Should I buy a robot vacuum?

I have one and find it does a great job
Our living room isn't very big and we have lots of trailing wires so I still use Henry quick in there.

How very annoying ,dalrymple23 - my newest Eufy has a hair cutter on its base station. It's one of the "clean" models that self-empty.

Maybe yours could have a base station if it doesn't come with one? I'd definitely call them to see what they say.
They might let you part-exchange for a more dog hair friendly model?

I have two Roombas for my 1600 sq. Ft home. Thry have saved me a lot of day to day vacuuming but I do own a cord free Dyson as well and use it a few times a month. My Roomba is for animal hair. I don’t have an animal but I wanted that one to be more deep with the cleaning. As for under the low sofa….I added furniture sliders to the four feet and you cannot see them but they elevated the sofa just enough so it doesn’t get stuck there anymore. In addition, the bigger issue is that the Roomba bumps into your furniture legs, baseboards and just takes off the paint or scrapes them. I spent lots of time painting and restaining the furniture legs. The Company, I Robot, had no real solutions so I tried a few different things to soften the blow. I bought round under chair padded disks about 1 inch circular. I attached them completely around the front plate of the Roombas and my problem was corrected. I got them on Amazon but you can get them anywhere. They have loosened up here and there but when they do, I just take off the piece remaining and replace it with a new disk. There are so many postings on the internet about what to do to fix the problem. For this that have installed a bumper, they fall of very soon. I have used strip felt insulation around the bumper. The same thing happened. My solution of the felt circular chair pad disks are the best solution. Just sharing about my personal experiences with trying to work around the quirks of using the older models of the Roombas. Share any information you have about the above so we all can continue to use our “sweepers” without beginning to hate the bumps and getting stuck under low furniture. As you can guess, I do not have the programmable zone model.

I have recently bought a Eufy. Not yet fully experimented with it. It is not terribly efficient at disentangling itself from obstacles - it gets there eventually but takes a while. If you have dogs which I do (two shaggy Retrievers), it has to be un-clagged after every outing - not just emptying but disentangling, which is tedious. She moans vociferously and refuses to budge, otherwise!

Charleygirl5 I have Eufys -my newest one is amazing (and self-emptying).
None were expensive.

The clever one I use upstairs and it knows where the stairs are and has never had a problem.
Even my oldest "bounce" type Eufy has no trouble avoiding stairs.

My newest is not "top of the range" it's an L60 Clean.
I think it was £230 on offer.
I didn't want a mop.
..It can climb onto rugs too.

If I was getting a new one I'd certainly look at Eufys again.

You might like to see this:
youtu.be/4Mkqw9g6dxQ?si=tGA0HypeJQQa-13n

They also have a good website which is updated - and though they are American the vacuums usually have a UK version (or the same one is here too).

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Elegran we have an roomba, ours runs round the downstairs wooden floors every night and it saves a lot of work. It once locked itself in the cloakroom by pushing the door closed when it got in there. They definitely do give you reproachful looks!

I reckon it's (the robot) saves my back from many aches and pains - I broke it (the back) some years ago, and I soon know about it when I do get the big vacuum out and use it, because I invariably need a couple of painkillers afterwards.

Daisyanne, re roomba essentials. For me, no wireless, no auto dustbag emptying, just the remote.

I forgot to say that one of my roombas needed a new battery a couple of years ago and I easily found, ebay or amazon and easy to replace. I have replaced the rollers and spinning brush. If mine ever really dies then I would buy another roomba but mine are going strong and do a super efficient job. The cheapest on their site would do for me. Emptying is easy, every few uses

If trailing wires are thin and in the way then they could get caught, I just lift the wires up over something

roomba on in a mo while I go off to chiropodist for an early appointment

Goodness. GN at it's best. Thank you all I will have to do some research on which has what but I certainly think I will get one. I don't have any trailing wires generally because all the sockets are behind furniture. I have a remote to switch them all off! I do like the idea that technology can keep me going as time goes by and I think it makes it easier.

I love my Roomba. It's programmed to go round every day but you can choose what suits you. Mine is pretty top of the range, but as pp have said the Eufy is excellent and much cheaper. Mine doesn't like thick pile rugs but I have a small and held Dyson to do that and the stairs. It works really well on my wood floors downstairs and the carpets upstairs. I would never go back to a regular vacuum cleaner, it's another job I now don't have to spend much time on and the floors always loom clean.

I love my Roomba, it goes about the bungalow every couple of days, I empty it when the red bin lights up, it won’t start again if you don’t.
I take it apart about once a fortnight and clean all the parts it’s not a chore.
I go round the corners with my Dyson once a week, it only takes a few minutes. Best thing I ever bought.

I'm another Eufy Fan. Had mine about 4 years now and no problems. Took it a wee while to get its bearings when I moved house but now it quietly potters round the whole flat, including under the settee and chairs, in about 20 minutes, then parks up to recharge. I call it robo as if it were a helpful pet.

I think they are great and have had one for years. I started off with a Roomba, but when it stopped working after a few years, decided I would do my own vacuuming but that didn't last long and am now the proud owner of a Eufey. It is every bit as good as the Roomba and much cheaper, on it's fourth year now and still going strong. No problems with rugs, but they don't have fringes, and I tend not to have trailing wires and stuff on the floor anyway. It goes under all of my furniture ( all bought with the vacuum in mind so that it can do this). I also find that as it goes round everyday it seems to keep the general dust down as well, so that doesn't need doing as often either. I'm all wood and tiled floors except one bedroom but it does the carpet in there very well as well.

They are round, so square corners rely on the little additional revolving three-cornered brush that sticks out at the side. That goes along the edge of the skirting board, too.

My Eufy doesn't do corners but does go under the furniture where I would rarely venture and it does an excellent job of cleaning my carpets. I expect it depends on the model.

We've had one for a while now, and they're OK for open spaces, but don't get into corners. They do pick up a fair bit of dust from the unobstructed carpet areas, but I still go round afterwards with a hand held vac to get into those places it misses. So OK in that they do save you bit of work, but you'll still need to provide the finishing touches yourself.

I'm surprised that someone says it doesn't go under the furniture well. Mine is only 3 inches high (7 and a half centimeters) and I don't know of anything else that cleans under the furniture so easily. It finds masses of dust and fluff that I didn't know was there!

I do love mine but they should change its name to vacuum duster as it doesn't clean a carpet as thoroughly as a 'real' vacuum cleaner.

Not sure I am going to be much help.
I know two people who have one. One loves theirs. One isnt so keen.

The one that likes theirs, uses it to lightly wash floors as well.

The one who doesnt like it, doesnt like it cant go under furniture very well.

I think they both have the same model.

Person one is older than person two. That may make a bit of the difference.

Santa gave me an Eufy for Christmas and it is great. It is like having a maid who does the hoovering. Mine is the basic model and I love it.
As has been said, it won't like loose wires or thick pile carpets so might not suit everyone.

I have a Eufy and it's fantastic. It won't fall downstairs but it does get caught out by bright sunlight as the contrast make it think there's a drop.
I've had mine several years and have had to replace the battery but otherwise it's going strong.
You do need to empty it every time, clean hairs out of the brushes regularly and make sure there are no wires etc. for it to chew up, but it saves all the pushing and lugging. I don't use the automatic programmes but I expect they could be useful.
I'd say go for it.

Looking up Roombas, they have a very wide price range. What, do you think, are the essential characteristics to look for.

Philippa111

I bought a lower-mid range one as a trial and it's not great. It's sitting in it's box unused after the first month. It whirred around the house for ages which I found irritating and didn't really clean very well. Yes it did a superficial clean but couldn't get into my corners. Also I had to have all wires and any other small items lifted up or blocked off as it eats them up and then gets stuck and whirrs away on the spot. It also enjoys chewing the fringes on rugs.

I think like karmalady you need to invest quite a bit in a top of the range one to get her good results.

I bought a Lefant 213 at Amazon, so avoid that.

That's really useful to know. I can never tell what I am going to get for my money with technical things.