Your guide to a smart home
Your guide to a smart home
A robot vacuum makes household cleaning much more manageable. However, high thresholds can thwart these plans. Doorsteps of 2 to 3 cm (0.8 - 1.2 inches) height are quite common, especially in old flats.
Not all robotic vacuum cleaners can overcome such heights easily.
But don't worry: there are many good robot vacuums in the UK that can overcome high doorsteps.
In this review, you will find out which models do well, and we’ll also tell you what you can do if the doorstep is too high for your robot vacuum.
S7 can easily overcome higher door thresholds of ~ 1.9 cm (or 0.75 inches)
You’ll notice a lot of high-tech features in this model. The VibraRise feature offers a liftable mop for carpets, and the Sonic Mopping system features a vibrating mopping system.
The Roborock S7 can cross higher thresholds up to 1.9 cm (0.75 inches).
First, the Roborock S7 Vacuum Cleaner approaches the threshold straight on. If this is unsuccessful, it turns 90 degrees and tries again at an angle.
Our Roborock S7 handled standard doorsteps and carpets with ease.
Despite this, the Roborock S7 boasts some brilliant features.
Roborock S7 is one of the best vacuum robots on the market. 🏆
Our Roborock S7 review is a great place to start if you're interested in learning more about the vacuum robot.
"Climbing performance at thresholds: 2 cm (0.8 inches)".
The Roborock S5 Max is one of the most popular robot vacuums in UK. It’s an all-rounder, suitable for almost every home and won our hearts in the test with its outstanding performance.
Roborock S5 Max (more details here: Roborock S5 Max Review) is a great robot vacuum cleaner.
It also didn’t have any problems overcoming thresholds with a height of 2 cm (0.8 inches.
The Roborock S5 Max is an excellent robot vacuum that came out with flying colours in almost all test categories. It’s a "perfect all-rounder" and is an enrichment for nearly every smart home.
"Climbing performance at thresholds: 2 cm (0.8 inches)".
The Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI is an outstanding hybrid mop/vacuum. It’s cleaning performance is perfect. The mopping feature is also one of its kind: The vibrating OZMO Pro wiping system ensures an excellent mopping result! Another highlight: self-emptying dustbin (optional).
The Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI is a robot vacuum cleaner with mopping capabilities that leaves nothing to be desired.
The vibrating wiping plate ensures a significantly improved mopping result. The OZMO T8 AIVI earned its title as the test winner in the "Robot Vacuum and Mop Combos review".
The AIVI technology for automatic obstacle avoidance also convinced us (even if there is still room for improvement). It’s also a great feature that you can use the robot vacuum as a security camera.
The OZMO T8 AIVI also had no problems with doorsteps. The Ecovacs robot vacuum overcame obstacles of up to 2 cm (0.8 inches).
All in all, the OZMO T8 AIVI is a high-tech product (read more here: Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI Review). But it’s also more expensive.
Great mopping result |
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Top cleaning performance on hard floors and carpets |
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Automatic obstacle avoidance thanks to AIVI technology |
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Innovative surveillance camera function |
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Optional: Auto-empty station |
Certainly no option for bargain hunters |
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Automatic obstacle avoidance doesn’t work 100% reliably yet |
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No underlay for the charging dock (to protect the floor from the wet mop) in the delivery scope |
"Climbing performance at thresholds: 2.1 cm (8.3 inches)".
A good robot vacuum with a mopping function AND a self-emptying dustbin (optional).
When you think of the Proscenic M8 Pro, the first thing that comes to mind is the self-emptying dustbin. The Proscenic M7 Pro is among one of the top models in our "Robot vacuums with self-emptying base review", and that with good reason.
But the Proscenic M8 Pro has even more to offer.
The climbing performance of the robot vacuum with integrated wiping function is also impressive. It can overcome a height of 2.1 cm (8.3 inches).
Therefore, the little household helper hardly reaches its limits with conventional doorsteps and carpets (low pile / high pile).
You can’t go wrong with the Proscenic M8 Pro. You’ll get a great robot vacuum cleaner with mopping capabilities, an auto-empty station and excellent climbing performance. And that at an unbeatable price, too.
Moppiong feature |
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Powerful suction - decent cleaning results on hard floors |
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Good laser navigation (lidar) |
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Smart Mapping: Can save multiple maps |
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Long battery life |
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You can define no-go zones for specific areas / specific rooms |
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With carpet detection function |
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Good price-performance ratio for a self emptying robot vacuum |
Quite noisy |
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You can’t control the water flow rate |
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App with many functions (but has a few bugs) |
The manufacturers realised that this problem often occurs. Thus, they redesigned the latest robotic vacuum cleaners so they can handle high doorsteps better.
They put rollers on the bottom side of the robot vacuum.
With these special rollers, modern robot vacuums can easily overcome typical door thresholds.
But even these rollers don’t work wonders...
Even the greatest "climber" among the robot vacuums can’t overcome a door threshold of approx. 2.3 - 2.4 cm (~ 0.9 inches).
But what if your doorsteps are higher than that?
That’s not the end of the world. There’s a solution to this problem: A special robot vacuum doorstep / threshold ramp.
You can build a doorstep ramp yourself - depending on your craftsmanship - or just buy one online* on Amazon UK.
There are a few features to consider when choosing a robot vacuum doorstep ramp:
Not all people are skilled craftsmen and can build a robot vacuum doorstep ramp themselves.
It’s not necessary.
You can buy doorstep ramps in all shapes and colours on Amazon in the UK.
You can conveniently purchase a corresponding rubber ramp on the Internet (buy here from Amazon* UK).
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
You can also buy metal ramps online* for little money on Amazon UK.
But you have to screw these to the floor.
If you don’t want to do that, you can also use self-adhesive ramps.
These ramps are available in different colours. You’ll find a matching style for sure.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
If you want a high-quality ramp, you can also buy a customised robot vacuum doorstep ramp made of wood.
You can choose the wood type and colour.
The ramps are manufactured in Germany according to your needs and are of very high quality.
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
If you are good at handicrafts, you can build a robot vacuum doorstep ramp yourself.
Wood is very suitable because you can buy it in almost every DIY store for little money and it looks very nice. You can also choose the best (colour-wise) matching type of wood (depending on your floor’s colour and condition).
Then you can cut the wood to the appropriate length/height and sand it down.
Once you built the ramp, you can apply a wood preservative. That’ll keep the wood in good condition for as long as possible. It won’t wear out too quickly either.
If you buy a robot vac only because it has the "best climbing performance", you exclude many excellent models from the beginning.
So if you focus too much on just one criterion, you may have to go for a model with a bad price-performance ratio or make unnecessary compromises.
If your favourite robotic vacuum cleaner has problems overcoming thresholds, you can use a door threshold ramp (buy it or build it). That’ll solve the problem once and for all.
You should measure the threshold precisely with a conventional ruler before buying.
We always test a robot vacuums on 90-degree edges. That way, we can maintain the necessary objectivity in our tests.
But many doorsteps have rounded edges due to wear.
A robot vacuum’s climbing performance may improve by 1-2 millimetres with rounded edges.
You've already chosen a model, but you're not 100% sure if the robot vac can handle high doorsteps?
That’s our advice: Just give it a try!
Every living situation is different. Sometimes robot vacuums simply cope better with some doorsteps than others because they are round or for other reasons.
High doorsteps can be a show-stopper for your robot vacuum.
The robotic vacuum cleaner simply stops if it can’t cross a threshold, and you’ll have to carry it to the next room.
That’s not what we’d call home automation.
Fortunately, manufacturers have recognised this problem. There are excellent robot vacuum cleaners for high doorsteps of up to 2.3 cm (9 inches) in the UK these days. Our selection of the best robot vacuums for thresholds gives you a good overview of the models.
If you live in an older flat, it’s quite common that the doorsteps are higher than 3 cm (1.2 inches). Not even the best "climbing master" among the robot vacuums can cope with that.
But don't worry. You don't have to do without a cleaning robot.
With "robot vacuum" doorstep / threshold ramps, you make your home accessible for the robot, so it can move effortlessly from room to room.
Yes, some robot vacuums can easily overcome thresholds of up to 2.3 - 2.4 cm.
Not at all. Some robot vacuum models can easily overcome thresholds of up to 2.3 - 2.4 cm. This "climbing performance" should be more than sufficient for most old flats.
Even the "climbing masters" among the robot vacuums can’t cope with doorsteps higher than 2.3 - 2.4 cm.
If your door thresholds are higher than 2.3 - 2.4 cm, the robot vacuum usually can’t overcome these thresholds. However, you don’t have to do without a robot vacuum. A special doorstep ramp for robot vacuums can help. You can buy it online or in a specialist shop or build it yourself if you’re a skilled craftsman.
The “climbing champ” of robot vacuums is the Qihoo 360 S7 at the moment. In our tests, it overcame a height of 2.3 to 2.4 cm.
The iRobot Roomba i7 (+) can overcome thresholds with a height of 1.9 cm. The Roomba s9 (+) had an obstacle clearance of 2 cm in our tests.
You can easily buy a robot vacuum doorstep ramp on the Internet.
Yes, we experienced this with some models.
If you attach the water tank, some cleaning robots’ climbing performance decreases by a few mm.
The climbing performance of a device might be slightly lower if it’s on a soft carpet.
However, the difference is in the millimetre range and is no big deal.
Yes, there are various purchasing options available to you on Amazon in the UK.
Highly recommended robot vacuum cleaner 🏆. Buy it now!
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