Big cleaning on prices! It’s time to identify the equipment that we hope to be able to purchase thanks to Black Friday and its sometimes monster promotions. If a robot vacuum cleaner is part of your wishlistthe opportunity to offer you the ultimate ally to maintain your floors (like nearly 500,000 French people each year now) is undoubtedly there. Which machine, at what price? What pitfalls to avoid? 20 Minutes helps you prepare for your purchase.
Covid to boost sales
2020, the year of Covid. Clawed in their interiors which they take the opportunity to pamper themselves, the French equip themselves massively with household appliances. Among them, robot vacuum cleaners whose sales are exploding: 435,000 units sold in one year (source: Gifam), twice as many as in 2019. Or rather: “are finally exploding”! 18 after the Roomba (the robot vacuum cleaner from the pioneer of iRobot), consumers now seem to be seduced by these small autonomous machines which claim to do the cleaning for them. Above all, it must be said that they have evolved a lot…
Robots that tend towards total autonomy
Where a few years earlier robots were content to vacuum floors randomly (at the risk of leaving certain parts of a room untreated), most models are real remedies against dirt. They are today equipped with LiDAR (or laser remote sensing) which allows them to map their interior; can recognize objects to avoid them in their mad dash for spotless floors using AI; are connected to an application to be controlled remotely… Some more high-end robot vacuum cleaners vacuum and wash at the same time. Don’t throw any more away!
“For the consumer, the objective is to relieve themselves of a restrictive household task. From now on, the promise of robot vacuum cleaners is being better and better fulfilled with autonomous machines which practically no longer require human intervention,” notes Cédric Sabatry, floor treatment product manager at Darty.
Implicitly, the arrival in France of Chinese manufacturers (Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Neato, etc.) is boosting the market, with expert devices with qualities already proven in Asia and at reduced prices.
Prices which vary from 100 to more than 1,500 euros
As a result, we now find robot vacuum cleaners on sale with prices varying from 100 euros for a basic one (suction only), to 1,500 euros for one that does everything (suction, washing, self-cleaning, etc.). ). Or even more.
“100 euros is the base price for a simple vacuum cleaner, without docking station, without mapping, but with technology that worked well… at one time,” confirms Cédric Sabatry. Interesting ? Not necessarily. Or to amuse the cat, because this type of vacuum cleaner risks quickly being disappointed, as its functions remain basic…
By betting 300 euros on the machine, you gain access to a vacuum cleaner with a laser rangefinder. The little robot will learn to know its environment, to pass (almost) everywhere, while its user will be able to define in an application the only parts that need to be cleaned, the frequency of passage, and the areas or obstacles to avoid ( such as carpets, pet bowls, etc.).
This is for example the case of the Rowenta X-Plorer Series 75 RR768WH, launched at 499 euros, but now sold below 300 euros. It is even possible to combine this model with a wet microfiber wipe for a small wash, but this is static and not vibrating.
At 300 euros, the first vacuum cleaners with an emptying station for dust are also on the horizon, such as the brand new Tapo RV20 Max Plus: once the cleaning is done, the device empties the accumulated dirt into a bag. At 400 euros, rotating mop models are emerging, with dust emptying station, clean/waste water tank, such as the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum X20 +. Good deal with the Freo from Narwal (promised by its manufacturer at 439 euros for Black Friday, instead of 599 euros!), a vacuum cleaner with water filling/emptying station and self-cleaning/self-drying mops…
Bulky devices that must be accepted
“Prices can go up to 1,500 euros for the most efficient models,” notes the floor treatment product manager at Darty. Latest example, the Roborock Qrevo Curv, a robot vacuum cleaner which seems to tick all the boxes, including that of suction and washing efficiency (sold for 1,499 euros, its price drops to 1,099 euros on occasion of Black Friday!). Its station with its rounded contours even has the luxury of a certain aesthetic!
Because it is not always easy to integrate these increasingly bulky machines into our interiors. “You have to accept an object that is not always aesthetic. But it is difficult to have the comfort of use, with a high-performance machine that you will only worry about every 3 weeks, and a beautiful product at a time,” agrees Cédric Sabatry. While waiting for more robot vacuum cleaners, like the Dreame water). An avenue for the future, undoubtedly.
This, however, does not exclude small human interventions (to clean the device regularly, replace its accessories, etc.).
Choosing between expectations and means
Hence the need, in addition to your budget, to carefully consider your needs between additional cleaning and complete cleaning. “You have to put the cursor between your expectations and your means. It’s a substantial investment, even very substantial,” confirms the Darty expert. And don’t forget that as advanced as it is, a robot vacuum cleaner does not yet climb the stairs, does not go under most furniture, needs time to work (2 hours for 100 m2, approximately), is limited in the corners and also needs to be maintained!
Related News :