A (Robo)maid for Mother’s Day

by | May 5, 2013 | Little Giveaways | 95 comments

Once upon a time, I said to myself, "Angie, you may write a mummy blog but you are more than cleaning product reviews and infomercials disguised as giveaways." My tiny piece of internet real estate deserved to be treated with respect. I wanted to maintain an integrity by talking about the things that REALLY matter to women with children, not what the five minute ad breaks bewteen day time tv would have us believe is important. 

Some people really need their glassware to sparkle when they hold it up to the light at a 45 degree angle – me, I don't give a fuck. So I am the wrong person to try and sell that shit to you. 

Does a clean home matter to me? Yes. Products that make keeping my home clean easier for me? Sure. But it is so very rare that I use a cleaning product at home that blows my mind that I feel like it would be wrong of me NOT to share it with my readers. Let's face it, most stuff does the job just like its competitor does. We all have preferences. I can tell you I only use a certain brand of nappies and you may have found them absolutely hopeless on your kid. It's a trial and error kind of thing and not something that requires dedicated words on this blog to help you sort it out. Right? Right.

But hold the phone, my little cherubs! Because sometimes products come along that are a little bit different and a little bit fun and worth enough dough that I know you guys would get a kick out of winning one.

Enter: Robomaid.

Robomaid 1

First and foremost, I agreed to write about the Robomaid because I wanted one. I didn't know much about them but I really liked the idea of owning a robot. I mean, guys, I own a robot! Admittedly, the robot of my dreams would be able to give me a foot rub at the end of the day but that wasn't on offer. A robot who could clean my floors was very appealing all the same. 

The novelty factor of the Robomaid is off the charts, yes. The idea of a robot vacuum is brillant. But if you're going to drop $399, you want to know it has more going for it than that. Especially if you also own a vacuum, a dust buster and, you know, a broom.

First thing to know is that the Robomaid is not a Thermomix. And by that I mean, it won't make every other product in your home redundant. When I spoke to their customer service department, this was the first thing they said to me and I appreciated the straightforward honesty. The Robomaid is round and therefore, it can not get into corners. It can't suck the shine off a bald man's head the way a Dyson might. If you have kids, you will still need to haul out the big vacuum cleaner for a thorough clean. But here's where it comes into its own for me. I don't like hauling out the big vacuum cleaner – and I own a shine-sucking Dyson. Yes, the Rolls Royce of vacuum cleaners spends most of its life tucked away in a cupboard as the floor beneath my feet gets crunchier and crunchier. Having three children sucks all the pleasure out of cleaning because no sooner do you finish vacumming than someone takes their shoes off, revealing they have been harbouring half the kindergarten sandpit inside them. Or someone eats something. Or breathes. If you get five minutes of clean floor pleasure, you're winning.

And apart from my distinct disinterest in vacuuming my home, turning the Dyson on makes Harlow scream and cry hysterically. I think I am raising a little feminist. Down with housework!

Life with three kids means my floors could stand to be vacuumed every day. Maybe even twice a day. As a maths equation, it looks like this:

Twice daily floor cleaning x Are you fucking kidding me? = permanently crunchy floors.  

I don't have the time or the inclination for that much vacuuming. So an automatic vacuum (robot, it's a robot!) that I can set for an hour to run around my floors is genuinely helpful. I don't want to vacuum, Harlow doesn't want me to vacuum and most days, I barely have time to vacuum. I will run the dustbuster over toast crumbs and sand but many days, that's it. So for me, the Robomaid has the potential to keep my floors from reaching "Haz Mat" stage. Tick.

Here's what it picked up on it's first adventure around my home (running time 1 hour);

Robomaid 4
Robomaid 5
And here is what the baby did when I turned it on;

Robomaid 6
Also, when the battery runs low, Robomaid finds its way back to its docking station. Guys, it goes back to its little home for recharging ALL BY ITSELF! I don't know why I find this adorable but I do.

Ultimately, the Robomaid is a device you can run every day and it will keep on top of day to day cleaning so that you're floors don't resemble a gravel driveway by the time you get around to the big vacuum. I think it would be especially good in houses that have big open spaces. In saying that, my house is small and pokey yet Jeffrey (yes, Brendon has given our Robomaid a name – it would not have been my first choice) has managed to cruise in and out of the various rooms in our house without too much trouble. Also, my couch is low to the ground but if yours has a space of at least 12cms underneath, then the Robomaid can totally get under there and clean it for you. I like the idea of that so much, I am considering purchasing a new couch to accomodate my new Robomaid.

It's very easy for me to be impressed with my new Robomaid because it was gifted to me. So in order for this review to be worth anything, I have to consider how I would feel about the machine if I had dropped almost four hundred bucks on it. This is especially tricky to weigh up because currently the main breadwinner in this family is a fulltime engineering student so the value of $399 is greater to us than usual. Could I justify buying one at this time in our lives? No. Would I buy one if Brendon was working full time? Yes.

There are so many other features that I have not covered here because a/ I've only had the machine a week and haven't discovered its full potential and b/ this is not an infomercial. I am looking forward to trying out the mop attachment, the virtual wall and the remote control. If you want to know more about the Robomaid then the website is a great resource and their Facebook page is teeming with fans. In addition, they offer a money back guarantee. 

If you have further questions, the customer service team are fabulous. I gave them a buzz before getting started and they were able to run me through the basics so that I could get the most out of the machine. Giving it the proper 12 hour charge after the first three uses and making sure to clean off any excess hair caught around the roller brush were important tips. 

And now, my favourite bit. To celebrate Mother's Day, I get to give one of these little beauties away!

Win your very own Jeffrey!

Robomaid
Win everything you see in this picture – yes, three-year-old now included!

To Enter:

1. You must be a Facebook fan of The Little Mumma to enter. Go to my page to 'Like'.

2. Leave a comment here on the blog answering this simple question: Name one thing you would rather do than clean your floors. 

3. For one bonus entry, head to the FB page, find the link to this post and share it.

Competition closes Saturday 11th May, 2013, at midnight AEST and a random winner will be drawn and announced on Mother's Day, May 12th. Open to Australian residents only.

Best of luck! 

Click To Vote For Us @ the Top Baby Blogs Directory! The most popular baby blogs 

Hello friends

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I’m Angie!  I mum. I write. I wife. My husband would say this is the correct order.  He’s so neeeedy. I live with my family in Melbourne, Australia, where I complain about the weather for 90% of the year – but I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Except maybe in Lake Como, waving to my neighbours George and Amal each morning.

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95 Comments

  1. Dani

    I would rather be kicking back with a glass of wine (I clean at nights), and enjoy some quality “me” time.

    Reply
  2. Bec

    Bake, I’d rather bake than vacuum my floor which is dirty from my 3 horrible children.

    Reply
  3. Kel

    Looks great Angie! 🙂

    So SO many things I’d rather be doing, but most of all, it’s much better to be hanging with the kids than cleaning floors.

    Reply
  4. Kristin

    Anything!! I loathe vacuuming and it is something that is so annoyingly unavoidable when one has a crawling stick-every-thing-I-can-find-in-my-mouth kind of baby… Sigh..

    Reply
  5. Vanita

    I would rather live my life, breathe a little and savour every minute of my children’s life than clean my floors 😉

    Reply
  6. Cayte Stevens

    Ummm, I’d rather be cruising around on Facebook, having ridiculous conversations with my friends AND reading The Little Mumma, duh!! ;p

    Reply
  7. Kelly

    I laughed out loud about the crunchy floors and the Dyson in the cupboard. YES YES YES!

    So I would rather have my kitchen dance party with the kids minus the crumbs than vacuum. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Jessica Szymanski

    I’m thinking… relaxing on the couch and watching someone else do the vacuuming for me! haha 🙂 A robomaid would be perfect x

    Reply
  9. Bronnie

    I would rather stab myself repeatedly with a fork than clean my floors. I was not born to clean floors!!!!

    Reply
  10. Kate

    I would like to be enjoying time with my family out of the house, as far removed from housework as possible! Something that involved wine and delicious food!

    Reply
  11. Crystal Jones

    Watch paint dry! Haha

    Reply
  12. louise bigeni

    I would rather be watching ricky martin on the voice 😉 yeah yeah xx oh and spend tine with my kids 😉

    Reply
  13. Megan Henry

    Catch a tuna fish. It’s on my list of things to do before I die, but I’ve got 3 kids and all those things on that list seem so have been shoved aside for washing, changing nappies and of course vacuuming. And I wanna feel like a Jetson with our own robot : )

    Reply
  14. Karen T

    ‘Rediscovering’ my husband would be far preferable 😉

    And I am always wearing shoes around at home (the kids adorably accommodate this by finding my slippers for me!) because I feel distressed by the feel of crunchy floors!

    I’ve already told Anton I want a sleep in AND a robomaid for Mothers Day. If I won one, then maybe I could use the $$ for footrubs … and wine!

    You rock xxx

    Reply
  15. Becca

    I would rather clean the toilet, fold an endless pile of washing, change a nappy, clean the oven! I hate vacuuming that much 😉

    Reply
  16. Brooke Chook

    Well, I would much rather have sex, than clean my floors! Haha. Sorry, it was honestly the first thing that popped into my dirty mind. X

    Reply
  17. Laura Alderton

    I would rather teach my children how to cool then clean my floors. Teaching them something they can take with them later on in life is very important.

    Reply
  18. Jane

    Janeo…SLEEP… While baby sleeps and 3 yr old nightmare child at kinder 🙂 ..

    Reply
  19. Sam

    I would rather eat cheese with Cayte Stevens 🙂

    Reply
  20. Jodie

    Vacuuming the floor in my house takes forever – with my one year old trying to catch a ride on the barrel and my three year old switching it off at the power point everytime I exit a room, complaining that it’s too noisy. It’s a cause of great frustration actually! So spending time playing with my babes and not stressing about a dirty floor is something I’d much rather be doing than vacuuming! Have wanted one of these for ages – awesome giveaway Angie!

    Reply
  21. Phoebe

    I’d rather be enjoying some time with my children, sitting on the clean floor playing rather than vacuuming.

    Reply
  22. Amanda Foster

    I would rather watch Robomaid clean my floors than me do it & with 4 kids it would get a fair workout ha ha great competition x

    Reply
  23. Corie

    Sleeping!!!

    Reply
  24. Bek

    What would I rather be doing ??? With a 3 year old and a 1 year old there is never time to vacuum. I did today by the way and there are already sultanas and peas all over my floors *sigh*. My back is killing me! So I would rather hang out with my boys and stop obsessing about the state of my floors 🙂

    Reply
  25. Emma

    I’d rather be walking along the beach with my family on a sunny day !

    Reply
  26. Emmy

    I would rather push the fluff balls under the lounge with my foot than get out the vacuum cleaner…. Or pretty much anything else!

    Reply
  27. Heidi

    I would rather play with my three beautiful children then clean my floors……(probably making my floors even crunchier.

    Reply
  28. Georgie

    I would much rather be sitting on the couch with a big glass of wine suggled up to my wonderful husband

    Reply
  29. Nicole

    I would rather be having a tea party with Master 3 and Miss 1 – fancy clothes, real cups and saucers and scones with jam and cream!

    Reply
  30. Bek Bates

    Ummm… I’m thinking lazing on an island in the Caribbean… or alternatively inventing a robot vacuum cleaner that also gives foot massages! 😉

    Reply
  31. Gemma

    Almost anything else… Except the dishes!

    Reply
  32. Fran

    I’d rather sit on my butt and play Candy Crush, than clean my floors! Lol. With lots of tiles to clean, the Robomaid would get a very thorough workout in our house!

    Reply
  33. Grace

    I’d rather be doing anything!!! I have been known to mark essays to get out of housework! But top of my list would be sleeping, spending time with my kids and hubby (the order can vary).

    Reply
  34. Strawbes

    Apparently my idea of cleaning is sweeping the room with a glance ;-)… I’d rather be doing ANYTHING than cleaning my floors!

    Reply
  35. Tash hilton

    I’d rather watch my little man make his cubby houses in the lounge room which he has just discovered he can do with all the bits & pieces he finds around the house. #lovetowatchlittlebrainsatwork x

    Reply
  36. Kim

    I’d love to actually have time to vacuum or even the energy these days. If I do get the shine sucking dyson out, the kids complain that they can’t hear the tv and then turn it up so fucking loud the neighbors yell to turn it down, or it wakes up Emmett and then he chases it around trying to put his mouth on it.

    Reply
  37. Joey James-New

    I would rather be writing a son while breast feedin my 3 week old love 🙂

    Reply
  38. Angela Fortt

    Jeffrey!?! Hehehe. My parents own one of these and she (?) is named Bobbi. My answer is too easy – spending time with my nearly 4 month old baby boy playing in the lounge room on the (clean) floor.

    Reply
  39. Rachel

    I’d rather go out for coffee or cake… away from the crunchy floors!

    Reply
  40. Erica Darke

    Have sexy time with my husband before I get too hugely pregnant to even fathom the thought! 🙂

    Reply
  41. Marissa

    Being cancer free for 1 year now, my priority is living & appreciating life with my 3 little cherubs. I may or may not (ok, I most definitely HAVE) let the cleaning ball drop! Life is just too precious to me to be wasting my time cleaning. In saying that, when my kiddies jump up on my lap for cuddles and they have crumby, hairy & black little feet, I know something drastic, like vacuuming needs to happen!! Please, please – a robot vacuum cleaner would most definitely improve our (ok, my kids lives because I wear thongs inside) immeasurably!!!

    Reply
  42. Melina @ Adventures of a Subversive Reader

    So many things I could do instead of vacuuming!

    I could crochet! I could cook! I could dance to Simon and Garfunkle!

    Or most importantly, I could be spending that time with my beautiful baby, and not terrifying him at the same time 🙂

    Reply
  43. Lauren Parsons

    Is rather be out and about enjoying the fresh air and smelling the flowers with my 3 cherubs (one being my darling 15 mth old who discovers all sorts of treasures on my floors) & my hubby than vacuum!!

    Reply
  44. Anita

    OMG I would rather be spending time playing with kids and spending time with my husband than cleaning the floors upteen times a day! 2 small children, a dog and a husband = constant crumbs, dog hair and dirt! Not to mention ash and sawdust from the wood fire! Arggh!

    Reply
  45. Aimee

    Glass of wine and a episode of revenge! Or pretty much anything – I loath getting my clunky old vacuum out!!!

    Reply
  46. Bel

    I’d rather be at work than vacuuming my floors. True.story. And Angie – I work for LAWYERS. Such is the level of my disdain.

    Reply
  47. Sally

    I would rather be making everything in my Thermomix. Oh wait I don’t have one of those either (give away one of those next time yeah?)
    Wishing myself luck!!
    xo

    Reply
  48. Amy

    I would rather be doing ANYTHING than vacuum, but more specifically,
    I’d rather not get upset at dog, cat and child over a messy floor!
    They say a wife needs a wife but maybe I just need a Robot that vacuums!

    Reply
  49. Allysa

    I would rather hear my kids laughing then screaming in terror every time I turn on my vaccume because with all the screaming powers of a 3.5, 1.5 and 6 month old you can imagine what my neighbours must be thinking lol.

    Reply
  50. Cate Rose

    As my toddler would NOT go down until 10pm and then woke me up 3 times…I would rather be sleeping in a firstclass flatbed airline seat enroute to see the northern lights in Lapland. Or…just sleeping really!

    Reply
  51. Tamara Heath

    I would rather be proving my husband wrong, who says Robomaids are ridiculous and could not possibly work everytime I suggest we invest in one!

    Reply
  52. Mary Preston

    I’d rather have my feet up reading, with a cup of tea in hand. Such a brilliant little gadget thank you.

    Reply
  53. Karen B

    I’d rather be making memories with my children. Yes even if that means hours and hours of (insert groan) lego and trains.

    Reply
  54. Toni underwood

    I would rather be reading my book in the bath with a glass (bottle) of red wine.

    Reply
  55. mark-deeanne@bigpond.com

    I would rather spend time in the sun, if I can`t do that cook 🙂

    Reply
  56. Ange

    Sitting back and relaxing with hubby and the kids. That’ is what I would much rather be doing then vacuuming the floor!! 😀

    Reply
  57. Loreece Drane

    I’d rather be spending time with my babies because before I know it they will be real people with jobs and stuff.

    Reply
  58. Jaide

    spending time with my 3 girls. between work and study it can be a little hard at times to get out and about with the kids.

    Reply
  59. Cath

    I would rather dine Alfresco every night (and often do) than clean those bloody floors after my little blessings eat 😉

    Reply
  60. Fiona Armistead

    I would rather play Lego with my 3 children and then have the Robomaid come clean up the small pieces I ALWAYS end up standing on. Cheers.

    Reply
  61. Rachel

    I would rather sew my daughters dancing costumes or knit my son some winter woolies than clean my floors.

    Reply
  62. Ange

    I would rather be spending the time with the kids and hubby then vacuuming the floors 🙂

    Reply
  63. stacie

    I would rather go to te park with the kids

    Reply
  64. Fiona

    I would rather sit on Facebook than vacuum the house!

    Reply
  65. Kate

    Hmmm, what would I prefer doing instead of cleaning the floors? With 4 kids under 8 constantly making a mess, the answer would be just about anything! But if I had to choose one thing, it would be using the spare time to get out into the fresh air for a walk, taking the kids to the park. A win for me & a win for the kids.

    Reply
  66. Kirsty

    Outside chasing butterflies, or getting shit-balls drunk… 😉 because let’s face it, I love my family, love my life, but everything is just a bit easier with a glass of bubbles in your hand.

    Reply
  67. Michelle

    Rather than vacuming my house with a scouly face cleaning up the mess from my 10 month old and the blonde wirey hairs from our dog (note to self never choose dark flooring with a child and four legged friend) I would get down on the floor with my son without thinking what my black pants will resemble following it and pat the dog without thinking ‘geez how many hairs will I now need to clean up’ 🙂

    Reply
  68. Jamie

    I juggle work and being a mummy to two beautiful (but messy) kids so instead of finding time to vacuum on the weekend I would rather spend the time being with them laughing and playing…..

    Reply
  69. Jacqueline

    I would rather watch the robomaid do the job for me. Perhaps it could bring me a coffee from the kitchen (-:

    Reply
  70. Ladybird

    I’d rather smoke cock, something I also consider a chore. 😛

    Reply
  71. Brooke Robertson

    What would I rather be doing than vacuuming????? Is this a trick question??? Um – anything! 🙂
    Thanks Angie.

    Reply
  72. Mr T

    Am I allowed to enter if I am male…?? My lovely wife mentions these things a LOT. I would rather she was doing me than the vacuuming 😉

    Reply
  73. Charmaine Campbell

    I would rather be reading Fifty shades of Grey for the second time instead of vacuuming, oops need to get my copy back from my parents first…(shudders at the thought).

    Reply
  74. Rae

    I would rather being able to shower longer than 5 pathetic minutes, due to the extra time the Robomaid would provide me 🙂

    Reply
  75. Rona

    I couldn’t paint nail art on (5year old) Finns thumbs because I had to vacuum the house. He told me he wants to buy me the robot vacuum that does it all by itself (insert, big eyed, scrunched up nose, grin) so that I could paint “a red back spider please” on his thumb. Nail art is for boys too right? Look at Seal from the voice!

    Reply
  76. Mia

    I would so rather be out in the sunshine with my toddler, collecting sticks and leaves, than cleaning floors!

    Reply
  77. Alison

    Amazing! I’ve been trying to convince my husband I need a Robot Vacuum but with no success… I am forwarding him your email as we speak! I have a baby that is almost crawling and a British Bulldog that loves to shed(and drool), and my daily floor cleaning is a real drag. I would rather do ANYTHING other than vacuum – but a glass of wine sounds especially lovely 🙂

    Reply
  78. Sarah Morrison

    I would rather sit out the back with a cup of tea (whiskey) and listen to the birds and bees 🙂

    Reply
  79. Rebecca Bird

    I’d rather cuddle up on the lounge with the kids and watch a movie 🙂

    Reply
  80. Saekae

    I’d rather be sitting in a cafe enjoying a huge piece of cake and a yummy coffee 🙂

    saekae at bigpond dot net dot au

    Reply
  81. kim mills

    i’ve always wished for there to be a magic wand to wave around and clean my house , but ide be happy to watch a robot vac my floors rather than do it myself 🙂

    Reply
  82. fredastozki@yahoo.com.au

    I would much rather be snuggling with my munchkins than cleaning the floors!!!!

    Reply
  83. Freda

    And with more time out from house duties my mummy brain may get the needed rest to help prevent me putting my email address instead of my name :-z

    Reply
  84. Lauren G

    I would rather do anything than vacuum! Two kids under three and another due in four weeks, I would rather lay on the couch and try not to think about the (further) chaos that is about to engulf me. Lol!

    Reply
  85. Vicki

    I’d rather be drinking a Pina Colada on a tropical beach… just sayin.

    Reply
  86. Tracey Henriksen

    I’d rather be outside playing with the mess-makers than inside cleaning up after them!

    Reply
  87. Laura

    What crunchy floors isn’t a thing? Bits of food sticking to my kids legs – what…hang on…really? Damn. Well, if I didn’t spend time “vacuuming” my said crunchy floors, then I would spend more time reading the wonderful posts on The Little Mumma.

    Reply
  88. Fran

    I’d rather be sitting on the couch, enjoying a cuppa and catching up on all the tv shows that I can’t watch while the kids are awake, than spending my time vacuuming up the disaster zones around the dinner table where the kids sit.

    Reply
  89. Kylie

    Run! And I don’t particularly love that, but I’d rather get it and sweaty than vacuum!

    Reply
  90. Kylie

    *hot and sweaty* (bloody iPad!)

    Reply
  91. cass

    Read!

    Reply
  92. Fiona Denny

    All I think about is sleep – where can I squeeze in a power nap so that’s definitely what I’d rather be doing!! x

    Reply
  93. Jacqui

    I’ld rather be sleeping!!

    Reply
  94. Abbi

    Baking sweet treats for my kiddies…

    Reply
  95. Jane

    I would rather be planning my next holiday…=) actually there are a whole bunch of things I would rather be doing !!

    Reply

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