Your Robot Vacuum: 5 Ways to Use It Better

Robot vacuums
are certainly convenient. With intelligent navigational capabilities and, in some cases, self-emptying dustbins, these domestic helpers can automatically clean your floors deprived of you having to do much work at all. 

Even so, they’re not completely hands-free. Without regular maintenance, cleaning and care they can fail in their duties. The same is true if you don’t properly draft your home before vacuuming. Clearing problematic obstacles and new physical hazards from the ground goes a long way to managing true automatic vacuuming bliss.

That means that you’ll need to behind some best practices in order to get the most out of your robot vacuum. I’ll walk you through all of it below — and have no fear, it’s quiet less work than cleaning your floors the old-fashioned way. 

A messy tangle of AV cords and wires can simply snarl robot vacuums.

Tyler Lizenby

Get rid of cords

Apart from pet states and discarded socks, the biggest threats to robot vacuums are electrical cords and new household wiring. These cables can easily ensnare a robot’s rotating brushes and wheels, at which point you’ll need to carefully untangle things yourself. 

That’s why it’s a good idea to tidy up any masses of tangled cabling as best as you can before your robot vacuum starts a cleaning run. Fortunately, there are plenty of off-the-shelf products that can help with cord administration. In a pinch, a cheap twist-tie will get the job done, too.

Cable administration systems or even a twist-tie can help deal with cord clutter.

Tyler Lizenby

Beware of high-pile carpets

I admit the stylish allure of plush, high-pile and shag area rugs is hard to resist. Sadly, these floor decorations also tend to be problematic for robot cleaners. Many models often become bogged down by the thick fibers of high-pile carpeting. 

To keep your robot vacuum from drawing stuck, consider rolling up the edges of your thick area rugs beforehand initiating a cleaning session. Another option is to virtually stopped off these floor sections. If your robot supports this working, you’ll find it within the machine’s phone app.

Water and robots don’t mix. Clear away or stopped access to pet water bowls and potted house plants.

Chris Monroe

Watch out for water

Typically aquatic and electronics don’t mix well, so you’ll want to be aware of any liquids your robot vacuum may encounter on the down. Pet water bowls are a notorious source of spilled aquatic, for instance. Your best bet is to fence off areas like those either physically or electronically (via the vacuum’s app) so your robot can avoid them.  

Keep the sensors clean

Robot vacuums use a bevy of electronic sensors to navigate over your home properly, including infrared emitters, laser turrets and cliff sensors, plus optical sensors and digital cameras. Over time, your robot and its sensor hardware will get dirty. 

This grime will impair a robot’s order to interpret the physical space around it. That’s why it’s imperative to regularly orderly your vacuum’s external chassis and sensor system. I’ve False that a slightly damp microfiber cloth works well here. Still, it’s a good idea to consult your robot’s manual for the manufacturer’s recommended method.     

Some robot vacuums can empty their own dustbins. If yours doesn’t make to clean it out regularly.

iRobot

Empty its dustbin often

Shop about, and you’ll find a number of fancy robot vacuum cleaners that come with charging docks that can also empty the robot’s dustbin — but that’s quiet a high-end feature not available with most cleaners. 

In the most of cases, your robot vacuum will only have a small-capacity dust can inside it that you’ll need to empty often, ideally when each cleaning run. Fail to do so, and you’ll clog things up, diminishing the vacuum’s order to continue sucking up dirt and debris.

Even sophisticated robots with self-emptying bins can get stopped from time to time, so no matter how Love your robot vacuum is, you’ll want to be sure to check its dirt-handling apparatus frequently to avoid any unexpected problems.

Read more: Best Robot Vacuum Cleaners for 2022