Do you find yourself breaking a sweat every time you attempt to clean your whole house and all floors? You’re not alone! Cleaning can be such a laborious task that even the thought of it can make you want to curl up and hide. Then robot vacuums came to the rescue. But can these futuristic cleaning machines truly take on the daunting task of cleaning an entire house? Well, this is the perfect opportunity to sit back, relax, and let me give you the rundown on whether or not these little guys are up to the task.
Can A Robot Vacuum Clean The Whole House And All Floors?
A robot vacuum can clean the whole house without your manual intervention as long as you keep all doors open and the thresholds are lower than the robot vacuum’s climbing limit. On the other hand, while a robot vacuum can clean multiple floors, it needs your help during the process. How effectively a robot vacuum cleans multiple rooms and floors depends on its model, the navigation system, sensors, and the obstacles it might encounter during cleaning.
Can A Robot Vacuum Clean Multiple Rooms?
In general, robot vacuums can navigate and clean multiple rooms, as long as you keep the doors open between rooms and the threshold to a room does not exceed the height limit of the robot vacuum.
Most robot vacuums can climb up to 1.6 inches (or 4 cm) up a threshold. If your doors have thresholds that exceed this height limit, then the robot vacuum will not be able to pass through and clean multiple rooms.
Help A Robot Vacuum To Clean Multiple Rooms In One Session
Open floor plan
If you want your robot vacuum to clean multiple rooms in one session, one of the things you can do is keep all the doors open. Robot vacuums are designed to navigate their way around your home, and having clear access to every room will allow them to do just that.
By keeping doors open, you enable your robot vacuum to clean each room from start to finish without interruption. This is because robot vacuums rely on their sensors to detect and avoid obstacles, and shutting doors can create obstacles that could disrupt their cleaning cycle or even prevent them from entering a room entirely.
So, if you want to give your robot vacuum the best chance of cleaning multiple rooms in one go, keep all the doors open and let it do its thing.
Threshold
A threshold is any raised surface that a robot vacuum must cross in order to move from one room to another, such as a doorway or a raised carpet. Some robot vacuums have a maximum threshold height that they can cross, beyond which they may struggle or become stuck.
To avoid this, it’s important to choose a robot vacuum that can handle the height of your thresholds and monitor them closely during operation.
If you find that your robot vacuum is struggling to cross a threshold, there are a few options you can consider. One is to manually lift the robot over the threshold and place it in the next room. Alternatively, you can purchase a threshold ramp or remove the threshold altogether, depending on the material and layout of your floor.
Some samples of threshold ramps are VEVOR Door Threshold Ramp, EZ-Access Transitions Modular Aluminum Entry Ramp or the Ruedamann 1″ Rise Threshold Ramp with different colors can match your flooring.
Watch out for obstacles
Robot vacuums are designed to help you get the job done with minimal effort, but just like any other cleaning appliance they need some guidance. To help your robot vacuum clean multiple rooms efficiently, it’s important to take a few minutes to check for obstacles that could disrupt its cleaning cycle and prevent it from entering a room entirely.
High-end robot vacuums with advanced navigation system and sensors can detect obstacles and navigate around them. Still, it’s best to take a walk through each room before you let your robot vacuum loose to make sure there are no cords or furniture blocking its path.
Can A Robot Vacuum Clean Multiple Floors?
A high-end robot vacuum is able to map and save floor plans of multiple floors. It means that it can recognize each floor and clean effectively once it is on that floor.
With a low-end robot vacuum without the ability to save multiple floors, you can still make it clean multiple floors by picking it up and carrying it to the floor you want it to clean. However, without a saved floor plan, it is likely that your robot vacuum will run in a weird path on a new floor.
Unfortunately, robot vacuums are still unable to traverse between floors and cannot clean multiple floors without your manual intervention. This means that if you have multiple floors in your house, you will need to carry the robot vacuum up and down between them.
What About Cleaning The Whole House?
Robot vacuums are certainly capable of cleaning an entire house in one go. As long as the doors open between rooms and the thresholds don’t exceed the height limit of the robot vacuum, it should be able to clean with ease.
High-end models are equipped with sensors that allow them to detect the level of a surface and recognize when it has passed from one flooring to another.
Once the robot vacuum detects a change in the surface, it will adjust its cleaning pattern accordingly and start cleaning the new surface. This enables them to move from tiles to carpets and clean them efficiently.
However, if your house is too large and your robot vacuum has a small dustbin or battery, it may struggle to complete the task. In that case, you can split up your cleaning session into multiple smaller sessions by setting virtual boundaries around each room.
Tips For Using Robot Vacuums For Multiple Floors
Don’t interrupt your robot vacuum in the middle of cleaning a floor
Let your robot vacuum finishes its work on one floor before moving it to another as it can cause confusion and interrupt the cleaning pattern.
Map and save multiple floors
Allow your robot vacuum to map and save multiple floors as this will allow it to recognize each floor and clean them more efficiently.
Check for obstacles
Take a few minutes to check the route of your robot vacuum before you let it loose, as any unexpected obstacle can disrupt its cleaning cycle.
From tiles to carpets
High-end robot vacuums are able to detect changes in the flooring type and adjust their cleaning pattern accordingly. This allows them to clean tiles, carpets, and other types of surfaces with ease.
Split up your cleaning session
If you have a large house with multiple floors, it can be hard for your robot vacuum to complete the task in one go. Instead, split up your cleaning session into multiple smaller sessions by setting virtual boundaries around each room.
You can schedule your robot vacuum to clean the busiest area of your house on a daily basis and then have it clean other less frequently used floors on alternating days.
Frequently-Asked Questions
Do robot vacuums clean the whole house?
Yes, robot vacuums are capable of cleaning the whole house in one go – as long as they don’t run into any unexpected obstacles.
Are robot vacuums good for large houses?
Yes, robot vacuums are great for large houses. You can use virtual boundaries to split up your cleaning session into multiple smaller sessions and assign each one to a specific day of the week. This way, you can ensure that your entire house gets cleaned without overworking your robot vacuum.
Which robot vacuum is best for multiple floors?
Although robot vacuums are not able to traverse between floors, some high-end models are equipped with sensors that allow them to recognize each floor to clean them effectively. You can consider the mid-range model of Roomba or iRobot.
How long does it take a robot vacuum to clean a house?
On average, it takes a robot vacuum around 30 minutes to clean an area of 500 square feet. From there, the math gets easier. So if your house is 700 to 1,000 square feet, it takes 45 minutes to 1 hour for your robot vacuum to clean it. How long a robot vacuum takes to clean a house greatly depends on several factors.
If you know to know more, read my article: How Long A Robot Vacuum Takes To Clean A House: Tips To Speed It Up.
Conclusion
In conclusion, robot vacuums can clean multiple floors and the entire house with ease if they are equipped with the right sensors and features. With some preparation and extra care taken, your robot vacuum will be able to keep your home clean and tidy. Just make sure to check for obstacles and let it finish one floor before moving it to another, and you’ll be good to go!
