Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuums can be great to keep your floors clean but they are not a substitute for the regular vacuum. Even the most powerful robots struggle to get into carpets or rugs, and can often get tangled in cords and socks.
Your robot will last longer if it is maintained with routine maintenance. This includes replacing filters, removing the tangled hairs from brushes, and emptying the dustbin.
Battery Life
Most robot vacuums are able to handle a few cleaning sessions without needing to be charged. The runner-up of our overall picks is the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo comes with a battery rated to last up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on one charge. That amount of runtime is more than enough time to clean the majority of smaller homes that have carpets that are hard and low-pile carpets or a larger house in which the rooms are about the same size.
A longer battery life means the robot will spend less time charging and more time cleaning. It's worth opting for an auto-emptying dust bin, since these models are more efficient when it comes to picking up debris and returning to the dock for recharging. It is important to clean or replace filters and wipe down sensors and cameras regularly so they can see clearly.
Smart mapping technology is a great feature to look for, as it allows you to program your robot to only clear certain rooms or areas that it's likely to bump into furniture or other obstacles. This feature is also helpful for ensuring that your robot is able to reach under and around furniture, such as sofas, beds and other tall items. Some cheap robovacs come with boundary strips that you can use to block certain areas. Other models of higher quality depend on sensors and cameras.
Even the best robot vacuums aren't able to substitute a traditional vac for heavy-duty dirt and debris. It's recommended to have an electric vacuum in your home to tackle these tasks, and also schedule robot vacs to do light cleaning throughout the week.
Navigation
A robot should be able to navigate your home without getting stuck or crashing into objects like screws made of metal or loose pet hair or sand. In our tests, we employ a tracking device to follow the robot as it goes through a multiroom lab and determine its surroundings. We also check how well it avoids obstacles, including power cords, furniture legs, and pet waste.
The top robots can map out several floors and can recognize landmarks such as doors and Windows. The most advanced ones, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, have a dual-sensor navigation system that utilizes an LIDAR sensor to map the space and a structured light camera at the front of the bot to detect objects in real-time. The S8 can evade obstacles such as power cords as well as legs of furniture. It also has the ability to store up to four floor maps.
More affordable models don't have this kind of detection and rely on bump sensors which aren't as accurate. In my tests, they were able to detect dog poop and cords as well as a pair shoes placed in the middle. The most cost-effective choice the Dreametech D10+, is one exception to this. It has excellent carpet and hard floor, tangle, and hair pickup. It also has an auto empty score that is near-perfect.
Another important feature is a large dust bin that doesn't require manually empty. It also has, for the models that mop, a water tank that can hold weeks worth of mopping. The Karcher RCV 5 comes with this and a big enough footprint to go under furniture but not so big that it won't fit in the space between your bathtub and toilet.
Apps
Robot vacuums are like their upright counterparts and require a lot of technology to keep them current. The result is a mature market that is brimming with options. But even the best models require interaction with their users - particularly when it comes to scheduling cleanings and establishing a floor plan, and setting up virtual barriers.
Think about a model that has its own app that can determine the layout of your house and save the settings for future use. This will allow the robot vacuum to continue where it left off on subsequent runs rather than having the mapping process restarted each time.
It is also recommended to consider models that offer zone or spot cleaning. They allow you to instruct the robot vacuum to concentrate on a specific area like under the dining table following an enormous family meal. You can usually choose to do this via the app or by voice commands.
self vacuum of objects is a different feature that's included in several models. It allows the robot, when it comes across objects in its path, like a box of shoes or a crate filled with dog toys, to coach itself around. This prevents it from running into objects that could harm its sensors or cause jams.
Some of the most expensive models we tested come with this feature. They depend on bump sensor technology to do this however they did not always stay clear of things I tested at home.
Pet Hair
Look for a vacuum cleaner that is specifically designed to collect pet hair. The most effective models will feature the highest suction, a brush which prevents tangling and an automatic emptying mechanism. Some models can also determine dirt levels and adjust the cleaning intensity according to the amount of dirt. They are able to detect objects that aren't part of your home's flooring, such as furniture toys, food bowls, toys cords, and much more.
Some robot vacuums include features that are pet-friendly, such as small water dispensers that can be used to mop floors, and an HEPA filter that can help reduce allergens like pet dander. They may also offer the option of a quieter operation, which will minimize the amount of noise that's produced during cleaning sessions.
Robot vacuums with mapping capabilities are an excellent option for pet owners since they're engineered to assess your home and devise a plan of attack according to the layout and obstacles in each room. For instance, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum is a smart vacuum that has an impressive capability to map a room and navigate around furniture and other obstructions with accelerometer and gyroscope smart sensors which work in tandem to understand the layout of your space.
Other advanced models let you create no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is expected to stay clear of, such as fragile items or pet feeding spots. You can adjust these settings through an app. This feature is especially beneficial for families with a lot of activity as it permits you to schedule cleaning sessions and make adjustments without having be in the same room as the vacuum. Another feature that is extremely useful is spot cleaning which gives you the option to use the vacuum to clean an area that may be particularly dirty or full of pet hair.
Dust Bin
If you're not looking for something tiny it is recommended to select a robot capable of holding at least a large bag of garbage from a single cleaning session. We recommend choosing one with an enormous bin or a trash bin that self-empties. The former will enable you to keep track of emptying the bin often enough to ensure you are on top of its performance, while the latter will save you time and hassle by automatically dumping the contents into an internal bin every few cleans.
Look for models with smart mapping capabilities that enable them to "learn" the layout of your home and devise more efficient routes. They also detect and avoid objects that may hinder their routes (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Look for models with smart mapping capabilities that permit them to "learn" the patterns of your house and plan more efficient routes, and models that detect and avoid objects that may hinder their routes (like shoelaces or strangling charging cables).
Some models offer spot cleaning. This allows you to manually target an area of your house for intensive cleaning. In our tests, we discovered that the best models can take out small particles like baking soda, sand, orzo, screws made of metal and pet hair, in addition to heavier debris such as oatmeal, orzo, and screws made of metal.
Depending on the brand, the majority of robots last for years and will continue to perform well so long as you are on top of maintenance, such as cleaning hair that has become tangled from brushes, emptying the dust bin after each use, and wiping down sensors and cameras whenever needed. The best-performing robots also tend to be more modular and therefore easier and cheaper to repair or replace components like batteries and wheels when they wear out.