If you are wondering, how to keep a robot vacuum from getting stuck, especially under furniture, you have hit a jackpot. Because in this article, you will find 10 tried and tested DIY hacks and tricks that will save you from the agonizing task of pulling a stuck robot vacuum cleaner from under the furniture.
Robot vacuum cleaners are a marvel invention of modern times. These are set-and-forget machines that will do the tedious cleaning work for you.
These advanced electronic devices do their work autonomously while saving you time and effort. They pick up dust, debris, pet hair, crumbs, and all the mess from your floors while you spend your time with your loved ones or do other stuff.
Despite all these positive features, robot vacuums can become troublesome at times. Sometimes they will start cleaning the same area or start a circle dance. Sometimes these hassle-free robots will make you do the agonizing task of bending over and pulling them out from under the furniture when they keep getting stuck there. Yes, getting robot vacuums out from under the furniture is a royal pain, especially when they decide to reach the innermost corner under the couch or bed.
Sometimes you might start thinking, I didn’t buy a robot vacuum cleaner to keep pulling it out from under the furniture every other day. But worry not. Below I have listed all the tricks and DIY hacks with which you can keep the robot vacuum from getting stuck.
Click on the image below to view the infographic for a visualized way to know all the tips and DIY hacks to keep your robot vacuum from getting stuck.
Read along for a detailed overview of each step.
1. Use Furniture Risers
While the latest models of robot vacuums are sleek in design, most are up to 3.8 inches or 9.65 cm high from the ground. This requires a good amount of height under the furniture for robot vacuums to easily find their way and don’t get stuck.
If your couch or bed has a low elevation, your Roomba or Ecovac will get stuck trying to go under it.
One of the easiest and most economical ways to keep robot vacuums from getting stuck under furniture is to use furniture risers. Whether it is your couch, table, or bed, these risers will provide enough space for your Roomba to navigate conveniently and pick up all the dust, hair, and debris.
These risers are available in different sizes from 1-inch up to 8-inch and are easily available from any nearby hardware shop at a cheap price. They are self-adhesive and are available in different materials as well – rubber, aluminum, or wood – whichever suits your preferences.
2. Use Bumper Extenders
A bumper extender is a cone-shaped rubber that can be glued or screwed on the front end of the bumper of a Roomba or any other model. These extenders will bump into the furniture base and the robot vacuum will change its direction instead of trying to go under it.
3. Use 3M Hooks
Another way to keep the robot vacuum from getting stuck is to use 3M hooks. This got to be one of the most genius DIY hacks of 3M hooks out there.
Take 2 3M hooks and glue them on the bumper of your robot vacuum on each side pointing backward. Whenever your Roomba is near a piece of low elevated couch, sofa, or bed, these hooks will bump into your furniture and the robot vacuum will change its path.
4. Use Pool Noodles
Robot vacuums are usually made to deal with low to medium-pile carpets. If you have high pile carpets and plush rugs with long tassels or fringes in the area your robot vacuum has to clean, it might get stuck on these carpets. This is the reason you might want to restrict your robot vacuum from getting onto the carpet and rug.
This can be done using pool noodles. Make a cut on one side of the pool noodle and stick them on the side of the carpets. Glue multiple pool noodles together to cover all sides of the carpet and rug. This will make a barrier for a robot vacuum. Once it bumps into the pool noodle, it will back off and change its direction at an angle instead of getting tangled with the fringes.
5. Buy Elevated Furniture
One way to keep the robot vacuum from getting stuck is to buy elevated furniture. This method is applicable when you have to buy a new piece of furniture or replace an old one. The main idea here is the same – to provide enough space for a robot vacuum cleaner under the couch or bed so that it won’t stuck.
6. Restrict Access
“Prevention is better than cure”.
Stop your Roomba from going near any low-elevated furniture instead of waiting for it to get stuck there.
One way to stop your Roomba from going under the couch is simply to restrict access. This can either be done physically or virtually.
- Physically, you can put cardboard or some other physical barrier that would close the gap between the furniture and the ground. This way robot vacuum will bump into that barrier and will change its direction instead of trying to go under.
- Virtually, you can restrict the low-elevation area through the mobile application. Open the map of your house and draw a No-Go zone around the area you want to restrict your robot vacuum and it won’t go there anymore.
- Another virtual way is to place a virtual wall near the area you want to keep your robot vacuum away from. This will also restrict Roomba from getting into the danger zone.
7. Remove Thick Rugs And Carpets
Plush, lavish area rugs and carpets with high and dense pile are surely the most comfortable thing to walk on. While some robot vacuums can clean high-pile carpets, if your carpet or rug has stringy trims or tassels, your robot vacuum will keep getting tangled into those tassels.
The best way to keep your Roomba from getting stuck on the rugs or carpets is to either remove these high pile carpets before the robot vacuum starts cleaning or block off the area either by placing any physical barrier or by restricting through a mobile application.
Using pool noodles, described above, will come in handy for keeping your Roomba away from rugs and carpets if you don’t want to move them.
8. Place The Dock At A Central Place.
The charging dock is also called a Homebase. And this has a reason. The Homebase does much more than just charge the robot vacuum. It also directs it around the house and guides it through signals. This is the reason the Homebase should be placed at a central location in the house. If the robot vacuum gets far away from the Homebase, it will lose the signals and might get stuck.
If the Homebase has any clutter around it, whether household items or cables, the robot vacuum will get tangled in them while trying to dock. So, the Homebase should have enough space around it.
9. Prepare The Area For Your Robot Vacuum
Preparing the area before your robot vacuum starts the cleaning session is one way to stop it from getting stuck.
This is especially applicable to the dining table and chairs. This is a very common piece of furniture where the robot vacuum finds it difficult to navigate around easily. Even if you have a small dining table with only four chairs, your robot vacuum cleaner will still find it very difficult to navigate through twenty wooden legs (four for each chair and the table). And if the chair’s legs are interlinked with each other, it will become a nightmare for your Roomba to solve this never-ending maze. It will surely get stuck or will keep spinning in the same area.
So before the cleaning session starts, pick up all the chairs and put them on the dining table upside down. This will allow your robot vacuum to navigate through the dining table smoothly.
10. keep Lights On
You must be wondering, why robots need light. Well, that’s what I thought when I first came to know about this fact. The reason for this is that most robot vacuums have optical sensors installed in them for navigation.
Optical sensors use light to detect things, they work best when there is some light around them. So to keep your robot vacuum from going blind and bumping into obstacles during the cleaning session, it is advisable to keep at least some light on even if there is no one at home.
Why does a robot vacuum get stuck?
A robot vacuum has sensors that guide it through most of the obstacles and hurdles while cleaning. Most robot vacuums can even avoid stairs and find their way under fairly high furniture. But problems arise with low-lying furniture where most robot vacuum cleaners get stuck and stop working. Other issues that can cause them to get stuck and give up are listed below.
1. Clogged Brush Or Wheels
Dust, dirt, pet hair, and fluff get stuck in the brush, bearings, and wheels of a robot vacuum. If you don’t clean your robot vacuum, pet hair and fluff can clog its brush and wheel. Clogged brush and wheels will make the robot vacuum cleaner louder and it will stop working every now and then.
So, to keep your robot vacuums last longer, you must clean them at least once a week.
2. Computer Cables And Other Wires
Robot vacuums have sensors that guide them through obstacles and stairs. But these robots are not that sophisticated to find their way through a tangled web of cables and wires lying on the floor.
For your robot vacuum to do its job with ease, you should place your computer cables and other wires in an organized way preferably along the walls to give your robot vacuum a clear area to clean.
3. Clutter On Floor
Navigating around an overly cluttered floor is a lot to ask from a robot vacuum cleaner. This is a common problem if you have kids in your house. Kids’ toys on the floor will make a zig-zag maze for your robot vacuum which it might not like and give up while trying to avoid all the hurdles.
Clothes or socks lying on the floor might get stuck in the wheels or the brush of the robot vacuum, forcing it to stop.
So, it is advisable to first declutter your floor, and remove all the stuff, before letting your robot vacuum do the cleaning chore. This will make life easier for your robot vacuum.
Conclusion
So, keeping your robot vacuum from getting stuck is not a big deal if you take care of some basics before letting it room around. Some simple tricks and DIYers can make your and your robot vacuum’s life easy.
So which of the method worked for you in keeping your robot vacuum cleaner from getting stuck under furniture? Or have you found any other DIY hack for this purpose? Please take a moment and share your thoughts with us by commenting below.
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