[olivierlacan]

If you've used any non-iRobot vacuum alternatives in the last 5 years and ever owned a Roomba in the past there should be nothing surprising about this headline.

It's shocking to me how good Roborock mop-vacuums are for example, Eufy vacuums are nice as well. They still run into unavoidable issues, but they're: much quieter even at their highest setting; show you how they map out the space; allow you to easily customize routes or focus on specific rooms; do a shockingly good job at self-emptying; and best of all you don't have to rescue them from the exact same sliding door track every single time you run them.

[teyc]

I read a story about Dreame. The founder worked in aerospace, but wanted to make a mass-produced motor with aerospace standards. So he modelled air flow using aerospace tools, built the motor to tight tolerances. Conventional vacuum motors run at 30k rpm, his runs at 100k rpm. Then he standardises on a single motor, for all his devices, robovacs, stick vacs etc, so he gets scale.

[4gotunameagain]

Yeah that's marketing. There's no such thing as aerospace only CFD, and all tolerances are subject to cost/benefit trade offs.

They might be great designers and talented engineers, sure.

[IshKebab]

Dyson's stick vac motors have been above 100k RPM for almost two decades.

[NetOpWibby]

Well now I’m sold

[arnvald]

I had a Roomba+Braava Jet for a few years and I constantly had some issues with both devices, but the worst part was that in theory they should be working well together. There's this function "linked cleaning" where Braava mops the floor right after Roomba finishes vacuuming. But in practice it often didn't work, either the automation didn't trigger, or Roomba got stuck somewhere, cancelled the cleaning, and then Braava started mopping floor that hadn't been vacuumed.

Eventually I moved to Roborock with vacuum+mop in a single device. It still has its issues, but it is ten times better. It's able to lift the mop on the carpet, the mop is self-cleaning, and it has a large tank so that I only have to refill the water once a week instead of every other day. Day and night. Roomba eventually introduced a similar model, but it's been years after competitors had them.

[whatsupdog]

I second your option about Roborock. Also Dreame. Although I use both of them after rooting with Valetudo and connecting to my home assistant.

[fransje26]

Just out of curiosity as I don't own a vacuum robot: do yo loose any key functionality by rooting your device with Valetudo, compared to what the manufacturer offers?

[binkHN]

Which one do you like better and why?

[tobyhinloopen]

Absolutely. I bought a new Roomba after my old one died and was surpised to learn it's basically unchanged and still just as stupid as the old one. Returned it, got a Dreame X40. Much better, night and day difference.

[josefresco]

I have a second-hand "dumb Eufy" and it's great. No cameras, no microphone, no Wi-Fi, no app, no calling home to mommy. It just spins, sucks and bangs (gently) around my house and I don't get mad when it gets stuck. It cleans under things I can't reach easily with a vacuum, and it cost me almost nothing.

[hawthornio]

Yea same here, it’s great

[RGamma]

Currently looking to make my living space robot friendly, I wonder: can they clean hard to reach spots behind doors or under the ledge of a sofa (I can't remove every obstacle)?

[jryb]

Doors no, couch yes (if it fits). I wouldn’t get one unless you see value in having 80% of your home vacuumed once a day. For me that’s still a huge improvement and spending a few minutes spot vacuuming every two weeks or so is all I need to handle the corner cases.

[jack_tripper]

>can they clean hard to reach spots behind doors

Robovacs aren't a drop-in replacement for a maid, they aren't a fire and forget cleaning solution for a house that's already dirty and messy or have constant spills and stuff left on the floor, but more for regular maintenance of an orderly place that still gets cleaned or maintained in the tough to reach places every now and then.

But if your place resembles a crack house, a robovac won't magically clean it.

[tguvot]

i got roomba less than year ago, because it was hard to find well reviewed non-mop vacuum with docking station that sucks all the dirt out.

[jader201]

The common solution is to just buy the cheapest Roborock that does a great job at vacuuming, even if it has a mop (that you never have to use).

I got a Q7 M5+ for this exact reason, for $265 shipped. (And yes, that includes a self-emptying bin.)

For the vacuum function, it seemed to be highly rated.

[dzhiurgis]

> non-mop vacuum

Such a good point. Vacuum wars website has no way to filter out vacuums without mop (my house is mostly carpet, I do want a good product but they are all with mops nowadays).

It's such a common issue with sites like this. It's either all products or products WITH this feature. No way to find products WITHOUT this feature.

Anyway quite happy with my Mova which is a rebranded Dreame.