Robot vacuums (and mops) have one purpose: to do the cleaning so you don't have to. Generally, that works pretty well, but there's one side effect of having a robot cleaner I didn't expect. I'm better at cleaning now, too.

I recently reviewed the Deebot X2 Omni, which was my first experience with a robot vacuum/mop. As someone who does not enjoy vacuuming or mopping (and doesn't do it nearly as often as a result), I've been thinking about getting one for a long time. However, my expectations were mostly about the robot itself. Where I would put it, which areas of my house it would struggle with, etc. I wasn't thinking much about how I would adjust to my new robot roommate.

Robots Need Our Help

"I've fallen and I can't get up!"

Strangely enough, the first thing you have to do when you get a robot vacuum is clean your house. For the first mapping run to be accurate, it's important to get everything off the floor that shouldn't be there. Before my robot has moved an inch, I'm already giving it a helping hand.

That's what I immediately noticed about having a robot vacuum in my home. The device that is designed to do cleaning for me is tricking me into keeping my house cleaner.

This is probably obvious, but a robot vacuum can really only do so much. They don't have robotic arms to pick stuff up and put it away while roaming your home—not yet, at least. Every little thing on your floor is an obstacle the robot has to navigate around. So, if you want your entire floor to be cleaned, someone has to make sure it's cleared.

Forced Good Habits

That person is, of course, me. I've been staying on top of keeping the floors clear when I know the robot vacuum is going to do some cleaning. I have mine scheduled to run twice per week, so I know when one of those times is coming up, I need to pick up stuff around the house. Scheduling the robot to clean has scheduled my own cleaning as well.

I've heard similar stories from people when they hire a cleaning service for their home. Rather than let the service do it all, people will tidy up a bit before they come over. That's more an issue of being vain than having to prep for the service, but I was reminded of it when I found myself cleaning up for the robotic cleaning service in my home.

The truth is I'm not mad about needing to help the robot vacuum. It might sound a bit counterintuitive to need to clean up for a device designed to clean up, but I look at it as a positive side effect. I feel like my house has been much cleaner since getting a robot vacuum, and the robot is not the only one responsible for it. I'm doing my part, and if you get one, you will too.