Back in March, the folks from O-Cedar got in touch to ask if I’d like to try out one of their new O-Duster Robotic Floor Cleaners. I like O-Cedar, and I have a mop from them that works just fine. I’ve also owned a few of their brooms over the years, so I figured I’d give it a go in the interest of seeing how it helps a busy at-home Dad like myself keep up with the fuzzies and grime that often collects on our laminate flooring. How did it fare? Well, I could end this quickly by saying that it’s taken me three months to share some thoughts, and that my O-Duster was also recently sold on my garage sale… or I could go into further detail. Yeah, I’ll go deeper…
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First off, the O-Duster is a $40 robot that with a circular body certainly wants to evoke the iRobot Roomba in the minds of consumers. Unlike the more expensive counterpart, the robot is not a vacuum. It’s exactly what it claims to be: A “floor cleaner.” How good of one is up for debate, as my wife pegged it before I even opened the box: “So it’s just going to drive around the house pushing the dirt around?” Pretty much.
The O-Duster is cute, and for my oldest, it quickly became a “he” as she began anthropomorphizing it – giving the O-Duster a personality. He makes a weird little noise as he scoots around the house, but he takes 30-120 minutes to do a job you could do in five with a broom and dustpan… or I could just break out my Dyson and be done with it. The O-Duster just drove around collecting dog hair and dust bunnies, while pushing crumbs (or anything of substantial weight) into the floorboards just as my wife predicted. The O-Duster is more of a novelty – a toy for the kids and the dogs, than a genuinely useful appliance. I know my droids, and this is definitely not the droid you’re looking for.
At this point, I feel my experience with the O-Duster was an incredible waste of time. I even shot video to go with my eventual review, but it’s not even worth the time to edit. The crew at O-Cedar even offered me one to use as a giveaway item for all of you, but I have to pass. I’m not going to host a giveaway for an item that I wouldn’t use myself.
So yes, my O-Duster was recently sold on a garage sale here in June. After two days attempting to get $10 for it, I ended up moving him for $5. And I actually regret it. In retrospect, I would’ve liked to set him free… turning him on and allowing him to hit the open road, all while filming it. I would’ve let the sad music from the end of the 1970s INCREDIBLE HULK television series play in the background, and I then would’ve had a definitive ending for the video that I shot. Actually, let’s just share that song right now while envisioning the O-Duster driving down the road…
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Sorry, O-Cedar, but the O-Duster is a $40 piece of plastic destined to clog landfills.
FTC Disclosure: If my article wasn’t already 100% clear, an O-Duster Robot was provided to me for the purpose of review consideration. All opinions and such are 100% my own. Are you actually reading the disclosure?
