My Neato Robotic Vacuum Cleaner: A Product Review & Love Story
Introduction
Buying a robotic vacuum might be one of the best purchases you ever make. If you can afford to spend the money, a robotic vacuum is a great investment. It saves the homeowner a lot of time. Instead of sweeping and vacuuming, you simply program the robotic vacuum to do your cleaning and away it goes. Instead of slaving away, you are free to go out and do other things. When you come back, your floor is clean.
Neato vs. Roomba
So I think the first thing to discuss, because it's kind of the elephant in the room, is whether you should buy a Neato or a Roomba. Ultimately, I think both manufacturers have their fans and their critics. However, both vacuums work well and most consumers are equally happy no matter which brand they buy.
While I'm prejudiced toward the Neato since I own one and am happy with it, I've provided a link below that recommends the Roomba over the Neato, though the evaluation is very close, which supports my assertion that consumers will be happy no matter which brand they purchase.
Generally, the Neato has better suction than the Roomba, but the Roomba makes up for that by passing over spots more than once. The Neato maps its environment and picks the most efficient way to clean in the shortest amount of time while the Roomba kind of bounces around. The Roomba is easier to clean and to program. The Neato vacuums tend to be a bit more affordable and have a better design.
Remember, the two vacuums aren't far apart in any of these categories, so it may ultimately be a matter of which particular characteristics are more important to you or even which one you find more attractive.
What do you think of robotic vacuums?
Personal Experiences
There is virtually nothing to do with the Neato robotic vacuum except take it out of the box, charge it, and then push the button to have it clean.
I bought my Neato robotic vacuum as a present for my wife, but it kind of turned into a present for me as I find it extremely entertaining. It's simple to use and works great. I took it out of the box, plugged it in, and let it charge. Once it was done charging, we manually started it when morning when we were all leaving, and away it went.
Now, we have a huge main floor and tons of obstacles. I have watched the vacuum from time-to-time and it maneuvers around these things with ease. It also just goes over some stuff. The Neato can raise and lower itself a little bit, which is interesting.
The Neato has been more effective cleaning hardwoods and tiles than carpet (though we haven't done that much carpet with it). We had some construction dust and debris on one of our carpets and the Neato isn't powerful enough to pick that up. Otherwise, it's been great and the cleaning and suction power have been great.
Different Kinds of Robotic Vacuums
Vacuum Type
| Specialty & Options
| Amazon Review Rating
|
|---|---|---|
Neato XV-21
| Pet hair
| 4.1
|
Neato XV-11
| All purpose
| 3.8
|
Roomba 630
| Pet hair
| 4.57
|
Problems?
I haven't had anything I'd consider a problem, other than some minor stuff.
The Neato has gotten stuck a couple of times and I've had to rescue it. When I say stuck, it's just forced its way into a tight spot and been unable to maneuver out. It's also picked up so much hair and dust that the collection bin has overfilled.
The collection bin is not huge on the vacuum, so it's best to do some reasonable cleaning before operating the vacuum. If you have tons of dirt and dust, it's going to get full. However, the Neato will stop and tell you its full, which is a huge plus.
Our main floor is big enough that the Neato cannot complete it on a single charge, but it returns to its charger when the battery gets low, recharges, and then returns to cleaning without any problem.
A great review of the Neato Robotic Vacuum
Summary
As I said, I love the robotic vacuum. It saves time and allow me to do things other than vacuuming.
As with any product, success will largely be determined by the user. Those who buy this product and expect it to work miracles, to clean up absurd amounts of debris, and to dodge a junkyard full of floor objects, will probably be disappointed. We generally clean up a bit to make the vacuuming as easy as possible.
I had high expectations for my Neato robotic vacuum and I would say that it's met almost all of them. I suspect that those who are interested and end up buying one will be very satisfied.
