What is a robot vacuum cleaner?
Robotic vacuum cleaners are smart gadgets designed to pick up garbage and wipe floors without our intervention.
Most of the robot vacuum cleaners are rounded shapes, less often you can find square-shaped devices. The bottom of the device contains brushes, liquid containers, wheels, filters, etc. The top panel usually contains control buttons.
The case of many models is trimmed with rubber on the sides. This prevents damage from collisions with furniture and walls.
A robot vacuum cleaner can be a great companion in offices, as well as in homes with children or pets. The device effectively removes dust accumulating on the floor, thereby alleviating the condition of people prone to allergies.
Such gadgets are ideal not only for tiles, linoleum, and laminate but also for varnished parquet.
The robot vacuum cleaner is not designed to clean heavily cluttered rooms or large pile carpets.
We recommend that you study the rating of automatic robot vacuum cleaners, which contains the best models according to reviews and customer ratings. This collection is relevant and is updated every year, and sometimes more often.
For each model, a detailed description is provided, and pros and cons, as well as technical characteristics, are indicated.
The average height of a robotic vacuum cleaner is 6-10 cm, but you can find models on sale that are only 3 cm high.
How does the robot vacuum cleaner work?
The vacuum cleaner’s sensors scan the surrounding area. The received information is processed by the processor, after which the device receives instructions for further work.
The standard cleaning algorithm is as follows:
- the device moves to the middle of the room;
- moves in a spiral, starting from the center, avoiding obstacles;
- the system of brushes rakes up the debris that the device sucks into the bin;
- if the battery runs out, the gadget will interrupt and go to the docking station to replenish the energy supply.
The main rules and care of the robot vacuum cleaner
To ensure good functioning and long service life of the robot vacuum cleaner, the following guidelines should be followed:
- The battery must be fully charged before using the device for the first time. It will take 6-16 hours depending on the model.
- Before cleaning, it is necessary to remove large objects from the floor, including socks, slightly raise the curtains and install “virtual walls” that limit the range of movement of the device, if any.
- Do not turn on the device if the liquid has entered it.
- To prolong the life of the batteries, care must be taken not to completely discharge them. For this, it is necessary that the device can always return to the base. If you intend not to use the device for a long time, remove the batteries, charge them and store them in a cool dry place.
- After cleaning, remove the waste container, shake out the dirt and clean the container with a brush. It cannot be washed with water, otherwise, the motor will break down. Then you need to clean the filter.
- The complete release of the brushes from the debris and dust stuck in them should be done at least once a week.
- To prevent the speed of the vacuum cleaner from slowing down, you must regularly remove the guide wheel and clean it.
- Sensors should be wiped with a dry cloth every day.
- Manufacturers recommend cleaning the internal vacuum cleaner every six months. It is better to entrust this task to specialists.
How to choose the robot vacuum cleaner?
Criteria and Characteristics
Using the robot vacuum cleaner was really comfortable, but you need to pay attention to its technical characteristics before buying. Read customer review sites and compare prices.
Before choosing a device that really suits you, let’s decide on all the important characteristics.
Container volume: To clean rooms that occupy a small area, devices with a dust collector that can hold 0.3-0.4 liters are suitable. To clean more spacious housing, devices with 0.5-liter containers are useful.
Noise level: Noise of 50 dB or more can cause significant discomfort, especially at night. So that the vacuum cleaner does not interfere with rest, the noise level during its operation should not exceed 36 dB.
Navigation type
For a good robot vacuum cleaner to work, the user has little to no effort. It is recommended to give preference to devices that can independently navigate the surrounding space, create a map of the room to be cleaned, and easily overcome obstacles.
These options are especially important for houses and apartments with a large number of rooms.
A navigation system is included in every robot vacuum cleaner. It can consist of three types of sensors:
- ultrasonic: allow the gadget to easily drive under furniture and get out from under it, detect doorways and proceed to clean the next room;
- optical: necessary to identify obstacles and avoid collisions with them;
- infrared: thanks to them, the vacuum cleaner senses changes in height: it passes through the wires without getting tangled in them, does not fall downstairs, and does not drive onto carpets.
There is another classification of navigation systems:
- The device detects obstacles at a distance and, in order not to collide with them, corrects the direction of movement. The device can move along different trajectories: straight, circles, or zigzags.
- When it collides with an object, it starts to drive in the opposite direction. Such models are additionally equipped with a soft bumper.
Suction power
Conventional models have a suction power of no more than 20-22 W. More expensive robots can boast 30 to 35 watts. This is enough to remove small debris and dust.
Battery type and capacity
Modern robotic vacuum cleaners run on three types of batteries:
- Li-Ion. A device with such a battery can cope with cleaning a large area in a short period of time.
- Li-Pol. High-quality polymers are used in the manufacture of Li-Pol batteries. providing a long service life of the device. They contain no flammable components.
- Ni-MH. Can withstand 20% more charge cycles than Li-Ion. The disadvantage is the high rate of discharge and heating during operation, which can be dangerous.
Number of filtration stages
By sucking in air, the device passes it through filters that trap dust and debris. The quality of cleaning and the absence of re-pollution directly depends on the cleaning system.
There are two types of filters:
- coarse cleaning – an economical option that retains large debris, but does not protect against dust release;
- HEPA filter – has a compacted structure and a large number of layers that prevent dust from entering the air.
Additional functionality
Modern models of robotic vacuum cleaners have advanced functionality. A set of additional options can be found in both budget and elite devices.
Soft collision: With this function, the vacuum cleaner will more carefully interact with objects on its way. A similar effect is achieved thanks to the rubber bumper and motion sensors.
Laser navigation: It is believed that it is the instruments equipped with laser navigation that are best oriented in space. The vacuum cleaners have built-in special elements that scan the room and accurately determine the distance to objects and their location.
The collected data is entered into the device memory, after which a room map is made based on them.
Scheduled work: If the vacuum cleaner has this option, you can set the day and time for cleaning the apartment. For example, the appliance might be busy cleaning surfaces when everyone is off to work or asleep.
Combined robot (wet or dry cleaning)
In addition to gadgets focused only on dry or wet cleaning, you can find combined devices on sale. They deal with rubbish and wipe the floor with a soft microfiber cloth dampened with water from a special reservoir.
Which model is better for cleaning animal hair?
If there are animals with long hair in the house, you need to give preference to models with a turbo brush. The device must be powerful enough to deal with hairs adhering to the coatings.
Conclusion and conclusions
- A robot vacuum cleaner is a great option for busy people who don’t have time to clean.
- For a spacious apartment, you need to choose a model with a spacious dust collector.
- To effectively remove animal hair, powerful models equipped with a turbo brush are suitable.
- If you plan to run the vacuum cleaner at night, it is worth choosing devices that create a noise level of no more than 36 dB.
Roborock E4 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
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