nice that it maps the areas it cleans and you can check to see where it cleans. I think the 980 is a better value over the 960, mainly for the much better battery life and it includes two virtual walls with the unit. I've also nicknamed the "carpet boost" mode "angry mode" as the vacuum motor turns up to 11 when the unit is on a door mat or carpet.

Be forewarned, the newest Roombas are no good on the night shift! They need some light (a table lamp on dim is enough) to navigate via their cameras.


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## gatormac2112 (Sep 14, 2017)

I have a Neato connected and it's great. It does more straight line cleaning that seems logical where the roomba sporadically bounces around the room. The neato also does its job perfectly in the dark, it's wifi enabled, maps the house each time it runs and the newest model can be programmed to avoid areas of the house without magnetic strips or barriers. I have 2 cats and a German Shepherd.

Roomba and Neato are both good, both have pros and cons, but both get the job done.


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

Sounds like I should be vacuuming more than just once every other year. . . .


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Came down to the Neato or the iRobot. Leaned towards Neato as the reviews say iRobot runs pretty hard into things and we have painted trim and baseboards. THEN, came to my senses and decided $700+ is crazy for a vacuum. THEN BestBuy had them on sale, so bought a Neato with 4year maintenance for $530. (still too much, but WTH.)
Gave it to SWMBO early as she always does major cleaning for the holidays. The thing works very well, especially on the hardwoods. It doesn't deep clean carpet, but completely cleans the surface and stripes. I'm impressed and wife is very happy.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

Thought I'd do a follow up now that its been over a month of use.
I'm impressed. This Neato does a very good job of cleaning, hasn't damaged anything and almost never gets stuck. (Hasn't gotten stuck since the first couple of uses. It seems to be that it "learns" and remembers.)It even cleans under our two china cabinets that have trim work that limits height access except for a couple of places.
SWMBO is very happy. Happy wife, happy life.
If it's still working as well in two years, I'll highly recommend the Neato and if the cost comes down, it'll be 5 stars in my book.


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

@Ridgerunner

How does it do one hard surfaces. 90% of my house is hardwood/ tile.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

@J_nick 
It does great on our hardwoods. We don't have pets, so most of what we get are crumbs from the g'kids and lint and dust. It is very good cleaning along walls, but like an upright, it doesn't always get some things in the very corner, although sometimes it will. I'm very satisfied with how thorough it is in the open areas. It doesn't throw dirt around and I think the back and forth "lawn mowing" style pattern it uses may be the reason it does so well at that.

EDIT: One of my concerns was damage to the finish (I've got real/not engineered hardwoods with a low gloss finish). No Problems. So far, so good.  I really like that it does the parameter first and then fills in the center with the back and forth pattern. I think that is the secret for its thorough cleaning performance. On the carpets, it makes for nice striping. :lol:


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

Does it come with a striping kit? lol


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

@dfw_pilot 
See my Edit. :nod:


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

@Ridgerunner Would you mind sharing what model you purchased? I have my own SWMBO, and I'm betting that one of these cleaners would be a nice surprise birthday gift.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

@social port 
I purchased the Neato Connected. It's currently their high-end top model. They are going to come out with a Neato D7 Connected ($799?) that will not need virtual walls, you'll be able to just draw "no go" areas on the map rather than use a magnetic strip, Maybe once the D7 is out, the Neato Connected price may drop.
The Neato Connected that I purchased is listed at $699, but I bought it on sale (see my above post) at Best Buy. Unfortunately I missed their doorbuster sale @ $399. The Neato site lists other B&M stores and on-line stores that carry it., but I haven't seen any of them as low as BB sale prices.


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

I just visited their site:
https://www.neatorobotics.com/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SP%20%7C%20Neato%20com&msclkid=1e4d39173b0d11ef865363656f9b4a25
They now offer the cleaning maps for the mid range machines D3 and D5. Other than the longer lasting/running lithium battery of the Connected, I'm not sure what any other differences there would be. Might be worth taking the time to research and save some $$$ before you buy.


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

Thanks, @Ridgerunner 
I assumed that you went for the Connected but wasn't sure which model number was working so well for you. I've got three months or so before I need to make a decision, so that is plenty of time to research Neato models and Roomba options. Three months is also plenty of time for a price reduction to occur. You all have convinced me that these robotic cleaners are worth having.


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

I must say, this thread ... and all the great info packed into it ... are unexpected and much appreciated surprises! 
My own swmbo ain't "into" the yarden so much; however; when I shared the info inside this thread with her she is like (very much tongue in cheek), "Oh, you hang out with them AS MUCH as you want!" Ha-ha!
We'd been apprehensive about dipping a toe (and our hard earned cash) into the "floor bot arena" but, this thread is more informative than reading a ton of "techie" magazine articles....
Thank y'all !!!


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## dfw_pilot (Jan 28, 2017)

[media]https://youtu.be/JZTGyV7AgcA[/media]


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## Ridgerunner (May 16, 2017)

:rofl:


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## MasterMech (Sep 24, 2017)

:lol:


dfw_pilot said:


> [media]https://youtu.be/JZTGyV7AgcA[/media]


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## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

If someone isn't convinced about robot cleaners by the information provided in this thread, that curling video should be enough to push them into buying one. That is outstanding.


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