I made my way to the world's greatest source of reliable information (Instagram) a few weeks ago looking for a vacuum cleaner recommendation. For reasons I still don't entirely understand, I am now the proud owner of an automatic vacuum.
I vacuum my house every day. Every SINGLE day I vacuum. Do I have OCD? No. Do I have an especially hairy pet, a lot of time on my hands, armpits that spew out breadcrumbs every time I walk? No.
But what I do have is a robot vacuum. In fact, as I sit in my office writing this post I am vacuuming. Last night while I watched television I was vacuuming. The day before while my family celebrated my mother's birthday on my front porch I WAS VACUUMING.
At this very moment you could walk with bare feet through my entire house and out the back door without a single thing coming between the sole of your foot and the cool, clean floors. Not even a dried up piece of diced onion. Nothing. As long as you don't walk in the corners or on the stairs.
I'm going to say that I think you and I are probably very similar. We're fascinated and excited by new technology and all the things it can do but at the same time - I mean, I don't care how advanced my iPhone calendar gets, I'm never giving up the pencil scribbled paper calendar hanging inside my kitchen cupboard.
A little about which vacuum I bought and why I bought it.
Table of Contents
The Eufy 11s
After listening to the fine people of Instagram who have absolutely no reason to lie to me about robot vacuums, I decided to buy the Eufy 11s. Which, (and again I think we're probably similar here) I had never heard of. I'd heard of the Roomba and that's about it.
The vacuum is a round disk that's less than 3" high which means it can get under most sofas and chairs.
It has a roller on the underside which cleans carpets and two whisk-like things on the sides which rotate and clean bare floors.
It lives in it's charging base which needs to be plugged in while it's not working. After vacuuming it will automatically return to its charging base when it starts to get tired and in need of a sit down (when the battery in it gets low.)
When I first got the Eufy I was ANGRY because in the instructions it said the charging base had to be in an area that had a clear 6' in front of it and on both sides. There is NOWHERE in my house that has 6' of open space all around it!!
I thought screw that, and tried the base in a spot that has 2' in front of it and about 4" on either side of it. It works perfectly. No problems.
Also, when you first get a robot vacuum you need to prepare for it.
Preparing your house for a robot vacuum
- Clean up any cords that are on the floor. Cover them up with a wire box like this white and wood one or lift them so they aren't touching the floor.
- Don't leave shoes with undone shoelaces anywhere near it! You'll see why in the upcoming video.
- If you have pets and their water bowl is lightweight switch it out for a heavy ceramic one. The robot vacuum can flip and spill a water bowl faster than you can say "Wow, I didn't see that coming."
- Tape down or use grip mats under lightweight throw rugs or kilim type rugs so the vacuum doesn't push them around or get them all bunched up.
- NO need to worry about stairs. It has a sensor for sharp declines and won't fall down stairs.
A Short History of Robot Vacuums
In 1996 Electolux released the very first robot vacuum, the Trilobite, which failed dismally with consumers and was discontinued almost immediately.
Zip through the next 6 years when people had to continue to vacuum their floors by hand and we get to the year 2002 when the company iRobot released the Roomba. Even though it wasn't perfect it was an instant hit among the I'd rather make a mess than clean up a mess crowd.
The first models used random patterns to vacuum a house by simply bumping into things, ricocheting off them and heading in a new direction. Like Uncle Bob at an open bar wedding.
Newer models use mapping technology through cameras, radar and lasers helping it remember what rooms are like and more efficiently clean them.
Hold on a second, I just heard something smash downstairs and I am 100% certain it's robot vacuum related ... more on this phenomenon later ...
Yup. It was the robot vacuum. This is the sort of excitement you can expect when you buy a technologically advanced cleaning system. It's SO enthusiastic about cleaning that it lets nothing stand in its way. It does not get tired, or bored or intimidated by a speaker wire. It will in fact attack, maim and twist that speaker wire until it chokes on it.
It's then up to you to help the robot barf it out.
I came to learn that there's a slew of robot vacuums that have come out since the Roomba made its debut, all of them doing basically the same thing in different ways, at different speeds and with different price points.
Robot Vacuum Brands
These are some of the most widely available and best reviewed robot vacuums.
- Miele ($789 US, $1360 CA)*
- Shark ($489 US, $656 CA)
- Neato ($491 US, $999 CA)
- Samsung ($499 US, not widely available in Canada)
- Ecovacs ($155 US, $250 CA)
- Bissel ($222 US, $300 CA)
- Eufy ($219 US, $279 CA)
*if you browse Amazon, you can get this one for hundreds of dollars less by choosing the "Autumn Red" colour instead of "Graphite Grey". Also the Miele does not get great reviews from Amazon or Consumer Reports, but those who follow me on Instagram and own one say they love it.
So why did I go with the Eufy 11s?
Because my Instagram followers who owned it loved it. This led me to check to see how it fared on Consumer Reports.
The Eufy 11s, the one you've probably never heard of, scored the top spot for robot vacuums on Consumer Reports.
The TWO things the Eufy has going against it is that for some reason it has held onto the archaic system of bumping and grinding its way around your house by way of using the archaic "random pattern" system.
It also doesn't work with wifi, which means you can't start your vacuum with an app from the comfort of your dentist's chair or grocery store.
Most other vacuums will work with an app and use sensors to map the room.
Given I had no intention of buying a robot vacuum, didn't know if I would even like a robot vacuum and really didn't need a robot vacuum I felt pretty darn comfortable buying one of the least expensive ones available, especially when you factor in the fact that it was rated #1 by Consumer Reports.
If I had no intention of buying a robot vacuum, why did I ask my Instagram followers about them? I was doing research for my mother (Betty). She was interested in getting a new stick vacuum. Either the Shark or the Dyson. I threw in the possibility of a robot vacuum when I asked my Instagram followers what they thought.
And the wide majority of Instagrammers who had robot vacuums LOVED them.
Which got me curious about them. Which led me to ordering one off of Amazon at 1 o'clock in the morning because driving to the store at that time and waiting outside seemed a bit manic.
How do I like my robot vacuum? I actually love it. There are a few issues with it but the pros outweigh the cons for me.
What I like about a robot vacuum
- O.K. seriously my house is always vacuumed.
- If it misses something on the first pass it'll get it on the second. If it misses it on the second it will get it the next day.
- I. Do. Not. Like. Vacuuming.
- You can program it to vacuum at a scheduled time every day or push the start button on your way out the door so it does its job while you're out and you return to a vacuumed house.
- It's discreet and hardly takes up any room at all.
- Watching and feeding it has been among the more entertaining things I've done since Covid hit.
- Weirdly my cat who is afraid of everything isn't quite as afraid of the robot vacuum as she is my central vac.
- It does a remarkably good job. It's performance on my Kilim rugs is ASTONISHING. It gets embedded cat hair that I could never get with my central vac.
- There's a huge amount of satisfaction from dumping the contents every morning after it has run and seeing HOW much crap it sucked up even though it only sucked up crap the day before.
- It does a much better job around baseboards than a regular vacuum because it has tiny brushes that stick out from it that whisk right to the edge.
- It's just plain fun.
What I don't like about a robot vacuum.
- It takes a long time to vacuum. It runs until its battery wears out which is generally around an hour and a half.
- It will get stuck on things. This doesn't happen all the time but there are times when I've left a - well a speaker wire for instance - on the ground and the vacuum will get all tangled up in it. I have several pieces of furniture that have sloped bases and the robot vacuum will try to climb up them over and over and over and over again until the battery wears out. This has only happened twice, but I've only owned it for a month soooo.
- It doesn't get right into the corners, but honestly, neither did I with my vacuum.
- If your house is more than one level you either need 2 robot vacuums, or you need to carry it to the different floor.
- It doesn't do stairs. So while my entire house is perfectly vacuumed there's currently enough cat hair on my stairs to knit a pair of leg warmers.
- It's loud. Not the unit itself, but the bashing into things. And it does bash into things. Not enough to damage anything but it'll go bang, bang, bang against a chair trying to get under or around it.
Like I said, I vacuum with this every day and EVERY day it pulls up an entire bin full or hair, dirt and junk. To empty your vacuum you need to pull out the little built in drawer it has. More expensive models have self emptying drawers. The super-cheap Eufy doesn't have that feature.
You don't know fear until you're jolted out of sleep by the sound of someone breaking into your house at 3 in the morning. When you groggily realize your robot vacuum has randomly started cleaning, your fear changes to anger as you're changing your sheets.
If you're on the fence about one of these take a look at what my the drawer held after vacuuming for an hour. Keep in mind it has vacuumed almost every single day for a few weeks.
It's like this every day.
I'm horrified and elated all at the same time.
There are a few ways to use the vacuum (at least this vacuum). It comes with a remote control and there are buttons for "edge cleaning", "spot cleaning", "single room cleaning" and more.
You'll see some of those features in this video on the good and the bad of robot vacuums.
Do I recommend a robot vacuum (this one in particular)? Yes I do.
I'll still use my central vacuum the odd time, but the majority of the work around here is going to be done on a daily basis by the Eufy which is about 28 more times a month than I would normally get around to vacuuming the whole house.
If you have ANY questions about it leave them here and I'll answer them honestly for you.
Finally - Betty got a Eufy for her birthday. She didn't want one, was completely opposed to one and had no intention of getting one.
Until she saw mine.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
Julia
I got my Eufy last November when I was at my wits end & I’m obsessed. I run mine every day & I’m always amazed at how much it picks up - although everyone gets tired of hearing me yell ‘Someone save Eufy!’ It’s made me a much nicer human being with a significantly cleaner abode. I even got to keep the 2 kids & 2 pets!
Karen
Thank you for your entertaining blog! I am curious as to where you purchased this vac for $149? Lowest price I can find is $199. Thank you
Karen
HI Karen! Uch, it must have been a one day sale when I did the pricing. I hate when Amazon does that. I did find refurbished models on Amazon for $150. ~ karen!
Susan Updike
Does it stop vaccuuming when its dust bin is full? We have a shedding wool rug that fills a shark upright tank twice on a normal vacuum day and are in need some serious vaccuum salvation. Our home has small step ups (an inch or so) where the added den is). Will it navigate that? Oh, and we have three dogs who may or may not shed.
Karen
Hi Susan. I have a high transition between my dining room and kitchen. I had to add a small board to the floor to ease the transition a bit. It now makes it between the two rooms easily. It's a vacuum for bare floors or medium pile rug. It won't do very thick, high pile rug like shag so if your wool rug is like that it won't work. ~ karen!
Kristen
I love my Roomba so much. Best gift ever. Imperfect vacuuming bests no vacuuming every time.
Carole Hollis
I live on a farm with lots of dust needless to say, I love my Roomba. I have had it for 4 years and use it every day. I have had to replace the side sweepers and the rollers once. The negative is it doesn’t always charge when it returns to base. If there is a speck of dust on the charging pad it can’t make the connect. I clean the pads with alcohol and then it charges.
Great article!
Em
So helpful! This vac pops up all the time on my recommended list and I’ve always wondered if it was plungeworthy.
I have a 🦈 and find it “meh”...BUT a mediocre job is way better than no vacuuming. On the flip, I have a yellow lab, so what should I hope for anyway?
So...does yours really start randomly.. or can you boss it around and tell it when you want it to clean (ie start button).
Also, have you named it?
Karen
You can schedule it to clean at the same time every day. I had it clean in the middle of the night but the banging woke me up. It randomly (or so I thought) started one night after I had stopped its schedule. Turns out I accidentally hit the "scheduled" button on the remote which is why it started up in the middle of the night. You can also just press the start button on it to run immediately. ~ karen!
Jessie Heizer
I’ve had this same vacuum a little over a year and I still love it. The battery has not yet started to wear out at all. The only issue I’m having with it is the brushes have already been replaced once and again are ready to be replaced. Also, eventually, the roller gets hair rolled tightly around it and it’s a pain to remove. I have long hair and 2 long haired daughters, so this issue may be more unique to us, but it happens more often than I would expect. A pair of scissors and patience is all you need to fix this though. I put a couple drops of my favorite essential oil in the filter and now it sends a light fragrance throughout the house every day, too. It’s my favorite invention of the past 20 years.
Karen
!!! Essential oil in the filter is brilliant!! Is that a thing?? Do people do that??? I have to try immediately! ~ karen
Terri
I would warn folks to be careful with adding essential oils to the vacuum filter, as some kinds are not good (and some downright dangerous) to cats and dogs.
Lori Huffstutler
We have named ours "Biff" and have had for four months. He runs every morning at 6am and we know to have shoes and wires up by then. My husband jokes when he sees a tuft of dog hair on the floor - he calls it Biff Food. Biff has been a life saver as we have three dogs and like you hate.to.vaccuum! I have the same Eufy model as you and also have the Eufy stick and portable. LOVE the brand.
Denise
You helped me remember why my zoomba was my best friend before I fell in love with my instant pot.
judy
I got one on woot for 129.00 so cheap thought what the heck. Found at 80 years old getting going was hard. I had to hold it-heavy-to put the brushes on-hold it to do something to bottom-forgot what and worst- track it down and pick it up-heavy-to get it going again. It was great for cleaning until the Rottweiler mistook it for a fire hydrant. By the time I discovered the reason for the wetness I gave up. Can't bend over,pick it up clean it and get it back on the floor again. Don't know how it wiles away the hours in the back bedroom? Wonder if they rust?
dani
I have an INCREDIBLY hairy golden retriever, Lucy. To prove my point, every time I brush her I can literally create another small dog with the hair. Or make a wig. There are constantly tumbleweeds of her hair floating around my house, and a meal wouldn’t be a meal without a strand or two of her hair mixed in. Which leads me to my question, can this vacuum REALLY handle this?????
Joy Buchanan
We have tumbleweeds as well. My Eufy handles them like a champ. :) Depending on how many tumbleweeds you do have, you may have to stop the vac a few times during it's trip to empty the bin. But it does pick up an amazing amount of stuff!
Karen
I don't know, lol. My sister has a golden retriever so I KNOW the hair you speak of. I have a fluffy cat with similar hair and it does a great job with that. I assume if you use it once a day and empty the drawer it shouldn't have a problem with Golden Retriever hair but that's just an educated guess. ~ karen!
Laura Woodard
We purchased a robotic vacuum last month. 3 cats, 4 dogs. I too am amazed at the fluff we get up everyday. It has made my life so much easier. We purchased the same model. I still do a little happy dance every day when I push that button.
margaret
What's its name?
Linda Pottage
Thank for this thorough review Karen. I'm seriously considering one but if I take it upstairs will it fall down the stairs? I have no stair guard? Thanks Linda.
The Potterage
Karen
Shoot! I meant to add that into the post. I'll do it now. NO, the robot vacuum has a sensor that senses a sharp decline and it won't fall down stairs! ~ karen
EB Thomason
Interested in the comments from other users
Elaine G
Hello! I have a Shark ion 720. I got it on sale at Canadian Tire for $200. And then months later, it went on sale again and I also bought one for my Mum. We both love it! I heard it purring along this evening on its auto program and it warms my heart! It’s also a basic model, random action. With 2 cats, one being giant floof monster, it’s great! But yes, I do need to get to those stairs soon!
Fiona
Not to throw a wet blanket on your up-beat and persuasive robot vacuum cleaner post, but do you think you could let us know when it first breaks down or just rolls over and dies? I'm curious about the longevity of these things. You have made me want to get one and now I need a reason to stall!
Barb
I had a Roomba several years ago. I got it on American Express points. It went along well for a few years and everything was great. I had to spend too much time cutting and untangling long human hair from the brushes (4 long haired women in the house!) but I liked not vacuuming myself. Then one day it just lost it, going in small circles and wouldn't go anywhere else. I think the memory/program system got messed up. It collected dust after that and I got rid of it.
Fiona
Thanks for your reply Barb - that’s very interesting. Definitely food for thought...
Karen
Ha! Yes, I'll do an update if things go sideways on me. ~ karen!
Jess Ruelens
I've had this same model Euphy since March 2019. Household members include a long-haired lady and a lab/golden retriever mix dog. I use it just about every day, and it hasn't failed me yet. Occasionally it'll get lost and can't get back out form underneath an end table or I'll forget I have the blinds open, and it'll grab the cord.
Victoria
Omg!!! Thank you so much for posting this. I’ve been thinking of getting a Roomba for a long time, it’s nice to see an alternative.
With two dogs, two cats, two boys, one messy man and living in the dirtiest city, I’m forever vacuum cleaning. This whole quarantine has been about pushing the vacuum cleaner..
I’m going to get one. Thank you, you made my night.
Karen
I'm happy to help! I honestly was NOT expecting to like it so much. ~ karen!
Jeanne
Love, love, LOVE my Eufy 11s. It's great. It vacuums a lot more than I would too. I have no complaints other than it won't do a great job on the whole house but it's 2700 sq ft. I just block off areas with a board so I do a different area each time. Super efficient and inexpensive to boot.
Jeanne
Karen
Just last night I was wondering if you'd need 2 of them if you had a bigger house. ~ karen!
Joan
I have a Roomba and I love it. My floors are always debris-free now and I think my house is generally less dusty since I got it. Bonus - not as much dusting to do!