This Robot Vacuum Cleans My Floors Flawlessly — and AT Readers Get a Discount!
You may have heard that robots are coming to take our jobs, and I, for one, couldn’t be happier — at least where housework is concerned. I hate sweeping and vacuuming, so I’m completely content to let a robot vacuum take these chores off my plate. Finding a good one can be tricky, though. I’ve had robot vacuums before, and it irked me to no end watching them retracing the same path over and over and over, while apparently, not even noticing other parts of the floor that needed to be cleaned. But then I discovered the Neato D8 Intelligent Robot Vacuum, which lets you map out exactly where it should go to make cleaning more efficient.
The Neato D8 has to be charged for two to three hours before use, and it also has to be connected to the MyNeato app to work. But the latter is what makes this robot vac so easy to use. After creating a floor plan, my work was done. I went back to writing (the job I actually get paid to do), while the Neato did its job. It goes from room to room, finding and removing dust, hair, and dirt that I can’t see. And all I have to do is tap a button on my phone to start, pause, or resume cleaning. I can also schedule repeat cleanings from the same app.
Since the Neato D8 uses LiDAR technology (which means cool scanning and mapping abilities that self-driving cars use too) as opposed to cameras, it does a much better job of both navigating and cleaning my home. I don’t have to move stuff off the floor or worry about it bumping into my floor lamps and scratching my furniture. Also, my WFH setup includes a tempered glass chair mat, so that’s a major no-go zone this vacuum intelligently avoids. The Neato D8 is also smart enough to notice when it’s approaching the stairs to avoid tumbling down.
Another issue I’ve always had with robot vacuums is that they tend to be round in shape, so they can’t really clean in corners or close to baseboards. As I result, I would need to manually clean these areas with a cordless stick vacuum. However, the D-shaped Neato D8 is designed to handle both corners and baseboards.
I’m always surprised at how much dirt and debris it manages to find. Fortunately, the Neato D8 is built with a large dirt bin, which means I don’t have to empty it in the middle of a cleaning. Another thing I love is that the brush is easy to clean. Both the large dirt bin and the easy-to-clean brush are incredibly important, because a robot can’t replace my job if I have to spend a lot of time performing maintenance on it. Speaking of time, the battery lasts for close to 100 minutes (but that’s in eco mode; it won’t last that long in turbo mode). When the robot senses the battery is low, it goes to the charging base and then it returns to finish cleaning where it left off.
Yep — the robots are coming to take our household chores, and I couldn’t be happier. Although the device is a splurge item at $699.99 normally, it’s currently on sale for $599.99. And as a great bonus savings, AT Readers can receive an extra 10 percent off at checkout using the code ATNEATO10, bringing the total to $540.00. You won’t be sorry!
Buy: Neato D8 Intelligent Robot Vacuum, $540.00 with code ATNEATO10 (normally $699.99)