Monday, May 28, 2018

Robo Vacs

 Standing and vacuuming can pose a challenge for those with mobility issues.    

Recently I became aware that Consumer Reports had very good ratings for robot vacuums.   

That was enough for me to try a Deebot 79s on sale at $180.

As I write this it just came in to return to its dock for recharging after spending an hour picking up a huge amount of dirt.

Hard to believe that such a lightweight battery operated device could automatically clean a room in about an hour.

Plus it is very easy to clean.    You remove the high-efficiency filter and hold the rest under a tap. and dry off the dust bin.   The initial setup was a snap.

It took awhile for me to realize that I needed to set up the room properly for the Deebot.     That meant getting rid of obstacles such as wires and cables.

They should really be off the floor anyway but it took me some time to get them where they needed to be and not in the way.  If I were in an accredited hospital setting they never would have been permitted on the floor in the first place.

Then I needed to learn how to set up a barrier so that it wouldn't cruise down the hall when I wanted it to clean the living room.     I just put a bar stool in the way.

It was a little unsettling watching cleaning the first time around.      It goes in random directions and eventually covers the full area. That is in contrast to standing and vacuuming in a circular direction.  It can also be used to go along the edge of the room or just stop and do spot cleaning.

You only need three voice commands to accomplish the main tasks  with Alexa. However, the smartphone app Is handy to show when it is charging or stranded, and set room or automatic mode and other options.

Comparing it with a conventional vacuum cleaner,  it reaches areas not normally reached. The worst part of the job is to move furniture away so that it can thoroughly cover a room.  Once that is done, the robotic vac does the rest of the work without ado.

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