Maid to order: Robotic vacuums that do a great job cleaning your house

Consistent, never on leave, working without supervision. Corona times have led to spurt in automated devices that mop, scrub and vacuum your house unobtrusively

We have sold 5,000 units in last three months and are currently out of stock, says a prominent manufacturer of robotic vacuums retailing in India. Jittery about maids entering homes and, in a bid to become self-reliant, educated elites in metros are increasingly opting for automated cleaners. It's machines over man (maid in this case, if you will) as people try to minimise human interface.

Akhilee Malhotra, a 45-year-old resident of a premium gated community who recently bought an iRobot for her 4BHK apartment, says, “We are at the edge of the desert in Gurugram, what with Rajasthan being next-door.