The Best Robot Vacuums
A good robot vacuum will do the bulk of the work for you and removes pet hair, lint and dirt before it can cling to furniture or get ground into carpets. Many robot vacuums are compatible with smart assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to provide a hands-free clean experience.
Many models come with mapping capabilities that allow them to create an interactive map of your home. This helps them avoid tumbling off ledges and traversing cords that connect devices.
What to Do You Look For?
Some robots come with advanced features that allow you to control them using apps and voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant. These include smart mapping spot and zone cleaning and objects avoiding. They might also have longer battery lives and bigger dust collection bins.
Choose a model that has broad brushes that can remove large particles, and is thin enough to be able to fit under furniture. Find out if the vacuum is able to clean different kinds of floors without changing brushes or suction settings. This can decrease its effectiveness in cleaning and decrease its lifespan.
The best robot vacuums come with top-quality filters to trap fine particles and protect your home from damage. They also have a large accessible bin for collecting so that you can empty it frequently. Some come with an additional side brush to clean up pet hair and other debris in difficult-to-access places such as under and behind furniture. The dustbins are usually transparent, allowing you to see the amount of dirt in the bin, and when to empty it.
In addition to scheduling your robot vacuum for times when you're likely to be at home, you can also use the app to create a boundary around your furniture and areas that you'd like it avoid. Some models also register what type of floor they're cleaning, and automatically adjust their brush and suction settings to match.
There are also robots that recharge and continue cleaning exactly where they left off when their battery runs low. Certain robot vacuums have cameras built-in that allows you to see the path the robot took and the data it has gathered.
Some robots also allow you to control them with your voice, however not all of them do it as effortlessly as other models. Make sure that the model you pick is compatible with the voice assistant of your choice and then test it to see how the robot responds to commands before you purchase. Some robots are able to automatically empty their dustbins and clean their docking stations, reducing your list of chores a more. This is a costly feature, as are a larger container for collecting waste and a more rapid charging speeds.
Cleaning Performance
While robots aren't able to replace a traditional vacuum or broom, they do offer a reliable and effective alternative to the daily chore of keeping floors clean. If you're looking to keep track of tracked-in dust as well as pet hair and crumbs or nab bigger debris like wood shavings and metal screws, most top-rated robotic cleaners are adept at removing a variety of materials on the first attempt and doing so without damaging your floor surfaces or furniture.
They usually detect the type of surface they are cleaning and adjust their suction/brush functions accordingly to clean your floors more thoroughly. This is especially important when your home is surrounded by various types of flooring. There are many models that offer a wide range of options for setting virtual boundaries, allowing you to tell the robot to stay away from certain areas of your home. This will prevent your children or pets from getting into areas they shouldn't. It also ensures that your entire house is cleaned during each scheduled session.
It is also important to consider the level of autonomy you're comfortable with giving your robot. Certain models require you be present and attentive, while others can work independently. They can alter cleaning methods and schedules using a mobile application or voice commands using an integrated smart assistant. Some will map and learn your space and allow you to set up zones and tell the robot to clean certain areas of your home on a daily or weekly basis.
In our tests, the iRobot J7+ proved to be the most effective robot for "set it and forget it". shark self emptying robot vacuum was a master at mapping, creating virtual boundaries and avoiding obstacles better than all the other robots we tested. It also has the ability to empty itself, so you don't need to manually do it. The side brushes are used to sweep debris from edges and corners which a vacuum can't reach.
Its slim profile and infrared sensors also allow it to get behind and under furniture to provide an even more thorough clean than most robots, while its advanced navigation system makes it more capable of cleaning the entire level of your home on a single charge than other devices we've tried. It's difficult to beat, especially at its affordable price.
Battery Life
A quality robot vacuum will help keep your floors tidy and feel less like a chore and more like a luxury. Fastly removing dirt, crumbs, and shed pet hair can make all the difference in how clean your home feels every day. While a robot of a basic design can keep up with most cleaning tasks, those seeking a bit more of a hands-free experience should choose models that double as mop.
The Ecovacs Deebot T10 OMNI is one the top models for both, since it is extremely efficient in both its mop and vacuuming modes, and is able to handle dirt, debris, pet hair and even cat litter. Its feature for avoiding objects is awe-inspiring, allowing it to steer clear of objects and not become stuck on them.
It also has a long battery lifespan and a large bin for dust that allows it to cover a large amount of space in just one session. It is also a smart vacuum, which means it can create maps of your home and use apps, such as those offered by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to allow you to control it using voice commands.
The app that comes with the robot lets you create schedules, assign specific rooms for cleaning or the ability to pause and resume sessions. It will even notify you the moment its battery is low and return to its docking station to recharge.
Another great feature of this robot is the ability to distinguish between hard floors and carpets and adjust its settings accordingly, which helps keep the machine from becoming bogged down in one type of surface or accidentally tearing up your furniture. But, it's not yet able to discern high pile carpeting or seams in rooms, so you'll still have to be careful about picking up large objects.
All robot vacuums require a amount of maintenance, like brush hair removal and emptying (and sometimes, rinsing) the bin of dust after each cleaning session and wiping down sensors or cameras between uses to keep them in good condition. The manufacturer will give specific guidelines for these and other steps to maintain which can differ based on the model.
Cost
The most effective robot vacuums aren't expensive, but they are far cheaper than a professional carpet cleaner or even a stand-up vacuum. They require less maintenance than traditional vacuums as they require that you empty and occasionally rinse their dust bins following each cleaning session.
Many robot vacuums have clever features that make them more efficient for your home, such as mapping technology that allows you to instruct the vacuum to follow the layout of your home through an app so it doesn't run through the stairs or under the furniture where there could be a mess. Other robot vacuums can detect the type of flooring they are cleaning so they can alter their suction and brush capabilities to achieve the best results.
Some models have object avoidance, which makes use of sensors (or even cameras) to identify objects and toys on the floor and coach the robot to go around them rather than run over them. This is a great solution if your children or pets are prone to leaving toys around the house.
Voice control is a different feature you may consider useful. It lets you operate your robot with your voice, rather than the on-board buttons. This is helpful when your children aren't old enough yet to operate the robot, or is it just more convenient for you.
How often you should use your robot will depend on how much dirt or debris is accumulating on your floor. Most experts recommend using a robot vacuum at least once a week to keep your floors looking good and nabbing pet hair, dust and dirt from the surface before it can get trapped or become difficult to get rid of.
If you're working with limited floor surfaces and don't plan to make use of your robot for other purposes, a budget model like our top pick the Eufy 11S, is a good choice. It's user-friendly and affordable, and it does the job without making any noise when you work or watching TV.