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.
Wouldnt a broom and dustpan be more straightforward and save hundreds of dollars?
Sascha Brodsky / Lifewire
The genius thing about the S31 is it takes care of all that maintenance itself.
It even mops floors, as well.
Elegant Design
Out of the box, the S31 looks intimidating, especially to dust bunnies.
Sascha Brodsky / Lifewire
Setup is pretty much just plugging the Kyvol in and connecting to Wi-Fi.
Theres also a fall sensor intended to ensure the S31 doesnt get stuck or fall downstairs.
One feature I particularly enjoyed was the smart home integration.
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.
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 wasnt around.
Theres 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.
Theres a similar process for adding virtual walls and no-vacuum and no-cleaning zones.
The Kyvol S31s home is its docking station.
If youre 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.
Once the Kyvol was finished vacuuming, I gave its mopping attachment a try.
The mopping left my floors gleaming.
Dust Bunnies Beware
Im 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.
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.
