Robot Vacuum Cleaners

This one's going to be a little different. I haven't tried to go on a hiking trip yet, mostly because it's been raining and I also want to watch the last few games of baseball season. But this post is because I have many interests. One of those interests is technology. So today I'm talking about robot vacuum cleaners.

I've had an iRobot Roomba for years. It is from the 600 series of cleaners. I have loved this thing because it keeps my floors much cleaner than I'm willing to do myself. All I have to do is empty it sometime after most cleanings. And my house looks okay.

But there have been a few problems with it. The first one is that it gets stuck in places kind of easily. I end up having to go move it and restart it quite frequently. The second problem is that I had to stick it's recharging base to the wall because it kept knocking it out of position. So it had trouble recharging after it was done.

And it still has trouble finding the base properly. It usually takes several times for it to dock itself. It also doesn't have very strong suction in the vacuum, and since I got my new dog it has been having trouble with the dog hair. And this Roomba is getting kind of old, so I finally decided to replace it.

My new robot vacuum cleaner is the Neato Botvac D4. It's a mid-range cleaner as far as cost, but it has more features than most Roombas. It cost me $400. The Roomba cost more when I got it years ago. This one maps out my house instead of vacuuming randomly, so it is much more efficient than the old one, and it is finished much quicker.

This one also doesn't get stuck anywhere in my house and it has much greater suction in the vacuum. The pet hair is gone from the carpet. It also gets back to the base much better and doesn't ever ram into it and move it.

The disadvantages of the new one are first that you have to connect it to the internet. It's a slightly rough setup at first because of that. It also needs a bigger area where the dock can be placed. But other than those problems it has been wonderful.

The internet connection is actually an advantage because I can control the robot with my phone and I can do voice commands with Amazon Alexa. Overall, this newer technology robot is worth the price for me. I really like this new robot.

Oh, one more thing. Does Delilah like it? The answer is unfortunately no. She liked the old Roomba. It had been there with her for most of her life. She thought it was a playmate of hers. She considers the new Botvac to be a hated enemy, even though it's quieter than the old robot. Hopefully, she'll get used to it.

That's about all. I'll talk to you later.