Long perceived as amusing but ineffective gadgets, robot vacuums have made spectacular technological leaps over the past two years. Gone are the days of clumsy discs bumping into everything. We are witnessing the rise of "all-in-one" models capable of vacuuming, wet mopping, and most importantly, maintaining themselves. So, is this a justified investment or just a technological trend?
The revolution of autonomous washing stations
As habitat professionals, we see a real difference here: it's no longer just maintaining cleanliness, it's actual deep cleaning of hard floors (tiles, varnished parquet, polished concrete).
Ground reality: advantages and constraints
Limitations to know about
Nevertheless, total autonomy is a myth. Here are the points to watch:
Station maintenance: if the robot mops the floor, you'll need to clean the robot. You must empty the dirty water tank every 3 to 5 days depending on cleaning intensity and room size. Similarly, the bottom of the station requires regular manual cleaning.
Space preparation: the robot forces you to be tidy. A phone cable lying around, a forgotten sock, or a child's toy can jam the device. With the most modern AI-powered models, this is less true, and some models even have a telescopic arm to put away small objects. Still, the robot won't be able to clean under your yesterday's shirt thrown on the floor!
Corners and baseboards: despite progress and side brushes, no robot cleans corners as well as a manual upright vacuum or steam mop. It remains a routine maintenance tool, not a spring deep clean.
🦙Alpaca Immobilier's advice:
Don't see this purchase as spending on a gadget, but as an investment in preserving your property. If you have delicate surfaces (solid wood floors, natural stone), these robots are excellent because they use little water and won't scratch.
Our recommendation: if you take the plunge, don't do things halfway. If you have the possibility to connect the robot to a water source/drain, the washing station is for you. Otherwise, we advise against models with clear/dirty water tanks because maintenance quickly becomes tedious. Avoid models with simple mop "dragged" on the back of the robot-they're USELESS.
Also prefer market leaders like Dreame and its older sister Roborock, iRobot (slightly behind technically), or drone champion DJI which just released its first model!
To facilitate your vacuum's connectivity at home, prefer models compatible with the Matter protocol, the new standard for connected devices. This way you can create automations very simply to start cleaning as soon as you're away, for example!
Take advantage of Black Friday promotions to purchase the year's models which are generally renewed around Christmas or during major tech events (Berlin's IFA or Las Vegas' CES).
