Roborock - Q5

For vacuuming, the cheapest Roborock model is more than fine. Mopping is another story. That's a really new technology that keeps getting better like every 6 months. And it's not just about the mopping performance. It's about the dock and reservoir design, and the ability of the system to stay clean and free of mold. And with all these advancements, the prices of the newest models plummet within 6-12 months as the next big thing comes along. So for your first vac, my advice would be to get a refurbished Q5. They cost nothing at this point. You'll get to know the app and how much you're into programming, customizing, cleaning and maintaining a robot. If you have multiple levels, then it'll still come in handy if you decide to get an upgraded mopping vac later, and by next year, the Curv will be "mid range."

I can echo some of the advice here and also tell you that your criteria are the right ones. I think the #1 issue with mopping vacs is that they are still a relatively new technology and they are still trying to figure out how to automate the drying and disinfecting of the robot and the dock. That's the #1 reason to purchase a newer, more expensive model. I have the QRevo Curv and have frankly been blown away by its ability to stay clean and dry and odor-free compared to older models. That being said, it still doesn't do that all by itself. However, it has remained spotless for a year and a half by doing these 3 simple things: 1. In the fresh water tank, I have the silver ion module (don't know if it does anything), and I put a tiny amount (half capful) of cleaning solution in the fresh water tank when I refill it. 2. In the dirty water tank, every time I empty it, I put a little splash of bleach in the bottom, and I spray a little bleach-based mold-mildew cleaner around the crevices. An occasional denture cleaning tab can help, too. 3. I have a calendar reminder to remove the dock tray once a month and thoroughly clean it. It doesn't take long. That thing reliably develops a dark residue that might be mold, but once a month seems to keep it in check. As for vacuuming, if you look at the tests, apparently the models with long dual rollers technically do a better job than the models with the Duo-Divide brush, but honestly, they ALL vacuum much better than the vacuum-only models of a few years ago, and I thought those did a pretty good job already. The Duo-Divide brush was a game-changer for me. We have long haired women in this house and I've had this thing for 18 months and I've never had to untangle anything from the brushes. It's crazy. I have a Q5 on another floor and I have to religiously clean those brushes. But the Curv? I stopped even checking underneath. There's never anything to untangle. So my advice is to get a Roborock (best software) and to get one with rotating mops and the Duo Divide brush, and to get a newer model with the best washing/drying dock. Other things that could swing you one way or another: Does it need to get under furniture (the Curv is tall and I have slim-robot envy. I have a half dozen pieces of furniture that a shorter vac could get under), does it need to climb over thresholds (that matters in my house). Does it need to recognize dog poop (newer models definitely have better object recognition). I don't place any value on object recognition (I turn it off), but I don't have an incontinent pet, either.

Stay away from these no-name brands. Stick with Roborock, Dreame, Eufy, Irobot, and Shark. Roborock Q5 is a great deal at the moment. The no-name brands are almost always worse in functionality, much harder to get spare brushes and filters for, impossible to get other parts for etc.

It'll help keep up, but no robot is going to really handle that much hair without daily or twice daily running. And you'll be emptying it a lot. The q5 is still a good performer from what I've heard and will help.

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.

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.

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.

I had a roborock Q5 in my apartment. Myself and my cat. Loved it, it was fantastic. Easy to use, easy to set up custom cleans if I made a mess, and easy to set up no go zones with the app on my phone. Never had any issues with it. I have a shark now in my house, and will absolutely be replacing it with the one I used to have because I hate my shark.

great news! Almost ANY roborock you get (for that matter, any robot) is going to far surpass your i7 experience. I would not grab the Q5, TBH. There is, actually a very big difference between $500 and $1000 robots, but if I may recommend... I'd say the best CURRENT value on a Roborock is the Curv/Edge, the S8 MaxV Ultra and the QRevo MaxV. While the Saros are great... I don't think they're better \*enough\* than the models listed about to justify the price. Also, I'd wait for Prime Day, regardless. Also, I test robots for a living for Lifehacker, and am not sponsored by anyone, and test robots in my very real house.

I had a Samsung Jetbot that broke after a year and a half, and would have cost me $150 to fix. I went back and forth on fixing it, but ultimately realized that I could buy a brand new robot for that price. The Roborock Q5 happened to be on sale for exactly that price, so I ended up buying it, and have been using it obsessively to clean up the buildup from the past several months. I didn’t realize how much dust and hair had accumulated on my carpets in that time (I live in an apartment, and don’t own another vacuum), and looking at what a difference it’s made to have a freshly-vacuumed carpet has just given me so much tranquility. I have a cat, but really the buildup had come from me, because I have long hair that tends to shed. There was literally a mouse-sized amount of hair tangled up in the side brush after running the vacuum four times, with the main rollers covered in hair. The advice that was given to me by folks in this subreddit is to make sure you get a robot with Lidar. Lidar is the mapping technology that actually allows the robovac to clean every inch of the floor. The robovacs without Lidar just kind of bounce around, and aren’t nearly as effective at cleaning because they don’t keep track of where they’ve been. They go in zig-zag patterns, and Lidar robots go back and forth. It’s more expensive, but to me the difference is worth it. I’ll also say that what convinced me to get a robovac in the first place is that someone told me it forces them to keep their floors clean. You can’t have your floors cluttered because it will block the robot and stop it from doing its job, or even get it tangled up. So that’s just one more reason to get one.

Could not imagine my life without my roborock q5