December 01, 2025

Start the robot vacuum when everybody leaves

Robot vacuums are great, but even better when they clean while you’re away. Automate daily cleaning to happen when no one is home to disturb or be disturbed.

Use cases

Automated Cleaning

Clean During Work Hours - House cleaned while away at work
No Disturbance - No one home to be bothered by vacuum noise
Daily Cleaning - Automatic consistent cleaning schedule

Convenience

Pet Hair Management - Keep up with pet shedding automatically
Guest Ready - House always clean when you return

Products needed

Essential Equipment

WiFi-Enabled Robot Vacuum

Popular brands: Roomba, Roborock, Eufy, Shark, Neato
WiFi connectivity • App control • Scheduling override

Presence Detection

Phone app location services, GPS-based (Home Assistant, SmartThings, Life360)
OR door lock status + motion sensors

Optional Enhancements

Contact Sensors

On doors to ensure all closed before starting

Smart Notifications

Alert if vacuum gets stuck or has errors

Basic automation setup

IF everyone leaves home AND time between 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM THEN start robot vacuum

Triggers

Home goes into Away Mode
(Last person leaves house based on presence detection)

Conditions

Time is between 9 AM - 6 PM: Vacuum during daytime only
House in Away Mode for 15 min: Ensure everyone actually left
Optional: Day of week (e.g., only weekdays)

Actions

Start robot vacuum cleaning cycle
OR trigger vacuum's existing schedule

Platform-specific examples

Home Assistant

Trigger Home mode 'Away' for 15 min

Condition Time 9am-6pm, weekdays, vacuum docked

Action Start robot vacuum cleaning cycle

Stop: When home → Send vacuum to dock

SmartThings

IF Home mode "Away" for 15 minutes

AND Time 9 AM - 6 PM, Mon-Fri

THEN Start robot vacuum

Hubitat

Trigger Mode changes to "Away" for 15 min

Condition Time 9am-6pm, weekdays

Action Start vacuum cleaning cycle

Setup: Use Mode Manager with vacuum integration

Apple HomeKit

When Last person leaves home

Condition Time 9 AM - 6 PM, Weekdays

Do Start vacuum (if HomeKit supported)

Alexa

When Last person leaves (location)

Condition Time 9 AM - 6 PM, Weekdays

Action Start vacuum

Google Home

Starter Last person leaves home

Condition Time 9 AM - 6 PM, weekdays

Action Start robot vacuum

Advanced features

Room-by-room daily schedule

Different rooms on different days:

Create automation that triggers when away for 15 minutes during daytime (9am-6pm), then uses day-based logic:

Monday: Clean kitchen & dining room (segment IDs 1, 2)
Tuesday: Clean living room (segment 3)
Wednesday: Clean bedrooms (segments 4, 5)
Thursday: Clean hallways (segment 6)
Friday: Full house cleaning (all rooms)

Note: Requires vacuum model supporting room-specific cleaning commands

Pre-cleaning notification

Remind to tidy up before vacuum starts:

Create automation with these elements:

Trigger: Home mode changes to ‘Away’ for 5 minutes
Condition: Time between 9am-6pm
Action: Send notification “Vacuum will start in 10 minutes. Tidy floors if needed!”

Stuck vacuum alert

Get notified if vacuum has problems:

Create automation with these elements:

Trigger: Vacuum state changes to ‘error’
Action: Send high-priority notification “Robot vacuum is stuck or has an error!”

Battery-based smart start

Only start if battery sufficient:

Add condition to automation: Vacuum battery level must be above 50% before starting cleaning cycle.

Safety considerations

Pre-checks before starting

Ensure conditions are safe:

Add conditions to automation:

All doors closed (prevent vacuum getting stuck in closets - check bedroom closet door, utility room door)
No maintenance needed (vacuum is docked AND bin is not full)

Stop conditions

Automatically stop vacuum if:

Create automation with these elements:

Trigger: Any person arrives home (group.all_persons changes to ‘home’)
Condition: Vacuum is currently cleaning
Action: Send vacuum to dock (return to base)

Troubleshooting

Issue: Vacuum starts when someone is still home

Causes:

Presence detection too fast/inaccurate
Phone GPS delay
One person left but others home
Away mode triggered prematurely

Solutions: ✅ Increase away delay to 20-30 minutes ✅ Use “all persons away” not “any person away” ✅ Combine presence with door lock status ✅ Add motion sensor check - no motion for 15+ minutes ✅ Use more reliable presence detection (Life360, multiple methods)

Add multiple detection methods to conditions:

All persons away for 15+ minutes
AND no motion detected for 15+ minutes
AND front door locked

Issue: Vacuum gets stuck

Causes:

Doors left open (closets, bathrooms)
Obstacles not cleared (shoes, toys, cables)
Low battery starting cycle
Virtual barriers not set

Solutions: ✅ Add notification before start: “Tidy floors in 10 minutes” ✅ Check battery level before starting (>50%) ✅ Set virtual barriers in vacuum app ✅ Add door sensors - only start if problem doors closed ✅ Implement stuck detection and notification (shown above)

Issue: Vacuum doesn’t start

Causes:

Vacuum already running or has error
Battery too low
Maintenance needed (bin full, filter)
Integration not working

Check:

✅ Verify vacuum shows as “docked” before automation triggers
✅ Check vacuum battery level
✅ Empty bin and clean filter
✅ Test manual start via app
✅ Review automation logs
✅ Check vacuum WiFi connection

Add diagnostics to automation:

If vacuum is docked, start cleaning
Otherwise, send notification with current vacuum state and battery level

Related automations: