Sucked. Literally.
If you can believe it, autonomous
robot vacuums have now been out for ~15 years so I felt like it might be a safe
time to take the plunge and join the new age of convenience. I did my research, countless reviews, videos,
testimonials, etc. and settled on the Junior to tackle the mundane task of
vacuuming. Our house is hardwood floors,
no area rugs, a raised sectional couch that we bought with a future cleaning
robot in mind to have enough clearance and one (1) 80 lb full grown German
Shephard. Three days after purchase I am returning the item for the following
reasons...
I consider myself a good pet
owner and a mediocre housekeeper. My dog
sheds and while marketed specifically for pet hair, there is only about a ¾ inch
gap between the sweeper roller and the dust bin. This immediately caused problems as the hair
built up and blocked the dustbin in a matter of minutes. Also the product boasts a 1-litre capacity
which is about 4 cups – the design includes a filter that occupies the majority
of the dust bin in the middle so I am not sure this is entirely accurate nor
does it actually for a full 1 liter of material to be captured.
Regarding the automatic
recharge. Junior never successfully ‘found’ his docking station when the
battery was low, it made an attempt but I do not think it knows how far it travelled
when the battery required a recharge. I
followed the instructions and synced him multiple times but the only way I was
able to have him dock successfully was to physically place the vacuum back with
a 1-2 foot radius of the charging station.
The sensors seemed decent at
first. I had a moment of panic on the first day as my house has 3 steps from
the garage to the living room – Junior swept the edge, stuck its nose over it
about 2-3 inches and then backed up and avoided the stairs which was the
correct operation. This experience was
short lived, on Day 3 Junior attempted suicide and fell down the stairs…perhaps
it knew that our relationship was over and this was a cry for help. The issue
seemed to be that there are no rear sensors – so when backing up from another
obstacle it inadvertently overcorrected and did a backwards somersault. He still functioned afterwards but personalities
don’t change, Junior.
Amazon Link: Junior by bObsweep Robotic Vacuum Cleaner