In my busy home, pet hair, dust, dirt, and kid-friendly trash are a common sight.
With a fluffy golden retriever and two little boys at home, I always knew a robot vacuum would be a useful maintenance device for our light-colored wood veneer floors.
A few years ago, my husband bit the bullet and spent a few hundred bucks on a nice robot vacuum. It was every bit as awesome as I expected.
Unfortunately, my then-tiny kids couldn’t resist the urge to play with the robot as a toy—they played too many “games” of “trying to catch and stomp on the robot” and it eventually died. R.I.P.
Since the original robot vacuum was out of warranty and repairs weren’t cheap, I was left to clean the old-fashioned way with a dustpan and broom.
That is, until now. Although I’m already a big fan of robot vacuums, the high initial outlay has kept me from buying one again.
But when I heard Kmart had launched its own-brand version of the Anko robot vacuum cleaner, I was finally ready to jump back on the robot vacuum bandwagon.
Kmart’s Anko robot vacuum cleaner retails for just $169 – and its reviews and unboxing videos have gone viral on TikTok.
So it’s no surprise that the website product listing confirmed it was “sold out online” – and when I tried searching for it at my local Sydney Kmart store, it was listed as “out of stock” or “out of stock”.
Online reviewers who have already tried the product have praised it as a great value entry-level robot vacuum cleaner that works well on smooth surfaces such as hard floors and lightly dirty messes, making it perfect for small homes.
The product also claims to run for 90 minutes on a full charge and comes with a “simple dustbin and filtration system”.
The device costs about half the price of my first robot vacuum cleaner – and I admit, the huge price difference made me a little skeptical when I tried the product.
Spoiler alert: it did exactly what I expected it to, and even came with a few surprise extras. I got ahead of myself, though.
Upon opening the product box, my first impression was that it looked almost identical to my previous, more expensive robot vacuum. Even the buttons sounded exactly the same!
In addition to the device itself, you get a charging dock and power cord, a remote control (which takes two AAA batteries), a spare filter, and four side brushes (two of which are spares).
You also get a water tank for the mop attachment and a couple of mop pads – but more on that later. The instructions are brief and straightforward, and recommend a full eight-hour charge before first use. After that, just tap the side brushes and the robot vacuum is ready to go for the mess.
After pressing the power button on the device, there are three ways to start the robot vacuum: press the Start/Pause button on the device, use the supplied remote, or download the app and pair the robot vacuum to your wifi.
I know tech geeks love this phone pairing feature, but I personally have enough apps in my life that the remote and buttons on the machine are more than enough. I’m also unlikely to be able to remotely operate my robot vacuum when I’m not home – but I understand that this is a big selling point for some people.
When I sent my device on its maiden voyage, I was impressed by its ability to nimbly maneuver around the house with the help of its bumper sensors and drive wheels. The wheels are actually larger and sturdier than my previous model, which I observed helped it easily “shrug off” any obstacles it accidentally encountered.
People familiar with robot vacuums have expressed concerns that the suction power specs on the Anko model are lower than most others. In fact, its suction power is adjustable from 1200-2200 Pascals (Pa), while some online sources suggest a minimum of 2000-2500 Pascals.
Nonetheless, I put it to the test and cleaned up my dusty and dog-hair-filled floors – and honestly, it happily cleaned up everything. Click on the video at the top of this article to see it in action.
I was pleased to see that while the vacuum picked up dirt, dust, and hair, it did not pick up larger non-trash children’s items, like pencils, that it rolled across the floor.
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