Annie Coombes

Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

While robot vacuums are great in keeping your floors clean but they aren't able to replace a large-sized vacuum. Even the best combo vacuum (go to these guys) robots can struggle to penetrate carpets or rugs, and can often get tangled in cords and socks.

Staying on top of routine maintenance (replacing filters cutting hair tangled from brushes, and emptying the dust bin) will help your robot last longer.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums can handle a few cleaning sessions before requiring a charge. The Ecovacs Q30S Combo is a close second in our top choices. It comes with batteries that last up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) on a single charge. This amount of runtime will suffice for the majority of small homes with carpets, hard floors and low pile carpets or larger homes where the rooms are about the same size.

A longer battery life means the robot can spend more time cleaning and less time charging on its dock. It's recommended to select a model with a self cleaning vacuum cleaner-emptying dust bin, since they are more efficient when it comes to picking up debris and returning to the dock for recharging. It is essential to clean or replace filters and clean the sensors and the camera regularly so that they can be seen clearly.

Smart mapping technology can be a valuable feature, since you can program your robot so that it only cleans specific rooms or avoids areas where it is likely to bump into furniture or other obstacles. It's also helpful for ensuring your robot is able to go under and around beds, sofas and other furniture that is tall. Some cheap robovacs come with boundary strips you can use to block off specific areas. Other high-end models rely on cameras and sensors.

Even the best robot vacuum cleaner robot vacs can't replace a conventional vacuum when it comes to heavy-duty large-pile dirt and other debris. It's best to keep an electric vacuum in your home for these chores and plan robot vacuums for light cleaning throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot must be able to navigate your home without getting stuck or crashing into things like metal screws, loose pet hair, or sand. In our tests, we employ a tracking device to follow the robot as it moves through a multi-room lab and shows its surroundings. We also check how well the robot avoids obstacles such as power cords, furniture leg and pet waste.

The most advanced robots can create different floors and recognize landmarks like windows and doors. The most advanced robots, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra have a dual sensor navigation system, which utilizes the LIDAR to create a floor plan and a structured-light camera on the front to spot objects in real-time. The S8 can avoid obstacles like cables for power and legs of furniture. It also has the capability to store up to four floor maps.

The more affordable models don't have this kind of object detection and rely on bump sensors which aren't as precise. In my tests they were able to see through dog poop and cords, as well as a pair of shoes placed in the middle. The Dreametech D10+ is the best value pick. It has excellent carpet as well as a hard floor, tangle, and hair pickup. It also has an auto empty score that is close to perfect.

A large dust bin onboard, which doesn't have to be empty manually is another feature that's important. For models that mop the floor, this water tank can hold enough water to last for several weeks of cleaning. The Karcher RCV 5 comes with this feature and has a large enough footprint to be placed under furniture, but not so large that it can't fit into the space between your bathtub and toilet.

Apps

Robot vacuums are like upright vacuums, and it takes lots of technology to get them up and running at speed. There are a lot of alternatives available in a marketplace that is maturing. Even the best models require interaction from their customers especially when it comes time to plan cleaning schedules, design an outline of your home and install virtual barriers.

Consider a model with its own app that can determine the layout of your home and save these settings for later use. This will let the robot vacuum begin where it left off on subsequent runs, without having to restart the mapping process every time.

You should also look for models that provide spot or zone cleaning. They allow you to instruct the robot vacuum to concentrate on a particular area for example, like under the dining table after a big family meal. You can choose to do this using the app or by voice commands.

Many models also offer objects avoidance. It allows the robot, when it sees something in its way, like a box of shoe or a crate with dog toys, to coach itself around. This will stop it from running into objects which could harm its sensors or cause jams.

This feature is offered on some of the more expensive models we tested. However, they usually rely on bump sensors to accomplish this, and they weren't always able to avoid obstacles in my test homes.

Pet Hair

Choose the best vacuum cleaner specifically designed to collect hair from pets. The most effective models will have the highest suction, a brush which prevents tangling and an automatic floor vacuum emptying mechanism. Some models are able to detect levels of dirt and alter the level of cleaning. They are able to detect objects that aren't a part of the flooring in your home, such as furniture, toys, food bowls cords, and so on.

Certain robot vacuums come with pet-friendly features, such as a small water dispenser that can be used to mop floors, and an HEPA filter that can reduce allergens, such as pet dander. They might also offer a quieter operation that can reduce the amount of noise generated during cleaning.

Robot vacuums that have maps are a great option for pet owners since they're designed to evaluate your home and create a plan of attack in accordance with the layout and the obstacles in each room. For example 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 obstacles using gyroscope and accelerometer smart sensors that work in conjunction to learn the layout of your space.

Apps allow you to establish zones that are not allowed. These are areas that the robot is not allowed, such as delicate objects or pet feeding areas. This feature is especially beneficial for families with busy schedules, since you can schedule cleaning sessions without having to be in the room where the vacuum is. Another feature that is extremely useful is spot cleaning, which gives you the option to use the robotic vacuum cleaner commercial to clean a specific area that is dirty or full of pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you don't want anything small, consider a robot with a large bin or even a self-emptying dustbin. We recommend going for a model with an enormous bin or self-emptying bins. The former will help you keep track of emptying the bin often enough to keep track of its performance and the latter will save you time and effort by automatically dumping its contents into an internal container every few cleanings.

Find models that have smart mapping capabilities, which allow them to "learn" the layout of your home and devise more efficient routes. They also can detect and avoid objects that could hinder their routes (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Look for models that have smart mapping capabilities. This lets them "learn the patterns of your house and plan more efficient routes.

Some models offer spot cleaning. This lets you choose a specific area of your home for thorough cleaning. We've discovered that many of the top performers in our tests are able to remove fine particles such as baking soda and sand along with heavier debris such as oatmeal orzo pasta screws and pet hair.

According to the company, robots can last years and perform well, as long as they are maintained. For instance, cleaning tangled hair out of brushes, emptying dust bins after each use, and wiping sensors and cameras down when needed. The best robots are also more flexible. This makes it easier to repair or replace parts such as wheels and batteries when they wear out.