Review: Ecovacs Deebot M81 Pro

For the first week that I ran the Ecovacs Deebot M81 Pro, I kept finding it knocked off its base, its battery uncharged. It was aggravating, and mystifying. What could be happening? I've been testing robot vacuums for months by plugging them into this one location.

After a day of observation, I figured out the problem. My eight-month-old son was crawling over to the botvac, and turning it on and off by slapping the glowing blue button. While every other robot vacuum made him wail in fear, this one was unobtrusive and approachable.

Finally, a robot vacuum I can operate while the kids are awake! Success!

Rich Girl

With robot vacuums, you get what you pay for. More expensive models have powerful suction, smarter mapping capabilities, and navigational abilities-but not everyone can pay almost a grand for a household appliance.

With the Deebot M81 Pro, Ecovacs makes a series of acceptable compromises. The suction isn't as powerful as a more expensive botvac, but it's quieter. I measured it at around 60 dB. For some reason, neither my dogs nor my children seemed as bothered by it as by other robot vacuums.

In my cleaning tests, the Deebot M81 Pro took longer to clean the 500 square feet of infant, toddler, and double dog-haired mess I call my house. More expensive vacuums can be counted on to clean the same space in about an hour, but it took the Deebot two. It took two hours to charge the vacuum, and then two hours to run down the battery until it had to return to the charging base.

But-my house was left relatively clean. The floor didn't look as spotless as if I'd run the push vac-fragments remained under cabinets and around table legs. But the more obvious trails of dirt and sand by the front door, and crumbs underneath the kitchen table, were gone. It did its job with nary a navigational snag, either, although it was stumped by wire chair legs.

You can operate the Deebot either with the included remote, which lets you set timers, schedules, or different cleaning modes like spot cleaning, edge cleaning, and intense cleaning. You also use the remote to connect it to your home Wi-Fi-just hit the network setup button, then select the botvac on Ecovacs' companion app. I found this procedure significantly easier to figure out than with competing Wi-Fi enabled vacuums. However, the app can't replace the remote, as–weirdly–it doesn't have a home button to return the botvac to its base. But it does have the same manual directional controls, and you can also check your battery's status.

The Deebot also has an optional wet mop mode that might be more trouble than it's worth, but more on that later.

Don't Get It Twisted

Clearing the floor was annoying. Unlike the Neato or Roomba botvacs, Ecovacs does not provide you with any kind of physical or infrared barrier to cordon off problem areas. As with every house, we have rat nests of cords in certain corners, and my rolled-up-towel-walls didn't keep the Deebot M81 Pro at bay.

The wet mop was an interesting addition, but not necessary. It's an optional attachment that you click onto the bottom of the vac. You fill a reservoir with a minute (about 80 milliliters) amount of water, stick on the optional cleaning mop, and select Auto mode. But, sadly, the botvac can't distinguish between hard floors and carpet, so open kitchens are a no-go. You also have to wait a little while for the water to drain from the reservoir and into the cleaning cloth.

I used the Deebot's manual control to clean up a trail of dried milk barf (sorry, childless folk) that my son left on the hardwood floor in the hall. I filled the reservoir, clicked it onto the bottom of the vac, and used the manual control to direct it back and forth over the dried milk.

It was fun and easy, but as I stood there, steering it back and forth, I wondered if it might've just been easier to grab a wet Swiffer instead. By the eight or ninth pass, with traces of vomit still present, I gave up. You should probably reserve the mop mode for light maintenance cleaning in a small, enclosed area, like a bathroom. Otherwise, it's not an efficient use of your time.

I couldn't make out that much of a difference between the Auto and Intensive cleaning modes; Intensive was only a few decibels louder, and it ran down the battery faster to no noticeable effect. And unlike the Neato or the Roomba models, the Deebot didn't alert me when the bin was full, only when something got stuck. And then there was the roller brush-between me and my long-haired daughter, it regularly wound ropes of hair that were so thick that I'd have to cut them off with a pocketknife. I made it a habit to check the brush whenever I emptied the dustbin.

Sweet Escape

The Deebot doesn't have many of the features of more expensive vacuums that I've come to know and love. Its random "go in a straight line until you bounce off something at an angle" method of cleaning seems haphazard once you've seen the methodical navigation style of a Neato or a Roomba. I also didn't see the level of clean that you might expect with a midrange vacuum from the Neato or Roomba line.

But-and here's the thing-it's cheaper, and not by an insignificant amount. If you live in a space with both carpeted and hard surfaces, and you want to buy a robot vacuum and pay off your mortgage this month (who are you, Bill Gates?), the Ecovacs Deebot M81 Pro is a great option.

Even if it doesn't provide as deep a clean, it's more convenient to run it more often. You don't have to wait until your children or dogs are asleep or otherwise occupied. It also won't pester you for attention like many other robot vacuums-even when it probably should, like when a rope of hair has started to disguise itself as part of the cleaning brush.

And isn't that all anyone who needs a robot vacuum wants? A little more time to be left alone? That's well worth three hundred bucks.

Read more: https://www.wired.com/review/review-ecovacs-deebot-m81-pro/

'It is raining stair rods'

Regional slang words for different types of weather are being considered for weather forecasts, the Met Office has said.

Its research found a variety of slang words were used to describe UK weather. Here are some that have been submitted by readers to BBC News.

'It is raining stair rods'

Image copyright Getty Images

I don't know where it comes from but we always said "it is raining stair rods" when it was really heavy. Another which is I assume is more common is "good weather for ducks". As a child I have heard – but not actually used it much in anger – is the term "Noah's day" if it rained or was forecast to rain heavy for all or most of the day. Philip Robinson, Lincolnshire

The analogy for the term "it is raining stair rods" is the rain falling in long, straight streaks.

The German and French languages have words using the imagery of ropes or cord to do the same thing.

'It's looking a bit black over Bill's mother's'

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An expression in this area; now, I suspect, hardly ever used is "it's black orr Bill's mother's". This was when the sky was darkening ahead of a thunderstorm. I have met people who also knew this who lived in Leicester and another from Humberside. My wife's family from County Durham used the term "it's stotting it down" to describe rain that was so heavy it was bouncing off the ground. Stephen Veasey, Nottingham

"It's a bit black over Bill's mother" – when dark clouds were gathering. This could be from any direction, which initially led me to believe Bill's mother was on the move. Alan, Kent

This is a phrase often heard in the English Midlands. Some believe "Bill" refers to William Shakespeare, whose mother Mary Arden lived in Stratford-Upon-Avon.

But another theory is "Bill" actually refers to Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last German emperor and king of Prussia, who abdicated at the end of World War One. Germany's foreign policy at that time echoed Wilhelm's changeable and blustering character, according to the Open University.

• England's oddest phrases explained

'Mae hi'n bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn' – 'It's raining old ladies and sticks'

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In Wales we say "Mae hi'n bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn" which literally means "It's raining old ladies and sticks". David Goadby, Pwllheli, north Wales

Used to describe heavy rain, the English equivalent is "it is raining cats and dogs".

Is it 'tipping it down', 'slinging it down' or 'teeming'?

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I am over 60 and a south-east Londoner but have never heard heavy rain described as "caning it". I have, however, heard on many occasions when there is serious rain the words "totally torrential", "tipping it down" and "inundated", and to a lesser extent "the clouds have materialised". Daphne Cunningham, London

I've lived in London for almost 30 years and have never heard "caning it". Where I'm from in Cheshire, we'd say "slinging it down" or "tipping it down". I wonder if the British have as many words for rain as Eskimos famously have for snow? Paula Dempsey, London

What a splendid way to preserve our dialects and adages. In the Sunderland and Newcastle area heavy rain "teeming down" is the expression – "chucking down" is another. Anthony Bird

'Blowing a hoolie'

We have some excellent terms for weather up here in the north-east of Scotland from "driech", "smirrie rain", "it's fair dinging doon", "blowing a hoolie", "it's minging outside" and probably heaps more. Sarah Kirkwood, Aberdeen

'There's enough blue sky to make a sailor a pair of trousers'

Image copyright Getty Images

I grew up and spent most of my life in Kent. My childhood was spent on a farm my father managed and I later went into farming myself where the topic of the weather was never far away.

Here are some of my favourite descriptions for the weather that I picked up on the way:

• "Here comes Old Phoebe" – the sun is coming out.
• "It's damping about a bit" – my father's expression for drizzle, usually meaning it wasn't wet enough to stop outdoor work
• "It's cold enough for a walking stick" – meaning there would be ice and a walking stick might be useful for the less agile
• "There's enough blue sky to make a sailor a pair of trousers" – said after rain when the sky starts to clear
• Fifty words for rain

'Nesh' and 'Nithering'

If you are cold in Nottingham you are feeling a bit "nesh" This can be directed at the weather: "Oh it's gonna be nesh in the morning." Zoe Johnson, Nottingham

I have lived in York for more than 21 years (born in Sussex) and a word which is commonly used to describe the weather being exceptionally cold here is "nithering". York is nithering for much of the year. Claire Sansford, York

'Mafting'

In Scarborough, heavy rain is often "siling" – this may have Norse origins. If it's hot, it's "mafting " and you may be said to be "mafted ". And if it's miserable – or if someone you know is – "dowly ". Mat Watkinson, Scarborough

Related Topics

• Met Office

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42918581

Airline Cracks Down On Naughty “Emotional Support” Animals

Delta, the world's second-largest airline, has announced new regulations for passengers hoping to fly with service and support animals.

Beginning on March 1, 2018, passengers with furry (or scaly, slimy, or feathered) support animals will need to provide documentation on their animal's health and vaccination history 48 hours prior to departure. As of right now, passengers with emotional support animals (ESAs) must carry a note from a licensed medical professional confirming that the passenger has a mental health-related disability for which they require or significantly benefit from traveling with their animal. Moving forward, these passengers will also have to provide a signed letter confirming that the animal can behave properly while free in the cabin.

According to the airline, Delta flights carry about 700 service animals every day, or about 250,000 per year. Some of these animals are specialized "service dogs" (and apparently service miniature horses) that aid people with various medical conditions. These animals are unlikely to cause a ruckus in public because they are highly trained, and legislation from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ensures that their owners may live with them in any rental housing, bring them into businesses, public areas and hospitals, and use public transport such as buses and trains. Customers traveling with these legitimate service animal will only be required to provide the animal's health record, not the medical note.

A well-behaved good boy can still fly free, only needing some extra paperwork. Stieber/Shutterstock

The real issue that has led to this crackdown is the explosion in popularity of emotional support animals (ESAs). The Department of Transportation, who oversees national travel system policy, is laxer than the DOJ; They lump loosely regulated ESAs (also called assistance animals) together with service animals in the instance of air travel. 

Essentially any animal that is not deemed a threat to public safety (sorry no snakes, spiders, or mongooses) can qualify as an ESA, as long as the owner carries a note as mentioned above. No training is required. 

Because ESA documentation is shockingly easy to obtain and apply to existing pets, people have, of course, been abusing the loopholes.

"Customers have attempted to fly with comfort turkeys, gliding possums known as sugar gliders, snakes, spiders and more," Delta officials wrote in their rather testy public statement. "Ignoring the true intent of existing rules governing the transport of service and support animals can be a disservice to customers who have real and documented needs." 

The company reports that there was an 84 percent rise in animal incidents between 2016 and the present, including peeing or pooping in the aisles and growling or lunging at other customers/airline staff, and even the rare attack. Essentially, they're very tired of dealing with "behavior not typically seen in these animals when properly trained and working."

Prior to these restrictions, airlines already had the authority to remove a passenger and their service animal or ESA if said creature posed a direct threat to the safety of others, or if its presence caused a significant disruption to the flight. Personnel can also move you and your animal to different seats.

Read more: http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/airline-cracks-down-on-naughty-emotional-support-animals/