Do robot vacuum cleaners work? We tested one to find out

On kitchen week of The Block, room reveal winners Kerrie and Spence showed off a high-tech space brimming with appliances. One of these was a robot vacuum cleaner.

The judges marvelled as the vacuum spun out of its hiding spot on command, and whirred into action.

Robot vacuums are hardly a new invention, having first come onto the scene in the mid-1990s, but they certainly haven’t become mainstream.

Why is this? Surely having a vacuum cleaner you don’t have to lug around the house is a good thing, right? Being vacuuming-averse, I would even go so far as to call it a great thing.

But I guess the question most people want to know before they shell out big bucks for one of these machines is, do they work?

We put one to the test to see if a robot vacuum cleaner is worth the expense or is too good to be true.

The model

The Deebot 900 is the latest floor-cleaning robot from Ecovacs Robotics. It is equipped with intelligent-mapping abilities and smart-home compatibilities, including voice-command and in-app controls.

Using the Smart Navi system, the machine plans its cleaning path based on the user’s layout.

It is also compatible with both Google Home and Alexa, and allows users to schedule and monitor cleaning using a wi-fi connection.

Want a clean home when you get back from an overseas trip? Just schedule your Deebot 900 to switch into gear the day before you arrive.

When fully charged the vacuum has a 100-minute working time, and when the battery gets low, the vacuum returns to its charging station to recharge. You’ve got to admire that self-sufficiency.

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The price

RRP $799 at Harvey Norman and Bing Lee.

The verdict

I tested the Deebot 900 in my own house (I mean, why wouldn’t I?), which is home to two humans, a long-haired dog and a very fluffy cat. Right off the bat, the vacuum was up for the challenge.

I removed as many items from the floor as possible so it would be easy for the machine to move around.

And despite not being particularly tech savvy, I found the machine straightforward, and had it off and running in no time.

But did it work?

The short answer is, yes. Despite being sceptical about whether robot vacuums were the real deal, I was surprised to find that the Deebot had done a decent job of cleaning my house.

It was quiet, and its sensors stopped it banging into furniture legs. It also managed to get under my TV unit, much to my surprise, and up and over a tiled area near the fireplace.

All in all, it did a satisfactory job of cleaning a reasonably challenging space.

Now for the downsides. The Deebot has a small collection chamber for dirt and dust, and it had to be emptied during the process. How much this will affect you will vary depending on the size of your house or apartment and the number of pets and occupants in the house.

It also had a difficult time getting into corners and other nooks and crannies. Overall, I would say the machine would great for apartment or small home without animal hair. It’s also better suited as a way to maintain a clean home, and would still need to be used in conjunction with a regular vacuum cleaner.