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.

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.

We have one on each floor. The basement has a cheap Q5, and top floor has our old 5S Max, and the 1st and 2nd floors have OG Q Revos. Since we don’t have pets or kids and don’t wear shoes inside the house, we only mop the basement and top floor periodically. The first floor goes every night and the 2nd floor a few times a week. I got the Q5 and Q Revos from Roborock’s eBay refurb store and have been super happy. We started off carrying the 5S Max between floors and that got old so fast…

Join the r/RobotVacuums subreddit for great info! It’s generally agreed that Roomba and Shark are pretty low quality, while brands like Roborock, Dreame, and Eufy are very well liked. There is such a wide range of features and price points. We got an older, more basic model to start out with (a Roborock- only vacuum, no mopping- was on sale for less than $150 last year) and I love it. The reservoir has to be emptied every day or two since it doesn’t have the self emptying feature, but it still saves me a ton of time with 2 big dogs and kids in the house. We definitely plan to upgrade in the future to one that has self emptying and mopping features!

Got the Roborock Q5 L7 without the tank on sale on Prime Day, and while it is very much the entry level for Roborock, it has been really solid for us, and there are no bags or solutions required. You just empty the compartment into the garbage and fill it up with normal water.

We also have a Roborock (Q5S?) and 3 labs. I agree with the previous poster- it’s better than nothing. It picks up a lot of hair but leaves big clumps in its wake. Those aren’t hard to whisk up. The mopping is my favourite feature, especially around the water and food bowls. Is it as good as the Miele canister? Not even close.

When my roborock Q5 broke down (after 3+ years of daily cleaning), I searched around and found the Tapo RV30 max plus for only $180 on Amazon. It got some great you tube reviews plus it was recommended by Wirecutter and had got a PC Editors Choice award.. I bought it last week and it works great; well the mopping isnt that good but the vacuuming is better than my old roborock. The only downside is that it takes a long time to recharge so when it docks in mid-cycle its a few hours before it resumes. But anyway for the price I don't think you can beat it.

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.