I was never fully into the whole robot vacuum trend. My old roommate bought one years ago, when the technology was in its infancy, and I spent more time getting it unstuck from furniture legs than it spent actually cleaning the apartment. I figured I could vacuum the entire (tiny) space myself in 10 minutes, so why bother?
However, last year my fiancé Nick and I moved out of said tiny apartment and into an actual house. I vacuumed our normal-sized living room approximately once before deciding a robot vacuum cleaner might be worth looking into again. So when ECOVACS asked if I’d like to try their new DEEBOT T80S OMNI — a robot vacuum and mop at a more accessible price point than their pro version — I decided to see if the technology had actually improved.
And let me tell you: it absolutely has.
DEEBOT T80S OMNI: First Impressions
We named our robot Marvin (Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy-heads will get it). From getting him out of the box to sending him on his way to map out our kitchen/living room space took all of 10 minutes. And for context, this room is a bit… tricky. There’s floorboards, a rug, tables, chairs, a couple boxes (we’re still unpacking) and an arm chair that we haven’t quite figured out what to do with, so it keeps getting moved around. Marvin mapped it all out in minutes. He was ready for his first clean.
We initially tried to get him going while watching a TV show, but found he was a little too noisy to run at the same time. So we hit pause, and set him to go overnight.
The next day, I woke up to a sparkling clean floor without having to do a thing. As a 30-something with a busy life and little appetite for cleaning, that’s basically the best gift you can give me on a Monday morning.
Let’s get technical for a second. The DEEBOT T80S OMNI promises the very best of ECOVACS’ advanced roller mopping technology, generating 3,000Pa of mopping pressure (up to 16 times stronger than traditional dual-plate systems) at a speed of up to 220 rpm. Its 24,800Pa of suction power is designed to suck up all the nasty stuff (dust, crumbs, rogue hair strands that appear EVERYWHERE) with minimal brush maintenance. Its ultra-slim 98mm profile, 1.5cm extended air cushion suspended roller and soft rubber support wheels let it get under furniture, into corners, and over “minor inconveniences” (up to 20mm wet or dry).
Cue the “okay a robot can get over minor inconveniences but I can’t” jokes.
Crucially, it can tell the difference between floor surfaces, big and small spills, and then cleans itself when it gets back to its little home. I fear Marvin has made me woefully unprepared for children, who notably do not clean themselves and are more likely to make the spills than clean them up.
I can start, pause and follow Marvin’s entire cleaning journey via an app… which brings me to my one gripe.
My One Grievance With The DEEBOT T80S OMNI
A few days after welcoming our new son Marvin into our home, we decided to run it during the day instead of overnight. I was working from home while Nick was in the office, waiting for me to pick up the last couple things from the living room before hitting the big shiny “start” button. (It’s not actually big and shiny, but it feels that way, you know?)
Suddenly, I heard my name being yelled. I jumped a mile. As it turns out, Marvin has a camera and voice function, and Nick used it to bully me (lovingly) from his office. I tried to bully him back, and that’s when I learned the voice function only works one way. He could roast me, but I couldn’t get him back.
Have you ever tried yelling at someone who’s laughing because they can’t hear you???? It is infuriating.
I flipped him the bird, but it’s not the same.
So that is my one teeny, tiny flaw with this otherwise perfect robot: I’m unable to yell back at my fiancé when he’s bullying me through a vacuum.
My Final Verdict On The ECOVACS DEEBOT T80S OMNI
I’m at a stage in life where I will pay for convenience and peace of mind. A clean home gives me peace of mind, but as one half of an ADHD couple household, I don’t always manage to keep it that way. I also get quickly frustrated with things that don’t work as they should. For both of these reasons, Marvin is perfect.
He helps keep my home clean (I’m MUCH more inclined to tidy when I know the floor is being cleaned), and it just… works. Marvin cleans himself after each use, empties his own water tank and dustbin, and sets himself to charge. All we have to do is keep the water tank filled, empty the dirty water tank occasionally, and empty the dustbin every couple months.
There’s a few features we haven’t tested out yet. Marvin can identify different zones in the house (great if you have a space separated by a couple stairs), have “no go zones”, and there’s something called “sentry mode”, which sounds wild.
At $1,799, it’s not the cheapest product on the market, but it is the more affordable end of ECOVACS’ offering, meaning you get access to the tech without paying for the top product. I would rather pay a bit more for a robot vacuum that requires almost no maintenance for a squeaky clean finish, than cheap out for one that gets stuck behind tables, accidentally mops my rug, and needs emptying after every go.
If for some inexplicable reason Marvin decided to leave us and venture out into the big wide world, I’d buy a replacement in a heartbeat… or at least, in one payday cycle. I’m not made of money.
Image: Sex And The City / ECOVACS
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