Home » Ecovac Robotics Deebot Slim 2 – let the robots clean up!

Ecovac Robotics Deebot Slim 2 – let the robots clean up!

Ever since I came across the concept of robotic vacuum cleaners, I have always wanted to have/try one. They come in a few shapes and sizes, but they all revolve around a low form device that runs around your floor, giving you a sweeping/vacuuming and mopping action, all in one. Ecovac Robotics have been selling such vacuum cleaners for a while. We take a look at the Deebot Slim 2 from their range. It comes in a small package, and comes with an app.

Deebot Slim 2 – Features

  •  Height of only 5.7cm, meaning it can fit under most furniture.
  • Can be controlled via a remote or a smartphone app
  • Three stage cleaning system: Sweeping, vacuum and mopping
  • Self adjusting wheels to adjust to your floor
  • Works on all kinds of hard floor (not on carpets)
  • Edge detect, ensuring it doesn’t fall off stairs
  • Direct suction means no tangling of pet hair or similar
  • Different modes for different cleaning tasks
  • Obstacle detection technology to ensure it doesn’t keep hitting walls/obstacles

In the box

  • Vacuum cleaning robot Deebot slim 2
  • 1x Mopping plate
  • 1x Remote control
  • 2x Washable mopping cloth
  • 4x Side brush
  • 1x User manual
  • 1x Charging dock
  • 2x High efficiency filter.

Look and feel

The Deebot Slim 2 definitely lives up to its name. At 5.7cm, it is definitely thin.

The device features a button and a connection LED on top.

The front includes an anti-collision bar, which is pretty much like a switch with detectors to stop this from constantly hitting walls and obstacles.

Turn it upside down and you will notice the sweepers, the two charging pads, the wheels and the mop. Sitting in the centre is the suction area which sucks the dirt. Underneath the mopping plate is an on/off switch.

Up top, you have a little slot to open this up. Inside, you will find a little handle attached to a box where all the dirt from the cleaning collects.

Setup

When you get it out of the box, you need to attach the sweepers as well as the mopping plate to the bottom of the device.

After that, find a good decent place for your charging dock, ensuring it has room around it so that the Deebot Slim 2 can get to it from at least one of 3 directions. Hence, it can be placed against a wall.

Leave the robot on charge for around 4 hours.

Follow the quick guide to turn the system on and get the app going if needed.

The app

The app is a good way to schedule cleans, as well as keep a tab on what the device is doing.

In case you don’t want it, you can get away without it. The remote that comes with it lets you perform cleaning tasks.

Ease of use

The device is extremely easy to use. After its initial charge (the status can be monitored via the app), you are good to go. I found that my device was fully charged out of the box.

To get it to operate, simply press one of the buttons on your remote based on the three cleaning modes available.

You have AUTO, which kind of does a zig-zag random sweep around your room.

There is SPIRAL, which starts at the centre and spirals outwards.

You have EDGE, which does the exact opposite of above, starting on the edges and slowly moving in.

Also on the remote is the HOME button, which takes the device back to its charging dock.

User experience

So one of the biggest advantages this has is how slim it is, and how the wheels can adjust according to your floor.

The biggest disadvantage is the fact that it cannot work with carpets/rugs. Sadly my house is a combination of wooden floor and rugs. This meant that my coverage option was a bit limited. This may or may not be a problem for the reader.

If it does come across a rug/carpet, it may get stuck.

When it runs, the device utters quite a gentle whirr/hum. You may think that this is because it doesn’t suck very hard. While this is true, the fact that it can run on its own while you are out and about means that it doesn’t need the same level of power you need for a bi-weekly 20 minute vacuum.

Different modes did what they were expected to do.

The sweepers are something most people who use regular vacuum cleaners may not be used to. They work most of the time, but if you drop a pea or two in front of them, there is a good chance that pea may shoot across the room!

It happily bumped into obstacles, and then proceeded to move around them after going back.

One funny quirk (read: bad feature) I noticed was that the charging dock is not very heavy. This meant that a couple of times the Deebot Slim 2 managed to hit it while cleaning, hence moving it away. Interestingly, it was able to return itself to a charging position afterwards despite the charging dock having moved.

The cleaning experience

So, the gentle hum gave me a false sense of ‘it is not doing much’. However, when I looked at the compartment, it was surprisingly full of (cat) hair and lots of dust. I had done a vacuum the day before, and mopped the floor, so this was bit of a surprise, but also a very good use case for needing a device such as this.

More information

The Deebot Slim 2 retails from £179 and can be bought via online retailers such as Amazon.

Verdict

Because of the flooring plan I live with, sadly this isn’t the device for me. However, if you have more hard floor, I would definitely recommend giving one of these a try. At £179, I’d say it sits in a very comfortable position compared to its competition.

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