What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A quality robot vacuum will keep you on top of pet hair, lint, and dust on a regular basis. Many work with apps to allow you to schedule cleaning sessions and create virtual boundaries, or "walls" to keep them away from areas you don't want cleaned.

This smart vac-mop creates the map of your home's layout with its initial run. It then remembers the area to be used for cleaning tasks in the future. It has an extra-large dustbin that automatically empties and a self-cleaning, brush roll.

Object Detection

When selecting a robot vacuum cleaner, select one that can pick-up big items such as toys and lamp cords and fine dust. This will ensure that they don't get caught in the roller brush or left on your floor. This feature is particularly important when you have children or pets and may need to clean the robot on a regular basis.

A model with an efficient engine and plenty of suction is a good choice. This will make it more effective at getting up pet hair, lint, and dust from your carpets and hardwood floors.

Another crucial aspect to consider is the size of your home. If you live in a large house it is possible to pick a model that has multiple cleaning zones, so you can clean your entire home in one go. Some models have a mopping feature that can be used to keep floors clean and fresh.

Robot vacuums last a long time, but they'll need to be cleaned regularly and properly. Cleaning the rotating brushes and emptying the dust container and wiping down the sensors on a regular basis will keep your robot running smoothly for long time to be. Many owners of robot vacuums we chat with have had the same machine for a period of 10 years or more (and changed motors, brushes and batteries in the process).

A basic robot will cost less than a full-size vacuum cleaner, however they'll still do a great job of keeping up with dirt on the surface, pet hair, and lint. You can use them to scrub your floors multiple times per day. However, they don't offer as much technological innovation, and may be prone to becoming stuck or requiring human intervention.

Object Avoidance

The top robot vacuums make use of cameras, sensors or lasers to navigate your home, avoiding getting stuck or falling down the stairs. Certain models are able to return to their base or dock when the battery is low. They also can avoid obstacles such as furniture legs and cords. Some of the more expensive models have mapping capabilities that allow them to learn the layout of your home and spend less time bouncing off walls.

If you don't want splurge on the most advanced robotic vacuums, you could find a model that is capable of removing pet hair dirt, dust, and dust from floors made of tiles and wood, as well as carpets with a low pile. They can also handle larger debris such as nails with rusty screws, metal screws or discarded toys. Some have an automatic base that drains itself, which is a great feature for those who don't want to empty it after each cleaning session.

Some robotic vacuums have clever features, making the standard stick vacuum look old-fashioned. These include schedules, zone-targeting, and the ability to control them through an app or voice assistants, such as Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas that you don't want robots to access.

Some robotic vacuums, like the Eufy 11S or my former favorite, Roborock S8, come with obstacle avoidance technology to stop them from falling over cords or furniture. Others, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+, are more sophisticated. AI obstacle avoidance that uses sensors powered by processors to see and avoid items like lamp cords, shoes, socks and pet waste. It's a bit more expensive than other bots I've tested, but it does a fantastic job of avoiding obstacles and rarely is stuck or derails while working on my floor.

The J7+ from iRobot was an excellent obstacle avoidance robot, but it did not always do a good job at avoiding dirt or crumbs on my carpets. It also had a tendency to over-vacuum areas, which led to an abundance of dust in the filter and a less clean house.

Smart Mapping

A few of the top Robot Vacuum robot vacuums come with an app that lets you to customize cleaning settings set schedules, and view the flooring area that the machine covers. This is a handy feature that many competitors don't have. This allows you to create profiles that will automatically start your robot at specified times and continue to run on an ongoing basis, such as cleaning the living area prior to dinner or every other day.

A good app will also allow you to control your robot via voice commands. Certain models are compatible with Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, which allows you to control your robot with voice commands.

Find a model that has a large dustbin. This allows you to complete many cleaning sessions without having empty it. There are models that self-empty, which eliminates the requirement to empty the robot after each vacuuming session.

If you're looking for a robotic that does more than vacuum, you should consider a model with mopping capabilities. These are usually larger than robotic vacuums and include a tank of water that can hold multiple cleaning sessions worth of dust and dirt before having to be emptied.

Robots that are more advanced can make their own maps, and can remember the arrangement of your home from one cleaning session to the next, preventing them from getting lost or stuck. This can make a huge difference in how efficiently your robot vacuums, as it won't need to spend time returning to the beginning of the room if it comes into contact with walls or furniture.

Our testers who used the robot that has this feature discovered it to be extremely efficient. They could easily watch TV or do other chores while the robot was cleaning. Some of these models use laser navigation and can make an exact map of your house, which means you can program them to clean just the bedroom after dinner or each room of the house when you're at work.

App Control

If you want to customize the frequency with which the robot cleans your house and select a cleaning mode, it's best robot vacuum for thick carpet and pet hair to get one that works with an app that can be downloaded on mobile. You can also see the status of the vacuum as well as the condition of its dust bin using the app. Some of the top robot vacuums are operated by voice using Alexa, Google Assistant or top robot vacuum Siri Shortcuts.

It is simple to maintain a robot with an washable filter and self-emptying container, particularly when the filter can be easily removed and rinsed. Another excellent feature is a powerful brush that can be found in corners and along baseboards which makes it easier to clean up dirt and hair. Some robots are more adept in avoiding chairs' legs than others, and some have self-cleaning sensors that can prevent the obstruction of brushes that may occur in other machines.

Certain robo-vacs utilize navigation tools that allow them to discover your home and get around obstacles. High-end models use sensors and cameras to detect obstacles like furniture, stairs, and cords. Less expensive models might utilize boundaries to mark areas where you don't want it to go. Avoidance of objects can be particularly beneficial for families with young kids who scatter toys and socks all over the house. This can help your robot collect these items, instead of scattering them.

We're starting to see more robots equipped with mops which are great for people who have hard floors and require to regularly clean them. These robots come with a reservoir of water built into their chassis or as a separate piece you swap in when they're ready to mop. These robots might require refilling frequently but they're ideal for homes that have hard floors and can't be cleaned with vacuums.

We've seen some incredible technology incorporated into these tiny robots, and they're a lot cheaper than you think. In fact, Top Robot vacuum you can find a decent one for less than $200 that can do a decent job of cleaning pet hair and crumbs off hard floors, and also navigating the edges of lightweight carpets or area carpets. You can schedule the robot to sweep a room every day and it can be controlled remotely using the app or by pressing buttons on its side.