Tools that helped me manage home better in covid crisis
Here is my journey of evaluating tools/devices that would help me manage my home and life better during the COVID crisis. I hope it helps you to evaluate what you need to balance household chores and other things!
Oximeter
This is a device that helps in measuring the oxygen levels in the blood. Novel coronavirus attacks the respiratory system. Doctors suggest that this device is handy to find out if you need to be concerned about your respiratory system.
Various brands of the device are available, I am using Oximed pulse oximeter at home and happy with it.
Cleaning Tools
In India, we depend highly on domestic help, to carry out day to day cleaning and maintenance of the house. But during the lockdown, I decided to invest in devices that would help me maintain my home better.
Here are some of the details of my evaluation, why I chose or did not choose a device. Please note that these are my opinions based on my requirement and usage. Things may be different for you. I hope this blog will help people see options that they may find useful to use.
Dishwasher
There are several dishwashers available in the market. Some of the options I considered are — Bosch, LG, Siemens. The plate capacity determines the size of it. The utensils are clean and steamed. You may want to consider a few things
Things to consider
Recurring cost
- This device needs 15amps and takes between an hour to an hour and a half for a single run depending on the brand and model you opt for.
- The dishwasher detergents/tablets are different from washing powders.
These add to your recurring cost of working!
New Habits
- Rinsing utensils before putting washing gives good results. If you choose to inculcate this habit it works for Indian cooking as well.
- Loading a dishwasher is a habit. There are several videos on how we can load a dishwasher to work effectively. Personally I have loaded dishes in multiple layers inside one chamber. The trick is to ensure no utensils touch the dishwasher rotating parts and ensure space to splash water on all dishes!
My opinion
I opted for LG with 14 plates. One major difference that I found between LG and other dishwashers was that the spikes in the lower chamber can be folded. This gives me a lot of flexibility when the load is high.
Steam mops
There are several steam mops available in the market. I borrowed a Kaercher steam mop to evaluate it
Pros
- I was easily able to clean a messy floor.
- The floor felt warm, disinfected, and deep cleaned.
Cons
- I felt the manual effort to use the device was significant.
- Steam limits the time one can use this continuously.
- It’s wired. Yes, the wire is long but I think working with it is a limitation with small children around.
My opinion
Though this deep clean space, I did not opt for this wired device as the effort to use this was significant.
Sweeping/Vacuum robots
There are several options available in the market. I looked at
- Dyson — The option available in India is expensive, requires manual effort, found it a little heavy to handle.
The automatic Dyson 360 height is more and wouldn’t navigate below my sofa or shoe rack. Furthermore, this wasn’t available in India during corona.
- Eureka Forbes — I hadn’t evaluated it back then, but I think it’s worth spending your time and checking if this option suits you!
- ILife — I had borrowed this from one of my friends to evaluate. I wasn’t too impressed with the obstacle management.
- Mi — Looked promising. It’s economical, both sweeping and mopping robot. But in an online review, I found a user saying that he didn’t receive the mopping parts hence he uses it only as a sweeping robot.
As it was lockdown times, I decided not to go for it since I was pressed for time and didn’t want the hassles of exchange or replacement or follow-ups.
Also with both sweeping and mopping robots, the one I tried had to be charged before it completes both sweeping and mopping. Yes, many claim auto-recharge, but you have to still keep track of jobs being done to change the dry to mopping pads.
- IRobot — Expensive. It has separate robots for vacuum and mopping.
Rumba 900 series vacuum is very good. The latest has more features but I thought this was good enough.
IRobot Bravaa m6 is better than 300 series. Bravaa has both sweeping and mopping options, but personally I prefer robot vacuum over robot sweeping. I use Bravaa only as a mopping robot.
The old 240 series is out of production. Bravaa m6 does a good job in small places like rooms. I have learned how to use it in the hall(large spaces) so that tire marks that appear are minimal. Also, there are options to adjust the water level and cleaning level. Overall it’s worked for me. It is very slow so I make sure it covers most ground at night when everyone is sleeping!
Please note that these don’t work on the stairs.
Recurring cost
The bravaa m6 mops are expensive. Unlike the 300 series where we can easily use other microfibres.
My opinion
I liked the vacuum robots better than the sweeping robot. This sucks the hair or minute particles, the sweeping robot does a good job but I think vacuum robots are more effective.
Use filter water for mopping robot, hard water can lead to scale deposits. After use, rub the mop pad lightly with your hands to clean it. This helps to keep the wear and tear low.
Keep the water spray level to the minimum to keep the tire marks to the minimum. However, I think there is scope for improvement in the mopping robots.
No robot is perfect, I find ways to make it work for me! Overall I have been happy with the cleaning done!
Electric spinning mops
I found this spinning electric mops that can be used to clean the bathroom floor.
My opinion
Surely this is not for deep cleaning but does a fair job when used for daily cleaning.
Spray mops
I found this useful in the quick cleaning of the kitchen after every meal. There are several available in the market, I picked up this one.
My opinion
This is meant for regular cleaning and not deep cleaning.
Foldable microfiber cleaner
Climbing a ladder to clean the fan is a tedious task. In my quest to look for time-saving options, I came across this foldable cleaner.
My opinion
You will have to train yourself to ensure the fan wings are not moving while using it. It does a fair job of removing dust from fans.
No matter what tool you choose, there are some teething issues in getting used to using the device and making it work for you. If you are okay with it using these will give you time for yourself apart from household chores!
