How to maintain a robot vacuum cleaner? (13 Expert Tips!)

It doesn’t matter how expensive or smart appliance you purchased, every appliance needs some level of maintenance. Similarly, smart robotic vacuum cleaners also deserve regular maintenance.

It will be a waste of your money when a working robot vacuum or other appliances stop working because of a lack of maintenance and care.

So, you might think about how to maintain a robot vacuum cleaner? Well, stay with us.

Contents

Table of contents

Why Maintenance of your Robot Vacuum is Important?

Routine maintenance might eat up much of your time, but many components require regular care and maintenance.

Over time, filters need attention, and sensors accumulate dust. Hairs and string are nemeses of wheels and casters. Filters and side brushes are the key components that need to replace periodically.

If all its components are not working fine, then your floor might not vacuum effectively. If filters are not working correctly, captured dust and dirt may spread over the floor again.

Similarly, if the brush is not replaced or not working correctly, then the vacuum may not capture dust and other small particles.

Now, you understand how important is to keep the health good of the components of your unit. Maintenance of your smart robotic cleaner can increase its working life. You can find out how to maintain your model in a good working condition through this maintenance guide.

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How To Maintain A Robot Vacuum Cleaner - SmartHousesTech

Here are the best 13 Tips on How To Maintain A Robot Vacuum Cleaner:

1. Preparing Your Home

Robot Vacuums are supposed to work automatically, but they can be stuck between household items. So, you might not want to clear its path again and again so the robot can work correctly.

The right environment is very important for your automatic cleaner so it can do its job effectively. Whenever you will start a cleaning session, we recommend preparing your room first. Preparing the room will prove as an effective activity for your robot and for you.

For preparing your room we suggest:

Pick up toys and other scattered items from the floor.
Pick up stray socks (if there any)
Move wires off the floor, you can tape them to a baseboard.

These are the items that can damage a robot vacuum. While larger items cannot be suctioned into the vacuum’s inlet. The robot will maneuver around large particles to continue its route.

2. When the Robot Gets Stuck

Maintenance of a smart robot - SmartHousesTech

Robot vacuums seem to work automatically, but sometimes they do not work flawlessly. You can expect it to get stuck somewhere in your room. It can be stuck under furniture, with wires, or other items present on the floor.

If your robot gets stuck, try to pull it out from where it stuck and avoid it from tugging there again by lifting items.

3. Empty the Bin

The dirt bin is the most important component of any robotic vacuum cleaner. This is the reason the dirt bin requires the most maintenance. Thankfully, it does not take much time to keep the container in working order.

For taking care of the trash container, you need to empty it whenever it gets full. Whenever the container gets full, stop the cleaning session to empty it. Usually, you need to empty the container once a day.

Like traditional vacuums, a smart vacuum cleaner can clog if you do not keep the container empty. To avoid happening this, clean the trash container frequently.

Sometimes you may notice the captured dust and dirt will build upon the sides of the container. Whenever this happens or noticed any dust around the container, wipe down the interior with a wrung cloth.

When you will clean the interior of the cleaner, make sure its container is dry before you put it back in the robot.

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4. Filters are also important

Just like trash containers, filters are also the most important components of any robot vacuum. Filter plays a significant role in how well your unit can perform. Filters help vacuum to keep the dirt and other particles inside of the trashcan.

If the filter is not working correctly, or it is dirty, the vacuum must work harder to suction debris. If so, the filter might not trap all the dirt or allergens particles. It will cause these particles to escape into the air.

Unlike traditional full-size vacuums, you may not wash the robotic cleaner’s filters. To clean up the filter of your unit, you can follow these steps:

Open the dirt bin of your model
Now remove the filter from bin
After removing, you can shake off the dirt
You can also use a can of compressed air to blow off the dirt.

As discussed above, filters are the components of a vacuum that need to be replaced. So, no matter how often you clean the filter; you need to replace it periodically. Every model has a unique lifespan of its filters. Usually, the lifespan of a filter is around 3 months to 1 year.

5. Clean the Sensors

Sensors help a robot vacuum cleaner in multiple ways. It helps to navigate the room, create a map, to avoid random strikes, and to avoid falling down it from stairs. Your unit can work safely if the sensors are working fine.

Keeping the sensors dust-free can prove much effective for your unit. It will prevent navigation and performance problems. So, we always recommend keeping a habit to dirt off the sensing elements.

Maintenance of Robot Vacuum Cleaner - SmartHousesTech

Every model has its sensor locations. To find where sensors are installed in your model, check out the manufacturer’s manual. To clean the sensors, follow these steps:

Take a microfiber cloth
Lightly wet the cloth with water
And wipe the sensors with it.

Please avoid rough cloth or harsh chemicals. It can cause scratches on the sensors.

6. Untangle the Brush roll

Usually, smart robot vacuums come with a brush roll. It is wise to examine brush roll once a day to make sure there are no pieces of string or hair wound around the bar if your model has any. You can ensure it whenever you will empty the trash container.

So, how to remove hair from the vacuum wheel?

If it collected hair around the brush roll, they impede the brush roll’s rotational movement. If it happens, brush roll will unable to lift the debris into the filter and its motor can cause overheating.

Some models come with modern new technologies and techniques which keep the bar and bristles free of hair. You might need to do it yourself manually if your unit has not had these features. You can cut the wound string and hair with a pair of scissors.

7. Dust the Side Brushes

Side brushes increase the cleaner’s reach and help it capture dust from tight corners. Some models have one side brush while a few models come with two side brushes.

However, you may need to replace these side brushes frequently because they do not design these brushes to last longer. It may last around 3 months. But do not worry, these brushes are cheap and easy to replace. While replacing, these side brushes deserve much care just like other components.

Side brushes get dirty quickly while sweeping, just because these are the components that are in direct contact with debris.

You can remove most of the sand from side brushes by cleaning them with clean water. To do so, detach the side brushes first, and make sure they are dry before you reattach them back.

8. Unclog the Wheels

Mostly, hair has a knack for winding around the brush roll. This causes clogging of the suction inlet. Human hair, pet hair, and string can cause trouble in the movement of your unit. Because it can wind up with wheels of it.

It is best to make a habit of checking if there is pet hair are any string around wheels whenever emptying the dustbin. If you see a buildup of hair, you can free it using any scissor or a pocket knife. Use a dry cloth to wipe for a better clean-up after removing the hair.

If you feel the wheels of your unit are dirty more than usual, then it is best to detach them and clean them completely. You can detach the wheels with a screwdriver. After cleaning the wheels, you can attach them back with the screwdriver.

9. Update the Software

Smart devices use very special algorithms to keep working smoothly. These algorithms also help them understand user behavior and change their settings accordingly.

Occasionally, the software of any smart product model needs to be updated. It smartens the algorithms. This ultimately helps the robot to work better.

Smart robotic vacuum cleaners with WiFi capabilities update the software automatically if we connect these to a network connection. Update the mobile app also, if there is any.

You can also update the software of no-WiFi Robo vacuums by connecting the robot with your PC with a USB cable. Visit the manufacturer’s website periodically to check for released updates.

10. Charging the Battery

The run time of your unit depends on the capacity of its battery. Other factors are the suction power and cleaning mode. Lithium-ion batteries last longer with fewer charging cycles.

Every electronic device which has a built-in battery needs to be kept in use to keep its battery healthy. So, after recharging the battery try to do a cleaning session to keep battery cells healthy.

If your robot has a lithium-ion battery, then to increase its lifespan:

Fully charge it before the first use
Try to keep the battery percentage between 20 to 80%
And fully drain to 0% once in a month

If your unit has a nickel-based battery, then let the battery completely drain occasionally and recharge it to 100 percent.

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11. Replacing the Battery

Batteries are famous to lose their performance. With passaging time, cells of batteries degrade. You can follow the steps provided in the previous step. It will increase the lifespan of your model’s battery significantly.

If your model has a shorter runtime than before then it’s time to buy a new battery for it. Stick with very reliable OEM batteries.

12. Storing the Robot

Sometimes you may feel to store your robot vacuum for a few weeks. This may happen when you are preparing for a vacation.

If your model has a vacation mode, then you won’t need to detach the battery. You can simply set the vacation mode on and store your robot. But if there is no vacation mode then follow these steps:

First, recharge the battery
Now detach the battery from the unit
Store your robot in a cool and dry room
Avoid storing at extreme cold or extreme hot temperature (this can ruin electronic components as well as battery lifespan)
Block the battery and robot from direct sunlight

When you come back from vacation, it is easy to get ready for the robot ready for action. All you need to remove it from storage, attach the battery, recharge it, and then let the robot clean your floors until the battery dies. A final full charge will put all the operations back on track.

13. Read the Manual

In this maintenance guide, we try to give you general tips and recommendations on the maintenance of a robot vacuum cleaner. Every robot vacuum cleaner is unique. To get a detailed maintenance guide specifically for your model, read the manual that came with your robot. These manuals also contain battery-care information and part-removal and cleaning directions.

Conclusion

The best way to keep maintained any electronic device is to use it regularly with a small level of maintenance. Smart Robot Devices deserve extra concern and maintenance than other electronic devices. Because vacuums have to deal with smart home dust and other debris directly.

Although smart vacuums have smart filters, still, there are chances of vacuums dirtying themselves. So, try to keep your robot vacuums in excellent condition with regular attention. You can do a little maintenance whenever you empty its trash container.

We hope this maintenance guide has proved helpful for you. If so, sharing it with your friends will be great.

SmartHousesTech works hard to provide people with the best solutions regarding home automation. We aim to make this information simple so that everyone can adopt some level of automation into their homes.