20 Best Vacuum For Bugs (2022 Updated)

My old corded hoover was slowly approaching the end of it’s life. Eight years was by no means bad, but by this point, the tube had split, the seal was no longer airtight, and the power cord auto-rewind button broke (so it was always auto-rewinding).

I’ve been wanting to get the corded CX1-Blizzard for quite a while now, but having used quite a few of these cordless vacuums at work (I’m a cleaner, and our company offers clients the choice to buy their own equipment to save money, so most do), and also due to a recent shoulder injury, I instead open for the cordless version, firstly to see how Miele’s offering compares to other manufacturers, and also due to the text it should be much lighter than their corded solution.

It’s very lightweight – I can lift it with just my little finger (or pinky finger as it’s called in Americaland for reasons unknown). When I went over my carpets, I was stunned it l at how much thick black dust it swept up with it’s electro brush floor piece.

It’s as if my old hoover had been slacking off for years! It picked up so much dust, I had to empty the bin after each individual room, and this was on power setting 1 (of 3)! Then I decided to take it in to work.

Most clients (upon my boss’s advice) have Henry Hoovers. I don’t find them much good, but I was prepared to put up with that. However my current shoulder injury means Henrys are just too heavy right now, they’re like little bulldozers in terms of weight.

My experience at home was replicated at work. Unbelievable amounts of thick black dust just from the lowest power setting, considering it’s only been a week since I last cleaned this place, and again I was able to get through the task quicker than normal due to not having to constantly switch which plug socket I was plugged into.

It also only briefly dropped into 2/3 battery charge, but it did help that it was on charge every moment I wasn’t hoovering. All in all, very impressed. If it’s able to tackle a commercial workload (which it did fairly effortlessly), then I can’t imagine any domestic situation it won’t work for.

Brick dust is so I can really think of, and I think anyone doing that kind of work probably wouldn’t use their normal everyday vacuum for that anyway. I do wish the bin was a bit bigger though, especially in comfort (bottom heavy) mode.

The bin’s diameter already means it won’t fit under some furniture, so in that case a taller bin would allow it to go longer without having to stop. I’m going to be taking this to work more often. Even after my shoulder has healed, it makes the job that bit easier.

Purchased this at local Best Buy on sale. It’s certainly heavier than the average stick vacuum however, there are options as to how you can set it up: motor on the top or bottom. When the motor is on the bottom, the weight is less of a problem and in this setting, the vacuum can stand upright on its own.

I’ve read reviews that it is loud however, I don’t personally find that to be the case. The dirt this picks up is quite impressive. I have a Dyson stick and it doesn’t compare to the Meile. I vacuumed carpets with the Dyson first, then again with the Meile.

The Meile canister was almost full in 5 minutes. It picks up dirt and dust not visible to the naked eye and missed by the Dyson. Battery power is decent and based on professional reviews, the best on the market.

On the lowest setting, Meile says you’ll get 60 minutes. It takes about 4 hours to fully charge an empty battery. The dust canister is smallish, but I don’t find this an issue as Melie uses a vortex to compact the dirt and dust.

It is expensive but Melie says with good care, it’ll last 20 years and it’s made in Germany. So, you get what you pay for. I have a Meile canister vacuum and I fully believe this vacuum picks up more dirt than the canister.

It’s also very easy to reconfigure the vacuum to how you wish to use it. Also easy to empty the bin.

Bought this mounth ago, had a Dyson v8 before this. The number of positives over the Dyson are numerous: flexible layout, easily the most comfortable to use, best suction (regardless of stats of other dysons what matters is real world performance).

I don’t usually mention the obvious marketing stuff but it’s the little things that matter to me sometimes, like the bin: the easiest to empty, with the Dyson not only I had to walk the whole unit to outdoor bin, it didn’t fit in smaller bin without removing bins cover, this fits perfectly with one motion emptying.

The motor on bottom design not only is more comfortable on wrist, and solid feel, but also the motor is closest to vac head so naturally there’s even better suction, and the weight of the unit is right on the vac head which makes total sense to “lock push head in”.

Another small thing: with the Dyson it had those cheap plasticky small wheels but also rests on very small felts! Soon After felt wears out it will drag on the plastic head! The worst experience for a vac and scratches my stone floor while my gripping it, someone would think well just change the head, instead I upgraded to this Miele and so glad I did!! It just feels much better using it with one hand! Effortless, and had large back wheels + front wheels + felt, so it will last a very long time, another reason I hated the v8 cause the battery just sunk to unusable levels with a frustrated wife, Miele: u can swap batteries, some people complain of price I got it on special $599 thanks to bing lee, which was 2-300$ cheaper than the closest Dyson, my home size is average so battery is plenty, I don’t have pets or carpet!! So I don’t really need the higher models! Ok more good stuff: Infinitely more quiet! (this is honestly a deal breaker for me As the Dyson and the vac before it used to pierce my ears with high frequency noise while my wife vaccumed, I can turn this on next to a sleeping baby!).

There’s no switch to hold, just click and rest your finger. The brush size is wide and efficient. The lowest suction is enough for every day dusting hard floors. This is the first vac that actually cleaned my car, the Dyson was hopeless and overheated (drains much quicker on max), so I just stopped using it for the car! U don’t need to wash the filter, I used to hate washing the v8 filter because u had to stop using it until dries 100% so I had to buy another spare filter, can’t believe people complain of cleaning this filter it’s easiet thing, every now and then just pull it out and which house doesn’t have a blower I have mine just outside.

5 secs blowing and it’s brand new again. The electro brush is super easy to take out and clean yet nothing have dangled in there yet (no need for screwdriver or tool). I hated the design of v8 head a lot of dust and hair used to get stuck between roller and that curve leading into suction tube.

The upholstery tool is very effective, and u can use all other tools from other Miele accessories. The tools just slide in without need of clicking or unclicking. Just simply try both or any vac for that matter side by side and u will notice the difference.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST the design is good looking and uses quality materials with parts firmly put together. Just feels better quality. So I simply cannot fault this in any way if I was to nit pick I would just criticise the bin size, not to increase size (as this will increase weight), just make a bigger gap between Center filter and outer cylinder so dirt falls more easily, but again this is no major concern to me but possibly for pet hair, I’m sure they will redesign this in next model.

I am surprised it took me this long to purchase one given my love for technology and cleaning! I suppose I always felt I could do a more thorough job but I was wrong. I am really surprised with the performance this vacuum achieves.

I dont have to move my 2 big couches because it fits right under them & I like how it goes around objects like my dogs toys or if it hits my foot or the dog it gently taps. It learns over time the layout of your home as you can see with the app and how it slows down when approaching a wall or object.

I do still use my cordless vac, yes but this guy makes sure it covers every inch & I can set it to automatically run or just tell google when I want it to which I prefer. I only wish I could program it to stay away from certain areas with the app, ive seen some models Capable of that but this particular model doesn’t.

The only downside for me is that my puppy has a corner in the living room with a 20×20 disposable pee pad in case I cant take him out & unfortunately I learned the hard way the vac doesnt stop & go around that because its such a light tissue paper material I think It assumes its an area rug perhaps, and so I did come home to it stuck with the pad & my puppy’s #2 smeared underneath in the wheels and on my BRAND NEW eufy robovac! It was only 3 days old so you can imagine the disappointment, I should have let it run completely before leaving it unattended so that was my fault.

It took quite some time to clean & disinfect it & I almost tossed it out & bought a new one but with covid my budget wouldn’t allow. It does come with magnetic strips (You can cut anywhere with scissors) to place on your floor which acts as a wall.

Besides the pee pad mishap, my 2 bar chairs that have a round shiny mirror like chrome base, It seems to confuse its orientation so I do have to be home so I can keep both stools off the floor, cause the magnetic strips are around the potty corner!!! You can purchase more but the grey magnet strip can be an eye sore & it looks funny on my wood floor boxed around the 2 bar chairs.

I hope this helps! If you don’t have a pee pad anywhere then I highly recommend this because it truly does an unbelievably thorough job, this coming from a guy with OCD!.

IšverstiShow in original languageMi è stato regalato a gennaio del 2021 e l’ho usato quasi per un anno intero per valutarne le caratteristiche. Pagato intorno agli 800€ in una nota catena di elettrodomestici nella sua versione V11 absolute più completa, fornita anche di pedana autoportante.

L’unica nota positiva che ho riscontrato è il peso ridotto. Per quanto riguarda l’efficienza invece lasciamo proprio perdere…la potenza di aspirazione è nettamente inferiore a tutte le altre aspirapolvere che ho usato.

Ho provato anche a pulire gli inserti e a svuotare il serbatoio dopo ogni utilizzo, ma mi ritrovo costantemente a dover passare svariate volte nello stesso punto per aspirare la maggior parte delle briciole e dei peli di animali.

Lo sporco infatti non viene aspirato subito e si incastra nelle fessure dei vari inserti cadendo quindi a terra. Idem per i tappeti, mi costringe a impiegare il doppio del tempo per cercare aspirare la maggior parte dello sporco, lasciandone comunque una parte.

Ho provato a passarlo anche sulla tappezzeria nera dei sedili della macchina per testare se su superfici più pulite avrebbe funzionato meglio ma ho riscontrato gli stessi identici problemi, non aspira bene e lascia pulviscolo e polvere in giro, pur usando il beccuccio dedicato.

La durata della batteria non va mai oltre i 30 minuti (in modalità intermedia, se si usa invece la modalità boost l’autonomia si riduce a non più di 10 minuti). In più ne ho riscontrato un netto calo al susseguirsi degli utilizzi.

Il fatto poi di dover tenere premuto il pulsante per mantenerlo in funzione lo rende davvero scomodo, poco pratico e non utilizzabile per più di una decina di minuti. In più l’incastro per i vari inserti sul tubo principale sta iniziando a deformarsi e costringe a spingere in modo smisurato per inserirli.

Lo sconsiglio a chi ha animali, a chi ha grosse metrature e soprattutto a chi non vuole impiegare più tempo del necessario per pulire, con risultati scadenti. Non l’ho restituito giusto perché mi è stato regalato e non ho voluto offendere la persona che si è premurata di prendermelo, ma ormai l’ho abbandonato completamente da un paio di mesi e rimpiazzato con un aspirapolvere di un’altra marca, pagato 1/4 rispetto a questo e di efficienza nettamente superiore.

Sconsigliatissimo!.

IšverstiShow in original languageBakgrund till köp: Har länge varit ute efter en bra och smidig sladdlös dammsugare för att förenkla dammsugning i trappor men även i övriga hemmet! Har 3 stycken långhåriga katter och även en svart tygsoffa som verkligen älskar att dra till sig mängder med hår! Min upplevelse av produkten: Detta är en dammsugare som man får lätta lite på plånboken för att få äga.

Min soffa ser som ny ut varje gång jag har kört med det lilla roterande munnstycket. När man dammsugar vanliga hårdgolv så är det bara att köra på låginställning med den breda roterande borsten så tar den upp allt från pulverdamm till frukostflingor! Då det munnstycket är öppen framtill så kommer borsten in i djupet och det är enklare än någonsin att dammsuga upp smuts som är längsmed lister eller trösklar! Ljudnivån på denna dammsugare är det som dragit av en stjärna, men mest för att det är ett väldigt ljust skarpt ljud som kan vara jobbigt för vissa personer att höra! Än så länge så har jag inte stött på något som inte denna dammsugare klarar av! Positiva saker! Lätt och smidig Mängder med munnstycken Ingen dammsugspåse Dammsugar upp det mesta på låg inställning Man får med station att hänga upp den på väggen OTROLIG sugkraft! Batteritiden Får upp allt i alla hörn o skarvar! Mindre bra saker! – Priset för en dammsugare – Väldigt speciellt ljud om dammsugaren! Slutsats: Ganska dyr men ändå prisvärd dammsugare! Ska man gå över till den sladdlösa sidan så kan jag STARKT rekommendera Dysonprodukterna.

Som djurägare var jag rädd att det inte skulle klara av allt hår som blir efter alla djuren här hemma, men den klarar av det GALANT! Så jag skulle nästan vilja säga. Har du pengarna, gnäller du på att det är hår i soffan och på mattorna hemma? Köp.

bara köp! Du kommer verkligen inte ångra dig!!.

I got this robotic vacuum a little while ago to give the newer technology a shot. I’ve had older versions that just bounced off everything with no specific cleaning plan as well as early versions that incorporated some laser mapping or li-dar.

I was never that impressed, but all that changed after giving this robo vac a whirl. The set up was pretty straight forward, quick and easy. Basically, find a spot on your floor where you want the vacuum to live, plug it in, and set up the app.

I’m pretty good with electronics so what might be easy for me might not be for someone else, so I’d suggest just follow the directions and use Google and the Eufy customer service if you have issues.

First thing I did was put my place together, as in, pick up small things like socks or whatever, put everything in it’s place, then start the vacuum to allow it to map my place. I live in a decent sized 1 bedroom apartment so it’s nothing crazy as far as cleaning but there’s plenty of table, chair, and shelf legs that the vacuum would have to maneuver around as well as many plants and what not.

Mapping ended up being a breeze, and it also cleaned at the same time so it was two for one. I enjoyed pulling up the app and being able to look at my apartment broken up into its different areas. From there, I labeled each area (living area, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom) even with my place being smaller I just found it more exciting and figured I could send the vacuum to whatever area I wanted at any given moment, which ended up being true.

Not only could I select by room, but I could also send it to specific areas of my place simply by creating a zone with a box. I tend to leave my patio door open often and I didn’t want it to go out there and drive off or whatever so I created a zone to block this.

Feature wise and app control is top notch. The mapping works incredibly well. Aside from those features, I also loved how there was more of a methodology to how it cleaned. Once the robot got the perimeter of the room it would basically break it down and clean it with the most optimal pattern for efficiency.

My place is small enough that the vacuum could tackle the entire thing multiple times while still keeping plenty of charge on the robot so I never ran into any issues with the battery dying while cleaning.

I loved that after each clean cycle it easily finds its way back to its home base and empties into the tower. No bouncing off a ton of things until it finds it’s way back, it’s very smart. I don’t have any carpets or rugs so I cannot vouch for the performance on those things.

As far as hard floors though, there’s not even a shred of a particle left on the floor. It’s very impressive. I do enjoy that it has a built in mop, but I do think of it as more of an upkeep sort of accessory.

I’m more of a steam mop sort of person and appreciate the extra deep clean from the high temp steam, but I only do that every couple weeks. With that in mind, the mop function actually serves a really great purpose for getting anything -if anything- that’s leftover from the vacuum as well as some good upkeep between steamings.

All in all, I think Eufy has done a great job with creating a robotic vacuum that truly requires very little intervening. To me, that is what makes a robo vac a great and super convenient product. All you need to do is a little upkeep here and there as far as cleaning out the tower and robot itself, map your place, and schedule how you’d like it to clean.

I will say for anyone who is not wanting to do any sort of upkeep on the robot then you won’t have the performance you desire. Regardless of the tower’s ability to hold up to 60 days worth of dirt, I still periodically clean the robot itself along with its filter, brushes, etc.

I’m return, it still performs as if it’s brand new and my place has never been cleaner. Overall this is a great and well made product and I highly recommend to anyone wanting some extra convenience in their life!.

This robotic vacuum is hands down the best robotic vacuum that I have ever owned. The primary reason for this is that it does an awesome job mapping your place because it uses lasers to map your home.

It is so good with mapping that if you close a door the map will change to show the door as closed. Another good point about this vacuum is that methodically cleans your room by doing the exterior of the room first then it does laps throughout the room until it has cleaned every inch of the room.

Also, the vacuum has good suction and does a decent job cleaning carpet. Now concerning the app, I think it’s awesome. One feature that I really love about the app is that you can set no-go boundaries in the app to prevent the vacuum from going near certain areas.

Unlike the older vacs that I am used to that used magnetic strips. Another good thing about the app is that you can set the vacuum to only clean a specific room or a small area within a room which is nice.

Now comes the part about what I don’t like about the vacuum. The biggest thing is that on my unit the right sweeper arm tends to come off when it hits cables which shouldn’t happen. Another thing I don’t like but can live with is that this vacuum requires filets and vacuum bags that you need to replace every so often and this is a big issue for me because the last thing I want to do with my money is to spend it replacing filters for a robotic vacuum.

My suggestion is to provide washable bags and filters that people can clean instead of having to replace things. Overall I would say the vacuum is a good one and I would definitely recommend it to friends looking for a good robotic vacuum.

Pros: – Nearly perfect vacuuming – Customizable cleaning – Accurate floor mapping – Obstacle avoidance – Self-emptying dustbin – Long-lasting battery – Quiet operation – Feature-packed app – Effective filter Cons: – Moderate mopping performance —- Review —- Design: The DEEBOT OZMO T8+ is dark grey in color with a sleek look.

Some of it is a shiny material and other parts have a matte finish. At just over three and a half inches tall, it fits under most of my furniture with ease, getting the hard to reach areas that I often neglect.

It has a TrueMapping Distance Sensor that protrudes slightly from the top and an AUTO Mode button beside it that can be pressed to initiate automatic cleaning (custom cleaning can be initiated through the mobile app).

The button also acts as an indicator light. It’ll either be off, solid white, flashing white, solid red, or flashing red, depending on the scenario. With the top cover lifted, there’s a Wi-Fi indicator light, reset button, power switch, and multifunction cleaning tool (for maintenance).

There’s also access to the auto-empty dust bin and the filter. The front has an anti-collision bumper and multiple sensors. On the bottom, there are additional sensors, the main brush with a release button for maintenance, two side brushes, wheels, charging contacts, a water outlet, and a reservoir.

Included with the robot is the Auto-Empty Station, which has an infrared signal emitter to help the DEEBOT dock, auto-empty inlets where the dustbin’s contents go when the station is initiated, a dust bag under the top lid, and an indicator light.

The power cord wrap that’s built into the back is a nice touch that I appreciate because it helps with hiding the power cord. Both the DEEBOT and Auto-Empty Station are very well designed. Setup: Under the top cover is a paper insert that has the steps to get started.

I found them to be helpful and easy to follow. Basically, all that’s required is to remove the protectors, install the side brushes, place the Auto-Empty Station in the desired location, put the DEEBOT on the station, power it on, download the app, scan the QR code on the DEEBOT, then finish the on-screen instructions.

Within minutes, my DEEBOT was ready to go. Setup was seamless from start to finish. I always appreciate an easy setup process. Performance: The DEEBOT is impressively efficient. It doesn’t just roam aimlessly and change directions when it bumps into a wall or object.

It maps out the room, moves in straight lines when it makes sense to do so, knows where it has been, and covers nearly every inch of the floor. It’s even able to make it over a somewhat high transition strip that’s between my laundry room and living room.

I’ve inspected its work after multiple uses and couldn’t spot anything significant left behind. My wife and I have a cat, so we were hoping this would help pick up hair throughout the week instead of it accumulating prior to our normal cleaning day, and it does a fantastic job of doing that.

It’s also helpful for the inevitable kitchen messes after preparing/eating meals. Looking at the clean floor after it’s done and seeing how full the dustbin gets is quite satisfying. The Auto-Empty Station eliminates the need to manually empty the dustbin after each use, but I do have to occasionally check the dustbin because pet hair sometimes gets caught.

When the DEEBOT transitions to carpet, it recognizes the difference and increases suction automatically. Even with the higher suction engaged, it still operates quietly. The only time it gets loud like a full-size vacuum is when the dustbin is emptying at the Auto-Empty Station.

A lot of our flooring is hardwood, but several rooms are carpeted, and the cleaning effectiveness on the carpet is just as impressive as it is on the hardwood. I wouldn’t say it can replace a standard vacuum, but it certainly helps keep my carpeted rooms cleaner than they’d normally be.

Whether I tell the DEEBOT to just do certain rooms or the entire first floor of my house, the battery lasts a long time. On average, it can get up to three hours of runtime on one charge. The mopping capability for hard floors is a great bonus, but it’s not perfect.

As I mentioned, a large portion of my flooring is hardwood, so having the mop helps keep the hardwood cleaner than just a vacuum would. However, mopping just involves a wet cloth getting dragged across the floor as the DEEBOT is also vacuuming, so I wouldn’t say it’s deep cleaning by any means.

Although it’s better than vacuuming alone, I wish the mopping cloth spun or vibrated to scrub the floor a little more than it does. My other wish is that it was acceptable to use a cleaning solution instead of just water.

The instructions specifically recommend purified water. There’s no mention of a cleaning solution, so I’ve just assumed it’d be best to stick with water, in case using a cleaning solution somehow causes damage.

Despite those wishes, I still like the mopping capability because it does a pretty good job of preventing grime buildup on the floor. Overall, this DEEBOT has the smarts and performance to deliver nearly perfect vacuuming, but I think the mopping performance is just moderate.

App Features: General controls, like starting, pausing, or stopping a cleaning job can all be done in the app. Additionally, there are plenty of more advanced features available in the app as well, such as cleaning schedules, a cleaning sequence (order in which rooms will be cleaned), the ability to select a specific room or area to be cleaned, virtual boundaries, adjustable vacuum power or water flow level, and more.

If you have Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant devices, the DEEBOT can even be controlled with your voice. It’s a feature-rich app that makes the DEEBOT experience both user friendly and convenient. Verdict: Where the DEEBOT OZMO T8+ falls short is mopping.

While it’s cool to have a robot vacuum that mops at the same time, I think the word “mop” should be loosely used in this case. It’s more like a wipe. I might eventually try the add-on mopping accessory with high-frequency vibration that can be purchased separately, but I wish that was already an included feature and that cleaning solution could be used instead of just water.

I think this DEEBOT is mainly designed to be a vacuum though, so with that in mind, there’s no denying that the DEEBOT OZMO T8+ is an innovative and effective robot vacuum. It accurately maps out the floor, knows where it’s been and where it still needs to go so that a spot doesn’t get missed and time isn’t wasted.

The feature-rich app enables highly customizable cleaning, like schedules, virtual boundaries, or even the ability to tell it a specific area within a room to go clean. The icing on the cake is the included Auto-Empty Station that empties the dustbin automatically after each cleaning job.

I’m happy to report that the robot vacuuming experience has been nearly perfect and for that, it deserves my recommendation and a five-star, “Excellent” rating.

I’ve had the Deebot T8 AIVI for almost a full year and we use it pretty regularly in our household. I’ll start by saying that I am mostly satisfied with my Deebot T8 AIVI, however I give it 3 stars because it delivers less than promised and falls short on several points.

tl;dr – the ‘AI’ is a joke, the mapping almost makes it amazing, but bugs in the software ultimately make even this great feature a constant frustration. AI Object Recognition – This is an area where the T8 AIVI disapoints.

Prior to this we had a fairly basic Neato Botvac D80. The D80 was generally better than the T8 AIVI at avoiding obstacles. The T8 AIVI maybe knows how to avoid a pair of keys left on the ground (not a problem in my household), but it will run into your legs or your cat full speed and regularly pushes around the 2inch tall water bowl for our cat.

Not only this, but it still gets stuck on the same furniture that our previous botvac struggled with. Since this is partially a software feature, perhaps they will improve it, but currently this is just a gimmicky feature with no real value.

Mapping – The T8 AIVI does an impressive job mapping your house and dividing them up into regions. That paired with the ability to do specific area cleaning and integrations with smart home speakers brings you as close to the Jetsons as you’ve ever been.

It feels great to tell Alexa to clean your kitchen and then watch as the T8 AIVI goes and cleans up just the area requested. when it works. The problem is that this map changes on almost every run. One day everything is great, the next all your room labels are gone.

The following day the rooms themselves have been merged into new zones so you can’t even just clean the kitchen. You can go into their app and set these up again, but that gets annoying if you have to do it every time.

On top of that there are several bugs that sometime prevent you from being able to get your map set up how you had it before. Worst of all, the T8 AIVI is very sensitive to being moved and any manual movement (say it gets stuck in a corner) will cause it to lose the entire map.

When the map is lost you have no choice to but do an entire cleaning over again. In the end this is still an effective botvac and we use it almost daily. I have not used the regular T8, but if you’re considering the T8 AIVI, perhaps go with that instead and save yourself a few hundred dollars.

The good – It works. For a while. We bought this in February 2021. It has cleaned our home several times a week accurately for many months. It does a good job, maps great, sticks to a schedule, finds its way to the charger etc.

All what you expect from an 800 dollar robot. BUT it died today. One of the motor wheels just stopped turning. Nothing clogging it, (we dont have pets) or obsructing motion. I would hope the engineers designed this for more that just a warranty period of flawless operations but these days I am sceptical.

We are sending it back (TO NEW YORK) for repairs (FOR SEVERAL WEEKS) as it is under warranty, and I am requesting a new device. We will see what happens. Like all things robotic, the engineers need to over build these things so they actually last and I am afraid that they just do not (dishwashers, fridge, washing machines of the past all build to last vs today) We paid A BUNCH of money for this and simply don’t want to shell this out every year.

A life span of 4 to 5 years to me should be the benchmark for something like this and acceptable to me. Under one year, NO way.