Disclaimer: we received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.
Sometimes you don’t realise how much you need something until you have it. For me, vacuuming was a daily chore, thanks to my two sons who constantly trail dirt into the house and whilst I knew robot vacuums existed, I just didn’t think that they would be up to the challenge, but I’m very pleased to say I have been proved wrong!
As a fan of smart home technology I already had a few smart appliances around the home, so setting up the Hoover HG4 robot was pretty simple. The instructions were easy to follow and within minutes it was connected to our WiFi and the app was up and running. Before we could start though we needed to make sure that the floors were clear so a bit of a tidy up was necessary to get the loose cables and abandoned shoes out of the way and once done the robot was ready to tackle the floors. On it’s first trip it carefully mapped out the layout of our home, tracking the walls and identifying where the furniture is. The app shows the robot’s progress and I was fascinated to see how the laser was able to “see” the walls and features of our home, even down to individual chair and table legs.
The following day I scheduled the hoover to clean the entire downstairs floor whilst I was at work. I couldn’t resist checking it’s progress on the app but I was astonished when I came home and saw just how noticeably clean the floors were! Every room had been thoroughly vacuumed and the robot had returned to the charging point ready for the next cleaning session.
Once the mapping is complete the app allows you to name individual rooms and to create cleaning schedules. Now the robot cleans the hallway and porch every morning while the rest of the house is tackled througout the week. Although most rooms are carpeted, a few rooms have hard floors and different options can be chosen for these rooms, for example I’ve chosen a lower power vacuum for the tiled kitchen floor.
While we’ve made an effort to keep floors clear, there were some early hiccups, shoelaces in the hall caused a tangle and the robot has been stuck under a table. Fortunately, these issues were easily resolved by using the app’s virtual wall and no-go zone features to restrict access to trouble spots.
The robot’s cleaning performance has genuinely impressed me. Even the edges of the carpet are cleaned thanks to the side brush that sweeps dust toward the centre. It’s easy to maintain with a spare brush, extra filter, and a handy cleaning tool included to keep everything running smoothly. Emptying the dustbin is quick and easy too, there’s a small bin at the back of the robot that lifts out and can easily be carried to the bin.
After seeing how clean my house is I can confidently say I won’t be going back to a manual vacuum cleaner ever again – the Hoover HG4 robot has certainly earned it’s place in our home!
RRP £249
The Review Studio 