You don’t need a robot vacuum. But if you want one, then hell yeah, get one. A robot can do a great job keeping your floors tidy with very little effort on your part. Probably the best part of a robot, is that it never procrastinates or gets bored. A robot that runs for an hour a few times per week will always cover more ground and pick up more debris than 10 minutes of half-assed, human-operated cleaning a few times per month, even if you’re using the world’s best vacuum. Probably the worst part of a robot, if your dog takes a crap on the floor, the robot can smear it everywhere. Consider yourself warned.
Remember to set your expectations appropriately, robot vacuums are imperfect. They’re designed to adapt to your home and all of its hazards on the fly, and they do that remarkably well considering that every single home is at least a little different. But most people will find that their bot struggles in a particular area of their home—maybe around a certain couch or a corner with a lot of obstacles nearby. The trick is to buy the model that best matches your home and then make adjustments as needed (usually minor) to make the most of your robot helper. An important expectation is to consider how your pets, if they are free-roaming in the home, will interact or react to the bot. When pets and robots collide, it’s not always a great thing. The last thing you need is a stressed out cat or dog that spends an hour or more a week hiding under the bed fearing your bot, because what normally happens when an otherwise happy and adjusted pet gets unusually stressed out? They have accidents in the house, nobody wants to come home to a lint free home only to have the strong odor of dog feces overwhelm them at the door, then spend the next 10 minutes searching for the pile of poop (more often than not under a bed or in bathroom or closet, the place your pet ran when the robot vacuum clocked in to do its job). Some sympathetic owners sometimes just retire their new purchases. In other cases, the pets take matters into their own paws. I’ve read that dogs often have trouble with Roombas and other household robots because they don't know where they stand socially compared to it, and it is recommended to 'discipline' the robot in front of your dog. This may sound funny, but heck if I’m going to benefit from the robot cleaning my floors, I don’t mind looking a little silly disciplining a floor robot, and your dog will once again see you as the pack leader!
Remember to set your expectations appropriately, robot vacuums are imperfect. They’re designed to adapt to your home and all of its hazards on the fly, and they do that remarkably well considering that every single home is at least a little different. But most people will find that their bot struggles in a particular area of their home—maybe around a certain couch or a corner with a lot of obstacles nearby. The trick is to buy the model that best matches your home and then make adjustments as needed (usually minor) to make the most of your robot helper. An important expectation is to consider how your pets, if they are free-roaming in the home, will interact or react to the bot. When pets and robots collide, it’s not always a great thing. The last thing you need is a stressed out cat or dog that spends an hour or more a week hiding under the bed fearing your bot, because what normally happens when an otherwise happy and adjusted pet gets unusually stressed out? They have accidents in the house, nobody wants to come home to a lint free home only to have the strong odor of dog feces overwhelm them at the door, then spend the next 10 minutes searching for the pile of poop (more often than not under a bed or in bathroom or closet, the place your pet ran when the robot vacuum clocked in to do its job). Some sympathetic owners sometimes just retire their new purchases. In other cases, the pets take matters into their own paws. I’ve read that dogs often have trouble with Roombas and other household robots because they don't know where they stand socially compared to it, and it is recommended to 'discipline' the robot in front of your dog. This may sound funny, but heck if I’m going to benefit from the robot cleaning my floors, I don’t mind looking a little silly disciplining a floor robot, and your dog will once again see you as the pack leader!