The LG Hom-Bot Square has a squarish shape with rounded corners and dual side brushes for sweeping dust out of tight corners. If a Roomba and a Botvac mated, the Hom-Bot would be the result. However, would it live up to such a royal robotic lineage? We review the features of the LG Hom-Bot Square vacuum cleaning robot.
Hom-Bot Square: Overview
The most prominent feature of this LG robot vacuum is its square shape. This shape, combined with its long side brushes, gives it the ability to sweep the right angles of corners. It also has a bristle brush roller for sweeping debris into its suction port.
The Hom-Bot Square has advanced mapping systems, bumpers and sensors for navigating around the obstacles in a home. It has seven cleaning modes to choose from: zigzag, cell by cell, spot, my space, turbo, smart turbo and repeat. You can schedule the robot vacuum to clean every day with the scheduling function.
The LG Hom-Bot has a top-loading dust bin which is easy to remove, clean and insert. It can find its charging dock and recharge its battery on its own (most of the time). You may also use the included remote control to command the robot vacuum cleaner with your fingertips from a distance. There are no virtual walls to limit its movement in the house, which might be a drawback in certain households.
Which surfaces can it vacuum?
The LG Hom-Bot Square is the most efficient when sweeping and vacuuming hard floor surfaces such as hardwood, tile and stone. It will also vacuum thin carpets and rugs.
How well does it clean carpets?
Its bristle brush does well to clean hair and fiber from low pile carpets. However, removing clogged hair from its bristle brush requires time and patience. You might consider buying a different robotic vacuum cleaner for pet hair if you own many pets that shed.
How much noise does it make?
It seems like the LG Hom-Bot Square is a quiet robotic vacuum cleaner. It is quieter than a Roomba or a Botvac D80. The Hom-Bot specifications state that it normally operates at around 60dB. However, it is much louder when vacuuming carpets in turbo mode, with a stated noise level of about 68dB!
What type of battery?
The Hom-Bot Square uses a lithium battery with a 14.4V (2330mAh) capacity. This battery gives it a typical run time of up to 100 minutes on a hard floor. The run time will be less when it cleans carpets in turbo mode. The battery needs almost 3 hours to recharge.
How tall is it?
The Hom-Bot has a height of 3.5 inches, which is about the same height as a Roomba robot vacuum. It might fit and clean underneath most furniture.
Hom-Bot Square vs Roomba 860
The Roomba 860 has two counter-rotating rubber brushes, which might be less efficient at brushing carpets. Still, it is much less maintenance to remove clogged hair from rubber brushes. The Hom-Bot Square has a single rotating bristle brush which might get clogged quickly with dog and cat hair.
The Roomba has a circular shape and a single side brush. It is not so good at sweeping dust out of corners when compared to the square shape and dual side brushes of the LG Hom-Bot.
The Roomba 860 has a suggested retail price that is cheaper than the list price of the Hom-Bot Square. We would probably get the Roomba before spending more money on the Hom-Bot.
Hom-Bot Square: Verdict
The Hom-Bot is not a dumb bot when it comes to sweeping and vacuuming. Nevertheless, like most robotic vacuum cleaners, it works better on hard floors than on carpets. It is a relatively quiet robot vacuum.
Please note that there is now a newer model available which is Wi-Fi enabled. The LG Hom-Bot CR3365RD can be combined with an Alexa device for receiving voice commands. As a result, it costs more than the older Hom-Bot which did not have Wi-Fi capabilities (check price on Amazon).