household appliances
Warentest checks wiping and vacuum robots – “good” devices are already available for 300 euros
The little robots don’t work that smoothly.
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Robots can always do more. At the Stiftung Warentest, cheap devices for 200 euros compete against vacuum and mop machines for 1400 euros – but the cheap robots were also convincing when it came to the basics.
Warentest looks at vacuum robots shortly before Christmas. The test is somewhat confusing because it actually looks at three different categories of machines. First the pure vacuum robots, then devices that can also wet wipe in addition to vacuuming. And finally, the machines differ in whether they come with a large docking station or whether they only have a small dust container that needs to be emptied every two days at the latest. The price range is correspondingly large: the field starts at 200 euros and ends at 1400 euros – seven times the amount (you can take the whole test for a fee here see).
The monster of the robot vacuum and mop
At least six devices performed well, four were sufficient, and the rest were satisfactory. The best device in the test is also the most expensive, the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra. The testers write: “It scores particularly well when vacuuming hard floors and convinces with a service station and good handling.” The Ultra version of the Roborock comes with a truly gigantic service station. It not only vacuums the dust, but also changes the mopping water and cleans the mopping pad. The comfort then costs 1400 euros. In addition, the station is anything but inconspicuous, it requires a lot of space on the floor and should attract everyone’s attention.
The price-performance winner among the pure vacuum robots is called the Neato D8. At 400 euros, the device is a real bargain. Neato is one of the pioneers in the vacuum industry. Neato’s robots use a brush and not rubber lips. Brushes are far better at brushing pet hair out of carpets than rubber lips. The Medion X40 SW prevails among the wipe-vacuum combos. It is also recommended for pet owners: “Its rotating brush also picks up short, tacky fibers, such as cat or dog hair,” write the testers. It only costs 300 euros.
Mopping only makes sense if you have a lot of free hard floor space in the apartment. We would also not recommend daily mopping for sensitive parquet or other real wood floors. And not even with very inexpensive laminate. Ultimately, the surface is moistened daily, which means the substrate should be able to withstand regular moisture without swelling over time.
All apps convinced the testers, they are necessary to time operations and to define prohibited zones. The service station empties the small container in the vacuum cleaner, so it can work without help for so long. However, such base stations make the devices significantly more expensive. Our opinion: They are a must in households with many pet hairs. During the “hairy” times, hair clogs the onboard bin very quickly because the suckers don’t have enough power to compress the fluffy fibers.
Extras are hardly included in the test
The test does not include all devices on the market by far. Devices with very different ranges of functions are also tested. As a result, the range of functions of the more expensive devices is hardly or not at all included in the rating. This includes, for example, voice control – “vacuum at the dining table”. Or the ability to recognize on its own whether the “human” has left the apartment and the robot can now vacuum without disturbing and the like. The long-term learning ability of the machines is also not required in the test environment. Our last practical test with a Roomba vacuum cleaner showed that after a learning phase, the device coped much better with a demanding – i.e. chaotic – household than when it started. In short: Because the basics are primarily tested, the true capabilities of the devices are further apart than the test scores suggest.
By the way, the testers cleared up one mistake: Robot doesn’t mean “quite effortlessly”. Brushes, rollers and sensors must be cleaned regularly. Long hair in particular winds up around axes and brushes and needs to be laboriously removed. The wiping pad demands care to an increased extent. In most devices, it is moistened but not cleaned. It absorbs the residual dust and then stays wet under the robot. So that the pad does not blossom into a creepy biotope, it must be changed and cleaned regularly.
You can take the whole test for a fee here see.