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Robot vacuum cleaner 'massacre' – is your house at risk?
During the pandemic, many Aussies brought as many houseplants as possible into their homes.
While newer trends (hello, limewash and wooden furniture) and the freedom to go outside have rendered collecting houseplants somewhat outdated, many of our leafy buddies are still in our homes.
And we still absolutely love them! Not only for their visual appeal but also for the relaxing and positive energy they bring into our homes.
They absorb carbon dioxide, regulate humidity, and eliminate harmful toxins in the air. Aside from that, they also help us improve our concentration and productivity, boost our mood, reduce stress levels, feel more relaxed and calm, and so much more!
That's why you can only imagine the heartbreak this one Aussie mum experienced when one of her favourite plants was 'attacked' by her supposedly 'trusty' home appliance – her robot vacuum cleaner.
Oh no…
A mum's robot vacuum cleaner 'attacked' her favourite houseplant. Credit: Facebook.
'It's a sad day,' said the woman as she began telling the story of her damaged houseplant in her Facebook post. 'My Chain of Hearts must have slipped off the shelf, and my RoboVac tried to clean it up. I'm devastated…'
When the unfortunate incident happened, she was out of the house and had left the robot vacuum cleaner to do its job.
Thankfully, the mum said that she was able to save most of the plant parts from the vacuum cleaner, and she is keeping her fingers crossed that she will be able to propagate and regrow them.
Hundreds of her fellow members in the Facebook group Crazy Indoor Plant People Australia understood what she was going through, and most of them said that they had been in a similar situation.
In the comments section, one plant lover remembered a time when the same thing happened to her: the supposedly 'smart' gadget dragged her whole plant and its soil all over the house, which she called a 'total massacre'.
Another person described the story of how her beloved Swiss cheese vine became the 'victim' of her robotic cleaner, spilling its soil all over the living room carpet.
A third user also commented with a picture of her favourite Chain of Hearts vines stuck in her automatic hoover and said, 'You're not the first, and you won't be the last.'
Another person said that their Swiss cheese vine had gotten tangled in a robotic cleaner and had spilt soil all over their carpet. Credit: Facebook.
You heard it here first, folks! It is advisable to keep your beloved houseplants secure and protected at all times because they may not always be completely safe from robot vacuum cleaners (and even pets, if you have them) in your home.
Here are a few things you can do to protect your houseplants from tipping over and being destroyed by the vacuum cleaner:
- Use heavy or large pots - Putting tall, heavy plants in pots that aren't big enough makes the base of the plant shaky and unstable. Always use a pot two or three times bigger than the plant it will hold.
- Avoid placing the plants on windowsills - If you have plenty of window space, you might feel inclined to cultivate some greenery on your window sills. But, keep in mind that this would expose them to the wind, which makes them more likely to fall over.
- Fill the pot with pebbles or other heavy materials - To increase the weight and stability of your pot, you might want to add some river stones, gravel, or other porous rocks to it. This also slows the rate of water evaporation and makes the soil better at holding water.
We hope you'll find these suggestions helpful, members. Happy and prosperous gardening to all of you!
