I’m in chronic pain and vacuuming was impossible till I got a robot vacuum – it’s seriously changed my life and absolutely worth the spend

Dealing with chronic pain is a full time job in itself, so with a young child, a busy house with two cats and a real full time job here at H&G as head of Solved, vacuuming has been the bane of my life for years.

I can't stand up for longer than two minutes and my wrists, ankles and knees give way constantly thanks to a genetic disorder. Vacuuming was so hard for me. Then I was lucky enough to be sent four top-notch robot vacuum and mops to test thoroughly and review. It is no exaggeration to say these robot vacuums have absolutely changed my life, and help keep my floors clean and sanitized.

Splashing out on one of the best robot vacuums will be the best investment you make this year for your home.

Why splashing out on a robot vacuum is so worth it

Why I love my robot vacuums

I now have two robot vacuums in my home, one upstairs and one down. I've kept my 5-star eufy Robot Vacuum Omni S1 Pro, featured in the video above, downstairs as the mopping capabilities are brilliant for cleaning the linoleum floors in my kitchen. My two cats go in and out all day, tracking muddy paw prints around the space.

Before, I had a good enough health and pain day to mop once a month at best. I cycled between using a traditional mop and bucket, available at Walmart, and a Swiffer Mop with disposable wipes from Amazon in the end as I hated the wet dog smell the mop would get no matter how well I tried to dry the head.

With the eufy, it not only has an automatic mop drying function to ensure no damp or musty smell develops, but it also turns your regular tap water in its clean water bin into electrolyzed Ozone, using patented tech. This gives my floors a far superior clean to other mops I've tried, literally drawing black water from the floors with its antibacterial properties. It uses the same Ozone clean water to clean the mop head when it's done.

When it comes to the robot vacuum element, all three I've linked above are brilliant.

I'm using the SwitchBot Floor Cleaning Robot S10, currently heavily discounted on Amazon, upstairs and I truly love it. It looks modern, has superior anti-collision tech and comes with the bristle-free rubber brushroll, which I have found in my testing to be much better than robot vacuums that have bristles. The bristles will cause hair to wrap around it, even if the design boasts 'anti-hair wrap' tech. The Switchbot robot vacuum K10 pro combo is a great option, too, which Ottilie Blackhall, news writer on Solved has been testing. You can read her SwitchBot K10 pro robot vacuum combo review to find out more.

The rubber brushroll is elite and the Omni S1 Pro and the SwitchBot S10 both have it. You can also buy it separetely for around $20 from eufy to upgrade your eufy X10 Pro Omni robot vacuum and mop, currently heavy discounted at Best Buy.

The difference robot vacuums have made for me

First, my canister use is down by 90-per cent. I only need my Miele vacuum, which is designed especially for, and one of the best pet hair vacuums, now for stairs and sofas or vacuuming upholstery.

Secondly, I run the vacuum daily, and the mopping multiple times in the week. Each function takes around 15 minutes for 500 square feet at home.

Third, there is a lot of internal shame and guilt that can come with being disabled and now, I no longer have to feel wretched that either I can't vacuum when my house needs or, or I have to ask my husband to do it on top of everything else he does to keep our household running.

Finally, the apps for all these robot vacuums I've tested are spectacular. A credit to their developers because they are so easy to use. Some apps drive you around the bend, but these apps are as smart and intuitive as their robot vacuums. Hurrah!

• Shop the eufy S1 Pro Omni for $999.99 at eufy or Amazon
• Shop the eufy X10 Pro Omni for $549.99 at eufy or Amazon
• Shop the Switchbot S10 for $699.99 at Amazon

FAQs

Are robot vacuums worth it?

If you have been debating whether robot vacuums are worth the spend, trust me, they absolutely are. If I had to hand these back tomorrow, I would buy them full price to keep the unexpected benefits of Robot vacuums and the brilliant tech they're loaded with. So to be able to buy with some of the best vacuums deals and best robot vacuum deals, it's a no-brainer for me.

Do robot vacuums work?

Categorically, yes. The best ones we've reviewed rival canister vacuums and reduced my canister usage by 90%. Look for features such as object collision technology and for mopping, being able to add a cleaning solution to the clean water tank will help it do a better job.

Do robot vacuums work on carpet?

In my experience, yes. I found I had to tweak the settings via the app to get the best results for my home, for instance, putting the eufy X10 Omni Pro on Turbo, rather than Standard suction. Give yours a good chance and test out all the different options and settings available to you.

Can robot vacuums go over rugs?

Yes. The good ones, such as the three I've focused this article on all work perfectly fine over rugs, with and without tassels on the end. They can lift up their front to get over bumps and ridges, and if they do become a bit tangled on a tassel, they will reverse back and free themselves. I have been testing mine daily for nearly 12 weeks and have yet to free any of them from a rug.

Do robot vacuums need Wifi?

Yes. Most need it for the apps to connect to the robots.

Next, learn about Roomba vs Shark vacuums.