Rabu, 08 Agustus 2012

Finally a robot that can mop your hard floors!

wedding dress review Evolution Robotics Mint Automatic 4200

Evolution Robotics Mint Automatic 4200

Only used it once, but it worked perfectly. I was initially skeptical because I first happened to look at Scooba and thought putting water down and sucking/mopping it up seemed like the best way. The Mint approach is different and I like it better: keep the hardware simple, run the device more often to maintain a clean floor, keep maintenance low, keep cost down.

I agree with others who mentioned that the automatic parking/charging and scheduling of more expensive devices doesn't make sense when you have to empty the bin and clean parts anyway. At first I thought I would run it wet often to "do a better job", but after watching it run on wet and then dry I think 2-4 dry runs a few days apart and then a wet run should work well and be easier. The dry cloths pick up dust and dirt well.

It ran for a long time before exhausting the battery, and the kids enjoyed watching it. The very low noise level is really a good thing. Size is perfect. Compatibility with many cleaning cloth brands is also great.

Many, if not most of us, are really busy with more important things. Any sort of regular maintenance or even simple cleaning requirement is going to keep us from using a device often. Mint's simple steps of mounting the cloth, putting it down and hitting two buttons, ignore it for a couple of hours, pull off the cloth into the trash, and plug it in - there is no reason not do do it often.

I imagined that during a wet cycle, the cloth would get dirty fast and you'd want to rinse it one or more times. You can't do this because it resets its "map" when you pick it up. Another reviewer said that a firmware update was coming to allow a continuation of a cycle, so I called customer service to verify. The first person said an update was in the works to add that feature, and when I asked for a timeline, they forwarded me to the CA office. The person in that office was unaware of an update and seemed concerned that false information was being given to customers. But she said that you can stop it in the middle of the room, rinse the cloth, and start it on the other side. It may not meet in the middle perfectly, but I don't think I'll miss that feature. You can also run it without the "GPS cube" and it will use another algorithm to do a smaller area.

Get your Evolution Robotics Mint Automatic 4200 Now!

7 komentar:

  1. Only used it once, but it worked perfectly. I was initially skeptical because I first happened to look at Scooba and thought putting water down and sucking/mopping it up seemed like the best way. The Mint approach is different and I like it better: keep the hardware simple, run the device more often to maintain a clean floor, keep maintenance low, keep cost down.

    I agree with others who mentioned that the automatic parking/charging and scheduling of more expensive devices doesn't make sense when you have to empty the bin and clean parts anyway. At first I thought I would run it wet often to "do a better job", but after watching it run on wet and then dry I think 2-4 dry runs a few days apart and then a wet run should work well and be easier. The dry cloths pick up dust and dirt well.

    It ran for a long time before exhausting the battery, and the kids enjoyed watching it. The very low noise level is really a good thing. Size is perfect. Compatibility with many cleaning cloth brands is also great.

    Many, if not most of us, are really busy with more important things. Any sort of regular maintenance or even simple cleaning requirement is going to keep us from using a device often. Mint's simple steps of mounting the cloth, putting it down and hitting two buttons, ignore it for a couple of hours, pull off the cloth into the trash, and plug it in - there is no reason not do do it often.

    I imagined that during a wet cycle, the cloth would get dirty fast and you'd want to rinse it one or more times. You can't do this because it resets its "map" when you pick it up. Another reviewer said that a firmware update was coming to allow a continuation of a cycle, so I called customer service to verify. The first person said an update was in the works to add that feature, and when I asked for a timeline, they forwarded me to the CA office. The person in that office was unaware of an update and seemed concerned that false information was being given to customers. But she said that you can stop it in the middle of the room, rinse the cloth, and start it on the other side. It may not meet in the middle perfectly, but I don't think I'll miss that feature. You can also run it without the "GPS cube" and it will use another algorithm to do a smaller area.

    BalasHapus
  2. I have LOTs of hardwood floors in my house that I swept daily before I got my Mint (whom we affectionately call "Earl"). We charge it up and let it run either in the morning or at night while we are asleep. Now I have those just cleaned floors every day. My family can freely walk barefoot without all those little crumbs that stick to your feet. And all that time I was sweeping and mopping are going into much more productive things like spending time with my kids and in general, being less stressed.

    It just works like a charm and so worth the investment.

    -Kimberly

    BalasHapus
  3. First: notice the 5-star rating that I have given this.

    I agree with all of the 5-star reviewers: this product is worth the price (have had it about 6 weeks now). I have used it on vinyl (Congoleum/linoleum) floors, tile floors and wooden floors. It works well on all of them. Time will tell more.

    However, rather than repeat what others have said, I will describe some aspects that might disappoint you when/if you buy it, but these do not outweigh the benefits.

    - This does NOT do a deep clean. That takes elbow grease and this, naturally, is not heavy enough to scrub that well (you wouldn't want it to be that heavy). You will have to do a deep clean first. The Mint will then maintain that clean floor. I use it about once a week.

    - The designers did a generally good job, except for the week when they all took vacation at once and let the janitor decide where to put the charging port. Believe or not, these idiots put the port in a spot on the underside of the unit. You have to turn the thing upside down to plug the charger in. An automatic charging-base system would have been a much better approach than having to plug it in manually every time.

    - Sweeping: does an ok job, but it would be difficult for such a device to get everything. It is more useful when cleaning (washing).

    - Washing (as opposed to sweeping) battery life is about 2 hours and it takes about 45 minutes to do a 12 x 20 area having several obstacles (island, tables, multiple angle walls, etc.). This allows me to wash with a mild detergent and then do a second pass to rinse (see below).

    - While the Mint senses an overhang and will not fall off, it does often stop moving and generates an error message. It's as though it gets confused and just gives up.

    Tips:

    The Swiffer washing rags work, but leaves a bit of a sticky residue. Water, with a little bit of Dawn dish-washing liquid (seems a little better than the Ivory) or Ivory liquid dish soap, and the Mint washing rag works better. I soak the rag in a bowl of solution and then pour a little of the solution at different spots on the floor to make sure the rag on the Mint remains wet. Following that, I use the same process, but only water to rinse any residue away, again adding water on the floor to help keep the Mint rag wet.

    When you clean with many floor cleaners, including too much vinegar, the floors have a sticky residue that you will hear when you walk on it long after it's dried, and which will attract dirt, unless you rinse the floor after washing. One or two squirts of Dawn in a bowl of water is all you need for this maintenance activity. For a very soiled area, you may want to hand-clean it or pour a little of the solution on it to let it dissolve the dirt before the Mint gets to it.

    More details can be found at mintcleaner dot com.

    BalasHapus
  4. I returned my iRobot after use for 2 weeks because I found out that it scratches my newly installed hardwood floor and left many marks. I was losing hope to get help from a robot to clean the floor, until I found Mint which works differently from all other vacuum type of robots available.

    I have been using swifter to clean my hardwood floor, so I know Mint will clean just fine. Several things I like compared with iRobot
    - won't hurt hardwood floor
    - very quiet. I have a cat and she is really scared by the loud noise of iRobot
    - the navigation works better than the random pattern of iRobot, in my opinion. I observed, and Mint will go back to the places missed due to furniture, and also cleans around the furniture legs. It will also clean the edges, and I think the square shape works better than the round shape of iRobot
    - one machine for both sweeping and mopping
    - light weight and easy for storage
    - no docking station, so that charging is easy everywhere
    - very simple interface. Just three buttons

    To my surprise, both the reusable dry and wet cloths included work very well. I think the wet cloth even hold more moisture than the disposable one. But occasionally, when running at a larger place, I need to add some water at the route to keep it moisture enough.

    There are some things I hope it could improve. I don't think there is a "pause" function. When you press the bottom, it stops and clear off the navigation. There are times when the front of cloth accumulate a lot of dust/hairs, and I think it will be great if the robot can be paused to clean that off. It gets stuck at tight places sometimes, but I guess all cleaning robots do. There is no timer liker higher model of iRobot, but I assume it will require a docking station, and more complicated interface.

    Overall, I am satisfied with the product. The fact that it can do both sweeping and mopping worth the price. I ended up buying another hand-held vacuum to clean my area rugs, but it could be useful for vacuuming car anyway. I am happy with the combination of Mint and a hand-held vacuum to clean my hardwood-throughout home.

    BalasHapus
  5. I got the Mint a few weeks ago, and it really does a good job. The first day I watched it move back and forth across the room in nice even lines. When it hit an obstacle it goes around and continues on the previous line, so the navigation system really works. Also, it does a great job of getting the dirt and dust off the floor. I've definitely been amazed at what I've found on the micro-fiber cloths after the cleaning is done.

    There are a couple of places that give it a problem, but that is more to do with having a coffee table that has legs at the perfect height to trap the Mint. Even so, it's only gotten trapped under the table once. It also got trapped after it back under the refrigerator, but that was a really freak occurrence since it's managed to clean there a dozen times now. What it impressive is that it manages to get partway under the couch and not get trapped. The edge of the couch is about 1/2" shorter than the Mint, so the cleaning pad part goes right under, as does the first part of the main body (the picture doesn't show this clearly but the body of the Mint has a slightly downward slope towards the front). The Mint stops, thinks for a second then backs up, goes forward a bit and tries to go back under again a bit further along. The one other thing that has thrown the Mint so far is the threshold between one section of floor and the other. I guess it is slightly higher than the sensor allows.

    As for the sounds level... The Mint is a bit musical, playing chimes when you start it, and again when it's done (both when it's finished it's pattern and again when it arrived back to where it started). It'll also play music when it gets stuck. That was particularly useful because I had completely lost track of where it was operating when it got stuck. Another time I had forgotten that I had set the Mint to running, until it bumped into the couch. That isn't to say it's totally silent, but when watching TV I only notice it is operating when I am paying attention.

    The navigation system works pretty well. I have plenty of chairs and tables for the Mint to clean under and it manages admirably. There is a range limit, but it is further than I expected (although I haven't worked out the exact distances involved. Also the instruction manual made me believe the navigation was directional, but the Mint found it's way around the back as well.

    The Mint comes with two micro-fiber sweeping clothes (which you can also use for your own dusting if so inclined) and a micro-fiber mopping cloth. There is also the navigation cube which you put on a counter. The robot part of the Mint uses the navigation signal from the cube to keep track of it's location and the layout of the room. Actually the cube is kind of cool because it will turn on automatically when you start the robot and turn off when the cycle is over. Oh, there is also the wall charger for the robot and necessary batteries for the cube.

    For people with all wood floors like me, this is a great product. It's fun to watch and does a good job.

    BalasHapus
  6. Update: The Mint died, as I thought it might as an expensive electronic gadget.. It started going around in circles. This was after a year. I purchased another battery pack, that was not the problem. Since I originally purchased from Hammacher Schlemmer they took it back no questions asked. It was the simplest return ever. I bought another and I am still happy with my purchase. If I had not purchased from HS I'd be upset but since it has a lifetime warranty I am still very pleased with my purchase. If I had purchased elsewhere without such a generous warranty I'd be understandably upset. The product is still 5 stars, so long as you invest in the lifetime warranty.

    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    I bought this gadget, on amazon through Hammacher Schlemmer because of their generous warranty and paid about $20 extra, because it had excellent reviews wherever I looked.

    I have hardwood floors because I have allergies and have cats. This item is a dream come true. Now my floors have always looked excellent, but after having used the mint I did not realize how filthy they actually were. It sweeps and does an excellent job of getting hair. However, I have found that different commercial sheet products vary. I used the recyclable sheets enclosed and they were okay. But again, I have allergies, thus, I can't spend my time getting the cat hair close to my lungs (I'll end up wheezing later)in not only removing the recyclable sheets enclosed, but also cleaning them as well. I have tried the disposable:Murphy soft wipes that did not impress me. What did remarkably well were the Homelife brand (unscented) dry sweeping cloths refills they picked up so much filth I thought the mint was making dirt as I could not imagine my floors that nasty. The homelife wet sweeper cloths also were very thick and did much better than the Murphy brand soft wipes on mopping.

    I had to run the mint on my floors several times before no more filth was picked up and the sheets stay white and not grimy black.

    Now I run it once a day and my allergies have decreased significantly and my disposable sheets are just an off white after use. When I swept the floors weekly, I would be wheezing and having a mild asthma attack later. Instead of kicking up dirt, this mint takes care of sweeping quite efficiently.

    Using this product, and getting rid of upholstery furniture(now using leather) makes me breathe much easier.

    A life saver, worth every penny

    BalasHapus
  7. I had an experience with a "robotic" vacuum cleaner a few years ago that almost made me ignore this product. The vacuum cleaner drove in circles, was under powered, and the results were inconsistent and disappointing at best.

    I received delivery of my Mint Cleaner at the beginning of the week and have been so impressed with how capable this product is. Every square inch of the floor gets clean, it happens while we sleep and when we wake up in the morning it is right where we left it. It is like seeing the Christmas presents under the tree on Christmas morning as a child...You don't know how it all happened, it just did!! No programming, no special placement, I did not even have to run out for batteries.

    I am impressed with the battery life(3 hours) the mopping action when it is in wet cleaning mode and how it always finishes the job by cleaning along the walls one last time. The ability for this device to know where it is in relation to the edges of the room is very impressive. I am also very happy with the cleaning clothes provided. We have a black, long haired dog and tan tile floors and the Mint in dry mode just harvested the dog hair. The way you install and remove the cleaning pad is ingenious. As quiet as it is, it does not get the dog worked up while it is cleaning up after her.

    This, my buying friends, is the real deal. It does not do all of the house work, but it takes care of a big chunk of what makes our house look dirty. I would highly recommend it.

    BalasHapus