Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner
While robot vacuums are fantastic in keeping your floors spotless, they can't replace a full-size vacuum. Even the best robots can struggle to get deep into carpets or rugs and often get tangled in cords and socks.
Your robot will last longer if it is maintained with routine maintenance. This includes replacing filters, removing hairs that have become tangled off brushes and emptying the dustbin.
Battery Life
Most robot vacuums are able to handle a few cleaning sessions without needing to be charged. The second-placed model in our overall selections, the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo comes with a battery capable of lasting up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on one charge. The runtime is enough to clean most smaller homes with a mix of hard floors and carpets with low pile or a larger house where the rooms are roughly the same size.
A longer battery life means that the robot can spend less time charging and more time cleaning. It's recommended to select an auto-emptying dust bin, since these models are more efficient when it comes to collecting debris and returning to the dock for charging. It is important to clean or replace the filters and wipe down sensors and cameras regularly so they can be seen clearly.
Smart mapping technology is a useful feature to look for, as it allows you to program your robot to only clean certain rooms or avoid areas where it's more likely to crash into furniture or other obstacles. It's also useful for ensuring that your robot is able to go under and around sofas, beds and other furniture with a high height. A few robovacs that are cheap come with boundary strips that you can use to block certain areas. Other models of higher quality rely on sensors and cameras.
Even the best robot vacuums cannot replace a traditional vacuum when it comes to heavy-duty large-pile dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a standard power vac in reserve for those tasks, and to schedule robot vacs regularly for light cleaning throughout the week.
Navigation
A robot must be able to moving around your home without getting caught or running into objects like metal screws pet hair, sand or. In our tests, we use a tracking device to track the robot as it goes through a multiroom lab. It determine its surroundings. We also check the way it manages to avoid obstacles, including furniture legs, power cords and pet waste.
The most advanced robots are able to map out multiple floors, and recognize landmarks like windows and doors. The most advanced ones such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, feature a dual-sensor navigation system that utilizes a LIDAR sensor to map the space and a structured light camera at the front of the robot to identify objects in real time. This lets the S8 to avoid common obstacles, such as furniture legs and power cords and can also store up to four floor maps within its internal memory.
The more affordable models don't have this kind of object detection and rely on bump sensors, which aren't as accurate. In my tests, they were able to detect dog poop through cords, as well as a pair shoes placed in the middle. The best value pick, the Dreametech D10+, is one exception to this. It is a great carpet and hard floor pickup, good hair and tangle pickup, and an almost perfect auto empty score.
A large onboard dustbin which does not need to be emptying manually is another feature that is essential. If you have models that mop the floor, this tank is able to provide enough water for several weeks of cleaning. Karcher's RCV 5 is an excellent example of this. It has a big enough footprint to fit under furniture but not so large that it can't fit into the space between your toilet and tub.
Apps
Robot vacuums are like their upright counterparts, and it takes a lot of tech to get them up to speed. There are a lot of alternatives available in a marketplace that is maturing. However, even the most advanced models still require some interaction with their users, particularly when cleaning schedules are being planned, establishing a home floor plan and setting up virtual barriers.
Consider a model with its own app that can identify the layout of your house and save these settings for future use. This will let the robot vacuum start where it left off on subsequent runs, without having to restart the mapping process each time.
You should also consider models that offer zone or spot cleaning. You can instruct the vacuum cleaner to concentrate on an area, like under the table after a huge family meal. You can use the app or voice commands.
Avoidance of objects is a different feature that's available with numerous models. It permits the robot, when it sees something in its way such as a box of shoe or a crate with dog toys, to instruct itself around. This will stop it from hitting objects which could harm its sensors or cause jams.
self cleaning vacuum is available on some of the more expensive models we tried. However, they usually rely on bump sensors for this and weren't always able to avoid obstacles in my test homes.
Pet Hair
When it comes to removing pet hair, choose a model that's designed specifically to handle this kind of debris. The best models will have the highest suction, a brush which stops tangling, and an automatic emptying mechanism. Some models are able to detect levels of dirt and adjust cleaning intensity. They can even spot objects that aren't a part of your home's flooring, such as furniture and toys, food bowls cords, and so on.
Certain robot vacuums have additional pet-friendly features. These include a water dispenser which is used to mop floors, and a HEPA filtration system that reduces allergens like pet dust. They may also have an operation that is quieter to reduce the amount noise produced during cleaning sessions.
Robot vacuums that have the ability to map are a great option for pet owners since they're designed to evaluate your home and develop a plan of attack based on the layout and the 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 rooms and navigate around furniture and other obstructions using accelerometer and gyroscope smart sensors that work together to learn the layout of your room.
Other advanced models let you set no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is meant to stay clear of, such as fragile items or pet feeding areas--by altering settings using an app. This feature is especially useful for families with busy schedules, since you can schedule cleaning times without having to be in the space where the vacuum is. Another great feature is spot cleaning that gives you the option to direct the vacuum to clean an area that is particularly dirty or full of pet hair.
Dust Bin
If you don't need something small, go for a model with a big bin or even a self-emptying dustbin. That's why we recommend opting for a model with a large bin or even self-emptying bins. The former will help you keep up with cleaning the bin regularly enough to stay on top of its performance, while the latter will save you time and effort by automatically dumping the contents into an internal container every few cleans.
No matter the size of your home Most robots are able to move around and up to furniture, and almost all can detect and navigate around household obstacles like loose cords, shoes, and dog poop. Consider models that have smart mapping capabilities, which permit them to "learn" the structure of your home and design more efficient routes, as well as ones that can sense and avoid objects that could block their paths (like shoelaces or strangling charging cables).
Some models also offer spot cleaning. This allows you to select an area of your home for intensive cleaning. In our tests, we discovered that the top models can take out small particles like baking soda, sand, orzo, metal screws and pet hair, in addition to heavier debris like oatmeal, orzo, and metal screws.
The brand you choose will determine the longevity of the robot. most robots will last for years and will continue to perform well so long as you keep up with maintenance tasks, such as cleaning tangled hair from brushes and emptying the dust bin after each use and wiping down cameras and sensors whenever required. The most efficient robots tend to be more modular and therefore easier and cheaper to repair or replace components such as wheels and batteries when they wear out.