Must-Have Tool if You Are a Clean Freak: Tips for Selecting the Perfect Robotic Vacuum Cleaner

In a culture like South Korea where people are accustomed to a lifestyle of sitting on the floor and cleaning, it’s not always easy to mop the floor every day. Simply running a vacuum cleaner may leave you feeling uneasy. To address this, the popularity of robotic vacuum cleaners, which clean every corner of the house while you’re out, is on the rise. But with so many types and options available, how do you know which one to buy? Here are some points to consider when making your purchase decision.

Robotic Vacuum Cleaners that Mesh Well with Korean Cleaning Culture

Robotic vacuum cleaners are popular because they clean by themselves without human intervention, saving both time and energy. This is made possible by the sensors and cameras attached to the products. They can navigate around your home, avoiding furniture and obstacles. They are particularly suitable for the Korean cleaning culture where floor and mop cleaning have always been considered essential and are therefore receiving much attention from consumers.

One of the Three Home Appliances that Can Change Your Life

Robotic vacuum cleaners, along with clothes dryers and dishwashers, are among the three home appliances that can significantly improve your quality of life. We’ve moved on from the era of using only corded vacuum cleaners to a time when cordless vacuum cleaners are the norm, and now it’s the era of robotic vacuum cleaners. With each passing year, their performance and convenience are being upgraded, and the types of products available are becoming more diverse.

How Robotic Vacuum Cleaners Work

Robotic vacuum cleaners are characterized by the presence of various sensors and cameras. With the introduction of products featuring mapping technology, sales have increased and they have become popular. In simple terms, mapping is the process of creating a map. Through the sensors and cameras installed in the robotic vacuum cleaner, it can move around the space, recognizing the ceiling, walls, furniture, etc., and setting coordinates, making for much smarter and more precise cleaning.

Can It Clean as Well as a Human Would?

It’s hard to expect a robotic vacuum cleaner to have strong suction or to mop as cleanly as a human would. There are limitations to cleaning areas with obstacles or corners, but it is more convenient than anything else because it can reduce the frequency of cleaning. If you run it every day after cleaning thoroughly once, hair and dust will not accumulate, allowing you to maintain cleanliness for a long time.

Types of Robotic Vacuum Cleaners

Robotic vacuum cleaners are divided into suction-only, mop-only, and types that do both. Suction-only vacuum cleaners are gradually disappearing. However, in the case of domestic products, they are still focused on suction-only products, which can be a good choice for those who value suction and after-sales service. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a robotic vacuum cleaner to just mop after you’ve vacuumed, buying a mop-only product can also be helpful, and its mopping performance is surprisingly good and well-received.

Importance of Sensors and Mapping Features

Robotic vacuum cleaners come with a variety of sensors. Among them, it’s important to check if the ‘SLAM technology’ is applied. SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Map-Building) is a process of creating a map of the surrounding environment. Currently, the sensors capable of mapping in robotic vacuum cleaners on the market are laser sensors (LDS), gyro sensors, and camera sensors, among which the high-performance sensor is the laser sensor.

You Can Choose Specific Areas to Clean

Once a map is drawn on the robotic vacuum cleaner, you can not only clean the entire house but also set it to clean only specific areas or set prohibited areas. You can set it to clean only the living room and bedroom where dust is abundant without cleaning the rooms you don’t use often, or prevent the robotic vacuum cleaner from entering areas with dangerous items or carpets.

Choose a Mop-Only Product If Mopping Is Important

Products that mop back and forth have better performance compared to regular dual-purpose products. The mop is constantly moving while attached to the floor, so the pressure pressing on the floor is high as it mops the floor multiple times showing clean results. Recently, products that include automatic washing and drying of mops have been released, reducing the hassle of washing the mop after cleaning.

How Good Is the Suction Power of Robotic Vacuum Cleaners?

The suction ability of robotic vacuum cleaners is often indicated in Pa (Pascal), a unit of pressure. This represents the pressure of the robotic vacuum cleaner sucking up debris from the floor, and the suction power of most robotic vacuum cleaners currently on sale is around 2000~6000Pa. Corded vacuum cleaners or high-performance cordless vacuum cleaners are over 20000Pa, low-cost cordless vacuum cleaners are usually around 10000Pa, and even the most expensive robotic vacuum cleaners are around 5000Pa, so it is true that their suction power is weak compared to regular vacuum cleaners.

Make Sure to Check the Crossing Height If There Are Thresholds

For a robotic vacuum cleaner to clean the entire house, it must be able to cross over carpets, mats, and thresholds between rooms. Mop-only robotic vacuum cleaners often cannot cross thresholds, while suction-only or dual-purpose (suction + mop) products can usually cross over carpets or mats less than 0.5 cm thick without any problem. Otherwise, the height of the obstacle that each product can cross is indicated, so if there are thresholds in the space you regularly clean, measure the height, and purchase a product that can cross that height

By. Shin Young Jeon