Could a robot vacuum work for me?

[Drama Llama]

I never got a robot vacuum because I was scared it would run into my dog and tangle his hair or something, and my house is very open so I didn't know how to keep them apart. 

But my dog is now totally deaf, and he doesn't go up and down stairs much, and we're moving into a house with baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs.  So, I was thinking I could gate him upstairs with us, and run it downstairs, and then gate it upstairs in the day while he's downstairs.  He wouldn't hear it and think it was an intruder, because he's deaf.  

Would that work?  I don't really know how they work.  It seems like it would be a good thing.  

[Katy]

If your boys will keep stuff picked up, yes.  But you'll probably want to try it on the main floor and get a second for upstairs if you like it. Because no one has time to move it twice a day.

[Drama Llama]

Just now, Katy said:

If your boys will keep stuff picked up, yes.  But you'll probably want to try it on the main floor and get a second for upstairs if you like it. Because no one has time to move it twice a day.

You don't just carry it upstairs?  

I can't leave it on the floor with the dog.  Is carrying it upstairs more work than turning it off?  I mean, other than the going up the stairs part, but I could just take it when I am already going?

I clearly do not understand this thing at all.

 

[regentrude]

Your dog surely wouldn't sit still and let the robot vacuum his fur. My cats are mildly curious, sometimes get in the robot's way until it bumps them, and then slowly move over. I really don't understand what the issue with the dog would be.

You can of course carry it upstairs each time, but it's much more convenient to have one on each level. What do you mean by you can't leave it on the same level as the dog? You don't turn it off anyway; it goes back to its base when it's finished all by itself and charges.

Edited November 29, 2023 by regentrude

[Drama Llama]

Just now, regentrude said:

Your dog surely wouldn't sit still and let the robot vacuum his fur. My cats are mildly curious, sometimes get in the robot's way until it bumps them, and then slowly move over. I really don't understand what the issue with the dog would be.

You can of course carry it upstairs each time, but it's much more convenient to have one on each level. What do you mean by you can't leave it on the same level as the dog?

My dog is very elderly.  He wouldn't hear it coming, and he couldn't get out of the way fast.  He likes to sleep on the floor, not on any kinda raised bed.  I just think it might freak him out.  He deserves some peace.  

I clearly don't know how this thing works at all, but we carry things up and down the stairs all day.  

[regentrude]

Just now, Drama Llama said:

My dog is very elderly.  He wouldn't hear it coming, and he couldn't get out of the way fast.  He likes to sleep on the floor, not on any kinda raised bed.  I just think it might freak him out.  He deserves some peace.  

I clearly don't know how this thing works at all, but we carry things up and down the stairs all day.  

You could see how he reacts. He doesn't need to be fast. My cats merely amble. If it freaks him out, then you separate dog and vacuum on different floors. But maybe he's chill about it. My cats barely pay attention to the robot now that they're used to it.

Sure you can carry the robot if you want. Or you could simply get two. But once it's done vacuuming, it just sits and won't bother the dog.

[Drama Llama]

1 minute ago, regentrude said:

You could see how he reacts. He doesn't need to be fast. My cats merely amble. If it freaks him out, then you separate dog and vacuum on different floors. But maybe he's chill about it. My cats barely pay attention to the robot now that they're used to it.

Sure you can carry the robot if you want. Or you could simply get two. But once it's done vacuuming, it just sits and won't bother the dog.

Doesn't it cost hundreds of dollars?  

[crazyforlatin]

We got 2 due to 2 floors. But I think it’s overall more work to cut through the dog hair entangled in the brushes. I’ve stopped using them for now. I’ve been using Dyson for now. Maybe there are robot vacuums that are better than the ones I have which is Eufy from 3 years ago. 

[regentrude]

9 hours ago, Drama Llama said:

Doesn't it cost hundreds of dollars?  

Our Eufy was $100 on ebay.

[pinball]

10 hours ago, Drama Llama said:

But my dog is now totally deaf

He might be deaf but he will feel the vibrations of something moving through the house. 

[Pawz4me]

22 minutes ago, pinball said:

He might be deaf but he will feel the vibrations of something moving through the house. 

Maybe or maybe not. Elderly dogs often sleep very deeply. Combine that with being deaf . . I wouldn't count on him realizing a vac was heading his way.

[pinball]

5 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Maybe or maybe not. Elderly dogs often sleep very deeply. Combine that with being deaf . . I wouldn't count on him realizing a vac was heading his way.

I was thinking of him feeling the vibrations it and thinking someone was in the house bc that was mentioned as not being possible any more bc he’s deaf. Which I don’t agree with.

I’m not saying “go ahead and use it bc he will feel it coming”

I’m not addressing the safety issue at all

[kirstenhill]

11 hours ago, Drama Llama said:

You don't just carry it upstairs?  

I can't leave it on the floor with the dog.  Is carrying it upstairs more work than turning it off?  I mean, other than the going up the stairs part, but I could just take it when I am already going?

I clearly do not understand this thing at all.

 

I've only had a Roomba brand, but Roombas look to return to base when done, so it will wander around until the battery runs out if you don't bring the base upstairs too. 

We do move our older Roomba around the house, as it has s very basic charging base.  Not every day, but when the bedrooms are clean enough to run it! 😁

Our newer main floor Roomba has a big base, with a bag to hold dirt. The newer Roomba empties itself automatically, which is nice. The big bag has to be emptied only once every couple months.  That Roomba base would be a pain to move around, so that Roomba stays on the main floor. 

[theelfqueen]

11 hours ago, Drama Llama said:

You don't just carry it upstairs?  

I can't leave it on the floor with the dog.  Is carrying it upstairs more work than turning it off?  I mean, other than the going up the stairs part, but I could just take it when I am already going?

I clearly do not understand this thing at all.

 

I do carry mine upstairs occasionally but not daily. But you generally don't turn it off. It finishes and returns to its dock where it needs to charge again.  Ours for example runs every day at 10 AM and when it is finished it returns to the dock. With no pets I don't have to empty it daily but I do once or twice a week. It's a set it up and forget about it (other than making sure small items and cords are tidied off the floor)  sort of thing. You don't start and stop it each time. 

I just bought a second one (ours are Shark brand) because I wanted a more programmable one so the older one will permanently move upstairs. 

I don't have pets but my son does. They were only a little interested in the robot atthe beginning and then ignored it. When a robot vacuum runs into a solid object, it turns away. It won't get itself stuck on the dog. 

Edited November 29, 2023 by theelfqueen

[Spryte]

We have an elderly deaf dog, and still use our robot vacuum. No issues with hair getting sucked in, so far — if it bumps him, it senses him and moves away. His hair can be fairly long, depending on the most recent grooming, but it’s not so long that it gets caught up in the vacuum. He’s a schnoodle, FWIW. I can’t recall too many times that it’s bumped him, though.

To be fair, he’s almost 15, can’t hear a thing, has arthritis and a bit of dementia, and sleeps a lot. I think the robot vacuum is an annoyance to him, and I try to keep it away from him. I do a lot of babying the dog these days. So any bumping into him the vacuum did would have been a while back.

[Clarita]

12 hours ago, Drama Llama said:

My dog is very elderly.  He wouldn't hear it coming, and he couldn't get out of the way fast.  He likes to sleep on the floor, not on any kinda raised bed.  I just think it might freak him out.  He deserves some peace.  

I don't think you need to worry about your dog. The robot vacuum isn't very fast, so the dog needs to barely saunter away. The vacuum will gently bump into him or some new ones seem to be able to see him and avoid him. 

Also the robot vacuum doesn't have as much suction the upright vacuum, so it won't vacuum the dog in anyway just a gentle nudge and roll away.

[rebcoola]

Yeah it works fine  Just make sure you do floor without with enough time to charge before you need him again since he will run until he dies.

[KungFuPanda]

19 hours ago, Drama Llama said:

You don't just carry it upstairs?  

I can't leave it on the floor with the dog.  Is carrying it upstairs more work than turning it off?  I mean, other than the going up the stairs part, but I could just take it when I am already going?

I clearly do not understand this thing at all.

 

It would not be hard.  The full clothes basked is more inconvenient to carry.

[Drama Llama]

8 hours ago, Clarita said:

I don't think you need to worry about your dog. The robot vacuum isn't very fast, so the dog needs to barely saunter away. The vacuum will gently bump into him or some new ones seem to be able to see him and avoid him. 

Also the robot vacuum doesn't have as much suction the upright vacuum, so it won't vacuum the dog in anyway just a gentle nudge and roll away.

It's not that I think my dog wouldn't walk fast enough, it's that I think he wouldn't get up off the floor fast enough.  

He loves to fall asleep in front of doors when his people are on the other side.  So, when we come home from school, he's almost always sleeping against the front door.  I think he's always done this, but we never knew because he'd hear our foot steps or the key in the lock, and he'd be up with his tail wagging ready to greet us when we came in. 

Now, we have to open the door very slowly, so that it gently nudges him and he wakes up, and orients to where he is, and gets creakily to his feet.  I imagine him doing that multiple times while we are out and it makes me sad.  I don't know why.

I don't really understand how it works if it doesn't have enough suction to vacuum up dog hair.  I mean, dog hair is why we'd get it.  He's a collie mix so he has hair that kinda spreads out around him like an aura when he lies down.

I didn't think about charging stations.  I'm just a minimalist kind of person.  I own one pair of shoes and one water bottle. Multiple vacuums seems not in the spirt of my life.  But I can see how the charging station is an issue.  If I had 2 could I program them to always run at certain times when the dog is on the other floor?   Like, my dog is never upstairs alone at noon.  That is a thing that doesn't happen.  Or downstairs at 3 a.m.  Could I tell them to just stay in it's little house and come out then? 

[Clarita]

6 minutes ago, Drama Llama said:

I don't really understand how it works if it doesn't have enough suction to vacuum up dog hair.

It can suck it up if it's on top of it, and the suction hole is not the entire bottom of the vacuum robot - the front (the direction that the robot faces when it goes forward) is a bumpy sensor.  It'll nudge up against your dog or "see" (depending on the robot vac) that your dog is there and avoid the dog. If you have clutter on your floor (even if it doesn't "see" it), it will gently bump up against your clutter and turn to move in a different direction. I can put an empty plastic trash can to block this vent I have in the kitchen and the trash can moves maybe a half inch. 

[JennyD]

Well, after years of consideration I bought a robot vacuum on Black Friday.  It arrived yesterday, DS18 programmed it and got it up and running, and wowwee kazowee!  We vacuum every single day and wash the floors once a week, and this thing has already picked up a horrifying amount of dog hair.  I think I'm in love.

Prior to the purchase DH said that while he did not object to my buying a robot vacuum, his official position was that it was a waste of money that would not actually get the floors clean.  He was SO WRONG.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Our not-very-bright, excessively excitable dog was a little taken aback by the vacuum moving around but has coped with it much better than I thought he would.  

DS13 is already campaigning to put googly eyes on the vacuum, which I think will be very cute.

 

 

 

Edited November 30, 2023 by JennyD

[Drama Llama]

If our whole house is wood or linoleum or tile floors, and dog hair is an issue, what type is best?