Tired of sweeping and mopping the floor in every corner of your house day after day, you bought a Vacuum cleaner robot to do the work for you. Soon, the device learned to move around your house by memorizing each room and avoiding obstacles. However, it didn’t take long for the robot to teach you that he also needs your care. If you have a robot vacuum cleaner at home and you want it to continue working like the first day, this is everything you need to know to carry out a correct maintenance.
The robot vacuum cleaner: a fundamental part of the smart home
As you read these lines, your robot vacuum cleaner may be going around your home doing that tedious and monotonous task that we all hate. The cleaning robots They are becoming more complete and have more functions. However, most of the ones we have at home have one thing in common: they can’t clean themselves.
It is quite normal that we take our robot vacuum cleaner out of the box, install it and completely forget that it is just another device. requires our intervention to keep it working properly. And we are not talking about emptying the dirt tank – which we assume everyone knows how to do – but about all those parts that require us to take a look from time to time.
Basic cleaning of the robot vacuum cleaner
At this point we will talk about routine processes such as review of our robot parts. We will not do it every day, but we should follow this plan at least once a week. If you use the robot a lot, you should perform the procedure more often.
First of all, and to avoid any type of problem, we advise you to look for the manual of your robot. If you do not have it at hand, search the Internet for the model and you will be able to easily access the document in PDF format. This is important because not all robots are disassembled in the same way. At this point we will talk about filters, brushes and deposits. You’ll need to look at how the procedure is done on your model, to make sure you don’t break anything.
Tank cleaning
All robot vacuum cleaners on the market collect dirt in a plastic container. The particulate filter can be attached to this part or be independent.
The tank is usually emptied directly into the trash, although we recommend that you always do it in a separate bag in case the robot has vacuumed up something that it shouldn’t.
When you clean the tank, you must make sure that there are no remains inside. Hair and lint can make a plug that hinders the natural flow of cleaning. The reservoir is generally the easiest component to maintain. If at any time you see that it cracks, you should buy a replacement.
Cleaning the rollers, brushes and wheels
The roller is robot centerpiece. Its design is intended to prevent tangles. However, if you have pets at home, you should pay special attention to this component.
The roller must be handled with the robot completely switched off. Depending on the model, it can be easily released with a pair of levers or by means of screws. Nevertheless, should not need to be removed for cleaning.
Your robot probably came with a set of brushes and tools to remove tangles. Many times, they are not particularly useful. If you are careful, you can use a small scissors to cut the hairs and remove them. Always with extreme care and avoiding damaging the piece. If you find that you cannot turn the roller by hand, proceed to disassemble it following your manufacturer’s instruction manual.
Regarding brushes, you should know that they are not eternal. You can remove the dirt with a cloth and very carefully, just as you can lean on the brushes. However, friction can seriously damage the brushes, especially if your house has a hard floor, such as marble.
If your wiper blades are badly damaged, it’s best to replace them. Most brands sell their own parts. If not, the market is full of compatible parts. Changing them is easy. Many robots allow you to make the substitution with a simple click. In others, it will be time to go for the screwdriver.
clean the wheel it is quite simpler. If you see that it has no tangles, do the maintenance of this part when you clean the exterior of the robot and its sensors.
particulate filter
The particulate filter It is one of the most important components of your robot. If it is in poor condition, your robot will not clean, as it will expel the dirt it has captured through the ‘exhaust’.
Depending on the dirt that accumulates in your house, you should clean it every 5 or 10 cleaning sessions. You have to remove it from the robot and gently tap it in the garbage can or in a sink.
If you have a dust allergy like me, wear one face mask or ask another person in the house to do you the favor. If you have a handheld vacuum at home, put it directly over the filter and you’ll save yourself a few sneezes. If there are hairs or lint on the filter, you need to remove those as well.
Watch out for the water. Unless your manufacturer says so, filters can’t get wet. If your filter is wet or has gotten wet by mistake, you will have to wait for it to dry and then you will have to proceed to remove the dust. If you put it in wet, the dust will stick and the robot will not work properly. Likewise, if it gets damaged, you will have to replace it with a spare part in good condition.
Sensors and exterior
Your robot has cameras, lasers, LiDAR and all kinds of technologies that they will not work if there is dust or dirt on them. It is also convenient that the outside of the robot is also clean. Ideally, you should perform this maintenance every time you clean the filter.
For the exterior, a dry cloth can serve you perfectly. With sensors you have to be a little more careful. Ideally, use a fine cloth with a couple of drops of isopropyl alcohol. You can find this alcohol in any drugstore and it differs from the one we use for wounds in that it is totally pure. For this reason, it leaves no residue.
In addition to all this, it is important to keep the charging terminals clean. If you don’t keep this part clean, your robot will have trouble recharging the battery.
Compatible spare parts: yes or no?
Throughout the post we have made it clear that spare parts that come by default in your vacuum robot they are not eternal. In fact, we would like the manufacturers to include a few extra parts in the kit and not try to make us believe that the parts do not wear out with use.
Depending on the robot you have, you will find more or less spare parts. If your robot is high-end, you will have at your disposal both original parts as clones. In that case, if you have invested a lot of money in the machine, it is advisable to buy the originals. You are not interested in losing the guarantee for a few euros.
If your robot is one of the cheap ones, you will have the opposite case. You will not easily find compatible parts. What is there to do then? Well, almost all robots sold today are models. rebranded. There is a manufacturer and your brand is limited to little more than putting its logo and designing the app. The simplest thing is to search the Internet for the generic name of your device.
For example, many of the Taurus robots are manufactured by a brand called Inalsa. After the work of researchyou will only have to search for the generic robot model on AliExpress and you will have a large collection of compatible spare parts that you can buy for your machine.