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, the robot didn't take long to teach you that he needs your care too. If you have a robot vacuum cleaner at home and you want it to continue working like the first day, this is all 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 cannot 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 a device more than requires our intervention to keep it working properly. And we are not talking about emptying the dirt tank -which we assume that everyone knows how to do-, but in 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 the parts of our robot. 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 on hand, search the Internet for the model and you can 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 have 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 accumulate dirt in a plastic tank. The particle filter can be attached to this piece or be independent.
The tank is usually emptied directly into the trash, although we recommend that you always do so in a separate bag in case the robot has sucked in something that it shouldn't.
When you clean the tank, you must make sure that there are no remains inside. Hair and lint can create a clog that hinders the natural flow of cleaning. Typically, the reservoir is 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 the robot center piece. Its design is designed to avoid tangling. However, if you have pets at home, you should pay special attention to this component.
The roller must be handled with the robot completely turned off. Depending on the model, it can be easily released with a couple of levers or by 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 some 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 the brushes, you should know that they are not eternal. You can remove the dirt with a cloth and be very careful, 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 brushes are badly damaged, it is 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 wheels it is much simpler. If you see that it has no tangles, maintain this part when you clean the exterior of the robot and its sensors.
Particle filter
El particle 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 give it gentle taps in the garbage can or in a sink.
If you have a dust allergy like me, wear one mask or ask another person in the house to do you a favor. If you have a handheld vacuum at home, put it directly on the filter and you'll save yourself a few sneezes. If there are hairs or lint on the filter, you have to remove them too.
Watch out for the water. Unless your manufacturer says so, the 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 on while it is wet, the dust will stick to it and the robot will not work properly. Similarly, if it is 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 exterior 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 the sensors you have to be a little more careful. The ideal is to use a thin 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 its battery.
Compatible spare parts: yes or no?
Throughout the post we have made it clear that the Parts that come by default in your vacuum robot they are not eternal. In fact, we would like manufacturers to include the occasional extra part in the kit and not try to make us believe that parts don't wear out with use.
Depending on the robot you have, you will find more or less spares. 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 economic ones, you will have the opposite case. You will not easily find compatible parts. What is there to do then? Well, almost all the robots that are 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 research projects., you will only have to search for the generic robot model in AliExpress and you will have a large collection of compatible spare parts that you can buy for your machine.