There are some jobs you have to do, some jobs you want to do – and then there’s vacuuming. That’s a job you can easily automate and cross off your to-do list. The Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo N8+ is a robot vacuum cleaner with a host of features that will give you hands-free floor cleaning for up to a month.
The N8+ will vacuum, mop, avoid areas that you don’t want it to clean and even detect whether it’s on carpet or hard flooring and alter its vacuuming power. But the icing on the cake is that it empties itself, so you can set a cleaning schedule, forget about it and come home to clean floors every day – without lifting a finger.
The N8+ has a self-emptying bin
One of the N8+’s key features is its charging dock, which doubles as a dustbin. When the robot vacuum has finished its clean, it’ll automatically return to the dock and empty its bin into a 2.5 litre bag in the dock’s tower, which only needs to be changed every 30 days.
This is great not only for busy people but also for those who suffer from a sensitivity to dust. The self-emptying system uses powerful suction to get the dirt out of the vacuum cleaner, which means you’ll never have to poke around removing dust and fluff from the bin.
And, because it’s a bagged system, it’ll protect you when it’s time to empty it. The hypo-allergenic bag will seal itself when you remove it, so you won’t get a dust cloud in the face when it’s discarded.
Replacement bags are inexpensive and available from Ecovacs and other retailers, including Amazon.
Schedule the cleaning in advance
The first time you run the N8+, it’ll use its Lidar laser navigation system to build a map of your home. If your house has more than one floor, you can create a separate map for each floor. Just download the free, easy-to-use Ecovacs app for Apple or Android and you can set up a schedule for cleaning.
That means you can set the N8+ to vacuum your floors every day once your family leaves for school or work. Or, as the N8+ is so quiet, you can set it clean once everyone has gone to bed. If you’re away from home, you can use the app to check up on its cleaning progress.
The N8+’s sophisticated mapping system means that you can easily designate no-go zones, so you can ensure that the robot vacuum cleaner will avoid a child’s playroom if the carpet is covered in Lego, or a teenager’s bedroom if half their wardrobe is on the floor. You can also use it to virtually block off smaller areas you want the N8+ to avoid, such as a nest of wires beside a desk, or delicate ornaments or plants.
On the other hand, there are areas of your home that regularly get messier and might need a bit more attention, such as around the kitchen table and near pet bowls. You can mark out these spots for a deeper clean.
The N8+ has powerful, 2300Pa suction, which makes it effective on carpets as well as hard floors. Plus, its auto-detect function means it’ll automatically step up its power when moving from hard flooring to a carpet or rug.
It can vacuum and mop at the same time
If you fill up its tank with water and clip on the mop attachment (which, to be fair, does involve lifting a finger or two), the N8+ will mop as well. Use it in conjunction with the scheduling feature and you can designate times and areas for it to mop. It’ll know to give the bathroom floor a going-over after your morning shower, but if you add a no-mop zone it’ll always avoid your hallway rug. It has four levels of water flow, so you’ll never come home to wet floors.
The N8+ can clean for 110 minutes before it needs to return to the dock and charge. That’s around 2000 square feet of floor cleaning. But if your home is larger and its battery gets low before it’s finished, it’ll go and recharge and then resume cleaning in the same spot.
All of this good stuff comes in a small package: the N8+ is less than 10cm high, so it should be able to clean under your sofa. You can buy it directly from Ecovacs, or from Amazon in the US or the UK.