Vacuum Sweeper - Neato Robotics

I don't know. When I clean I like to do it thoroughly. In an RV I vacuum behind the recliners, around the entrance of the motorhome including the driver's area, the entrance stairs, in the bathroom, I move the kitchen chairs so I can vacuum the area.

For me, this wouldn't work in a motorhome.

Both my Neato and Roombas will drive on and off of throw rugs without problems. If they happen to hit it wrong and cause it to bunch up, they can get stuck on it though. If it has fringes, you'll have to move it before running either one - the fringes will get wrapped around the brush bars and cause the sweeper to stop.

I have a lot of throw rugs on my floor. How does it do with getting on an off throw rugs? If the rug has fringes, do they get stuck in the vacuum?

I have both Neato and Roomba sweepers. The Neato works quite nicely on hardwood floors, not as well on carpet (the Roomba works better on carpet). Both the Neato and the new model Roombas are fairly reliable, and easy to replace parts on - old Roomba's were very difficult to replace parts, but they've fixed most of that. Both will need new batteries periodically. Both have Lithium-Ion replacement batteries available from third-party sellers.

The brush on the Neato rarely clogs with pet hair, while the brush on the Roomba has to be cleaned after nearly every use.

They're both noisy.

IMO: If you have hardwood or a pet and don't want to clean the brush constantly, get a Neato. If you have carpet, get a Roomba.


Scooba: I'm on my third... They're a little finicky. I've found that you can't use hard water in them - the spray thingy will lime up. I'm using distilled in this new one and it seems to be holding up better (so far).

It's good to see that iRobot has some competition in this space. We owned both a Roomba and scooba several years ago and found their reliability wasn't great.

fred42 wrote:
I wonder if Neato can detect an open stairwell and not fall in?

Yes it does. We have 2 levels (5 steps between the two levels), and the sweeper knows where the steps are on the upper level.

Actually, (both of ours) are pretty sophisticated and amazing to watch.

1) They always go back to their docking station to recharge the battery. If they are not finished cleaning the "whole house", after a couple hours of recharging, they will return to the same spot they left off and continue. Ours has docked and restarted as much as 3 times. But usually it's only twice.

2) If something gets in it's way, it will stop. The suction stops. It will attempt to back out, turn around, and free itself. Most of the times it does. It's amazing to watch it wiggle and wiggle until it gets free. If it absolutely cannot get free, it shuts down and a "beep" starts so you can find it. After a while the "beep" stops and it shuts itself off completely to save it's own memory.

3) It sweeps on a specific pattern. It goes around the edge of the rooms first, then does a back and forth pattern and covers the entire floor, including corners where it can reach. Of course obstacles in it's path, it will go around. It will attempt to get that same spot from a different direction until it realizes it can't get that spot. (for example, if you've moved a chair from the previous day to a new location).

4) When the dust collector is full, it re-docks itself and presents a message to empty the container.

5) It knows where steps are, and closed and open doors. It knows where exterior doors are, both open and closed. (I had the outside door propped open the other day, and it knew not to go outside.

6) It can be set to go off automatically, 7 days a week, or any one day a week, any time you want.

7) If you let it run every day, every day (we) have 2 full dust catch containers completely full. It picks up everything, including animal hair (we have a dog and 2 cats in the house), it picks up cereal (we have a 2 year old in the house), it picks up fingernails (after clipping), and it picks up saw dust wonderful. I have a wood shop in the garage and the dust from sanding always manages to settle inside. (Fido) picks it up fantastic! Spotless!

8) The lower level of our house is on a concrete slab. We have removed all the original carpet since we've purchased it and the entire half of the house is now tile, stone, and ceramic. The upper level (on a foundation with a wood sub floor), is a combination of (real) hardwood, ceramic, tile, and carpet. Both Fido and Scarlet have no problems transitioning from one floor surface to the other. They are amazing. They raise and lower themselves based on the floor surface.

9) The sweepers came with a plastic strip that can be laid on the floor. You cut it to the length you want. You then place the strip on the floor. Wherever you put the strip, they will not cross that line. (we use them around our hot-tub so they don't get tangled in the wires). So if you have an area you want them to NOT go to, you block it off by simply laying this plastic strip on the floor. They will not cross over it, but turn around.

How about the "negatives" now?

Well, it's kind of noisy. If you are watching television, on the phone (or like me, doing a work-from-home) and are on a conference call, you have to "pause" it. Like any vacuum sweeper, it's noisy.

It tries to suck up everything, and sometimes simply cannot. So, if you leave small objects on the floor, it will attempt to "consume" the. Our small dog as a variety of squeeky toys. Our 2 year old grandson as a variety of small toys Yup, they get left on the floor and when (Fido) and (Scarlet) run over them, they sometimes get stuck. Now for some reason, when that happens my dog goes nuts! Maybe because he things the new "pet" is attempting to take his toys!

And the instructions for them are pretty clear. The vacuums are NOT a pet! Although they seem to act like a pet! Really! Also, there is a warning NOT to give them a bath! I suppose like cats, they don't like water too much!

A note from the "emotional side", kind of like the "pet" idea. Yup, once you have one of these, they kind of do become a "pet", more than just a machine. (It's hard to explain!... but the warning label does warn about this). We really enjoy ours (both of them). We take Fido camping with us. It's amazing, the camper is 35 feet long (bumper to bumper) and 8 1/2 feet wide. When Fido runs, the dust collector is completely full.... every day!

I wonder if Neato can detect an open stairwell and not fall in?

I had a different brand for awhile. A Roomba. It was round and randomly changed directions when it bumped into something. My house is a ranch style. But, it has open carpeted steps to the basement and a single step to the enclosed carpeted patio on the rear of the house. Seems like it took longer to block where I didn't want it to go than it took to just run my Electrolux. And even when it worked correctly, since it was round, it couldn't get into standard square corners, so I had to drag out the Electrolux to finish the job anyway.

fred42 wrote:
How well do these things do with dog hair on hardwood floors?

thanks,

we have a dog and a cat it works wonderful.

How well do these things do with dog hair on hardwood floors?

thanks,