Pros and cons of different models

Help & Support Domestic Robots
1

Hi all,
I’ve read the forums and this site on and off for a while, finally deciding it’s time to get into this whole household robotics business :slight_smile:

First question I suppose is regarding the floor plan of my apartment. i’ve attached it with some quick drawing-on to show furniture and so forth. Since it’s mostly one large room I don’t think any of the common robots should have problems dealing with it, but it IS 900 sq. ft, which seems like a lot to me.

Between the size and the layout does it seem feasible to think a robot will be able to do a decent job?

Next obviously is which robot. I have to say, between reading on the forums here, reviews on other sites and so forth, I have quality concerns about iRobot’s offerings. If not for Robotshop’s very generous warranty procedure I couldn’t justify even considering a device that seems almost designed to break. Awesome warranty aside it still doesn’t help a lot if the robot spends more time shipped off for repairs than cleaning.

I’m in the process of digging out reviews and so forth right now, but is there much experience here with the Neato XV-11? Reviews I’m reading so far seem positive but no mention of wear and tear or breakdown issues yet, and there have to have been SOME so far. It also seems like its cleaning effectiveness on carpet is slightly diminished because of the one pass nature of its approach. I have no pets so the effectiveness of the rubber brush vs. animal hair isn’t an issue.

Right now I’m leaning strongly towards the Neato device pending finding some sudden harsh criticism about its durability. Do you guys think I’m missing anything?

2

Hi theYeti,

Welcome to the RobotShop Forum!

The Roomba cleans very well, and with millions sold, it is a popular choice. It does require regular maintenance however. This means you’ll need to clean the brushes after each cleaning (if you had pets this would be an absolute must) to prevent premature wear and failure.

The Neato is a good robot. There have been some issues with some being defective, but out of the amount of Neatos out there, the percentage is low. It’s fairly reliable, and we have many happy customers.

We forsee no problems for the Neato with your home’s layout. The Neato will easily do 900 sq ft and will be able to clean hard floor and carpet alike, though, as you brought out, something can be said for it not getting into the carpet and cleaning it as much a Roomba would with 3 or 4 passes.

Feel free to post any additional questions you may have.

Thanks,