With Black Friday here, a lot of people will be wondering if a robot vacuum is worth it. The marketing makes it seem like they're the product of the future, but the marketing has been saying that since before I was born. What's more, they're very expensive machines. Outside of sales periods, this particular model costs $1400. To be fair to iRobot, this is as fancy as a robot vacuum gets, but it's still a lot of money.
A year ago, I published this article after a month of living with the iRobot Roomba j9+ Combo. At the time, I thought it was pretty good. I thought that if you want to save on vacuuming, a little robot like this is a lifesaver.
But after a year of living with this robot, my opinion has changed. This is still - easily - the best robot vacuum I've ever tested. It means I can go a couple weeks without vacuuming or mopping and I literally can't remember the last time I had to empty out this vacuum.
However, if you don't have a lot of money to spare, don't buy a robot vacuum. They save a little time, sure, but for the expense and minor hassle of running them, 90% of the world is much better off with a low-tech stick vacuum.
Do robot vacuums do a good job of cleaning carpet?
Robot vacuums do a fine job of cleaning. This particular robot runs around my apartment and for the most part, does an excellent job. We bought an area rug that sheds a lot and this robot has largely dealt with all the fluff. In the winter, it mostly handles leaves and mud, and does well with dust and pollen kicked up in the summer.
However, the frustrating thing with a robot vacuum is that even the good ones are almost perfect. The corners of the room always have one noticeable piece of lint, or there's a piece of leaf trod in from outside that it missed. It's not even really a problem of suction - some of the best vacuums might miss these too.
The problem is that the robot can't know that it's missed anything. It's a robot – it doesn't 'know' anything, and it can't 'see' that it's skipped a spot. If the stars aligned that a string fell off your coat and the vacuum missed it, then this tiny spot you'd just clean up in a couple of seconds with a cordless or a handheld will simply sit unvacuumed until the next time. I find whenever I've tested these vacuums that there's often a couple spots to just pick up after it yourself; at which point you're just vacuuming, which defeats the purpose.
The Roomba Combo j9+ in my apartment
Last year, I found it a little frustrating that you have to clean up before your robot runs. A lot of the detritus of everyday life is a potential hazard. I found that on the days I set this robot to run, I'd have to jump up from my desk and move things out of the way.
A year later, I think this is one of the biggest issues with this vacuum. Every time I want to set it to run, I have to pick up every shoe in my apartment, move the footrests, move the draught excluders, tidy away cables - all things you'd just pick up as you go when vacuuming manually. It's an entirely new chore created by this vacuum. It's hardly arduous, but it's not as easy as the marketing claims.
On top of that, it can't handle changes in incline or small steps. I live in an old Victorian apartment with slightly strange features. There's a tiny step - maybe an inch and a half - into my bedroom. The robot can't climb it, so it doesn't clean my bedroom. In new build-condos or homes, this should be fine, but if your home has tiny steps like these, the robot probably won't be able to clean that room. I'm lucky that I received the sample for free - if you paid $1300 for a robot that only cleans 75% of your home, you'd be pretty annoyed.
I've also found that, like all vacuums, you have to keep the filter clean. But unlike most modern cordless vacuums, where the filter can be washed by hand and reused, this vacuum uses a paper filter. A set of three of these - the only way you can buy them - costs $35. It's the same story for the vacuum bags in the dock - they cost $20 for three. In both cases, you get annoying nudges from the app to buy replacements.
It's not a huge sum, and it won't bankrupt you. But it's yet another bit of life admin and a cost that doesn't exist with most other types of vacuum.
Do robot mops do a good job on hard floors?
The Roomba Combo j9+ mopping my kitchen floor
I think the mop function on a robot vacuum can be particularly effective. I'd rarely bother mopping our little kitchen but a robot mop genuinely makes a difference. It's genuinely amazing to see this particular robot switch from carpet to hard floors. Our kitchen floor is noticeably cleaner and in spots it genuinely shines. This model is particularly good because it has a scrubbing function that gets rid of most of the usual cooking stains you might find in a kitchen. It doesn't always succeed - curry is a particularly tough spill for this robot to clean - but it's mostly effective.
But just as with cleaning on carpet, robot mops always have a spot they haven't cleaned, and it's often a crucial spot. In the case of my kitchen, it's by the trashcan. That's an obvious place to find little stains from throwing out food waste, but the robot couldn't reach them. The combination of a round trash can and circular robot did not work well, so there was often a little corner I had to wipe up after. Don't get me wrong, it's much easier than mopping the whole floor yourself, but it's not perfect.
Are robot vacuums noisy?
There's no way around it, these are noisy. I usually find they're a little quieter than a cordless or upright vacuum because they're smaller, but it's still a vacuum. It's loud. Because these vacuums take longer than a person (most of the programs in my apartment take 30-40 minutes), I find it mildly annoying, low-level noise. You won't be able to take meetings, read, or watch TV while a robot vacuum does its stuff. I always have my headphones on while mine runs. If you're dreaming of a robot that will run around and vacuum while you put your feet up and watch TV, I don't think one exists.
In the case of the model I've tested for the last year, I've found that the noise of the autodock is the single worst feature. In theory, I adore the autodock. It tops your robot up with water for you, and it removes and stores the waste from the robot after every clean. This is a great fix for one of my least favorite parts of robot vacuums. Most robot vacuums have tiny dustbins, so you spend half your time emptying them and the process doesn't feel very automatic. In the course of the last year, I've changed the bag twice. Six months' worth of dirt stored up in one go is incredibly impressive. It even looks good; iRobot fitted this particular autodock with a wood top, so it almost looks like a side table. It's not invisible, but it doesn't stand out. Most friends I've had over in the past year didn't notice that this thing was a robot vacuum. I can't praise these features enough.
But I promise I'm not being hyperbolic, the auto dock emptying sounds like a jet taking off. It is incredibly loud to the point that I am sure it's disturbing the neighbors. You can barely hear yourself talk under it and it makes me jump every time it goes off. Sure, that's not a problem if you're out of the house, but it's so loud I worry the neighbors will make a noise complaint and I won't be in the apartment to sort it out.
Should I buy a robot vacuum?
With everything considered, if you have the money and you love a gadget, I think you should buy a robot vacuum. It's not perfect but it has saved me hundreds of hours of vacuuming this year.
If you hate vacuuming, one of these will do a good enough job that it will save you the job. I also think that if you have a large home, running one of these is a good way to keep it clean. You can set it to clean a specific room every day and keep on top of your vacuuming throughout the week.
However, for most users, a robot vacuum is simply too expensive for the performance. If a robot like this that costs $1300 is your big purchase of the year, you'll be a little disappointed. While I love having this around, I find that if I need to quickly vacuum before friends and family come over, I'll reach for my cheap cordless that costs ten times less.
Robot vacuum FAQs
Do robot vacuums have cameras?
Yes. Most robot vacuums operate with cameras, including most iRobots. If you're at all worried about privacy, you should get a robot with LiDar, which won't take images of your home.
Why are robot vacuums so expensive?
The clue is in the name – robotics is expensive. Think of all the fancy tech that needs to go into one of these for it to work. It needs cameras, lasers, a pretty powerful processor, sensors to know if it's full or bumped into a wall, the ability to map out a room – the list goes on. Until everyday robotics is cheap, robot vacuums will be pretty expensive.
Final thoughts
If this all sounds like too much work, you need to think about the best cordless vacuums. Robot vacuums can be poor companions for pets, so it's worth considering the best vacuum for pet hair if you need to pick up after dogs and cats. Though it's worth noting head of Solved at H&G, Punteha van Terheyden's two cats coped fine when testing and reviewing the eufy Robot S1 Pro, which she rated 5/5 and one of the best on the market.
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