A colleague asked me what cleaning job to buy. Instead of "Chinese" I recommended him Roomba

Marek, my good friend, some time ago he asked me what cleaning job he should buy. As his budget was about PLN 2,000, he wanted to choose the often recommended Roborock S50. I convinced him that Roomba e5 would be a better choice.

Looking through the reviews on the topic of automatic vacuum cleaners you can come across a lot of people recommending Xiaomi equipment. This is due to the first-generation Xiaomi model, which was characterized by a considerable cleaning efficiency and at the same time costing only PLN 1,200.

It is worth remembering, however, that this robot was available for a long time only in Chinese stores, which did not particularly care about paying VAT to the Polish budget. As a curiosity, I will add that the Polish distributor initially determined the price of this model at PLN 1799. Let this show the scale of "savings" we are talking about. Nevertheless, many people compared it with equipment whose prices already contained all taxes, mainly with the most popular iRobot equipment available in Polish stores.

What's more, it was geek equipment. He had several disqualifying defects from the point of view of a person not particularly interested in new technologies. First of all, after getting out of the box, the robot communicated with us in Chinese. Secondly, to perform its configuration, it was necessary to use a not very thoughtful application. And thirdly, if such a robot broke down, in practice it could not be returned for a guarantee. The user was sentenced only to himself or an unauthorized service.

But let's go back to my friend's story.

As the Xiaomi robot enjoyed great popularity, it was also recommended its successor - Roborock S50. When someone was looking for a robot, a shout of thousands of throats recommending Roborock poured from forums and Facebook groups. Many of these people did not even have any cleaning robot, but they heard that Xiaomi is doing good equipment. By the way, it perfectly shows how most opinions work on the Internet.

However, Roborock must be given back, that he is dominating the rest of the competition on paper. It has a huge suction power, mapping system and the possibility of wet cleaning. Reviewing the technical specification, one can come to the conclusion that it is better than the most expensive Roomba robots, which by the way costs only a fraction of their price. This is a typical practice used by Chinese manufacturers who take advantage of the fact that we can not test the product ourselves. Sam from time to time I order from China next smartphones, which according to technical parameters are to pierce the entire market competition, but in practice they turn out to be dramatically weak.

In the case of the Roborock, the S50 is not bad, but it is not as good as its users think. I know it because I am its owner. To find out, just turn it over and compare it with Roomba e5 available at a similar price. Roborock S50 is equipped with one brush with bristles, and Roomba with two rubber rollers. And although it may seem like a small difference, it changes everything.

Two rubber brushes allow for similar efficiency at lower power and lower noise levels. What's more, they are less likely to haul cables and laces. However, I appreciate the fact that they are very easy to clean. Most vacuum cleaners need maintenance every few weeks. They require scraping dirty hair, cutting them, and you can be sure that you can never make the brush look like new. Rubber rollers are more elegant, so you only need to clean them every few months, and the process takes up to several minutes.

A common argument for buying a Roborock S50 is the fact that it can clean wet. Well, I also tested this function and in my opinion the more accurate term is "can spread the dirt on the floor". It is, moreover, the fault of probably all vacuuming robots with the function of mopping. I have not seen a single device that performs both of these activities well.

I will not say a bad word about the way Roborock moves, because this one is nicer than in Roomba e5. The Chinese product while driving creates a map of the cleaned building and thus drives more regularly. Remember, however, that the idea is that the vacuum cleaner should drive in the flat above all when no one is in it. So let him drive as he wants to clean up effectively.

And in this respect Roomba e5 is doing well too, because its navigation system allows 98 percent coverage. cleaned surface. Also, he makes the robot in almost every place at least three times at different angles. This extends the cleaning time and improves its quality.

The mapping function is useful mainly in very large flats with an area larger than 100 square meters or with a very complicated layout. If you do not have such a place, you simply do not need mapping in the world and it is not worth paying extra to a robot equipped with it. And if you have a specific budget for a robot, you should choose equipment with a higher quality. And that's what I advised my friend.

However, this is not all. Support is also at a different level.

If we buy a robot in China, we can not count on any service. Unless we want to pay over PLN 100 for sending the device to another continent and wait for it for weeks or months. If we buy equipment in Poland, the situation looks correct. We can exercise our rights, but do not count on any fireworks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjPfP_k46Jw&list=PLgYkEVPJdjfHpd0i5r0eGO3zskOiimGsO

This is completely different in the case of iRobot. Depending on the type of fault and user's skills, the distributor can repair the vacuum cleaner or quickly send spare parts and help in self-repair. On the iRobot channel we can see instructional videos explaining in a simple way how to replace sensitive parts.

In the case of Chinese vacuum cleaners it looks different. One of my friends suggested to me some time ago that when ordering my own Xiaomi, I would immediately buy spare parts for it, so that it could be repaired in the future. If this advice falls during the purchase of the equipment, then something is obviously wrong. Add to this the problems mentioned above at the beginning of the text with the configuration of the Chinese robot and a less intuitive and vulnerable application . This does not sound good, right?

Why do I recommend Roomba e5 instead of Roborock S50?

All the above-mentioned features make Roborock S50 a device for fans of new technologies who like Xiaomi products, regardless of whether it is a pen, powerbank or smartphone. People who appreciate great specification, a lot of features and good value for money. Users who, if necessary, can cope with the failure of the robot and do not need help from the manufacturer. I used to be such a person myself and I understand this approach very well, however, as my age, my range of free time drastically diminished. That's why I'm putting on peace now and I'm buying better quality items.

I realize that the vacuum cleaner is used primarily by ordinary people, not the maniacs of new technologies. And thus, the cleaning robot must be carefully thought out and as little problem as possible, even at the price of a few bells. That's why in recent years I have persuaded some close people to buy iRobot equipment, and so far no one would blame me. In part, thanks to this, I finally understood that not everything can be described only by means of a list of functions and dry numbers in the specification, and theoretically inferior equipment can be all the better.

A colleague asked me what cleaning job to buy. Instead of "Chinese" I recommended him Roomba