Pool Owners: Yearly Reminder That A Robot Cleaner Will Save You Time

InnovationConsumer TechPool Owners: Yearly Reminder That A Robot Cleaner Will Save You TimeByBrad Moon,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Brad Moon covers audio gear, Apple products and consumer tech.Follow AuthorMay 31, 2026, 01:17pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Robotic pool cleaner returning from a job well doneBrad Moont’s that time of year. After eight months of looking at a dreary gray safety cover, our backyard pool opened last week. I live in Canada, so swimming pool season is short... And with the kickoff to pool season comes a reminder that if you have a pool you can avoid the majority of the most dreaded part of pool ownership–the daily maintenance–by investing in a robotic pool cleaner. You can save hours every week, giving you more time to enjoy using your pool. And you may even save a little money as well.Regain Hours Lost to MaintenanceWhen we first had our in-ground pool installed, I was prepared for the effort and cost involved in keeping the water chemistry balanced. What I wasn’t prepared for was the amount of daily maintenance required. I had the picture in my head of doing a few passes across the surface with a net and that would be it. I wasn’t expecting to have to be vacuuming the pool daily to remove the collection of pinecones, leaves, dead bugs and dirt that would magically appear on the bottom every morning. The whole ritual of connecting the hose and vacuum head to the skimmer basket, doing the actual vacuuming, then cleaning the equipment off and putting it away could easily take an hour.After trying out my first pool robot, I was hooked. Charge it up and drop it in the water. No hoses, no monitoring required. It just runs around on the bottom of the pool vacuuming up everything and most will also scrub the waterline. Some models also have a cycle where they float across the water surface and s...