| Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, you won’t pay a cent more, but we’ll receive a small commission, which helps keep the lights on. I never put anything on the page that I haven’t personally verified and used. For more information, check out our Privacy Policy. |
One of the things that we cannot run from life is cleaning. Our living space needs to be cleaned or maintained on a regular basis. And that is a routine mundane task. So, enter this latest household assistant, the ECOVACS DJ35 robot vacuum.
My mom is one of those early adopters of robot vacuums. I think the first robot vacuum cleaner that entered our household was maybe around 15 years ago. It cost a bomb back then, but she got hooked to it ever since. Sweeping, vacuuming and mopping the floor are tasks which most of us would want to do away with.
Over the years, I have seen various models entering our household. This is the latest addition after the old Philips robot vacuum broke down when it got squashed by the sofa. I think this is perhaps the 4th or 5th such robots that has entered our household in a period of more than a decade.
The ECOVACS DJ35 Review – A Useful Robot Vacuum Cleaner?
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| ✓ Can mop and vacuum. ✓ Can be controlled via a smart device. | ✖ Initial start up was complicated and in Mandarin. ✖ Does not have a local app. ✖ No remote |
Meet the ECOVACS DJ35! She wanted to try something that can mop and vacuum. A friend of hers has an earlier model and she noticed that it was doing quite a good job at the friend’s house. So she got her friend to order this model from Taobao as it was cheaper.
The technology
Specification wise, it comes with standard technology such as smart eye vision technology and the Bluewhale water output technology. At about 9 cm, it is not your slimmest design out there but I have also observed that with certain type of sofas, it is actually better for your robot to be slightly ‘taller’. That way, it won’t jam itself at the bottom part of the sofa back.
Our old Phillips vacuum met its doom because no one was aware that it had jammed itself under the sofa. By the time my mom noticed it the next day, it went kaput. Other than that, the ECOVACS DJ35, like most robot vacuums comes with stair safety and cliff – detecting sensor.
Here’s the full list of specifications:
| Specifications Model : DJ35 Working Voltage : 12V 1A Charging Dock Model : CH1833 Rated Input Voltage : 100-240V AC Rated Output Voltage : 20V DC Rated Output Current : 1A Rated Power : 25W Noise : 56db Dust Bin Capacity : 450ml Water Tank Capacity : 300ml Battery capacity: 2600mAh Robot Height : 8.2cm / 82mm Smart Connection: Connected to Ecovacs App Scheduled Cleaning Time & Cleaning Area Settings: Yes Review Cleaning History: Yes Controllable Cleaning Water Usage: Yes Automatic Charging: Yes Charging Time : ~4 hours Usage Time : ~120 minutes |
Setting up was rather complicated, and no remote
When it arrived, setting up was a bit of a problem as the printed instructions were only in Mandarin. Lesson here, if you want to get a gadget from China, you need to be able to read Mandarin. The app for the ECOVACS DJ35 was in the English, but she could not get it to pair. She was expecting a seamless set-up process and wasn’t anticipating much problem as apps for household appliances, like the Dyson Link were generally simple. Unfortunately, this was not.
This was also the first model she has ever owned that came without a remote.
Read also: Apple HomePod Mini – A Malaysian Review
As the instructions were in Chinese, she tasked my sister to set it up after she ran into a wall with the setting up process. Firstly, they had two apps in the App Store / Android Store. Be sure to download the right one.
Secondly, we discovered that we needed a Chinese phone number to register the ECOVACS DJ35. A quick search on the net for free numbers got us none. Hunting for free numbers are getting more difficult these days. We tried setting up a Chinese Apple ID too but couldn’t get the robot to connect with the app.
Finally, my sister found out from one of the product pages that we must get the seller of the robot to connect our Malaysia phone to the robot. Apparently, they have registered for a Chinese phone number, and were able to provide us with a verification number to connect the robot to our app. Thus, we were finally able to get the robot connected to the app.
Connection to the app is essential for you to enable automatic cleaning mode. Else, you will have to manually start the robot everyday, which defeats the purpose of getting a robot vacuum. So, after an exasperating afternoon, we finally managed to get the robot connected.
Configuring the ECOVACS DJ35 robot vacuum cleaner
The first thing we did, of course, was to set the operations timer. So, once a day, the robot goes round the hall. On alternate days, my mom would use the mopping function by filling the water container with water and some floor cleaner, and let the robot loose.
Watching the ECOVACS DJ35 work is quite fascinating. This robot is capable of mapping the area it is supposed to work in. Furthermore, you can monitor the cleaning via the app. Once it is done with the area that it is supposed to clean, it goes back to its charging station, like every good robot vacuum.
Verdict? It gets the job done!
How does the ECOVACS DJ35 perform? Generally it does its job quite well. The floor actually feels cleaner after a round of cleaning. If the area is too big, the robot will verbally remind you that it is time to give the mop cloth a rinse. So you pull out the cleaning pad, rinse the cloth and then fix it back. The cloth is also easy to clean. A good rinse under running water will get rid of the dirt quite easily. Fixing all the accessories is a breeze. Way better than mopping the floor yourself, I’d say.
The noise level is also acceptable. I mean after having gone so many robots, you just sort of get used to it. But I can say, it is way more silent than the early models which used to roam the floor of our house.
Is this a good buy? Minus the language issues, this robot actually gets the job done. Vacuuming and mopping are routine tasks which take up a substantial time. Apart from eating up your time, they are also energy sapping especially if you have two floors to clean. So having a robot vacuum around frees you that time.
My mom used to think that a robot will not be able to mop the floor well. Since the ECOVACS DJ35 came into our lives, she has accepted that a robot that vacuums can also do an equally good job at mopping. In my house, we are particular about the floor as it is one place which we can just plop ourselves down. So it has to be clean enough.
Mom says, next is to get a robot that cleans the bathrooms and windows. Guess we’ll have to wait for the humanoid robots that Elon Musk is touting that will take over the “dangerous, repetitive and boring tasks.” Cleaning bathrooms and windows certainly qualify. What do you think?
To purchase one for yourself
This model was purchased from this seller, who ships it from Mainland China. They were selling it for RM729. However, they are currently out of stock.
I have however, managed to find another seller, who ships it locally. They are currently selling it for RM830, and is also a preferred seller. You may click on the link above or the picture below to purchase it from the seller.
