Finally, a beautiful spring has descended on our heads and it is the time when we evaluate with a critical eye the degree of cleanliness of our windows and other glazed surfaces. Usually around this time of the year the windows are very dusty and require cleaning. And who likes cleaning windows?
Fortunately, there are window cleaning robots and in the last few years we can see them more and more frequently in Latvia as well. We ourselves tested a similar device a couple of years ago and now another window cleaning robot has arrived for the test – Hester M2 Pro. I have cleaned the windows of both my apartment and my parents’ apartment with this robot, and I have accumulated knowledge about the use of the device that I want to share.
But before we get to the review of the specific robot, let’s briefly talk about the principles of operation of such a device. To a large extent, window cleaning robots resemble the robots that have been vacuuming our floors at home for years. In both cases, the robots are able to move on the surface in a certain way. In the case of windows, the surface is vertical and the robot sticks to it by suction. In practice, this means that these robots sound like vacuum cleaners. Similar to floor cleaning robots, window cleaning robots “sit” on cloths and glide across the window with them. Most of these robots also know how to spray window cleaner so that the dust is not only wiped off, but also washed away. Some of the robots can be controlled with a mobile app, while some have a regular remote control with which we can remotely command them to perform certain actions. Such robots are not very fast, but they will drive up to places unreachable by their own power without reservation and will be able to clean windows almost without our involvement.
Hester M2 Pro robot kit
In the conveniently portable and informative robot box, we will find the robot, as many as four microfiber cloths (we can buy them separately on the product’s homepage), power cable with adapter, detergent refill bottle, remote control with batteries and a very informative manual in English.
In principle, we get everything you need to start cleaning your windows right away. If there is no special glass cleaner at hand, we can also fill the robot with water.
Hester M2 Pro appearance and construction
Hester M2 Pro the robot is a square-shaped (250*250*80 mm) device and weighs a rather noticeable 1.5 kg in the hand. The body is made of glossy plastic and the top of the robot has built-in recesses to make the device easier to hold. Also, in a visible place on the top of the robot, we can see the on/off (also serves as cleaning start or pause) button, the window cleaning or water tank rubber cap and the electricity port to which we screw the power cord for greater safety. The robot is designed to be used with an attached power cord, but the device also has a small battery built into it, which will be able to keep the device near the window for up to 20 minutes (and will beep during this time) in the event of a power outage.
Beneath the Hester name are hidden several LEDs that inform about the operation of the robot. An orange LED indicates that the built-in battery is charging. A green message indicates that charging is complete. If we see a red light, then something is wrong, but a blue light (also visible on the other side of the robot, or below) means that the robot is working correctly.
So what can be seen on the underside of the robot? There are balls on all four corners of the robot that push when the robot is stuck to a flat surface (such as a window). These are surface sensors. If a corner of the robot goes out into the “empty air”, the device will understand that it is not necessary to drive further. In the very center there is a fan opening through which air is sucked in and thus the robot “sticks” to the window surface. The manufacturer states that the device has a power of 80 W and is capable of producing 65 dB of noise. In practice, this means that the robot sounds like a regular vacuum cleaner. Two rubberized “caterpillars” take care of the movement. They then make the robot go straight or turn.
The cloths are very easy to attach – we put them in the correct orientation on the robot and press them lightly. This approach may look unreliable, but the rag will not fall anywhere because the robot is pushing on it. After cleaning, the cloth can be easily removed from the robot and can be washed (also in the washing machine).
This is what the cloth looked like after washing all the windows in my apartment. We throw it in the washing machine!
Since the robot is a heavy device that moves through windows that can be found under people’s heads, additional safety has also been thought of. A safety rope is built into the robot’s body, which we can use to tie the robot to a railing or some stable objects. The rope is less than 4 m long, but the total length of the power cord is almost 5.5 meters.
How does the Hester M2 Pro robot work?
To prepare the robot for work, you need to tightly screw the power cable to the robot, if necessary, tie it to a stable object with a safety rope and fill its window cleaning liquid tank. It is not too big (45ml), but the robot sprays such a fine mist of cleaning agent that this amount of cleaning agent will be enough for a very, very large area of windows.
After that, you need to very lightly wet the part of the cloth that touched the glass. By easy I mean literally 2-3 sprays. If the cloth is too wet, the robot will slide through the window and will not be able to turn or move correctly. Then start the robot by holding the on/off button for 3 seconds and when the robot roars at full volume, safely put it near the window. Make sure it doesn’t slide off anywhere and stays firmly in place. Then, either with the remote control or by pressing the on/off button, start the cleaning process. By the way, after work, the robot will try to return to the same place from which it started its work. However, if something happens to it on the way, we can use the remote control to bring it to a place within our reach.
The first sweep must be with the spray function turned off – press the corresponding (AU) button on the remote control and wait for the robot to beep once. This means that the robot has turned off the automatic spraying function (two beeps means that the function is on). When the robot has left and “dry” cleaned the completely dirty windows, we can shake it off or replace the cloth and run another round of washing, but this time with the spray mode on. From the beginning, it might seem that the robot is not spraying, but do not stress and wait for that moment. From the beginning, the robot (in automatic mode) will move in the vertical direction of the window, and only then in the horizontal direction, and only then will spraying take place (in the direction of movement). We can also press the button next to the remote control (right) to manually spray the detergent. Since the robot does not understand that the window frame is right in front, we will be able to clean the frame as well.
Cleaning quality
Since this robot has a square shape, it will be able to clean the window more precisely along with the frame, and will drive into the corners of the window quite accurately (as long as it is at a right angle). In this respect, this robot is superior to similar robots that use round cleaning cloths. The most pedantic people will, of course, want to clean the small strip of uncleaned window near the frame.
But how cleanly can we clean the windows with such a robot? If there is only dust or pollen on the window, then I would say that after one or two washes, the windows will be significantly cleaner (especially if we use a window cleaner). You really won’t be able to tell that there is any dirt left. But if the window has been smeared by children, pets or seagulls, then of course the robot will not be able to do much and you will have to rub the big dirt off yourself.
In general, I would like to say that such a robot will be best for those people who want to keep their windows clean all the time. Maybe unpack the robot and clean your windows every month. The more windows you have or the more unreachable they are, the more fun such a robot will be able to bring.
There are some nuances that could be better. The robot is quite slow. In my home, this robot washed the largest window (less than 3 m2) in less than 9 minutes. I started the robot again for greater cleanliness and it’s already less than 20 minutes. I also washed the window from the inside and it took another 9 or 20 minutes to work here. If the windows have many panes, then the robot will definitely have to sit next to it all the time, because it will simply have to be moved to the next pane every few minutes. On the other hand, if the windows are huge, then the robot can work autonomously and our involvement is not too necessary.
The manufacturer promises that we can also wash mirrors and tiles with this robot. There were really no problems with the built-in cabinet mirror (the main thing is for the robot to be able to “feel” the frame or edges where the glass surface ends), but washing the glass surfaces of the balcony was not too successful. First, the robot scraped its own corners against the walls of the house. Secondly, it lost its traction at the joints of the glass plates and it slowly slid down. One conclusion – the robot will stick firmly only to continuous flat surfaces. The robot will be able to successfully cope with cleaning the balcony surfaces, if there are no large gaps between the glass plates and they do not fit the walls of the building.
The weather conditions in which you plan to clean the windows are also important. If the weather is windy, spraying window cleaner will not be effective. If the weather is hot and sunny, the cleaning agent will also evaporate before the robot can drive over it and perform the cleaning work. Of course, it will not be a good idea to carry out cleaning work in the rain, because the robot will slide down on wet glass.
In conclusion
Hester M2 Pro it costs 399 euros and I recommend buying extra cloths together with the robot so that we never run out of them. Cloths can also be bought separately. Plus, a good window cleaner that we can have this robot spray on the windows will also come in handy. I would like to emphasize that the use of a window cleaner will allow you to achieve a good result faster. If the robot runs without it, it may have to repeat the cleaning process several times and it will take more time.
Such a robot will be a good helper that will keep the windows clean from dust or pollen. If the windows are more heavily soiled, it is preferable to help the robot – clean them by hand, or run the robot several times, as well as regularly change the cloths
If we have hard-to-reach windows (for example, on the upper floors of buildings) or there are simply a lot of them (for example, in private houses), then such a robot can be a wise investment for years to come.
2023-05-02 09:30:00
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