Bobsweep PetHair Plus

amazon Bobsweep PetHair Plus reviews

Despite its good appeal, the expensive Bobsweep PetHair Plus is bogged down by a complicated setup process and unnecessary extras.

Aimed at pet owners, the Bobsweep PetHair Plus is a robot vacuum that promises to suck up even the most stubborn hairs. But while it does a good job of cleaning up after pets mess up, it has an overly complicated setup and isn’t the best for navigating different types of floors. It comes with some novelty features, like a mop attachment and a UV light, but they don’t make up for the lack of Wi-Fi connectivity — a feature you’d expect for a vacuum cleaner for this price list $899.99. If you’re looking for the ultimate bot, you’ll be better served by the Roomba 960.

Designs and Accessories

Bobsweep PetHair Plus is a great membership. It measures 13.8 inches in diameter and 4.5 inches tall, making it one of the largest robots we’ve tested. Shorter competitors, like its cousins, the Bobsweep Bobi Pet (12 x 3.5 inches) and the Roomba 980 (13.8 x 3.6 inches), perform better at stacking furniture as low as beds, couches, and coffee tables. The PetHair Plus just bumped into your couch; a problem it had with the Dyson 360 Eye, which is a bit taller at 4.7 inches. At 7.2 pounds, the PetHair Plus is also quite heavy.

In terms of design, the most striking thing about PetHair Plus is the color. Our test unit was an attractive dark cobalt blue, a nice change from the popular silver and black color scheme you’re used to seeing with robovacs. (Bobsweep is available in charcoal, though, if you fancy something a little less flashy.) At the top, you’ll find the display, controls, and transmitter. The front has infrared sensors and bumpers, while a removable dustbin and filter are located at the rear. On the right, you will find the power switch and the charging socket. Below you’ll find side brushes, rollers, front wheels, and two tank wheels. Like the Bobi Pet, the PetHair Plus has a UV light for additional disinfection.

Out of the box, Bobsweep comes with a surprising range of accessories. In addition to the essentials — charging dock and power cord — you also get a virtual wall, bumper stickers, mop attachment, two microfiber cloths, two side brushes, filter replacement kit, tool cleaning tool, additional screws, flat head screwdriver, and remote control. Why so many extras? That’s partly due to Bobsweep’s complicated setup, which I’ll cover later.

There is no Wi-Fi connection or app control on the PetHair Plus. That is disappointing as it’s a feature we’d expect to see at this price point. To control the bot, you will have to use the five buttons under the screen or the included remote. Using the buttons, you can start cleaning, choose between six cleaning modes (which range from random zig-zagging to more controlled mesh patterns), send bots to the base, mute the effect sound response or activate the troubleshooting test mode. You can also do all this from the remote, in addition to extras like programming scheduled cleanings, turning on the UV lights, and manually controlling the bot.

The display is easy to understand. It consists of four separate sections: charging, troubleshooting, cleaning, and test modes. Depending on the situation, relevant sections will light up to let you know how your robot is doing. So, for example, while it’s charging, you’ll see that section light up with a battery icon to indicate progress. For a vac without an app, this is a step up from going through manuals to understand error codes or symbols.

Complicated setup

While no robot is ready out of the box, the PetHair Plus requires more elbow grease than average. A typical setup for a robot without Wi-Fi usually requires inserting a side brush, setting up a charging dock, and letting it charge for a few hours. With Bobsweep, you have to do all of that and then some work.

The first is the side brush. Usually, this involves catching it and calling it a date. But with Bobsweep, you have to screw it up. It’s not difficult, but the supplied screwdriver is not the easiest to use, and it is an extra hassle when replacing parts.

Next is charging the robot, which takes several hours. Usually, you can start the first clean after it is fully charged. But with Bobsweep, there are a few extra steps — namely, syncing the dock, the remote, and the virtual wall. (Though before you can do that, you’ll have to find four AA batteries for the wall and two for the remote.) Without doing so, you won’t control the robot via the remote and will not return the base when the battery is about to run out.

To synchronize the dock, you must hold the button on the back while it is plugged in. Then you turn on the robot and wait for it to beep twice. The same process is repeated for the remote control. Virtual wall sync is more involved. The virtual wall is a cobalt block with two infrared emitters – one to the left and one to the front. There are three separate buttons on the back. The leftmost button synchronizes with the robot itself, while the other two activate the left or front barrier. First, you have to hold the sync button until you see the power light start blinking (about 10 seconds). Then you repeat the process with the center node. Finally, you continue the process with the rightmost button while also turning on the robot’s power switch. If you have done this successfully, PetHair Plus will beep twice.

If that sounds complicated, that’s because is entire setup process — minus the charging time — took over half an hour. That’s unnecessary when you consider that the Roomba 690 took a quick 15 minutes, including unboxing, Wi-Fi pairing, app download, and virtual wall setting.

where can you get a Bobsweep PetHair Plus online

bObsweep PetHair Plus Robotic Vacuum Cleaner and Mop, Charcoal: Buy it now

bObsweep PetHair Plus Robotic Vacuum Cleaner and Mop, Champagne: Buy it now

bObsweep PetHair Plus Robotic Vacuum Cleaner and Mop, Cobalt: Buy it now

bObsweep Pet Hair Plus Robotic Vacuum Cleaner and Mop, Midnight: Buy it now

Performance

Anyone who has a pet knows that cleaning up is a full-time job, so I battled PetHair Plus at home with my dog. Her hair loss is more than average, so Bobsweep has a lot of work to do. My apartment is next to a passage, which means the dust bunnies will reappear as soon as they’re defeated. After a full clean, I was pleased to find a dustbin full of hair and dirt.

While Bobsweep had no trouble picking up hair and debris from hardwood and tile, it struggled with my living room rug. It can’t always manage to switch between floor types, and when it does carpet, it usually gives me a sensor error. That may be due to the pattern, which consists of a black outline and some dark-colored geometric shapes (Many robot vacuums struggle with dark floors because of their infrared sensors). It also had some trouble getting over the threshold between my kitchen and the hallway. However, this is not a big drawback if you don’t have many carpets and can use the virtual wall to set boundaries for problem areas.

On the other hand, PetHair Plus has much better navigation than Bobi Pet. While the second person pulled down the dining room chair and crashed into my fridge for 20 minutes, the PetHair Plus managed to drive around my furniture. It bumped into things now and then, but never to the point where I felt bumper stickers were necessary.

I also tested the mop attachment on my kitchen floor, but it was a futile lesson. The attachment is easy enough to install and fits in a slot between the two main wheels. The microfiber cloth attaches to it via velcro, though you’ll have to wet it and add liquid soap first. Although I could see it damp the floor, it didn’t pick up any dirt, and the beet juice stains remained even after I steered the bot through the area several times. If you want its sparkling floors, you’re better off sticking with the Braava Jet 240 or a plain old Swiffer.

Similarly, UV lights may seem like a cool add-on but end up being like a gimmick. Without some Petri dishes and a microscope, I can’t test if this works. It’s a good placebo, but unless you want to eat out of stock, you shouldn’t put too much stuff in it. I would have liked a second face brush in its place.

Battery life on Bobsweep is somewhat shorter, reaching just under 75 minutes. While 90 minutes would be more appropriate, it’s better than the brief 45 minutes you get with the Dyson 360 Eye at full power. That’s enough to clean my hallway, kitchen, and about half of my living room. As for the automatic connection, Bobsweep was able to do it, although it took some time. At one point, it went backward in the wrong direction but was able to reorient itself when I moved it in the right direction.

As for noise, none of the robot vacuums are particularly quiet (except for the Eufy RoboVac 11). The PetHair Plus is a bit louder than average, but it’s still quieter than a traditional upright vacuum. You may have to turn up the volume if you’re watching TV, but it won’t wake the neighbors.

Conclusion

At $900, PetHair Plus is more complicated than it should be. While it does a good job at dusting, it’s hard to recommend due to its bulk, lack of Wi-Fi, and overly complicated setup process. For about $200 less, the iRobot Roomba 960 gets you Wi-Fi connectivity, app control, Alexa integration, maps of cleaned areas, smarter navigation, and good performance.

While you can find PetHair Plus for half the price at third-party retailers, it’s still hard to justify buying it over less expensive, more streamlined offerings. The entry-level Roomba 690 is $375 and comes with Wi-Fi. If you don’t care about Wi-Fi, it’s really hard to beat the value of the Eufy RoboVac 11.

Advantages

Good suction power.

The dashboard is clear and detailed.

Comes with lots of accessories like a virtual wall mount and mop.

Defect

Expensive.

Not the best at switching between flooring types.

The setup process takes a long time.

Not suitable for low-profile furniture.

Lacks Wi-Fi connectivity and app control.