Can a robot vacuum really meet all of your cleaning needs?
Or will it fall short on those much-needed tasks?
If you’re wondering at all, “Are robot vacuums worth it?”, then you’ll get some clarity here.
As your trusty companion, I’ll go over the top things you need to know about robot vacuum cleaners so you can answer this question for all, “Should I get a Roomba or not?”
After reading this post, if you find that a robot vacuum does make sense for you, I invite you to check out my cheapest robot vacuums buying guide. It shows you how to find a great robot vacuum cleaner for much less than a Roomba.
So be sure to check it out.
Are robot vacuums worth it?
In my experience, robot vacuums like the Roomba are well worth the money because they can keep your house 90% clean, all the time.
In normal conditions, robot vacuums do an excellent job of cruising around and picking up dust, dirt, hair, and food bits off of the floor.
But, robot vacuums are not made for everyone.
Only certain types of people and conditions benefit most from these vacuuming gizmos.
Who are robot vacuums for?
- Apartment dwellers: A robot vacuum can quickly clean apartments because they’re often not that big of a space and all of the rooms are connected together.
- Owners of a smaller one or two-story home: All robot vacuums have a time limit on how long they can last before they must recharge. In a smaller house, the robot vacuum can clean an entire floor on one charge. Also, it’s easy to carry the unit to another floor to work there too. In houses with larger square footage or three levels, the Roomba may take several hours to finish one job and taking it up and down the stairs can become a real pain.
- People with lots of hardwood or low-pile carpeting: Roombas and other robot vacuums excel on thin carpets and hard flooring, but not so much on thick carpeting. If you have a lot of hardwoos and area rugs in your house, a robot vacuum is a good choice.
- People without cluttered homes: Robot vacuums can’t see like humans do, so if there’s lots of clutter on the ground, it’ll stop the Roomba from cleaning or cause it to go in an erratic direction. If you have children, for example, who leave lots of toys on the floor, a robot vacuum may not be a good idea to have.
- People who travel a lot: If you’re not home often, a Roomba is a good idea to have because it can clean while you’re away. Most robot vacuums these days include a scheduling feature to set the device up to clean on an automatic daily (or weekly) schedule.
What are the benefits of robot vacuums?
Robot vacuums excel in many ways.
When you’re trying to decide are robot vacuums worth it or not for you, consider the following benefits of owning one of these machines:
- It keeps your home looking tidy.
- It prevents large messes from building up.
- It makes cleaning mindless and hasslefree.
- It gives you more time to spend doing other things instead of vacuuming.
- It’s easy to use and doesn’t need much user interaction (if at all).
- It can be controlled by your mobile device or voice with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, etc. (if equipped).
What are the drawbacks of robot vacuums?
While the benefits of owning a Roomba or other robot vacuum are quite appealing, you still may be wondering, “Should I get a Roomba?”
Before you make a purchase, consider these drawbacks:
- It can aggravate your pets and cause cats to become skittish and dogs to bark uncontrollably.
- It doesn’t have a big dust collection bin, so you’ll need to empty it quite often if you’re home is dirty.
- It does have a time limit on its operation and may not get the full job done on one charge. And some robot vacuums take several hours to recharge for less than 60 minutes of cleaning time.
- It doesn’t fully replace your upright vacuum. You’ll still need to own one of these devices to use for areas the Roomba can’t reach or when accidental messes occur.
- It doesn’t do well with thick carpeting and the models that can tackle it are often very expensive ($800 or more).
- It can’t decipher between room clutter (e.g. toys) and fixed objects in a room (e.g. a table leg)
- Frilly rugs and blankets can get trapped in the robot vacuum’s brush roller.
Should I get a Roomba robot vacuum?
As you learned above, robot vacuums have a lot of perks and take a tremendous amount of hassle out of your cleaning chores.
However, these modern machines are not without their quirks.
If you’re still questioning, “Should I get a Roomba?”, my advice would be to try a cheaper model first to see how it works around your home. Then, if you like it, you can always upgrade to a higher-end Roomba model if the lower-cost version doesn’t meet your needs.
As I mentioned in the beginning of this guide, you can check out my cheapest robot vacuums buying guide to learn how to get a great device at a rock-bottom price.
So, are robot vacuums worth it?
For many people, they are.
But, keep in mind that you can’t ditch your upright vacuum cleaner all together. Robot vacuums are best suited for maintenance cleaning and not sudden messes or deep cleaning sessions.
I hope this information helped!
Your pal,
Trusty Joe
