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A robot vacuum for a small apartment
Updated
In a small apartment with no pets you can skip the self-empty dock. By our estimate a 0.6 liter bin lasts about 25 runs in 600 sq ft of hard floor. We'd pick the eufy 11S MAX for one open space and no app, or the iRobot Roomba 105 Vac if you want a map and rooms. Add a shedding pet and the dock earns its floor space.
The bin math at 600 sq ft
| 600 sq ft, hard floors | 0.6 L robot bin | 2.7 L dock bag, daily runs |
|---|---|---|
| No pets | About 25 runs | About 113 days |
| One shedding pet | About 13 runs | About 56 days |
| Two or more pets | About 8 runs | About 38 days |
Even with one pet, emptying a bin about every 13 runs is not much work. We'd still look in the bin every week or so. Run your own numbers in the emptying calculator.
What takes up your floor
- The roborock Qrevo S Pro dock is over 20 inches tall and the package weighs about 25 pounds. In a studio that is a piece of furniture.
- The Roomba 105 Vac and the eufy 11S MAX come with a small charging station and nothing more.
- Any dock needs a clear stretch of wall near an outlet so the robot can drive in. Find that spot before you order.
Noise, since you cannot leave the room
From the listings: the eufy 11S MAX claims 55 dB and the Q10 S5+ shows 65 dB. The Roomba listing gave no number that we saw, and its owners call it very loud. Expect a burst of noise from any self-empty dock when it pulls the dirt out of the robot. If you are home while it cleans, schedule runs for when you are out. That needs an app, which the eufy does not have.
The picks
- eufy 11S MAX. At 2.85 inches it gets under low beds, and one open floor is where a robot with no map does fine. The caveat: no schedules from your phone and no keep-out zones, so cords and pet bowls have to move.
- iRobot Roomba 105 Vac. Lidar map, room targeting and keep-out zones with only a charging station on the floor. The caveat: owners say it is very loud, and at 4.1 inches tall it will not fit under low furniture.
- roborock Q10 S5+. The one we'd get for a small place with a shedding pet. The caveat: its dock takes floor space, and dock bags are a running cost.
See all five side by side in the roundup.