Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuums are fantastic for keeping your floors tidy but they are not a substitute for the regular vacuum. Even smart robot struggle to penetrate carpets or rugs and often get caught in cords and socks.
Being on top of routine maintenance (replacing filters cutting hair that is tangled from brushes, and emptying the dust bin) can help your robot last longer.
Battery Life
Most robot vacuums are able to handle a few cleaning sessions without needing to be charged. The Ecovacs Q30S Combo is a close second in our top selections. It comes with a battery that can last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square foot) on one charge. This should be more than enough for most small homes with carpets, hard floors and low pile carpets or larger homes with rooms that are similar in size.
A longer battery lifespan also means that the robot will spend more time cleaning, and less time charging on its dock. It is recommended to choose one with an auto-emptying bin. These models are more efficient in collecting debris and then returning to docks to recharge. It's also important to empty or change the filter and clean sensors and cameras on a regular basis so they can clearly see your home.
Smart mapping technology is a useful feature to look out for since it permits you to program your robot to only clean certain rooms or avoid areas that it's likely to bump into furniture or other obstacles. This feature is also beneficial to ensure that your robot is able to reach under and around furniture, such as beds, sofas and other tall items. Some cheap robovacs offer boundaries that you can put on the floor to block off areas while others use cameras and sensors for this purpose.
Even the most powerful robot vacuums aren't able to replace a traditional vacuum for heavy-duty, large-pile dirt and debris. It's best to keep a power vacuum available for these tasks and schedule robot vacuums for light cleaning throughout the week.
Navigation
A robot should be able of navigating your home without getting caught or crashing into things such as metal screws, pet hair or sand. In our tests, a tracking device is used to track the robot's movements through a multi-room lab. It then tracks its surroundings. We also examine how the robot can avoid obstacles such as power cords, furniture legs, and pet waste.
The top robots can map out multiple floors, and recognize landmarks like windows and doors. The most advanced ones, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, have a dual-sensor navigation system which uses the LIDAR sensor to map the space and a structured light camera on the front of the robot to identify objects in real time. The S8 is able to avoid obstacles like power cords and furniture legs. It also has the ability to store up to four floor maps.
The more affordable models don't have this type of object detection and rely on bump sensors which aren't as precise. In my tests they were able detect dog poop through cords, as well as a pair shoes placed in the middle. The Dreametech D10+ is the most value-for-money option. It is a great carpet and hard floor pickup, excellent tangle and hair pickup, and an auto empty score.
A large onboard dustbin that doesn't need to be manually empty, is also a feature that's important. For models that mop the floor, this tank is able to hold enough water to last for several weeks of cleaning. Karcher's RCV 5 is an excellent illustration of this. It has a wide enough footprint to fit under furniture but not so large that it cannot fit in the nook between your toilet and bathtub.
Apps
Robot vacuums are like their upright counterparts and require lots of technology to keep them current. The result is a mature market that is brimming with options. Even the top models require input from their users especially when it comes to schedule cleaning, make a an outline of your home and set up virtual barriers.
Think about a model that has its own app that can identify the layout of your house and save these settings for later use. This will allow the robot vacuum to continue where it began when it runs again, instead of having the mapping process restarted every time.
It's also worth keeping an eye out for a model that has spot or zone cleaning modes. They let you tell the robot vacuum to concentrate on a particular area like under the dining room table after a big family meal. It is possible to use the app or via voice commands.
A lot of models also offer object avoidance. It lets the robot see something in its path, such as the shoe box or a crate full of dog toys, and coach itself around it. This prevents it from crashing into objects that could damage its sensors or cause jams.
Some of the most expensive models we tested include this feature. However, they usually rely on bump sensors for this and didn't always manage to avoid things in my test homes.
Pet Hair
Find an upright vacuum cleaner specifically designed to remove hair from pets. The most effective models will feature an extremely high suction, a brush that keeps hair from tangling and an automated emptying mechanism. Some can also detect dirt levels and adjust the intensity of cleaning according to the amount of dirt. They are able to detect objects that aren't part of the flooring in your home, such as furniture toys, food bowls, toys cords, and so on.
Some robot vacuums include pet-friendly features, like a small water dispenser that can be used for mopping floors and an HEPA filter that helps reduce allergens such as pet dust. They might also offer the option of a quieter operation, which will reduce the amount of noise generated during cleaning.
Robot vacuums that have the ability to map are a great option for pet owners. They're designed to assess your home, and create an attack plan based upon the layout of each room as well as obstacles. For example, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Vacuum is a smart vacuum that has an impressive ability to map a room and navigate around furniture and other obstructions using gyroscope and accelerometer smart sensors that work together to learn the layout of your room.
Other models that are more advanced allow you to create no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is supposed to avoid, such as items that are fragile or pet feeding spots--by adjusting settings using an app. This feature is particularly beneficial for families with a lot of activity as it permits you to plan your cleaning schedule and make adjustments without having to be in the same space as the vacuum. Spot cleaning is an additional great feature. You can direct the vacuum cleaner to clean an area that is especially dirty or is brimming with pet hair.
Dust Bin
If you don't want something small, consider a robot with a large bin or even a self-emptying trash bin. We recommend choosing the one with a large bin or a trash bin that self-empties. The former will allow you to keep up with emptying the bin often enough to keep track of its performance while the latter will help you save time and effort by automatically emptying its contents into an internal bin every few cleanings.
Look for models with smart mapping capabilities, which permit them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes. They can also sense and avoid objects that may hinder their routes (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Look for models with intelligent mapping capabilities, which permit them to "learn" the structure of your home and devise more efficient routes, and ones that can sense and avoid objects that could hinder their path (like shoelaces or strangling charging cables).
Some models also offer spot cleaning, which allows you to choose an area of your home for thorough cleaning. In our tests, we discovered that the top models are able to take out small particles like baking soda, sand orzo, metal screws, and pet hair, as well heavier debris such as oatmeal, orzo, and metal screws.
According to the manufacturer, robots can last years and still perform well, as long as they are properly maintained. For instance cleaning hair that is tangled out of brushes, emptying dust bins after each use as well as wiping cameras and sensors down when needed. The best-performing robots also tend to be more modular which makes them simpler and less expensive to repair or replace components such as wheels and batteries as they wear out.