ECOVACS Deebot T20 Omni Robot Vacuum Cleaner review

For those who hate hoovering or want an easy clean solution to their many floor types, the best robot vacuum cleaners most definitely come in handy. A new addition to the market, the ECOVACS Deebot T20 Omni robot vacuum is a clever 2-in-1 device that vacuums and mops for a seamless and professional cleaning experience. 

But is it actually worth it? I put it to the test in this ECOVACS Deebot T20 Omni robot vacuum cleaner review.

ECOVACS Deebot T20 Review: unboxing

The ECOVACS Deebot T20 Omni vacuum arrived in a large cardboard box containing the vacuum housing and the robot itself. There are a few pieces of thin plastic to peel off, and the washing pads need to be affixed to the bottom of the vacuum, but other than that, the system is pretty much ready to go straight from the box. To use the mopping feature however, you’ll also need to fill the clean water tank inside the housing. Then simply plug it in, and let the vacuum charge up.

Using the vacuum for the first time was a bit difficult. The robot will learn the layout of your home so it can navigate around your furniture, identify your rugs, and understand where one room ends and another begins. The vacuum has voice-command abilities, but the majority of the control happens using the ECOVACS smartphone app, which takes some getting used to. I didn’t find the interface very straightforward at first, and even after many uses, it still took longer than I’d like to get the vacuum to clean specific areas.

However, each time you run the vacuum, it learns your home a bit better and updates its map accordingly. The first map of my apartment looked nothing like the real layout, but once I asked the vacuum to redraw its map, things looked much better.

There are a number of settings and commands to sort through within the app. You can tell the vacuum how deep of a clean you want (meaning it will clean each area one or two times), how strong a suction to use (stronger suction is significantly louder), exactly which rooms or areas of your house to clean, and you can toggle between just vacuuming and a combo of vacuuming and mopping. If you plan to mop, the process takes longer because the robot regularly returns to the housing to clean the mopping pads. 

ECOVACS Deebot T20 Review: Design

The housing for the T20 Omni from ECOVACS is not exactly minimalist. It’s a fairly large silver box that holds dirty and clean water tanks. The vacuum sits in its horizontal home at the bottom of the housing and has a little ramp to roll down. 

The robot itself is a compact disc that can move pretty effortlessly around corners, over carpets, and into narrow spaces, including under chairs. Sleek-looking sensors on all sides help prevent crashes into furniture and walls. Note that if you have tall door jams, you may also need to help the robot over the hump.

ECOVACS Deebot T20 Review: Performance

Overall, I was impressed by how well the vacuum cleared and cleaned my floors. It uses circular patterns to thoroughly cover all of the surface areas in your home and navigates around obstacles.

The vacuum is designed to seamlessly transition from hard floor surfaces to rugs, though it regularly got caught in the tassels on the edge of one of my rugs and I would have to free it from its snare. When it approached the rug from a non-tasseled side, however, there are no issues.

The first few times I used the vacuum, probably because it didn’t have a proper map of my apartment yet, I struggled to get the little guy to come out of the office where its housing sits and into the kitchen, where I really needed cleaning help. Once I reset the map, though, I was able to get a deep clean of my main living space.

I would also note that though the robot is great at cleaning open spaces on the floor, it’s too thick to fit under the bottom of my kitchen cabinets and into the corners (where dropped food and other debris tends to get stuck). When I want a really clean kitchen, I sweep out the bottom edges and let the vacuum suck up everything in the center of the floor.

ECOVACS Deebot T20 Review: Price

This is not a bargain vacuum at £1,299 / AU$1,799, but you do get what you pay for when it comes to features and time-saving. I appreciate not having to hand-hold my vacuum, and my apartment is cleaner than usual with the Deebot T20. It's available to buy at ECOVACS and select retailers like Amazon in the UK and you can also pick it up from ECOVACS' Australian online store and third-party retailers like JB Hi-FI, Godfreys, The Good Guys and more.

ECOVACS Deebot T20 Review: Verdict

Overall, I enjoyed using the ECOVACS Deebot T20 Omni robot vacuum and found it to thoroughly clean my floor, rugs and other surfaces. While it can easily move over different floor types, some users may experience issues with it getting stuck in rugs.

The only major negative I have is the confusing app interface, but it's a great hands-free way to keep your floors clear and sparkling while you  go about your day.

ECOVACS Deebot T20 Review: Alternatives to consider

If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly robot vacuum, ECOVACS’ Deebot N8 Pro+ is about half the price and also vacuums and mops. If mopping is not as important to you, the brand’s DEEBOT 500 is all about vacuuming and is controlled entirely by your smartphone, so there’s no bulky housing to find a place for.