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Best deals on robot vacuums ahead of Memorial Day
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Ready to kickstart your spring cleaning this year? Don’t bother with sweeping the floors or vacuuming by hand if you don’t have to. Let robot vacuums tackle that task for you.
These impressive pieces of smart home tech can tackle everything from dirt to pet messes and tangled human hair — so you can handle more important things, like choosing a new mattress or shopping for patio furniture. They can even map out areas of your home that need to be cleaned while intelligently avoiding obstacles. In other words, the robot vacuums rarely get stuck under furniture.
The only catch? Robot vacuums are pricey. The best way to cut down on the expense is to buy one ahead of Memorial Day. Knowing that robot vacuums get discounted before this long weekend holiday, we rounded up the best robot vacuum deals available now. Whether you want an all-in-one cleaning powerhouse or a cheaper option that’s great for cleaning small areas, there’s a robot vacuum that’ll fit nicely within your budget. Now give your stick vacuum a rest, and let the robots get to work.
Roborock Q5+: Save 46%
Amazon
This self-emptying vacuum does it all. Its powerful suction can remove dirt, pet hair and other debris from your carpet and hard flooring in an instant, with a battery that recharges when docked. That means no bringing it back manually to juice up.
The self-emptying dock’s dust bag is quite roomy, as it can hold seven weeks worth of dirt. To set a cleaning schedule, open up the robot vacuum’s corresponding app where you’ll see a 3D map of your home, as well as options to select what room or rooms you want cleaned and when.
From there, you can sit back, relax and let this bot take vacuuming and emptying the dustbin off of your cleaning to-do list.
Normally $700, you can get the Roborock Q5+ for $380 on Amazon.
iRobot Roomba Essential Q0120: Save 20%
Amazon
This Roomba model is perfect for cleaning pet debris and messes — all without your intervention. You can schedule cleanings via the app, and it has a three-stage cleaning system featuring multi-surface brushes. Put it all together, and you get a robot vac that can pull dirt from carpets while clearing out cobwebs and other untouchables from corners and edges.
It’s also a whiz when it comes to lifting pet dander from even the most stubborn carpets. And you don’t have to worry about it falling down stairs or running into furniture; sensors to prevent it from getting into those kinds of accidents.
With a runtime of two hours and a complete suite of cleaning options, this is an excellent robot vacuum that’s the perfect companion for pet owners.
It’s normally $250, but you can get this iRobot Roomba model for $200.
Roborock S8 Pro Ultra: Save 38%
Amazon
Serious about leaving the housecleaning to the robots? Let the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra do all your vacuuming and mopping for you.
On the vacuuming side, the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra uses a dual rubber brush system with 6,000Pa of suction to pick up dirt, crumbs, hair and other debris in your carpet. It does all this without your input, as well as makes 3D maps of your home, so there are no interruptions when it starts tidying up.
The vacuum can empty its own tank in the docking station, and the docking station can hold up to seven weeks worth of dust in its reservoir, so you don’t have to worry about emptying it too often.
In terms of mopping, the S8 Pro Ultra can work for up to 300 square feet before needing a refill. The docking station can also automate that refill and even the cleaning and drying of the mop for you.
Normally $1,600, this Roborock model is $1,000 right now.
Shark AI Ultra self-empty robot vacuum: Save 51%
Amazon
The 4.1-star-rated Shark AI Ultra robot vacuum has a lot going for it. It has a self-cleaning brush roll, a HEPA filter and a self-cleaning canister, so you never have to empty the vacuum yourself (the vacuum does so automatically in the docking station). This Shark model also contains CleanEdge technology, which blows air into corners so that it can get to dirt and debris more easily.
The Shark AI Ultra self-emptying robot vacuum comes with a corresponding app that lets you set a cleaning schedule or activate cleanings remotely. If you have Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, you can do this with voice commands. This cleaning machine can run up to two hours on a single charge, and you have about 60 days until the dust bin in the docking station needs to be emptied.
Normally priced at $650, you can get this robot vacuum at Amazon for just $320, a savings of 51%.
Roborock Q5+: Save 46%
Amazon
The Roborock Q5+ differs from other models from this brand in that it offers 180 minutes of cleaning time and can cover up to 3,230 square feet on a single charge. It also contains a brush that stays low to the ground, ensuring that everything gets picked up in a single pass. It also has a climbing ability of about two centimeters, so you don’t need to fret about it getting stuck on floor dividers.
The Roborock Q5+ also has many of the same features as the brand’s other robot vacuums, including a self-emptying docking station that can hold seven weeks worth of dirt, and an app where you can set up cleaning routines and no-go zones for the robot vac.
You can get this $700 model for $380 on Amazon for a limited time.
Narwal Freo robot vacuum and mop combo: Save 28%
Amazon
This sleek robot vacuum/mop combo went viral on TikTok during Black Friday last year. It comes at a hefty price, but the robot is a smart cookie. It boasts DirtSense technology, which means that if the robot detects an area that’s dirty, it’ll go over that soiled spot multiple times until it senses that it is completely clean.
It also adapts its cleaning to the floors as it moves, including making changes to the suction power, mop pressure and dampness of the microfiber clothes as it sees fit.
The docking station is just as impressive. It washes the mop, dispenses the mopping solution and separates the dirty water, so all you do is lift up the dirty water tank to clean. You can control the robot vacuum/mop combo on the docking station’s LCD screen, or the corresponding app.
You can get this $1,400 item for $1,000. Just make sure to add the $100 coupon before checkout.
iRobot Roomba Combo j5+: Save 44%
Amazon
If you don’t have the budget to shell out more than $1,000 on a robot/vacuum mop combo, consider the more affordable (for robot vacuum/mop combos, of course) iRobot Roomba Combo j5+. This iRobot cleaning combo machine is about half the price and offers many of the same features of its higher-priced counterparts.
This includes object avoidance, a multi-stage cleaning system, home navigation, an app that can set up cleaning schedules and more. The only difference is that it doesn’t vacuum and mop at the same time; you have to switch the bins to activate different cleaning systems.
The iRobot Roomba Combo J5+ also has a self-emptying docking station that can hold up to 60 days worth of dust and debris.
Normally $800, you can get this for $449 on Amazon for a limited time.
What is the best robot vacuum?
Focusing on a few important features can help. For starters, pay attention to suction power. Strong suction is important for digging up dirt, dust and pet hair from carpets and rugs as well as hard-to-reach areas. Battery life matters, too. Some vacuums run for more than two hours per charge, and they can return to their base and charge themselves up so you don’t have to.
You’ll also want to consider navigation and mapping capabilities. Advanced systems like visual mapping let robovacs map rooms and avoid obstacles. Of course, convenient features like Wi-Fi and voice control through Alexa or Google Assistant make life easier for you. With an app, you can schedule, monitor and control cleaning remotely as well. Any time you can automate what a robot vacuum does is a bonus – leave all that hard work to the machines.
Look for large dustbins so you empty less often, especially with pets. And HEPA filters do wonders for capturing dust and allergens. Finally, match the vacuum’s brushes to your floors. Specialized brushes are good for pet hair, for instance. You may need a vacuum that handles hardwood floors better, and you don’t want to be stuck with one that can’t handle the demands of your home’s flooring.
Congolese authorities began vaccination against mpox on Saturday, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread from Congo to several African countries and beyond was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization.
The 265,000 doses donated to Congo by the European Union and the U.S. were rolled out in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox.
Congo, with about 30,000 suspected mpox cases and 859 deaths, accounts for more than 80% of all the cases and 99% of all the deaths reported in Africa this year. All of the Central African nation’s 26 provinces have recorded mpox cases. Officials in Congo previously told CBS News that they’ve struggled to diagnose patients and provide basic care in the vast country of 100 million people, where a fragile, under-resourced healthcare system is also burdened by the stigma associated with the virus.
Although most mpox infections and deaths recorded in Congo are in children under age 15, the doses being administered are only meant for adults and will be given to at-risk populations and front-line workers, Health Minister Roger Kamba said this week.
“Strategies have been put in place by the services in order to vaccinate all targeted personnel,” Muboyayi ChikayaI, the minister’s chief of staff, said as he kicked off the vaccination.
Moses Sawasawa / AP
At least 3 million doses of the vaccine approved for use in children are expected from Japan in the coming days, Kamba said.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, had been spreading mostly undetected for years in Africa before the disease prompted the 2022 global outbreak that saw wealthy countries quickly respond with vaccines from their stockpiles while Africa received only a few doses despite pleas from its governments.
However, unlike the global outbreak in 2022 that was overwhelmingly focused on gay and bisexual men, mpox in Africa is now being spread via sexual transmission as well as through close contact among children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups, Dr. Dimie Ogoina, the chair of WHO’s mpox emergency committee, recently told reporters.
More than 34,000 suspected cases and 866 deaths from the virus have been recorded across 16 countries in Africa this year. That is a 200% increase compared to the same period last year, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
A lack of diagnostic materials and basic medicines to treat the virus, which can improve survival rates, have also hampered efforts to contain the outbreak, and access to vaccines remains a challenge.
Moses Sawasawa / AP
The continent of 1.4 billion people has only secured a commitment for 5.9 million doses of mpox vaccines, expected to be available from October through December, Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa CDC, told reporters last week. Congo remains a priority, he said.
At the vaccination drive in Goma, Dr Jean Bruno Kibunda, the WHO representative, warned that North Kivu province is at a risk of a major outbreak due to the “promiscuity observed in the camps” for displaced people, as one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis caused by armed violence unfolds there.
The news of the vaccination program brought relief to many in Congo, especially in hospitals that had been struggling to manage the outbreak. Doctors with several charities working in the country have told CBS News they’re overstretched and short on supplies, even having to use tents and mattresses on the floor of makeshift isolation wards to treat a constant influx of patients.
“If everyone could be vaccinated, it would be even better to stop the spread of the disease,” said Dr. Musole Mulambamunva Robert, the medical director of Kavumu Hospital, one of the mpox treatment centers in eastern Congo.
Eastern Congo has been beset by conflict for years, with more than 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich area near the border with Rwanda. Some have been accused of carrying out mass killings.
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Long before comic book characters dominated movie screens, actor Christopher Reeve made the world believes in superheroes with the 1978 classic “Superman.”
Reeve died in 2004, nearly a decade after an accident re-shaped his life. “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is using interviews with family and friends and never-before-seen home videos to explore his real-life heroism.
Reeve started his career on the stage, studying at the prestigious Juilliard School and living with comedian Robin Williams. The pair had a friendship that was “more like a brotherhood,” said Reeve’s son Matthew. Reeve was in awe of Williams’ energy and versatility, Matthew Reeve said, but audiences quickly clued into Reeve’s own star power when he took on the role of the Man of Steel.
Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images
To his children, though, he “was just dad,” Matthew Reeve said. The documentary explores how Matthew Reeve and his sister Alexandra Reeve Givens grew up watching their dad take the stage as Superman. “Super/Man” also reveals their heartbreak over their parents’ breakup and the joy they found when Reeve re-married. He tied the knot with Dana Reeve in 1992, and the pair welcomed another child, William Reeve, later that year.
“Dana was sunshine,” Alexandra Reeve Givens recalled. “She just brought joy with her wherever she was and could find it even in the darkest moments.”
Those dark moments came suddenly, when in 1995, a near-fatal horseback riding accident left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. The documentary allows viewers to see, for the first time, what went on out of the public’s view. Reeve can be heard talking about how he “ruined (his) life and everybody else’s,” but in a touching moment, old friend Robin Williams is seen visiting him in the hospital.
“Robin showed him ‘Hey, you’re still you,'” Alexandra Reeve Givens said. “‘You still have this foundation of friendship and people around you, who adore you. And you’re going to find those fun moments in life again.'”
That support from friends and family re-ignited Reeve’s legacy of activism. He made appearances at the Democratic National Convention and the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, about a year after the accident. Matthew Reeve said watching his father address his industry peers at the Oscars was “one of (his) most proud moments.”
“It was just a production for him to get out of bed every morning, let alone get across the country and go out in public for the first time,” Matthew Reeve said. “It was a big deal. It was a big deal to him, but it was also a big deal to the entire disability community. We stayed up in London till like three in the morning to watch that live. It’s a fond memory.”
Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images
Reeve also went on to launch what would become the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing research into spiral cord injury and help individuals and families impacted by paralysis. It was his dad’s mission to find a cure, Matthew Reeve said, while his stepmother wanted to focus on improving the lives of paralyzed people and their families. The foundation and Reeve’s platform helped bring unprecedented attention and funding to spinal cord injury research.
Reeve even kept acting and realized his lifelong dream of directing with the 1997 HBO movie “In the Gloaming.” Reeve died in 2004 from heart failure at 52.
“There is a huge amount of great actors and actresses out there, where their filmography might be amazing and what they achieve on a cultural level might be amazing, but have they actually achieved anything really as a human that moves the needle for our society?” said filmmaker Ian Bonhote, who made the documentary with Peter Ettedgui. “And Chris has done both things.”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will open in theaters on Friday, Oct. 11.
