Vileda

A mop and cloth brand that added robots

Vileda is a household cleaning brand whose robot cleaners are an extension of a much older business in cloths, mops and buckets. Wikipedia describes Vileda as a brand of mechanical and power cleaning products owned by the Freudenberg Group. The name, Wikipedia explains, comes from the German "wie leder", meaning like leather, and an early product was the Vileda Window Cloth, launched in 1948. Vileda GmbH was established in 1962. The UK review site Houzhold calls it an established German brand for household cleaning products.

Wikipedia says Vileda is distributed across Europe, Oceania, Asia, South America and Canada, while in the United States the same business trades as O-Cedar. Its other brand names, per Wikipedia, include Wettex, Gala, Marigold, SWASH and Gimi, and Vileda Professional covers commercial products. The product the article dwells on is the Bee Mop, introduced in Canada in 1976, which a salesman quoted by Wikipedia's source estimated had sold some 15 million units over 40 years. That heritage of cheap, durable floor tools is the frame for its robots: they are simple machines sold on ease of use rather than on features.

The range, from pad sweepers to the VR 302

Houzhold's review of Vileda's cleaning robots covers five machines, and they fall into two groups: robot sweepers that trap dirt on a disposable pad, and robot vacuums with brushes, suction and a dust canister.

ViRobi (136134). Houzhold describes it as a wireless robot sweeper rather than a vacuum. It never stores dirt in a canister; an antistatic cloth attaches to a round Velcro pad around the main unit, and the dirt sticks to that. It takes eight hours to charge fully and offers two cleaning modes, 30 minutes and 120 minutes, chosen with physical buttons on top. Small rubber wheels let it move between carpet and hard floors. When it hits an object it changes direction, and the pad lifts to protect the unit. Houzhold warns it cannot deal with wet mess or larger debris, and that because it cannot remember where it has been it may clean the same area twice.

ViRobi Slim (149932). The same idea in a lower body. Houzhold's review says "the difference is its height, which is only 4.5 cm", which lets it get under furniture. It keeps the 30 and 120 minute modes, with the shorter one suggested for a single room and the longer one for several rooms. An outer plastic ring protects it from obstacles and doubles as the Velcro base for the included disposable pads. Houzhold describes it as quiet, lightweight and very affordable, and names it the pick among Vileda's sweepers.

VR 101. The first of the vacuums, designed for flat floors and thin carpets. Houzhold reports a five-hour charge and two modes, 20 minutes for small rooms and 60 minutes for larger homes. Cleaning runs in four steps: side brushes sweep dirt toward the center bar, which also collects large dust particles, a long center brush sweeps what is left toward the brush bar, and suction draws up the rest. It starts in a widening circle until it meets an obstacle, then changes path. Rubber bumpers protect the robot and furniture, and IR sensors stop it falling down drops.

VR 100. An all-black vacuum with 30 and 60 minute modes set from buttons on top and a power button at the rear. Houzhold likes its transparent dust canister, which shows when it needs emptying, and says the canister and filter come out easily through two plastic latches. It performs well on hard floors and thin carpets but, lacking any memory of its route, gets confused around lots of chair and table legs.

VR 302. Houzhold calls it the latest robot vacuum from Vileda and its pick of the range, "a stylish cleaning vacuum great for daily floor maintenance." It has four cleaning modes, ECO, MAX, Spot and scheduled cleaning, and three cleaning patterns, zig-zag, spiral and auto. Its three-step process collects, sweeps and vacuums: rotating brushes feed debris to the center, where silicone brushes loosen dirt on hard floors and dense fibers work on carpets. The dust canister holds 0.5L. It has contactless obstacle recognition, Stair Safety technology against falls, a compact charging base, and it returns to that base when its battery runs low. Houzhold's Amazon.co.uk listing showed it at £399.00, and Amazon prices move often.

The steps between them are easy to read. The ViRobi sweepers buy a long run time and a very low price for light dusting on hard floors. The VR 100 and VR 101 add a brush bar and suction, so they can handle carpets and thin rugs. The VR 302 is the one to choose if scheduling, obstacle sensing and returning to its base on its own matter to you.

What the range does and does not do

Pet hair is a recurring theme in Houzhold's review. It says the VR 101's brush bar "takes care of dust, debris and pet hair from all flat surfaces and carpets", that the ViRobi Slim traps pet hair on its pads, and that the VR 302 is the strongest of the five on animal fur on hard floors and carpets. Houzhold answers yes to the question of whether all Vileda cleaning robots are useful on pet hair.

On carpets, Houzhold says all three vacuums, the VR 100, VR 101 and VR 302, can clean carpeted floors and rugs, while the sweepers are "only efficient on hard floors and thin rugs." It is plain that a sweeper is a top-up tool: the review says it may not replace an upright vacuum but will handle small dusting jobs.

Navigation is basic by design. Houzhold states that "the brand has not included mapping software in their vacuums, as they work on smart navigation as of now." The robots bump, turn and cover ground in patterns rather than planning rooms from a map.

Smart home support is absent. In Houzhold's words, "None of the Vileda vacuums or sweepers is compatible with Google Home or Alexa. None of the Vileda cleaning robots has voice control."

Running costs come down to consumables: the sweepers need a steady supply of disposable pads, and the VR 100 keeps a filter behind its canister. Houzhold's review gives no pad prices, suction figures, warranty terms or battery replacement details.

Honest downsides

The trade-offs follow from the simplicity. Without mapping, the robots can repeat areas and get confused among furniture legs, which Houzhold notes for both the ViRobi and the VR 100. With no voice or smart home control, the ViRobi and VR 100 are started from physical buttons on the robot, and only the VR 302 offers scheduled cleaning. The sweepers also need their pads replaced. For a buyer who wants a machine to plan rooms and report back, that is a real gap, though it is also exactly what keeps the range cheap and easy to live with.

Who Vileda robots suit

The ViRobi Slim suits a home with hard floors and low sofas or beds, where its 4.5 cm body can reach dust that taller robots miss, and an owner who wants a quiet daily sweep rather than a deep clean. The original ViRobi does the same job where furniture height is not an issue.

The VR 100 and VR 101 fit small homes with hard floors and thin carpets and not too many obstacles, and buyers who want to press a button and walk away. The VR 302 is the choice for pet owners, for homes that mix carpet and hard floors, and for anyone who wants the robot to clean on a schedule and dock itself.

Vileda's robots suit people who prefer a familiar cleaning brand and a simple machine to a connected one. Buyers who want a map, room selection in an app, or voice control should look at the connected robots elsewhere in this directory.