I’m someone who knows a thing or two about robot vacuums. I set up a new one a few times a month for testing, and while each bot is a little different, they all share some common traits. While it’s true that some bots are better than others, you are a huge factor in how well they perform. How you set yourself and your bot up for success can make or break how clean your floors get, and therefore your continued affection for your robot vacuum.

Newer robots use LiDAR to map out your space and then double-check that they’ve divided the rooms correctly. They’re surprisingly accurate at dividing up spaces, and you can then ask the bot to take care of one room or a combination of them, or set a schedule for it to do it. But think about your living room: do you need to vacuum and mop under the couches every day? Probably not. But how often do you need to sweep and mop the high-traffic area where people walk by or under your feet where you drop things? At least once a day, right? So divide up the space based on how often you need to clean. You can do this by editing the map, which usually lets you divide or merge rooms. My living room now has two “rooms,” one for the high-traffic area and one for the “yeah, let’s clean up the dust bunnies once a week to be a responsible adult” thing. You can give each room a name, so you can use your voice assistant to send your robot there to clean. I send my bot down “Blueberry's Path of Destruction” at least three times a day to remove the paw prints between the doggy door and the kitchen.

These floor robots require maintenance. Their rollers get shredded, their sweepers need replacing, and their vacuum bags need changing. The brand name products are expensive; Amazon is full of third-party options that are consistently cheaper. While results may vary, I have found these aftermarket options to be incredibly disappointing. Every robot I have purchased third-party bags for has had a hard time recognizing that there is a new bag in it and will tell me to change it every week. The rollers are never as high quality and break down faster. While I am not entirely convinced that there is anything special in the brand name cleaning fluid, I would not make my own or replace it with anything other than a cleaner specifically made for robot mops.

All bots now have different intensity levels for mopping and vacuuming. I’ve played with all the intensity levels and the only benefit is lower noise output. Since it’s never low enough to watch a movie or have a business conversation while the bot is busy, it’s not really a benefit. Sure, there’s less wear and tear on the bot. But generally, when the bot is at a lower intensity level, I have to bring it back to higher intensity areas. My life has been easier when I always leave it at max intensity. Especially for mopping, I don’t see any benefit to anything other than the highest intensity setting.