The Botvac D80 is a mid-range robotic vacuum cleaner made by the American company Neato Robotics. It is a popular vacuum cleaning robot for picking up pet hair from hard floors and carpets.

Botvac D80: Overview

The Neato Botvac D80 has a large combo brush for removing hair that pets and pet owners leave behind on the floor. This robot vacuum has a D-shape with a single side brush for cleaning the edges and corners of a room. It has a large dirt bin with a 0.7-liter capacity, which is larger than most other robotic vacuum cleaners. The air is filtered through a high-performance filter to remove dust and allergens that might aggravate allergies.

The Botvac D80 can clean multiple rooms. It uses laser technology to map the floor of a room and to clean it methodically. There is definitely method to its madness. Just be aware that the Botvac D80, like most other vacuum cleaning robots, might have trouble navigating around on black floors or carpets.

Tell the Neato Botvac D80 to either clean all the rooms in the house or to clean a specific spot by pushing its buttons. You can also set its clock and set up a daily cleaning schedule.

An interesting feature is that the Botvac D80 does not use virtual walls to limit its movement. Instead, it responds to magnetic strip boundary markers which you can cut and fit in doorways, around pet bowls or power cables. Each boundary marker strip is 13 feet long and can be cut according to your individual needs. No batteries required!

The Botvac D80 uses a rechargeable NiMH battery pack. The NiMH battery is cheaper than a lithium-ion battery, but it has a lower energy storage capacity and therefore provides a shorter run time. Even so, the D80 will probably clean for at least 90 minutes before having to self-recharge its battery. Of course, if it gets stuck under the bed or among bar stools, it will use more battery power to get itself out of a tight situation.

What does the box contain?

• D80 robotic vacuum cleaner
• combo brush (best for brushing hair from carpets)
• spiral blade brush (best for brushing dirt)
• side brush
• integrated charge base
• power cord
• extra high-performance filter
• cleaning tool
• magnetic strip boundary marker

Botvac D80 vs. D85 and D75

The D80 and D85 have the exact same features because they both belong to the Neato Botvac D-series robot vacuums. The difference is limited to which accessories are included in the box. The D85 seems to ship with two, or even three, extra high-performance filters in addition to the one already installed in the robotic cleaner itself.

Botvac D80 vs. Roomba 880

The first noticeable difference is the shape of these robot vacuums. The D80 has a D-shape, while the Roomba vacuum cleaners have the more common circular shape.

The next difference is underneath the robots: the D80 has a larger and wider rolling brush in the front for more brushing efficiency. The Roomba 880 has two smaller counter-rotating rubber extractors in its center, which are less likely to get tangled up with long hair.

These robots both have a single side brush for cleaning edges and corners. However, the D80 has a square front, which might make it slightly better at cleaning corners and edges.

The D80 has a larger dust bin than the Roomba 880 and might hold almost twice as much pet hair and dirt. These robotic vacuum cleaners both have high-efficiency filters for removing fine dust and allergens from hard floors and carpets.

The Botvac D80 and the Roomba 880 are both mid-range robotic vacuum cleaners. Nevertheless, the Neato Botvac D80 might have a lower list price.

Conclusion

The Neato Botvac D80 really gets rid of pet hair due to the large size of its combo brush. It also has a large dust bin, therefore it will clean for longer before you have to empty its bin. The robot vacuum recharges its battery and then resumes cleaning until it decides that the job is finished.

It is a good idea to empty the dust bin and clean the brushes every day with the included cleaning tool for peak performance. The high-performance filter removes allergens from the vacuumed air.

It seems like the Botvac D80 is good at vacuuming away cat and dog hair. Its dust bin holds a lot of pet hair, and it is easy to remove and clean (view price on Amazon).