Why People With Disabilities Should Buy A Robot Vacuum? (And How To Choose)
2024-12-06
Many people are familiar with the feeling of putting off cleaning because it feels troublesome and repetitive. But for individuals with limited mobility and physical disabilities, a whole other set of challenges can stand between the desire to maintain an organised living space and the act of doing it.
An estimated 16.1 million people in the UK had a disability in 2022/23, accounting for 24% of the total population. Housecleaning can therefore be a seemingly insurmountable obstacle for people in this category, especially for those with visual impairments, who use wheelchairs, or who live with chronic pain as they may not be able to exert the effort needed to lift and manoeuvre traditional vacuum cleaners.
Robot vacuums present a more accessible alternative, offering greater autonomy and simplicity to the day-to-day lives of disabled people. In this article, we will explore the benefits of smart vacuums and how these innovative devices work to automate cleaning.
Which Vacuum Cleaner is Best for People with Disabilities?
The best vacuum for people with disabilities depends on the type of disability. Lightweight, cordless vacuums with easy-to-handle grips are helpful for those with limited strength. Robot vacuums, available with or without mopping capabilities, can reduce effort by cleaning automatically, making them a good choice for people with mobility challenges.
Choosing the right vacuum cleaner is essential for people with disabilities to maintain a clean home with minimal effort. They should ideally choose appliances that reduce physical strain and are easy to move around. While robot vacuums can replace their traditional counterparts for routine maintenance, they may not be as effective for deep cleaning or large spaces. When deciding whether to buy robot vacuums or cordless stick vacuums, it depends on personal preference — smart cleaners are great for automation, while stick vacuums offer more control for hands-on cleaning.
What Are The Best Robot Vacuums For Disabled People?
DEEBOT X5 PRO OMNI
The DEEBOT X5 PRO OMNI by ECOVACS is a premium robotic mop vacuum that offers the ultimate hands-free cleaning experience for individuals with disabilities, with better cleaning performance. The smart vacuum automatically empties dust into its base station, auto-cleans and dries its own mopping pads with hot air, and auto-refills water into the water tanks for the next round of mopping. It transitions without a problem between hard surfaces and carpets or rugs, vacuums for up to 224 minutes* on a single charge. This model can also be operated with an upgraded YIKO AI voice assistant that conducts multiple rounds of conversation with users if initial instructions are unclear and can make adjustments to tasks mid-clean. It also comes with an AI Instant Re-Mop feature, which allows the device to identify stubborn stains and make multiple passes over them, resulting in sparkling floors.
DEEBOT T30S COMBO
Another disabled-friendly robot vacuum that sweeps and mops, the DEEBOT T30S COMBO can also be remotely controlled with voice commands, uses smart mapping technology to map your home in minutes and navigate it while avoiding common household objects that could damage the vacuum, effectively cleans corners, wall edges and under furniture, and automatically cleans its own mops and empties dust.
Shop DEEBOT T30S COMBO Now
DEEBOT N20 PLUS
A budget-friendly fantastic robot vacuum cleaner option for disabled persons is the DEEBOT N20 PLUS. This smart vacuum cleaner uses laser radar scanning for precise navigation, ensuring thorough cleaning sessions thanks to its systematic path coverage. It also supports voice control for easier operation, which includes Alexa and Google Assistant. It also clears obstacles and thresholds up to 20mm high, thereby providing uninterrupted housecleaning.
How To Choose A Vacuum For Disabled Persons?
Manoeuvrability
Traditional vacuums — such as stick, canister, central vacuums, and compact handheld vacuums — rely on the user steering the machine. This can be troublesome for cane users and people with bodily impairments or health conditions like arthritis.
Certain conventional vacuum cleaners that have sophisticated swivel steering and smaller wheels can be easier for a person with a disability to manoeuvre. A robot vacuum, with advanced mapping and navigational abilities, is the easiest to guide as it’s a virtually hands-free vacuum.
Ease Of Use
In traditional vacuums, the factors that affect how easy the appliance is to use include vacuum weight, adjustable height, cordless design, and large buttons. These elements contribute to making the device more accessible for people with different disabilities.
In robot vacuums, ease of use is largely determined by how user-friendly the accompanying mobile app (such as our ECOVACS HOME app) is. These applications typically allow homeowners to remotely activate cleaning and set cleaning schedules. While there may be buttons on the automatic vacuum, they should be remotely controllable to improve accessibility.
Storage Capabilities
Another element of accessible vacuum cleaners is that they should have large enough storage for debris. If a device requires manual emptying after every session, it’s rendered less user-friendly. A large-capacity dust bin can extend the amount of time between empties.
Certain DEEBOT models take it to the next step by self-emptying dust as their base stations contain dust bags that can hold up to 60 days of debris.
Multi-surface Cleaning
Next, a disabled-friendly vacuum cleaner should be able to adapt to different floor types that may be in a home, such as carpets, hardwood floors, or tiles. Automatic vacuum cleaners such as ECOVACS’ DEEBOT N20 PLUS vacuum and mop hard surfaces and use carpet detection sensors for smooth floor transitions.
Maintenance
An important factor to consider is ease of maintenance. This encompasses how often attachment or filter replacements are required as well as ease of dealing with tangles or other issues that may arise in vacuums through normal wear and tear. The vacuum cleaner should be made with durable materials and components that are easy to switch out to reduce the need for heavy-duty maintenance.
Battery Life
Good battery life is another criterion to think about when choosing the best smart cleaner for disabled persons because needing to change the battery frequently is at best an inconvenience, and at worst a major hindrance to the vacuum being used.
Convenient charging options such as wireless chargers or charger cradles, requiring less effort than cables, also make the vacuum cleaner more friendly for people with specific requirements for cleaning solutions.
Benefits Of Robot Vacuums For Individuals With Disabilities
Accessibility Features
Auto vacuums also have accessibility features like voice control (for example, YIKO on newer generations of DEEBOT models), mobile app integration that allows the user to start, stop and set cleaning modes with a few taps, self-emptying, self-water-refilling, and even self-cleaning functions. For instance, the DEEBOT X5 PRO OMNI and DEEBOT T30S COMBO automatically wash and dry their own mopping pads.
Increased Independence
Smart vacuum robots navigate your living space without any human effort by ‘learning’ it, using advanced cameras and laser sensors to methodically clean your floors. This is especially useful for individuals with reduced mobility as these smart home devices can alleviate the physical strain and reduce time spent on cleaning tasks, therefore helping them maintain a fresh and hygienic living environment with greater independence.
User-friendliness
Robot floor cleaners are the ultimate user-friendly vacuums. They are hands-free in multiple ways, with innovative features like automated cleaning schedules, remote control options (using the ECOVACS HOME app, you can clean specific rooms or even see your home using the DEEBOT robot vacuum’s camera from anywhere in the world), cord-free power source, and 2D and/or 3D mapping capabilities to plot the most efficient way to clean rooms.
Improved Quality Of Life
The overall effect of a premium robotic vacuum cleaner is better quality of life for people who have unique requirements for home cleaning. A tidy and sanitary living area achieved by robot vacuums, which have elements such as HEPA filters to capture allergen particles, the ability to ‘learn’ your home for more effective cleaning, and even Quiet Mode that limits vacuuming noise on DEEBOT robot vacuums, help those with disabilities obtain a deeper level of clean with minimal effort.
Cleaning Tips And Techniques
Next, let’s talk about some practical tips and techniques for integrating these accessible devices into a cleaning routine in order to maximise the effectiveness of smart vacuums for disabled people:
- Pre-schedule cleaning routines: On the companion app, set the automatic vacuum to spot-clean or do general cleans on certain days based on your desired frequency.
- Target high-traffic areas: Designate areas of the home that need more frequent cleaning, like the bedroom or kitchen.
- Personalise cleaning to your needs: Customise the vacuum robot’s functions down to water flow, suction power, or the order in which rooms are cleaned. You can even set the robot to vacuum-only, mop-only, or vacuum-mop modes on some DEEBOT models.
- Use virtual barriers: Through ECOVACS HOME, use virtual barriers and no-go zones to set off-limit areas that you don’t want the robot floor cleaner to enter.
- Maintain the robot vacuum: Order replacements for filters, brushes, dust bags and more through the ECOVACS HOME app to ensure optimal performance.
- Use voice commands: The AI-powered YIKO assistant available on DEEBOT X5 PRO OMNI can understand and interpret natural language commands, turning on when you say “OK YIKO.” Use simple commands to get her to start cleaning under furniture, spot-cleaning spills, or vacuuming around your location. DEEBOTs can also be used in conjunction with Alexa and Google Home.
Disclaimer(s):
*224 minutes: This data comes from ECOVACS laboratory. With a 6,400mAh battery, one charge powers the DEEBOT X5 PRO OMNI for up to 224 minutes of working time (under standard suction power setting and working on a hard floor). Actual results may vary according to the home environment.
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