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Robot Vacuum Cleaner - Buying Tips And Care

Neil Valentine D'Silva
Planning to get one of those unbeatable and indefatigable robot vacuum cleaners? Well, that's a good choice you have already made. Now, here are some buying tips for you, and a little on how you should take care of these machines.
The robot vacuum cleaner is perhaps the best technological advancement since the invention of the light bulb. Very much like the light bulb, this machine is useful in each and every house, and within a few years, life will be impossible without these devices.
However, these are not as subtle as the light bulb. The light bulb has a wonderful quality of blending into obscurity even though it provides an essential service; but the cleaner will be very active in your house, incessantly keeping it spic and span. And it is due to this constant movement that you have to be very careful when you are purchasing one.

Tip # 1 - Size And Shape

Almost all of these devices are shaped like a circular disk, though some new fanciful shapes have now come into the market. However, it is advised to go for the circular shapes, because they are the best for turning their directions when they meet obstacles. Any other shape will not be able to do this quite so well.
The typical size is about 14 inches in diameter and less than 3 inches in height. Some cheaper models are higher than this, but then these sizes will not allow the cleaners to go under beds and sofas for cleaning. The three-inch height is very suitable for this purpose.

Tip # 2 - Sensing Ability

The basic principle of this device is to sense the areas in the room where dust is present and then clean out that area. They will clean out every area, and they will self-adjust to clean dustier places in a more stringent manner.
With the recent variants, you do not need to make any settings for the cleaning process. The cleaner will determine the extent of the dust in a particular spot and then make the adjustment itself.
Now, it is very important to get a self-adjusting cleaner, even though it costs higher. Otherwise, you will end up configuring its settings so often that you will find it better to do the cleaning process yourself.
There are also remote-controlled variants that you can maneuver in any direction you want. These are very good for people who cannot move much, such as old people and those suffering from locomotion disabilities.

Tip # 3 - Convenience

If you have made up your mind to get one of these, it is advisable to get the maximum amount of convenience you can get. Go for the ones that will go back to their docking station once they have finished cleaning the room.
The docking station is important, because this is where the machine gets charged. Generally, a full charging process takes about three hours, but it can be more depending on the model.
Another great convenient feature that you should be looking out for is the automatic emptying of the trash bag. Some reputed cleaners will automatically go to the docking station and empty out their trash bags there. Just imagine - if you get such a device, you will be totally free from such household chores!
Also, try to get the self-maneuvering options. All of these devices can change their directions when they come to an obstruction in the way, but there is a difference in the way they change their path. Some of them will dash against the obstruction and then change course.
This is inconvenient, because they might even dash against the shoes of people in the room. You must look for the recent designs that have infrared sensors that allow them to know about obstructions from a distance and then change their path.

Tip # 4 - Added Features

Consider the ones that have useful additional features to make them more effective and safe. If you stay in a house that has several levels, then you need to be careful that the cleaner does not fall off the stairs.
For this, you must buy those with wheel sensors. These wheels rotate on the ground, and as they do so, they can understand if there is a different level on the way, and change their path.
Also, check out cleaners with the brush borders on their circumference. This is a very good feature because the border brush will also clean the walls up to a particular level. And it will prevent the machine from dashing hard onto the walls.

Maintenance

These are automatic machines, and they require minimum care. The only thing that you need to think of is charging the cleaner. When its cleaning work is done, the machine will move to the docking station, where it will stay put. It will get completely charged in three hours in the docking station.
In cheaper ones, you will have to manually remove the trash bags and empty them. However, the newer ones today will automatically go to their docking stations and empty their trash bags. That really is convenience at its best!