I detest housework and have posted about that before. In particular, I hate cleaning the floor, and the toilet. Robot vacuum cleaners have been around for a long time, but they've always been very expensive. Plus my sister in law bought one many years ago and said it didn't clean very well. Hence I was never interested in getting one.
Last week I went to a friend's house and she was singing praises of her vacuum and mop combined robot. Maybe it's time to reconsider getting one to reduce my housework? When I got home looking for Black Friday deals, I saw a vacuum robot at a very good price. I figured there was no harm in getting one. If it didn't work out I can always return it.
The robot arrived a couple days later. I didn't fall in love with it immediately because of its look. Imagine having a mini toilet next to your dining table 🥴 It didn't matter which way I placed it, it still looks like a toilet.
But, I was prepared to overlook its shortfalls if it means I can do less housework 😄 This little baby can vacuum and mop the floor. And after vacuum, it can self empty by sucking the rubbish up to the dust bag, that's the ugly toilet part.
I couldn't wait to test out my little helper. It starts by mapping out my room so it knows where to go. That only took a minute and you only have to do it once. I have to say I was very impressed with its scanning function. Then for the real work. It was quite fun watching it move live on the app even though I was sitting in the same room as it. The circles are where it's going around the dining table and chair legs and it took ages. Now I know to line up the chairs better so it has a more direct path and cleans quicker, like in the rest of the room where there's no furniture and it goes straight up and down.
Next was vacuuming the carpet area upstairs. I wanted to test two things here. Will the robot work if its base station is downstairs? And will it fall down the stairs? I decided to sit on the top of the stairs to catch it in case it fell down. It got to the edge of the stairs, stopped, moved backwards and forwards a few times, then it moved to another area. Clever!! Normally, after it finished vacuum, the robot will find its own way back to the base if it started from the base. In this case, I carried my baby upstairs and put it on the floor to start cleaning. When it couldn't detect the base, it told me the base was missing. Then it moved back to the same point where I put it down earlier on. Clever, it passed both tests!!✅ ✅
So far I'm loving my little helper. I get it to clean my kitchen every night after cooking dinner, and it only takes a few minutes. I will still have to clean it manually every week, but in between my floor is much cleaner. At least I think it is. If all this is just a placebo effect, I still think it's worth it 😄
Now I just need someone to design an automatic toilet cleaning machine that cleans both the inside and outside of the toilet. Then my life will be complete😉
What are your thoughts or experience in using robots to help you reduce your household chores? Let me know in the comments.
We have one to keep the pet hair at bay so we don't get cat hair tumble weeds drifting through the house. It works good in that regard. I find it's much better on the hardwood then the carpet but definitely reduces the amount of cleaning we have to do.
I agree that it's an eye sore. I hid the tower behind a couch so you can't see it unless you walk around it and intentially go looking for it.
Damn!! That's such a good idea. I was in the middle of a reply to say we have no where to hide the robot, then I remembered we have an armchair on the other end of the dining room. So I went downstairs to reposition the base, now the toilet it hidden out of sight!!! Thanks so much!!!
Nice! Glad it worked out
Without reading I saw it and I thought it was just that, a toilet. Hahaha... so it's smart and didn't throw itself down the stairs. I wonder what this post would be like if you'd had to cradle him in your arms after the hit.... Lol. Because you had already taken a liking to him, hadn't you?
I would cradle my lovely Mr Carson and patch him up with these pretty bandages ❤️🩹
This little helper sounds way more advanced than a robotic vacuum cleaner my son had a couple of years ago.
Enjoy the help
I'm really spoilt with having 2 staff members who multi-task and truly are masters of all trades!
Great for you as well.
I think nothing beats manual labour especially if you have good helpers. I think this is probably the next best thing, so am pretty happy with it now.
Haha, it does look like a toilet! My wife would love to hire a cleaning person if we had the money and we knew we could trust them. I have a feeling she would never be able to find someone who met her expectations!
Often finding a good cleaner is so difficult and it takes a while to build up the trust and get used to how other people do things. When we had a cleaner years ago I would get her to come over the weekend and 'oversee' her working. After a while, I'd let her in and then go out, and eventually I gave her her own set of keys. It took a while, but we got there in the end as she was so good.
That makes a lot of sense. I think back in the day you could trust people a lot more than you can today. Plus the effort just seems to have decreased across the board, but I am sure that is not the case everywhere.
Haha, love the idea of a mini toilet robot! It sounds like a huge help, especially for the floors and other spots. No more housework is the most fulfilling feeling ever! 😂😂
Yup, housework doesn't feature high on my list of things to do unfortunately,
La verdad no había visto un aparato de esos resulta interesante
Thankfully there are many gadgets nowadays to help make our lives easier
Wow I want one too hahaha. I'm so glad you were able to buy it and that you are now enjoying its benefits, which in my opinion are many and without a doubt make taking care of your home much easier.
Once again, congratulations on that super purchase!
I'm very pleased with it especially it was at quite a good deal, and most important it makes me feel less guilty about not doing housework 😄
Technically, is the vacuum itself not a self-cleaning toilet of sorts? Sure you have to clear out the thing once a week, but it DOES empty into the back on its own... ahahah
Seriously though, there's some kinda pad thing you can stick into the tank of your toilet that is supposed to keep it clean for much longer. I haven't tried it because the chore isn't on my hated list (dishes and floors are though!) Maybe you can test that out for inquiring minds next 😎
Cool buy, I hope it keeps bringing ya joy!
I'll have to do some research on toilet cleaners now!! I actually don't mind dishes too much, the fun part is playing tetris aftwards😄
Oh my goodness! This is a great post and your humor about cleaning is fab! I know some friends that have similar robots and they swear by them. I still like to clean myself and find it very therapeutic, but then I like to always be doing something. lol Enjoy your new friend, hide it behind that armchair. lol
I forgot about the armchair I had at the other end of the dining room! It's hiding behind that now and I'm super happy 😁
...suck, for me. I had one a couple of times and they just blow. Unless you have a perfectly square room with no random unexpected items laying about (or misaligned chair), or placed in a way not suitable, it will just constantly get in the way and get stuck. You likely have to dish out BIG time for one that's even half decent.
Besides, I actually like cleaning somewhat (don't tell my wife). I like the three-pronged approach of floor cleaning: dustpan and brush for the big stuff, vacuum to get rid of cat fur etc, mop with my hi-tec bucket to finish off.
I also prefer to hand-wash dishes instead of using the dishwasher. They just take too long and yes, they sterilize real well but I always find bits left between forks and stuff, and they aren't conducive to odd-shaped things, so I have to handwash half the time regardless. Waste of time.
Gadgets blowing up is scary. That's why I'm always a bit sceptical of buying electronic goods MIC. I think practically all these are MIC, something that we struggled with quite a bit before the purchase, plus we knew it had to be connected to an app on our phone. In the end we gave in and decided on one that we thought had a better reputation.
On the unexpected items, yeah, the poor thing got very confused the first time with the dining table and chairs, it went round and round for ages. Now I line the chairs up properly, it works much smoother.
Dishwashers are great for greasy stuff like after doing a roast or when we have people over for dinner, but they're not really designed for asian meals where there are loads of odd size bowls, it's like playing tetris to get everything in! However I find it's much easier to hand wash some items if the dishwasher doesn't get all the bits out.
You must come and train my husband sometime to do more housework!
Haha great point, I never thought of that...
Gladly - I have my grievances with every cleaner that comes, Always moan that if I want it done properly, I gotta do it myself XD I'll sing to him like Mary Poppins.
Mary Mobbins
C'mon... just admit it you is sooooo lazy!!
Shhhh!! You're not supposed to tell anyone that 🤫
OOOPS! My bad!😌
I hate housework. I had something some years ago and it didn't mop.
I heard about those that mop but my wife is skeptical of that thing going to repeatedly mop with the dirty water.
I think it spits the water out onto the mopping pad so it's the pad that gets dirty, bit like using a normal mop really. You can control the amount of water it spits out, pretty clever
Would be good if these control can be done by phone app without going to the bot.
If you want to fall down an absolute internet rabbithole, just go to Reddit and search for Stabby the Roomba😁
damn!! why did I listen to you!!! 😆
lmao ! Told you it was a rabbit hole. But it is one of the best ones..... 😀
Ohhhhh might have to invest...
My wife did get a little one a few years ago and it was terrible, but hopefully the technology has improved a little now.
How much do these cost as a matter of interest?
Costco are currently doing a promotion at £240, that's the cheapest I could find for this model, otherwise it's at least £300. The other brands are all around this price range for the combined mop + vacuum and self emptying function.
Shopping time!!
We have contemplated getting one. With a cat there is always hair around plus crumbs etc in the kitchen. Our downstairs is mostly open plan wood floor with a couple of rugs. It may even get under the sofa. Will have to investigate more.
This one has a hair cutter function that cuts the hair along the roller and then empties it in the dust bag. Last night I checked the roller and there was still a string of cutted hair tangled on it, so mixed results, it works but not 100%
I found it on Amazon and it's not silly expensive. I remember when the original Roomba came out and I think that was a lot more as well as being more limited.
Costco are doing some good deals now if you're a member, that's where I got mine
I mentioned it, but other half doesn't think we need it.
It can get a bit addictive shopping there!!
We were talking about this yesterday, and wanted to know if it really cleans in the corners!
You are right though, it does look like a toilet!
I think it gives you peace of mind, and hopefully you won't be cleaning once a week. The cynic in me says that defeats the point of having one.
It reminds me of when I used to have a cleaner in Aberdeen. I would often clean before she came. I mean what was the fluffing point!
What the...!!? You clean up before your cleaner comes 😂 When I used to have a cleaner, I'll stop washing the dishes the day before.
There's a brush that extends out, that's supposed to clean the corners, so far it seems ok but I haven't checked closely. However I noticed when I threw a few strands of hair down the other day, it missed one. I have yet to test it by dropping ketchup on the floor but even the reviews says it won't replace manual cleaning all together.
This makes total sense! When we get cleaners round, they don't know how I like things being done, like how to fold my socks or where various things go. So I prefer to get these things out the way, so they don't waste their time, and can focus on the more gruelling tasks I'd rather not do!
I was just about to taken the piss out of your mini pumpkins and this pops up!
We have had one for about 12 months. It actually sits in a vertical plane in its charger.
It's OK, especially for under the bed and sofa and it does get most bits up bu I'm not impressed with the edges or corners and it doesn't do rugs well either.
I actually prefer to just get the vac out. We only have tiled floors so it's easy and quick and does a better job.
Right, back to those pumpkins ;-)
Oi!! My mini pumpkins are cute, right lil gems 🥰
I find under the bed and drawers are really good coz that's difficult to vacuum but I think I need to give my home one good manual clean first in order for my little helper to be more be efficient.
Does your self empty as well? I was seriously getting a simpler model without the toilet, but I really couldn't be bothered to do a half job.
My lil friend says hi!
Sadly not, its an older, more basic model but the wife has her eye on the 12/12 sale for one of the Xiaomi latest model toilet ones that does. Personally, I'd rather employ a maid... :-)
I imagine employing someone in Thailand would be pretty affordable, the difficulty is finding someone who does a good job.
Some of the latest models can go for over £1k here and they're all MIC as well. Hopefully you can find a good deal in Thailand
Congratulations you now have a full time service employee. 😅.
I hate cleaning the bathroom too, I like to sweep and swipe but the bathroom and kitchen I shy away from.
My brother bought one of those robots, since he lives alone and I really can't see the difference in cleanliness, but I know that in this area a lot of dust falls, because there is a cane field three blocks away.
I hope you enjoy your new smart friend.
So far I'm very happy with my little helper even though I haven't checked his work thoroughly. But as long as as I see him working, it makes me feel better
🤣😂 I hope you don't download without finishing your work.
I love your little black toilette shaped helper! Ahaha
I haven't consider to buy one yet, but I must confess that living alone makes us a little bit more flexible with "cleaning days"... Not that I'm ok with it. I wish I was so organized has I am with my daily workout gym sessions. Well, I think that is because of the dopamine "part", right? Cleaning isn't so fun has exercising 😅
I guess living on your own means you can be a bit more sloppy, no one to judge you, but don't over do it in case you suddenly decide to bring someone home one night 😜
Maybe that's a reason to incentivise you to do some cleaning 🤔
Well pointed, P! I'll try up to clean up a little bit more just after the next Sunday! I'm motivated by your reason... a very long shot... but who knows, right? 😅
My friend calls his robot "slave" 😂
If you find something for automatic toilet cleaning, please share with us, I'm buying two immediately 🙂
I'm sure a toilet cleaning robot will be very popular, I don't know who enjoys cleaning it!!
Just when I was ready to come!!
But just for the floors, not for the toilet :D
You also should give your little helper a name (a friend of mine has one of these and gave it a name, but she also gives names for cars etc 😆)
Wish you all the fun while you watch how it cleans instead of you 😇
We have been thinking of a name for the robot since we got it. Initially we called her Hayley after a HR manager at work who was a horrible woman. Then it felt weird to be reminded of such a horrible person all the time. Last night we finally decided on Mr Carson after the butler in Downton Abbey, my favourite program 😄
He approves the name :D
We've had one for a while now. I don't think it cleans as well as we do manually, but it works well enough to help keeping things clean. I heard the newer ones are better, maybe it's time to upgrade.
I don't know how this compares to previous ones, and even this brand has got 3 or 4 models, and some were over £1000!!!
I read that it won't replace manual cleaning so I guess I'll still have to do that, but maybe less frequently, not that I do it very frequent anyway 😅 I also read you can spray detergent on the floor to help cleaning so I might do that as well because it's just using water only now
I know right? So many options, but I don't think I would invest in the most expensive ones. Ours is already a bit old, doesn't have the mopping feature and doesn't empty itself, so I'm curious to know how well the mopping works. We've been looking for an upgrade, maybe this black friday will be the time for it.
I think these gadgets advance quite fast, so maybe they've improved quite a lot since you got yours. The problem is you don't really know how good they are until you've used it. Hopefully you can find a good deal you upgrade yours this month
Wow I would love your little black toilet!!!! 🤣 It really is what it looks like....but if it does everything you say, it's the most beautiful object in your house 😆 Congrats on your new helper and hopefully there will be one soon to free you from cleaning your toilet 😉. Ohhh if only they sold something like this in Cuba! Well .... it would be very expensive 😂🤣. A hug 🤗
I may wrap my toilet in Christmas paper to make it less toilet 😂
Congratulations on your purchase, it never hurts to have a good robotic aid. Although you are right it is not the most attractive design. I have seen some on the internet that are like a flying saucer, but I have not seen this model.
A few years ago I worked remotely delimiting thousands of photos of houses, those photos I understood that it was to create an algorithm for these small robots to transit. I imagine, that it would be for artifacts like these, it is very interesting. I hope it will be a great help for you and thanks for sharing.
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The flying saucer ones looks much neater, that's what my friend has. But you have to empty the rubbish every time after vacum, that's why there's the ugly toilet part on mine, to self empty into the dust bag, and that only needs to be changed every 6 months. It was trade off between an ugly model and less work 😉
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