The whole package is great quality, with a nice eco friendly box housing the vac itself, the plug and charging stand, a cleaning tool, 4 sets of brushes, remote control, spare filter and some manuals to help you get set up. PLEASE NOTE, for some reason Eufy do not include the required 2 x AAA batteries for the remote - a curious omission but I suspect this is down to carrier exclusions for domestic batteries?
With this out of the way, the unit itself is a lot bigger than I expected it to be - Iâd say itâs around the same size as a very large dinner plate and is just the right height to get under most TV stands and sofas which are propped up on wooden legs (like Italian sofas). The remote is comfortable to use but one thing I would perhaps look to improve is to have a backlight on the display as it can be difficult to read in lower light.
Set up is simple, attach two of the four supplied brushes,press the power key and it will start making its way around the room. Eufy do say it will need a full charge before use but if youâre like me and canât wait to give it a go - it has some charge out of the box.
The first thing youâll notice is just how quiet it is - it just goes about itâs business with minimal fuss and can be left roaming around a room by itself by using the pre programmed cleaning cycles on the remote. Once itâs finished it is easy to empty and you simply press the âHomeâ key and the vac magically makes its way back to the dock and pops itself on charge. Despite having the vac for over two weeks now, I never get tired of the feature! The cleaning modes are;
- Auto - this is as youâd imagine, press the button and the vac will clean the entire room corner to corner until completed
- Edge to edge - this will make the vac move around the edges of the room, including scrubbing under skirting boards. Great if you have pets!
- Intensive - this will make the vac operate in one spot - e.g. a corner - and itâs great fun to watch the vac doing pirouettes as it goes about its business
- Max - this gives a thorough, full power deep clean on carpets and floors. It does make the vac a little louder but itâs not the same as a larger vac.
The vac works by having sensors around itâs edge and there is a large plastic âbumperâ at the front which means when the vac bumps into skirting boards or doors, it will then turn around and move to the next part of the room. However, when cleaning edges, it bumps then swivels the brushes back in to give a good clean all round. More impressively, I deals with undulating floors brilliantly. For example, we have made our kitchen into one large room by knocking down three walls - this has meant we currently have areas where the main floor is lower than the old laminate (we have kept it down whilst continuing work so as not to spoil the new flooring).
The vac has self levelling rear wheels which can deal with uneven terrain, therefore it can drop one wheel and itâs brushes onto the lower part of the floor, whilst still cleaning the laminate which is to the higher side. Once it gets to the end of the run, it quickly gets itself out of the small dip and just continues its cleaning. Excellent.
As for the most important part, suction and whether it actually cleans your surfaces - yes it does this admirably. Of course, it wonât compete with the very best of the vacuum cleaner world, but this is not what it is trying to do. Used daily as intended, this will keep carpets and floors free of dust and dirt - obviously thicker carpets are a struggle but in any other scenario I was very impressed. Our floors always look clean now and pet hair is kept to a minimum. Be aware if your cat/dog is in their later years and loses fur rapidly, then obviously this will need emptying more than often. The cleaner can last 1.5 hours on one full charge with no loss of power and I can attest to this. It takes around 5 hours from an empty battery to completely recharge.
Those worried about the vac dropping off stairs need not worry, it has really good sensor placement and therefore will just turn around when it reaches a drop and carry on cleaning. However, in the event of an emergency (if you can call it that!), the vac will emit a series of beeps to let you know itâs in trouble. For example, it got stuck on the Sky HD dish cables under the TV stand and was beeping continuously until it got my attention. Similarly, it can easily get confused under a table and chairs so it will need picking up to be re-positioned if this is the case. You can also use the direction buttons to control the vac manually - you can also start/stop using the manual button if needed.
So far, so good. However, in future iterations I would love to see the following improvements;
- Mobile/tablet compatibility. I realise this adds expense, however, currently if you lose the remote, you also lose functionality in the vac. Similarly if the batteries run out there is no way to control the vac properly
- With the above in mind, a rechargeable remote may be a good idea but this is a desirable rather than a must
Apart from the above, there is nothing else I could find fault with. This is great value for money and truly is a time saver - it allows me to get on with editing video whilst this does its thing around the house. The filter is also very easy to empty and is easily replaceable.
By far one of the best things weâve ever had in our home and well worth the recommendation.
(If youâd like to see it in action my YouTube video is here https://youtu.be/XHF2y7RwT2o)
