I Had Given Up on Robot Vacuums Entirely Until I Tried This One
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When robot vacuums rose in popularity a decade or so ago, the idea of being able to remotely control a device to sweep, vacuum, and even mop your floors for you was undoubtedly appealing—and it still is. Unfortunately, not all robot vacuums are created equal, and, in my experience, many models simply aren’t worth the money or even the space they take up. I have nine pets (yes, really), so I realize that expecting a tiny robot vacuum to do all of my household’s vacuuming for me would be an impossible ask, but the lack of performance of all three robo-vacs that I owned ranged from lackluster, to abysmal—or worse, totally malfunctioning.
It seemed that unless you had lightly sprinkled the fine dust from a single cracker on a perfectly level hardwood floor with no furniture, pets, or children (or feet, for that matter), relying on a robotic vacuum of any sort was impossible if you wanted a clean floor with no headaches. Fortunately, I stand corrected, and that’s all because of ECOVACS Deebot.
This is truly a smart vacuum—its initial run not only generates a map (as do most robotic units in 2023), but the app actually lets you see a visualized depiction of the floorplan of your home, the obstacles identified by the unit as it moved through the house, and even the areas with the most dirt or dense material over which the brushes moved. The Deebot can be connected to Google or Alexa devices for voice activation, so you can start and stop your vacuum by voice command whether at home or not. It’s the first smart home appliance I’ve used where I genuinely thought to myself, ‘This is a smart device’ in every meaning of the word.
Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus Robot Vacuum
More than just new-fangled technological connectivity, data, app, and home control integrations, the Deebot is just a great vacuum. Period.
Buy Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus Robot Vacuum at ECOVACS, $500
Buy Ecovacs Deebot N10 Plus Robot Vacuum at Amazon, $998
Most of the small vacuums I’ve used (including the popular smart or automatic ’disc-shaped models) start their short lifespan with ‘acceptable for its size’-level suction and performance, which quickly dwindles as the small narrow passages, moving parts, and infinite plastic traps and covers all scrape and gather what the blades and dustbin should be. Not the Deebot. While it's not intended to deep clean your shag carpeting or restore your antique rugs, the Deebot handles surprisingly plush carpeting and most rugs as well as the thin carpeting, tile, and sealed hardwood floors.
The unit is also impressive in its automatic handling of the collected dust and debris—when it is finished or needs charging, it will automatically return to its plugged-in and WiFi-connected base. At that point, it will then use the base unit and vacuum the contents of the robotic unit into the base’s chambers. This means cleaner emptying of the contents, no need to empty the unit directly, and less frequently having to empty (or clean) the robotic unit itself.
This model isn’t the only model to use this design, but it is the best model of this design I've personally seen or used. Though, if you’re coming from using the simple puck models of the past, it will seem like a revolution in vacuuming technology; if you’re coming from using a manual stick vacuum, the Deebot robot vacuum will seem like nothing short of witchcraft.
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