Robot Vacuum: Are they really worth the money?

I have gone back and forth with myself on whether or not to get a robot vacuum for about a year. I loved the idea of having the robot vacuum the floor while I was off doing something else. But I struggled with the cost vs time savings for me. They can be a little pricey and of course I wanted the ones with all the fancy gadgets.

My Home Life.

I currently have 3 floors. My main floor and basement floor is all hard floors. However, at the time my 2nd floor was all carpet. We have been slowly pulling up the carpet and will have all hardwood floors. I also have 2 cats, so lots of fur. Could a robot manage all of that?

My Concerns.

They can be a lot of money, some more than others. I knew it would not be able to replace my upright vacuum completely. Between having to vacuum furniture, steps, and my second floor carpet still. So was it really worth it if I still had to pull out the vacuum that frequently? With having multiple floors I would need to carry the robot to the floor that I wanted to use it on. Will it get enough of the room that I would not have to vacuum as frequently? I only want it if I can reduce the amount of vacuuming I need to do.

The Buying Process.

There are soo many out there. At first I was trying to look for a fancy one that would remember my floor plan, Bluetooth scheduling, and all that jazz. It became overwhelming seeing all the options.

After reading about other people’s experiences I decided a couple of things. First, I didn’t need the fancy scheduling with an App or Bluetooth. I do have cats, and I need to make sure to do a lap around to pick up any toys and any mess that may have been left. Last thing I need is a robot vacuum to drag around my cats’ hairball. Then, I decided that I do not really need the smarter robot to remember my floor plan. Since I will be going between floors it would not work out for me anyway. After reading those others experiences most were fine without this feature since they can easily run it every day, it will eventually get everything.

I eventually found one on sale that was less than $400 that had great reviews. I decided to go for it!

Which One Did I Pick and Why?

I chose the basic Shark ION Robot. There are multiple Shark Robots similar to choose from based on the features you would like and your budget. Shark had the most positive reviews. It was quieter, and easy to maintain. However, the biggest selling point is that it was shorter than most of the other robots which means it could fit under more furniture! It avoids steps, goes over my area rugs with no issues, and is easy to dump the dirt. It also comes with strips that you can put down to stop the vacuum from going to areas where it may get stuck or you do not want it to be in. For example, around the cat food bowls or if you want it to only do the kitchen you can block of the entry points. There is a similar option if you prefer to have an app or use Alexia.

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My results.

I absolutely love it! It has replaced the need for me to run my upright on the hard floors. I used to run the vacuum weekly on all floors. Now I run my Shark Robot Vacuum Monday through Friday and have had it for a few months now. I have only had to run my upright vacuum on the hard floors once. This was a deep clean where I moved furniture and everything because I had a friend coming over that was allergic to cats. I was pleasantly surprised with how little dust drifted under the couches. With the daily vacuuming it really reduces the amount of dust that can travel. The Shark can also get into some places I may have skipped while vacuuming. Its low enough to fit under my bed, some of my book cases, the kitchen table, and other corners.

So in the end it was totally worth the money and I will not go back! I may even buy a 2nd one for my 2nd floor when we are finished redoing all of the rooms and removing the carpet. I will admit that if I get a 2nd one that I may look into getting one that remembers the floor plan if it is within budget. It’s not a deal breaker, it does a great job with out it. The only thing that would be nice is once one learns your floor plan it supposedly will be more efficient in getting the entire area with the battery life, before it needs to recharge.

Then I just need to quickly finish up my floors with my Bona MOP system