Roborock - Q5

Roboroc Q5 None better. If they no longer make that one, go the next number higher.

For that budget, vacuum only. And honestly even they might not handle the shaggy rug. Most robots can't. If you're okay with vacuuming the rug by hand, and basically creating a no-go zone around it in the robot app to stop them getting stuck, a roborock q series vacuum-only model might be decent.

Unfortunately it's all in the market pressures, certain sets of requirements or categories of robots have been totally eliminated. For example it's really hard to find much choice of robot mops, everybody has switched to making combination all-in-one robots which are much more expensive. It can be really frustrating. What I will say, avoid models with AI obstacle avoidance camera systems mounted on the front bumper. This should help limit privacy concerns. A lidar sensor can give a basic layout of your house and furniture placement but it can't really see details, it's basically a 2-D image. Edit: obviously all images are 2-D lol. What I meant is, it's only seeing your house through a really thin laser beam shining out from the top "turret". This means it can see shapes on that line of sight and nothing else, basically it doesn't steer that laser up or down. It can't see details of people, pets, objects not at floor level etc. It'll see four furniture legs, with no way to tell if it's a sofa or a dining table. Obviously having a literal camera is a totally different story there. And luckily a lot of the more basic options lack cameras (for now anyway). Models like the eufy L60 or Roborock Q5 might be ones to look at.

Pay attention that this is an older model of the Q5 max+, it doesn’t have the duoroller. You absolutely need at least the duorollers for dog hair. Attached a picture of mine (with the duoroller) for reference. Ask the seller to send u a picture of the bottom before u commit. If it’s the single roller, don’t bother or negotiate the price down. https://preview.redd.it/s561ju9xwmmf1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd1f16f8d75206bbea36bfca231221477e916591

Yes that’s what I thought. This roller is an old one and you’ll find urself having to clean hair off of it after each run. Not worth the money imo.

Of these, the worst mopping will be the Q5 and Q8 robots, which just have stationary pads attached to the back. The S8 also has a pad attached to the back, but includes a scrubbing motion via a plate that vibrates at a high speed. It's better than the Q5 and Q8. The best mopping will be on the Qrevo and Eufy X10. They have spinning mop pads, a dock which refills the water tank on the robot from its own water tank, and also cleans the pads automatically and stores the dirty water in another tank on the dock. Of the last two, each has its strengths and weaknesses. The X10 will be better at obstacle avoidance. The Qrevo is a Roborock, which has a better reputation for quality and reliability than the Eufy, and is also rated a little better than the Eufy at a lot of things: vacuuming performance, mopping performance, etc. It also can swing out one of its mop pads for better edge and corner cleaning, something the Eufy can't do. In some cases, obstacle avoidance is really critical, in which case I'd recommend the Eufy. Otherwise, the Qrevo is likely your best bet.

So an unknown brand just came out with a fairly pedestrian robot with stationary-pad mopping, and it has a higher rating than some of the highest-regarded robots on the market? Nope. If you really need mopping on a budget, take a look at the Dreame D10+, Eufy L60 Hybrid, or one of the Roborock Q series robots. For a big improvement in mopping for not much more money, look at the Eufy C20 or Dreame L10s Ultra series. Mova can be good, if they've solved their problem with fragile front wheels. If you don't care about mopping, look at the Eufy L60 SES or SwitchBot K10+.

I'm using a Roborock Q5(+). I have 2 Labradors with 1 of them constantly shedding. If I don't vacuum every 2-3 days, I will find tumble weeds of fur in my house. What ever brand/model you go with, don't skimp out on getting a docking/waste station. I couldn't image having to empty the vacuum after every cleaning.

I have similar setup and use a Q5 which works great. I have a cat and dog and no issues with clogging.

I got the q5 on a nice Amazon sale. I never use the mop function, only vacuum. So far it’s been great, and we have two dogs and a cat. We get the house cleaned once a week and I’ve been running the robot once a day, or couple days to keep up with it. So happy on this ourchase

TLDR: this sounds like a giant pain and very inconvenient, but you could do it. Most brands on technically support 1 home. But roborocks support up to 4 floors, I think so you could have each house be a different floor. Honestly, before committing to driving your vacuum all around try just having one to share between your floors. These things work best as “set it and forget it”. I ended up getting a refurb Q5 for my basement because over time it was less hassle than remembering to move my Q Revo from the first floor to the basement to run it. Additionally, you will vacuum more if you just set a schedule and have it run automatically.

I second this. I think I only paid $200 for my Q5? Mine doesn't mop or auto empty, but very good on the vacuuming front (and has all the good mapping, navigation, multi floor modes the other ones do). And they do have models with the mopping and auto emptying things.

This is more of an uninformed opinion than unpopular. I can run mine when I'm not even home. I can adjust the noise level of I am home. I can even have it do just one or 2 rooms if I want/ and have it do places I'm not occupying. I did save money and get one that I have to manually empty...but guess what? Emptying it takes me a LOT less time than vacuuming the entire floor. This sub is for opinions, but you're factually wrong on it being a waste of time, because it is saving me time...the only way it would be wasting my time is if the alternative was to not sweep or vacuum the floors at all...

Older roombas are simple, reliable, durable, effective, and cheap. But they don't have smart navigation or mapping where you can ask them to clean specific areas. If you want navigation they become less cheap and less durable. I have a 10yo 600 series roomba and a new Roborock Q5. Q5 is great but I'm skeptical that it's going to last as long.