Home Appliances Mini-Review 3-Up "Moppy"

Three Up "Moppy". Product Package

Cleaning floors is a chore. Take out a heavy vacuum cleaner, pull the place you want to clean, and clean it while walking. This alone is troublesome, but since there are restrictions on the power cord, the work of pulling out the cord once is also added. It's a routine job, so once you get used to it, it's nothing to worry about, but it's still a hassle.

It would be nice if there was a machine that could be switched on and would clean the floor without human intervention. Actually it is.

This is the "Rumba" released in 2002 by iRobot in the United States.

Many of you may be familiar with it, as it is often featured on TV shopping. A disk-shaped machine moves randomly to clean the floor.

But the "rumba" is expensive. Even the simplest model costs 48,800 yen, and the high-grade model with high functionality costs nearly 80,000 yen. It's not an amount that comes out of ordinary household expenses.

However, this time, I would like to introduce a disk-shaped cleaning robot similar to the Roomba, but at a reasonable price of 6,800 yen.

< td>Moppy RC-20 td>

Manufacturer	Three Up
Product Name
Suggested retail price	6,800 yen
Where to buy
Purchase price	6,220 yen

Moppy" is a flooring wiper type vacuum cleaner that wipes with a sheet to adhere dust. It consists of a disk-shaped body, an AC adapter, and a doughnut-shaped dust removal sheet (mop) attached to the bottom.

The body size is 285 x 50 mm (diameter x height) and weighs about 0.8 kg. Easy to pick up and lift with one hand.

Package back< /td>	Package contents. A donut-shaped cloth folded in half is a sheet (mop). The weight is also quite light

While the Roomba is 340mm in diameter, 92mm in height, and weighs 3.7kg, the Moppy can be held with one hand. Easy to handle with a size that can be grasped and lifted easily. Also, the cleaning method is different from Roomba. Roomba has the same role as a vacuum cleaner, collecting dust by raking it with a brush, but Moppy uses a sheet to absorb dust.

The main unit comes with 7 dust removal sheets. The sheets are not disposable and can be washed and reused.

Batteries are 3 Ni-MH batteries included. Before use, charge the battery with the AC adapter for 6-8 hours. Charging for more than 8 hours is instructed to stop because it adversely affects the battery. It probably doesn't have a safety device to prevent overcharging.

Because I'm worried about forgetting to charge it with the AC adapter for more than 8 hours, this time I took out the battery, charged it with a commercially available battery charger, and attached it to the moppy. This is safe and realistic without overcharging.

Open battery case for charging Inserting the battery	Because I was worried about overcharging, I decided to charge the battery only with a commercially available charger without using an AC adapter

Once the battery is charged, it's finally time to put on the seat and start cleaning. Attach the sheet with a hook-and-loop fastener.

When you turn on the switch, it makes a cute "beep" sound, turns on a blue lamp, and starts cleaning.

First, go straight for about 2m, then stop and look around, then start moving in another direction. When it hits an obstacle such as a wall or a chair, it changes direction again.

Here, another big difference from the Roomba is the presence or absence of a sensor.

In Roomba, sensors detect objects and run while detecting walls, but Moppy does not have sensors. I wondered what kind of movement this was, so I flipped it over with the switch on and looked at how the wheel moved. It seemed that the two wheels on the left and right were changed at random by moving both together when going straight and moving only one side when changing direction. Apparently, only one of the wheels is driven by the motor, and when the other wheel is spinning, it moves forward. is. In other words, it does not apply the brakes until it hits an obstacle.

Set sheet with Velcro	Back side of main unit. It moves on two wheels

As for the operation sound, it is quite noisy. A clear sound somewhere between a ``gah'' and a ``shah'' is mixed with the whining of the wheels, creating a sound that interferes with watching TV.

The Roomba is also quite noisy when you actually move it, but it's not as loud as the Moppy. What is more worrisome than the operating sound is the "dong" sound when it hits a wall. In addition to the sound, there is also a certain amount of impact that can drag a small chair.

Crash against the wall fairly quickly	Move the chair " Moppy"

Various things Moppy pushing a table on wheels

Once, I was surprised when I juggled the bedside table. Although it has casters and is easy to move, it is quite heavy with a lot of books on it. Really strong.

Until it hits an obstacle, it really resonates without thinking. People who take good care of furniture and fittings are not suitable as owners of Moppy.

In addition, since it does not detect objects, it is vulnerable to steps and obstacles. If you don't keep an eye on it, you'll either get caught on a string that's fallen on the floor and get stuck, or you'll fall to the front door. I can't neglect it too much.

However, if you run over an obstacle or get stuck in something, it will automatically stop after 15 seconds, so it will not damage the main unit itself. If you pick it up and restart it, it will start working again as if nothing happened.

Moppy can run for about 60 minutes when it starts up in a charged state, but it stops on the spot when the power runs out. High-end models of Roomba have a function to return to charge themselves when the power supply runs low, but it would be cruel to expect that from Moppy, which costs 1/10th of the price.

When I cleaned under the bed, I found a lot of dust in the back.

Since it is a flooring mop-type cleaning method, it does not remove large pieces of paper and other large debris, but it does remove dust and hair.

Especially useful is cleaning under the bed. The bed I'm using is only a little over 10cm high, so a vacuum cleaner or flooring mop can't clean deep enough. When I pushed Moppy under the bed to clean it, more dust was removed than I expected.

You can wash the dusty sheet, but it seems that you can use it for a while even if you don't wash it every time.

When I cleaned the tatami at my own risk, the eyes of the tatami got dusty

Moppy is a floor cleaning robot. Be careful not to use it on carpets or tatami mats. It is said that it will cause a failure, but I tried it for a while at my own risk. As a result, I found that there was a more obvious problem before the breakdown.

If you run it on uneven surfaces such as carpets and tatami mats, the dust collected on the sheet will stick to it. Instead, it becomes dirty. that's no good.

The Moppy is a lively, charming machine that lacks a little, if not a lot, of delicacy.

If you are interested in a cleaning robot, but you think that something expensive like a Roomba is a bit expensive, then you should be aware of the above features and limitations before purchasing. If so, I think it's worth considering.