Hands-on With the Kyvol S31 Cleaning Robot GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO News > Smart & Connected Life
Hands-on With the Kyvol S31 Cleaning Robot
It empties and charges itself
By Sascha Brodsky Sascha Brodsky Senior Tech Reporter Macalester College Columbia University Sascha Brodsky is a freelance journalist based in New York City. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, the Guardian, the Los Angeles Times and many other publications. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 12, 2021 09:03AM EDT Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Smart & Connected Life Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming Key Takeaways
My floors are cleaner without working up a sweat, thanks to the new Kyvol S31.The robot cleaner vacuums and mops automatically, using a laser-guided navigation system.In practice, I found the Kyvol to be surprisingly good at navigating its way around my home. Sascha Brodsky / Lifewire The new Kyvol S31 robot vacuum cleaner is changing my life, one tiny particle of dust at a time. I was never interested in a robot vacuum because they seemed more trouble than they were worth. You have to charge the thing and empty it, after all. Wouldn’t a broom and dustpan be more straightforward and save hundreds of dollars? The genius thing about the S31 is it takes care of all that maintenance itself. I set up the S31 in about 10 minutes, and from that point on, it was zipping around, vacuuming, and even zooming back to its base station when necessary for charging and emptying waste into a sealed bag. It even mops floors, as well. Elegant Design
Out of the box, the S31 looks intimidating, especially to dust bunnies. It's gleaming black and round, with two brushes mounted on the sides to push dirt into its path to be slurped up. On the top of the unit is a button to start cleaning, return to the base station, or do a quick clean. Setup is pretty much just plugging the Kyvol in and connecting to Wi-Fi. Packed inside the casing is a laser-guided system that allows the Kyvol S31 to map your home and navigate around obstacles. There’s also a fall sensor intended to ensure the S31 doesn’t get stuck or fall downstairs. If you prefer to manually control the unit, you can also use the included remote control or its own app. Sascha Brodsky / Lifewire One feature I particularly enjoyed was the smart home integration. The S31 is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can use verbal commands to tell your robot to do its thing. In practice, I found the Kyvol to be surprisingly good at navigating my home. It rarely bumped into walls and saw all the tough-to-reach spots to give them a good cleaning. The S31 can automatically switch between different floors, so I could send it forth to clean both my carpet and hard floors. Controlling the Kyvol with the app was simple. I set up cleaning cycles, tweaked the volume of prompts, and set up no-robot areas. I also set a cleaning schedule so the robot would clean when I wasn’t around. There’s something eerie about coming back to freshly cleaned floors after Kyvol has done its job. But once I set up a map, the Kyvol was even better at its job. It’s easy enough to do by tapping a button in the app and dragging a box to a place on the map. There’s a similar process for adding virtual walls and no-vacuum and no-cleaning zones. You can also add virtual walls so it sticks to certain areas, rather than entire rooms. The Kyvol S31’s home is its docking station. The dock is a charging base for the robot and contains a 4.3-liter dust bin that holds the dirt collected by the robot. If you’re not incredibly messy, the bag can hold up to 60 days worth of dust. To empty the bag, you just take the bag out and toss it in the trash. Simple. Once the Kyvol was finished vacuuming, I gave its mopping attachment a try. The bot comes with disposable and washable mopping pads and a water tank you can stick to the bottom of the unit. The mopping left my floors gleaming. Dust Bunnies Beware
I’m more than satisfied with the cleaning power of the S31. It had never been clear to me before how dirty my floors were until the S31 took charge. The vacuum’s powerful suction allowed it to pull pet hair off the carpet, along with dust and various other items I didn’t examine too closely. It was a satisfying feeling watching the S31 navigate under couches and chairs, emitting a happy sucking noise. When it returned to base and emptied its contents, I saw more dust than I expected. I found the Kyvol to be surprisingly good at navigating my home. My favorite part of the Kyvol was its spot cleaning feature, best used for cleaning a relatively small area. The robot maps the area you’ve picked out into a square, then goes over it twice for a deep clean. At nearly $500, the S31 is not a small investment, but I could see the device saving hours of labor. For users who have the cash to spend and want a nearly autonomous cleaning robot, the Kyvol is a solid choice. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire The 10 Best Robot Vacuums of 2022 Dreame Bot L10 Pro Review: A Mopping and Vacuuming Robot with LiDAR What Is a Roomba and How Does It Work? Rise of the Home Robot How to Clean a Wireless Mouse How to Clean Your PC How to Store and Maintain Your Game Systems Expert Tested: The 10 Best Smart Home Products in 2022 How to Fix a CPU Fan Error How to Remove Junk Files From Windows 11 5 Ways AI Can Make Your Home Happy How to Fix It When a MacBook Pro Keyboard Isn't Working How to Fix it When Your PS4 Is Overheating How to Remove Smoke and Cigarette Smells From a Car How to Clean a Mechanical Keyboard How to Clean Headphones and Earbuds Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies