Being able to set a schedule for your robot vacuum and then just forget about it is an amazing thing. Your little robotic housekeeper can do many things to help maintain the cleanliness of your home. But, can it easily go from room to room if it has to cross over a raised threshold?
Robot vacuums are designed to maneuver over certain lips and raises in your floor, but they are not equipped for any drastic climbing.
Roomba models are only able to go over thresholds of 5/8″ or less. When you think about it, 5/8″ is not very high.
So if you have raised lips or thresholds that separate your rooms, you’ll want to measure those to make sure a robotic vacuum cleaner can easily move room to room.
Be sure to check the specs on the specific brand and model that you plan to purchase.
What Is A Threshold Or Room Separator
When talking about the threshold, I am referring to the wood, metal, or something plastic strip that you often see in doorways, separating one room’s flooring from another.
Those threshold strips are often used to hide seams in the floor.
Cleaning Multiple Rooms If You Can’t Get Over The Threshold
So, what are you supposed to do if you bought your robot vacuum to clean your entire first floor, but you have a threshold that is too high for the vacuum to get over?
Luckily there are some ways to still have your robot vacuum clean an entire floor, even with high thresholds or room dividers.
Lay A Mat Or Rug Over The Threshold
One of the easiest ways make sure your robot vacuum can go from room to room, if you have steep thresholds, is to lay a carpet over the threshold.
Now your Roomba can easily move from room to room with no interference from the door’s threshold.
Schedule Different Routines For Each Room
This isn’t the most ideal solution, because the biggest benefit of owning a robot vacuum is having it clean on a schedule with little assistance from you.
In this scenario, you actually need to let the vacuum clean one room, and then physically move it to the next room so it can clean there.
Definitely not ideal, but if you don’t like the look of a rug or carpet in your doorways, this might be your next best option.
Buy Another Robot Vacuum For The Second Room
This obviously isn’t an option for everyone. But, if you find that your robot vacuum cleaner can’t get over the divider strip between rooms, then you could get a new robot for each room.
Again, this is not the ideal situation, but luckily there are some fairly cheap options on the market right now, if you just need a second robot vacuum and don’t care about all the bells and whistles.
Check out budget robot vacuums like ILIFE and Eufy. These are both solid brands that will get the job done, but don’t carry the hefty price tag of an iRobot or Neato.
Final Thoughts on Robot Vacuums Vs Thresholds
At the end of the day, there are definitely ways around it if your threshold or divider strips are giving your robot problems. It definitely shouldn’t keep you from buying a robot vacuum…unless the house is made of like 20+ rooms, all with significant thresholds to traverse.
Throw down a piece of carpet or just pick up the robot vacuum and place it in the next room. It definitely isn’t the most ideal situation when you are looking to automate your life, but that is life.
Good luck!
