Even though they have grown in popularity in the past few years, smart robot vacuums are still considered to be a luxury device. However, as smart home devices continue to rise in popularity, so does the likelihood that you’ll own a smart robot vacuum.
This is especially true for robot vacuums that work well with other smart home products. The Ecovacs Deebot R95, for instance, integrates with Amazon Alexa with no problems. This device offers smart vacuuming, mopping, and drying abilities. Let’s take a closer look at the Ecovacs Deebot R95, and see just what this robot vacuum has to offer.
Design
If you have any familiarity with smart vacuums, then the Deebot R95 will be easily recognizable. Similar to its predecessors, the R95 is a round, sleek little robot vacuum. It offers a low profile, which lets it navigate low sitting furniture like beds or couches.
On the front of the device, you’ll find a sensor that lets the R95 detects objects and obstacles in its way. It also gives the robot the ability to map out your home, room by room.
One of the few drawbacks to the R95 is that its round design prevents the vacuum from getting into and cleaning edges and corners. The route design prevents it from doing so. To make up for this, the Deebot R95 uses large brushes on both sides to sweep the corners and edges of each room.
The dustbin sits under the lid on top and is intuitive and easy to pull out, dump, and put back into the vacuum. You’ll get a cleaning brush with the robot in the case that you need to remove any extra debris or dirt that might be stuck inside the device.
The bottom of the R95 has two connectors that it uses for charging and docking when needed. You’ll also find a section that allows you to attach the wet/dry mopping system as well as the large brush and suction portion of the vacuum.
Setup, Settings, and Cycles
In order to set up your Deebot R95 robot vacuum, you’ll need to download and install the Deebot mobile application. It’s available on both the iOS and Android marketplaces. The smartphone application will take you through the registration and setup process, which will then let you make any necessary adjustments to the settings.
After you’ve gone through the first couple of steps, the guide will ask you to map out the cleaning areas the R95 will be covering. This is a simple step, and all you need to do is select the “auto” option, and let the R95 roam through your homing, creating a map as it goes.
You can watch the robot as it navigates throughout your home, working out its movements and measuring its progress. Watching the R95 developing its map will give you a better idea of exactly what the robot vacuum sees as it goes through its initial run.
You’ll want to clear as many areas as possible of obstacles and obstructions so the R95 can get an accurate reading of the layout of your home. If it bumps into an object, it will think it cannot clean that area, and won’t add it to its map. Tidying up your home as much as possible will make it easier for the R95 to follow the same path each time it cleans.
Cleaning and Mapping
The Deebot R95 does a good job of detecting obstacles and mapping your home. It does have a few problems with how it handles lower obstructions, but eventually, it rights itself and continues on its path.
As mentioned previously, the sensors on the front of the R95 allow the vacuum to create a map of each room, which allows it to navigate throughout without bumping into everything. The mapping process is very efficient and effective. Even if a room has previously been mapped, the R95 will identify the object and move around it.
Deebot does recommend that you block off any areas where you think the robot vacuum may get wedged or stuck. This might be areas like in your closet, or under gaps in cabinets and drawers. Basically anywhere the R95 might be able to get in, but not get back out again.
Of course one of the primary advantages of owning a robot vacuum is so that it will clean areas where your upright typically can’t go. What’s the point of owning one if you discover that you are constantly needing to move furniture out of the way?
When you have a robot vacuum, you just need to ensure that the device has enough room to get underneath, then get back out without a lot of trouble. The Deebot R95 does exactly what it needs to, as it slips underneath beds and low-sitting furniture to get to areas that you can’t typically reach.
Of course one of the biggest drawbacks to robot vacuums is their inability to clean stairs. The Deebot R95 navigates steep drops and stairs exactly as a robot vacuum should. It notices and senses steep drop-offs and edges, then moves away from them as needed.
Power and Performance
A nice feature that the Deebot R95 offers is its noise levels. The R95 is a reasonably quiet machine, especially when compared to upright vacuums. It’s so quiet you may not even know it’s running. Of course, as with many robot vacuums, the R95 has a do-not-disturb setting that will keep the device from starting a cleaning cycle during specific times.
Part of the problem with quiet robot vacuums is that they don’t have the power required to get the same suction as a standard upright vacuum. This means that you’re running your vacuum twice as often to get the same clean you might get with your upright.
You will be pleasantly pleased with the amount of power the Deebot R95 put out though. When emptying the dustbin, you’ll discover that it’s nearly always full of the dirt and debris it has collected during its cleanings. The R95 is capable of cleaning up tissues, small pieces of cardboard, and even a pile of porcelain, which you wouldn’t expect.
The only real problem with the Deebot’s suction power is its ability to pick up pet hair. Even with multiple passes over a small pile of hair, the R95 is unable to pick up all of it. Outside of this though, the R95 has fantastic sucking power.
Another benefit you’ll like about the Deebot R95 robot vacuum is that it comes with multiple cleaning modes. You can activate the “auto” mode by simply pressing the button on top of the R95, or by accessing it through the mobile app. The auto cleaning mode tells the vacuum that you want it to start on a typical cleaning cycle.
When your Deebot R95 is in “auto” mode, the robot vacuum will follow a determined path throughout the room, then go from room to room throughout the house until everything is cleaned.
If the R95 determines that it needs to recharge while it’s in the middle of its cleaning cycle, it stops and heads to its charger. Then it remembers where it last cleaned, and picks up right where it left off. You’ll notice how closely the R95 sticks to its path by the track lines in your carpets, much the same way you notice the wheel lines in your lawn after you mow.
You can set auto mode to run on a schedule if need be. Use the app to tell the R95 what day(s) and what time to run a cleaning. If you want to run one every day, you can. It’s probably a good idea to have it run at least once a week since you’re likely to produce results similar to what you see with traditional uprights.
Additional modes are available as well. After the floors have been mapped out, you can have the R95 clean a particular area. This mode lets you set specific sections of your home and have the robot vacuum clean only those specific areas. You can also select a spot mode option, which you use to clean up small spills. Spot mode lets you choose a particular spot on the map and have the R95 clean that one point.
Mopping
The Ecovacs Deebot R95 smart robot vacuum does a good job of picking up dirt and debris from your carpet and hardwood floors. However, the R95 offers an additional feature as well. With its advanced wet/dry mopping option, you can have the R95 not only vacuum but mop your floors as well.
The R95’s mopping system is easy enough to use. You’ll see a mopping reservoir that came with the robot vacuum in the box. Connecting the reservoir to the underside of the R5, filling it with water, and attaching the cleaning cloth will give it the components it needs to start a mopping cycle.
The mopping system works by allowing one side to remain dry while the other side wets the cleaning cloth. As a result, the R95 robot vacuum uses the wet cloth to mop the floor, then uses the dry side to dry it as it goes back by.
Unfortunately, the premise is much better than the actual execution. Unfortunately, you can only put water in the reservoir. Detergent or soap will ruin the components of the R95, so then you could achieve the same result by rubbing a damp cloth over your floor. Still, at least you don’t have to do the mopping yourself.
Mobile Application and Smart Home Integration
As previously mentioned, the Deebot R95 has a companion smartphone application that you can download from either the iOS or Android marketplaces. You can use the app to control your R95, start a cleaning cycle when not at home, or view the progress of the vacuum as it goes about its business. You can also set it to any of the previously mentioned modes when needed: auto, area, and spot cleaning.
You can also set up virtual walls within the map created by your robot vacuum. This tells the R95 that you don’t want a specific area cleaned. You can use the walls feature if there are specific rooms that have low-sitting furniture which the robot may get stuck under.
The smartphone app also lets you control the R95, much the same way you might control an RC race car. It enables you to change the direction of the robot vacuum and control its movements throughout your home. You also have the ability to schedule your cleaning cycles, as well as see a record of the cleanings that have been performed.
In addition to all the functionality already mentioned for the Deebot R95, it’s also compatible with Google Home and Amazon Alexa. Set up is simple and straightforward and just requires a few additional steps from either the Google or Amazon stores.
Once you’re all set up, you can have your Deebot R95 follow simple tasks via your Google Home or Amazon Alexa. You can start and stop cleanings, as well as tell it to return to its charging station via your home assistant.
Additionally, this feature offers a voice reporting system from the robot itself which lets you know things like when the robot needs emptying or if there’s a problem during a routine cleaning. Of course, if you don’t want to listen to the robot, there’s always the option to turn the voice functionality off.
Pros and Cons
Now that we’ve taken a closer look at what the Ecovacs Deebot R95 has to offer let’s do a quick review of the pros and cons of the robot vacuum. This will give you a better idea of what the R95 does well, and where it could improve.
Pros
- Easy to set up and use
- Great mapping ability
- Senses objects and obstacles
- Several cleaning modes
- Smart home assistant integration
- Auto docking and charging
Cons
- May encounter problems with app connectivity
- Mopping feature is not as thorough as one would expect
Verdict
The Ecovacs Deebot R95 is a solid robot vacuum for cleaning around the house and offers a variety of features that come in handy. Its mapping technology is a great benefit, and the R95 easily detects and maneuvers around obstacles as it goes about its cleaning routine.
It’s also nice that the R95 is able to integrate with smart home assistants which allow it to be voice controlled. Compared to other robot vacuums on the market today, the Deebot R95 is more than capable of handling the everyday vacuuming duties required of it.
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