Neato Botvac D75 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Review

If there is one job in my house that I loathe, its vacuuming. Actually add to that list ironing too, but at least you can watch a film whilst you do that. Vacuuming to me is a thankless and tedious task, and anything that makes life a little easier when it comes to jobs like this, is something to try out I think. Technology in the vacuum industry seems to have progressed so much in the last 5 years. With cordless and Robot Vacuum cleaners being two areas I’ve seen much of the progress. I’ve been asked to try out and review a Robot Vacuum cleaner. They are the ones that you leave to do your vacuuming for you. Well this in itself I was excited to try, one less job for me!

he model I tried was from the Neato range -D75. Neato robot vacuum’s use the company’s patented Neato Botvision™ technology which combines laser scanning, room mapping like Google’s self-driving car and real-time object detection to plan the best course to clean a home. Cool huh?

Neato Botvac D75 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Set up

Set up was Tall Dad’s job, and you can imagine how quickly he volunteered for that job! It described as quick and pain-free, and the box contained really clear diagrams and instructions to follow.

There are two protective films that need to be taken off the robot and base, you then plug the cord into the charge base, open up the dirt bin to press the battery on/off switch. The next step is to find a suitable place for your robot. This means clearing 1 metre to the front, left and right of the unit, at a available socket. Next up is charging, you must do this for 12 hours before you use it.

Neato Botvac D75 Robot Vacuum Cleaner use in our home

We have tried it in lots of areas of our home now. I have been reviewing it for two weeks, so that I could give a thorough review. It in actual fact works for us upstairs the best, as we can turn it on, and let it do its thing. Downstairs however we have several very tall thresholds which it can’t get over to move to the next room. Another observation for our home, is that rather than set it up to do a clean at say 12 pm every day, it worked better for us, to manually set it to clean. I think with small children and a dog, I tended to spend 5 minutes beforehand picking up items, and moving the dogs water bowls out-of-the-way when I needed to vacuum, I would do this anyway, so no different there really. Not necessarily the way for everyone, but it worked best for us.

The other very neat thing is you can set up boundary markers, which are areas you don’t want the Robo Vac to go over. When we used the D75 upstairs this was great for the stairs.

Neato Botvac D75 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Overall Efficiency

We all found it fascinating to watch, it really had the novelty factor. Most importantly though, it did clean well. Close to the edges and it definitely covered all of the areas we wanted it to, navigated things like shoes, chairs and the dog (yes really) but also cleaned all the way under the sofas and beds….Hurrah! It worked well on wooden, tiled and carpeted floors. I didn’t notice a difference in performance on any of those surfaces.

The Patented laser-guided technology scans and maps the room, it forms a plan to then methodically clean. It moves from room to room once the other one is finished. Its an upgraded model with a 50% larger brush, big dirt bin, extra-large filter, and a edge cleaning brush pick up more dirt and debris. I love that once its completed the task, it then takes itself back to the charging dock.

A Neato robot vacuum is truly a ‘bot with a brain,’ said Giacomo Marini, Neato’s chairman and CEO. “Neato knows where it’s been, where it’s going and how to navigate an entire house. No other robot vacuum has this kind of intelligence. The addition of a Neato to a home means one more task can be taken off the household chore list, leaving the owner with the gift of time to do other things.

By: Amanda Cottingham / theanamumdiary.co.uk

Neato Botvac D75 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Pros And Cons

Pros of the Neato Botvac D75 Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Auto-Scheduling: The Botvac D75 can be scheduled to operate automatically at times convenient around the house, when everyone is out, when the dog is being walked, or when the weekend is over. Whatever your settings, if you see the need for a quick clean, just press the big blue start button on the top, pop it by the mess and it will clear a square area around that location.

Laser Navigation Generally Works: The scanning system will avoid bumping into your furniture or valuables, or you can use boundary markers, magnetic strips that will mark certain rooms or areas of a room off limit to the bot.

Auto-Recharge: Once it needs power it makes a beeline back to base and will wiggle back onto the dock to charge up before setting off again.

Beefed Up Suction Power: Even in the D75 version, cleaning is excellent, with the device offering excellent suction. A new SpinFlow system offers a decent jump on last year’s models, and it could probably blow most other brands into the yard. Just keep the bin, and the brushes clean and it should maintain a high level of efficiency.

Cons of the Neato Botvac D75 Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Noise: The D75 may have powerful suction, but that does mean it is rather noisy. These new models are a little quieter than previous editions, but are far free the peace and quiet we generally think of in a smart home. Sure, that’s why you can program it to run when you’re out, but when you first test the unit, it does seem disconcertingly noisy.

Still Bumps Into Furniture Sometimes: Despite the lasers, it can hit the odd bit of furniture, and anything delicate may get knocked off by the bulk of the cleaner, so be careful to keep an eye on the D75 during its first few missions and cordon off any suspect areas.

Watch Out for Small Toys! You might definitely consider cordoning off any children’s rooms as it can happily eat up quite large pieces of toy. On the plus side you can give your children a stern warning that the robot cleaner will come to eat their toys, if they don’t tidy up.

Still a Smaller Dust Bin Compared to Traditional Vacs: Finally, as with most robot vacuums, the bin is still a bit on the small side, half the area of our traditional old upright. That means it makes more sense to run daily runs, but that could help wear it out faster, which I guess is something the makers would want to sell more parts and accessories.

Neato Botvac D75 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Features

Patented laser-guided technology scans and maps the room, plans, and methodically cleans, automatically moving from room to room. 50% larger brush, bigger-is-better dirt bin, extra large filter, and precise edge cleaning brush pick up more dirt and debris. Schedule daily cleanings or push a button for instant multi-room or spot cleaning. Automatically goes back to charge base, then returns to where it left off.

Neato Botvac D75 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Specifications

Product Dimensions

• Length 32.1 cm (12.7 in)
• Width 33.5 cm (13.2 in)
• Height 10 cm (3.9 in)
• Weight 4.1 kg (9 lbs)

Technical

• Battery NiMH (nickel metal hydride)
• Charger Voltage 110V, 220V

Warranty Terms

• Robot 1 Year Limited
• Battery 6 Month Limited
• Available for Purchase
• Accessories Available for Purchase

from Home Improvementer //
Neato Botvac D75 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Review