The robot vacuum is a favorite topic of conversation on popular tech sites. These innovative products are just about the closest the average homeowner can get to the Jetson’s world where machines do all household chores for you.

But while they seem cool, are they unequivocally good? That’s the big question. And one we will try to answer in this post. Check out the following pros and cons of robot vacuums.

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Pro: Schedule Your Cleaning

Do you really want your robot vacuum prowling along your floor making noise while you’re trying to watch a film? Probably not. You’d much rather enjoy your entertainment uninterrupted. 

Fortunately, you don’t actually have to be in the house for your robot vacuum to work. Instead, you just use the connected app on your phone to schedule cleaning and it will get on with the job for you. Once finished, it will return back to its dock and charge its battery.

Con: Need To Vacuum-Proof The House

While robot vacuum pathfinding is improving all the time, they still don’t have any common sense. Robot vacuums will quite happily hurl themselves off the top of the stairs or drive straight into your fireplace. They will also attempt to gobble up anything in their path, including socks you accidentally left on the floor. 

In light of this, if you plan on buying a robot vacuum, you’ll need to vacuum-proof your house. You’ll want to make sure that it can’t go anywhere it’s not supposed to go and that you remove any wayward objects on the floor that could cause it to get stuck.

Pro: Easy To Vacuum Under Furniture

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Modern robot vacuums are designed to fit underneath your sofa, allowing you to vacuum tough-to-reach spots without having to move any of your furniture around. The same applies to beds and cabinets or tables with accessible spaces underneath. 

Con: Can Get Stuck Easily

Another con is that robot vacuums have a habit of getting stuck quite often. As mentioned above, pathfinding is getting better all the time, but it’s still not perfect. Manufacturers are still ironing out issues, particularly when it comes to dynamic obstacles. Robot vacuums are very good at avoiding chairs and tables that don’t move, but they’re not so good at dealing with mops that they’ve knocked over or family pets.

Pro: Doubles As A Mop

Robot vacuums used to do just one thing: suck up dust. But today, many manufacturers are making dual purpose options that act as a mop as well.

These robots contain both a vacuum and water reservoir, plus controls that let you switch between both. This means that you don’t need to buy a separate robot mop.

Con: Finds It Hard To Locate The Charging Station

After cleaning, robot vacuums should return to their charging stations so that they’re ready to go for the next bout of cleaning. However, navigational software is still very much in its infancy, and robots don’t always return to their point of origin. As such, owners frequently find themselves having to manually carry their devices back to their charging points over and over again.

Pro: Spot Cleaning

Many robot vacuums now have the ability to spot clean specific areas instead of automatically cleaning the entire room. This means that if you accidentally spill some crumbs on the floor while you’re munching on some pistachios, you can get your robot vacuum to clean them up for you.

You’ll need to check which models offer this feature on a robot vacuum site. Not all of them do. 

Con: You have To Empty Them Frequently

Another potential downer is the fact that you have to empty them frequently. Robot vacuums are the victims of a tradeoff. On the one hand, they are small and lightweight – great for vacuuming all the nooks and crannies of your home. And, on the other, the internal space they offer for dust bales is quite low. Sometimes, you may have to empty them halfway through a cleaning session because they are full.

Con: You’ll Still Need To Vacuum

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Another con is the fact that you’ll probably still need to vacuum, even if you set up your home for robot vacuum cleaners perfectly. The reason? There are some spots that your robot vacuum won’t be able to reach such as the stairs, window ledges and along your skirting board. 

Overall, therefore, the robot vacuum has many pros and cons. On the plus side, they are convenient and can do your vacuuming while you’re out of the house. But on the downside, you need to empty them frequently and they can get stuck.