Wife's birthday present. Really!

[Red ones]

The wife has asked for a vacuum cleaner for her birthday


No, really she has. Last year it was a washing machine! (The in-laws are sceptical, but at least ten clothes are clean and so could the floors be!)

She has asked for a robotic vacuum cleaner, but I don't want to pay £500 for one. Any experience good or bad of ones under the£150 mark?

[DJ123]

Can you buy her this http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE and some tin foil so she then looks/feels like a robot?

[Red ones]

Think you. I shall consider this.

[Littlepeahead]

From Which?

Vileda Robot Cleaner

The Vileda Cleaning Robot is one of the cheapest robot vacuums around

If you’re looking to jump on the robot vacuum cleaner bandwagon without breaking the bank then you’re likely to come across the Vileda Cleaning Robot. At £149 or less it’s one of the cheapest models around and costs less than a quarter of the price of some big brand rivals. But does the cheap price add up to lacklustre clean and malfunctioning circuits? To find out we asked a Which? researcher to try it out at home. Read on for her first impressions of this Vileda robot vacuum.

Overall the Vileda Robot Cleaner seems to deliver decent suction on hard floors and short pile carpets but its reliance on perseverance rather than intelligence means results can be patchy, particularly around the edges of a room. It’s noisy while it works and as a proper clean takes at least half an hour, this gets annoying.

What is it?
A budget robot vacuum cleaner that's suitable for use on all types of hard floors and short pile carpets. Unlike some of the pricier models on the market, it doesn't come with a remote control or docking station, but it does of course have a plug-in charger.

Vileda Robot Cleaner on a stone floor
Three buttons on the Vileda allow you to choose Short, Medium or Large cleaning mode
There are three cleaning settings to choose from; Short, Medium and Large. Short sets the vacuum on a five-minute mission to clean in a small restricted area from where it starts (good for spillages), Medium prompts a half hour clean for rooms up to 25m squared and Large gives you an hour long clean for rooms bigger than 25m squared. These modes appear to set the Cleaning Robot apart from pricer, more advanced robots, which typically use sensors and cameras to map the area it’s in and then work logically through it.

A sensor inside the vacuum can detect drops, to prevent it falling down stairs. Other than this, there is no other way of restricting its movements, so it's worth closing the door on anywhere you don't it to go.

The Vileda's vital statistics include a small 0.25 litre dust capacity, which is about two handfuls of dirt and dust, so be prepared to empty it often. The motor is less powerful than many at 19W - but we know from our tests of conventional vacuum cleaners that a higher wattage does not necessarily mean more powerful suction.

It takes four to five hours to charge (12 hours the first time), and on a full battery you can expect up to 80 minutes of cleaning. Based on Vileda’s running time claims, this means you should be able to clean two and a bit rooms of up to 25m squared between charges.

What’s great about it?
Aside from the very nice price, it moves fast and the ability to select cleans of different lengths is helpful, as it means the vacuum will keep plugging away cleaning a space until the time is up. The suction on hard floors and carpets is strong enough to pick up fluff, hair and heavier food debris easily, without leaving much behind.

Its compact size, and the absence of a docking station, make it easy to store without taking up too much space.

Is there anything I should watch out for?
After trying out other models that move up and down a room in orderly lines, the Vileda’s delightfully bonkers circling and diagonal sweeps seem a lot more at random. As it has one, rather than two, revolving sweeper brushes to push debris underneath it, the circling helps it use this single sweeper to best effect, though puts it at disadvantage along edges and in corners where it can’t turn around.

Vileda Robot Cleaner pictured in a kitchen with a dog watching
It can prove pretty noisy and it does bump into things
It moves diagonally between spots to circle in. It comes back to the same spots multiple times in a longer clean, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it did seem to do so at the expense of getting round a whole room with equal thoroughness. Adjoining rooms in my open plan home received a lot less attention than the area the vacuum started in, unless I physically moved the machine in there.

It’s noisy enough that you wouldn’t want it working while you’re right near it. While it's probably no louder than a conventional vacuum, the fact that you can get on with something else while a robot vacuum works means the noise is a bigger downside to this type of appliance. And as there’s no timer control, you’re more likely to be in while it works. When the Cleaning Robot has finished a clean, it beeps continually until you go and turn it off.

Set to Short mode on a kitchen spill, it roamed widely in what appeared to be a sporadic fashion - it got most of the dirt up, but did leave some behind thanks to a less than methodical approach.

Like many robot vacuums, it does bump into things. The Vileda's loud bumps are not aggressive enough to leave dents in furniture, but could cause objects to topple. A guitar resting against a wall in my home almost fell over and glasses on a three-legged table wobbled ominously during the repeated bumping. And unlike more advanced robots, it doesn’t seem to sense or remember where objects and walls are, either.

Is there anything else I should know?
This basic robot vacuum cleaner skips a couple of nice convenience features that you’ll typically see on pricier models. Without a docking station or remote, you will need to manually plug and unplug it from the charger and press the buttons on its body to get it started and turn it off. There’s no clock or timer mode, so you can’t set it to take care of the cleaning while you are out of the house. The lack of total automation is a shame, considering it tends to be a key part of the allure of robot vacuums.

Which? first look verdict
By lacking the convenience features of pricier models, you do feel like you’re only getting half the experience with the Vileda. It will leave your floors nice and clean, but its slightly unpredictable coverage and the racket it makes means it may be worth spending more on a more refined robot vacuum.

Pros: cheap, compact, decent suction on hard floors

Cons: no timer mode, lacks a remote control and docking station, navigation lacks precision

[Red ones]

Great. Thank you.

[Kenzie]

My wife just bought this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Miele-Comple.../dp/B00MV0GJZC

Totally out performs our old Dyson. Does have bags but they are cheap enough. Bought ours form Currys.

[Red ones]

It must be robotic

[Kenzie]

Sorry, tired and didn't read properly.

Sent from my Kindle Fire

Wooden floors, no vacuum required, best all round

[Littlepeahead]

I bought a new vacuum last week. Mr LPH used it today. It's one of those pet hair ones. He reckons he's vacuumed up enough fur to make me a coat!

Which? have other reviews if you need them just shout.