We’ve all heard the age-old adage: “A robot vacuum can’t replace your trusty old vacuum cleaner.” I’ve been on board with that wisdom for years.
But lately, I’ve been having some second thoughts. Is it really true in this day and age?
Honestly, I’d never put it to the test before. The logic seemed sound: a big, powerful vacuum would outshine a little robot any day. But curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to pit my faithful robot against the heavyweight champion, my regular vacuum cleaner.
Stay tuned, because I’m about to test just how well these bots can hold their own in the cleaning showdown!
The Test
To test this idea was super simple. So simple, I encourage everyone to try it.
I had my robot vacuum clean like it normally does, one whole cycle where it returns to home base when it’s done.
I then grabbed my regular vacuum cleaner, and I clean the same area the robot did. I even went over the same spot twice in a different motion to make sure I did not miss anything.
***To give you some background: I have my robot vacuum clean twice a week, and I have not used my regular vacuum since I got this new Roomba 690.
The Results
To be honest, I thought this test was stupid. I knew there would be so much crap that the regular vacuum would pick up that the robot vacuum could not.
The whole time I felt like I was wasting time since it was so obvious. It’s like being in a drag race, where you have a regular car (the robot vacuum) vs. the competition-ready sports car (the regular vacuum). You know you’re going to lose, but you race anyways.
But when I opened the container on the regular vacuum cleaner, I was shocked! There was barely anything in there, as you can see below.
Sure, this proves that the robot vacuum did miss some of the dirt and dust, but it’s a small portion.
Just to give you an idea, here is how much I picked up the first time I ever used the Roomba.
What Does This Mean?
This means that I either have a really good Roomba Robot Vacuum or I have a not-so-great Regular Vacuum Cleaner.
But there is one more thing this could mean, robot vacuums are a lot better than we think. We could be reaching a point where they can be a suitable replacement for regular vacuums.
This is great news! Vacuuming sucks and is a chore that most don’t like doing. And just like how we don’t handwash clothes any more I can see machines taking over the task of vacuuming.
The even better news is that there are way better robot vacuums out there than the one I used in this test. Dyson has an amazing one that I’m feeling very confident about now that it can be a replacement for your normal vacuum.
Even the higher-end Roombas like the 960 (Amazon Link Ad) or Neato could be a great option too.
The Bad News
Sure, these robot vacuums could be a good option, but there are still some other things they can not do.
For example, none (yet) can vacuum stairs.
Or a robot vacuum is not going to be a replacement for big spills that would call for a shop vacuum.
That stuff to me doesn’t matter that much. If you need your floors vacuumed and you don’t want to do, then it seems a robot vacuum is a great option. It becomes an even better option when you’re not home and need the floors cleaned. Let’s not forget the pet hair, running the robot daily can help with this.
The Take-Away
The takeaway from all of this is that some things can surprise you.
And the future or even right now it’s looking super bright for robot vacuums to be the replacement for manual everyday vacuums.