What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A good robot vacuum can keep you on top of pet hair, lint and dust on a regular basis. Many of them use apps to allow you to schedule cleaning sessions and create virtual boundaries, or 'walls' to keep them from areas that you don't want to be cleaned.

This smart vacuum and mop creates a home map with its first run, storing your space for future use. It comes with a huge dust bin that automatically emptys, as well as self-cleaning, self-cleaning brush roll.

Object Detection

When picking a robot vacuum, make sure you choose one that can pick up large items, like toys and lamp cords, as well as dust particles. This will ensure they don't get caught in the roller brush, and aren't left behind on your floors. This feature is especially crucial if the robot will be cleaned regularly by children or pets.

It's an excellent idea to choose a model with a powerful motor and plenty of suction power. This will make it more effective at getting up pet hair, lint, and dust off your carpets and hardwood floors.

The size of your home is a different factor to consider. If you live in a large house you might want to choose one that has multiple cleaning zones so that you can clean the entire house in one session. Certain models also include a mopping function, which can be used to keep your floors fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums can last for a long time however, they must be maintained regularly and in a proper manner. Regularly cleaning the rotating brushes, emptying your dust bin, and wiping the sensors will keep your robot working efficiently for many years. Many of the robot vacuum owners we speak to have been using their machines for 10 years or more (and have replaced motors, brushes, and batteries as time went by).

A basic robot is much less costly than a larger vacuum cleaner. They'll perform a great job of cleaning surface dirt as well as pet fur and lint. You can use them to clean your floors several times per day. They aren't as technologically advanced and are more prone to becoming jammed or requiring manual intervention.

Object Avoidance

The best robot vacuums use sensors, cameras or lasers to guide you around your home and avoid getting stuck or falling on the stairs. They are also able to avoid obstacles like cords and furniture legs, and some models automatically return to their base or dock when they run low on power. The most expensive models usually feature mapping capabilities that allow them to memorize the layout of your home and reduce the amount of time you're running into walls.

If you don't want to splurge on the most advanced robotic vacuums, you can still find one that does an excellent job of removing pet hair, dirt, dust and dust from floors made of tile and wood as well as low-pile carpets. They also do a good job of handling larger objects such as metal screws or staples that have rust, or discarded toys. Some have a base that automatically empties itself, which is ideal when you don't need to empty it every cleaning session.

Many robotic vacuums also come with innovative features that make a standard stick vacuum seem prehistoric, including zones, schedules, and the capability to control them using an app or voice assistant such as Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas you don't wish the robot to get into.

Some robotic vacuums, such as the best robot vacuum cleaner and mop Eufy 11S or my former favorite, Roborock S8, come equipped with obstacle avoidance technology to stop them from falling over cords or furniture. Others, like the iRobot Roomba j7+, have more sophisticated AI obstacle avoidance that uses cameras and processor-powered smarts to identify and avoid items like shoe cords, lamp cords socks and pet waste. It's a bit more expensive than the other bots I've tested, however, it did a fantastic job of avoiding obstacles around my home. It also didn't get stuck or tangled when I was working on my floors.

The iRobot J7+ was a fantastic obstacle avoidance robot however it didn't always succeed at avoiding dirt or crumbs on my carpets. It also had a tendency to over-vacuum certain areas leading to dust accumulating in the filters and a less clean home.

Smart Mapping

The best robot vacuums have an app that lets you alter cleaning modes, create schedules, and look at an image of the floor area covered by the machine. This is a great feature that other models don't have. It is easy to create profiles that will automatically start your robot at specified time intervals and run it on regularly, for example, cleaning the living area prior to dinner or every other day.

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

To have a hands-free experience, choose a model with a large dust bin that can withstand numerous cleaning sessions before needing to be empty. There are models that self-empty, which eliminates the need to empty the machine after every vacuuming session.

If you're looking to purchase a robot that does more than vacuum, think about one that has a mopping function. These are typically larger than the robotic vacuums and come with a water tank in the interior that can hold multiple cleaning sessions worth of dirt and debris prior to needing to be cleaned.

The most advanced robots can create their own maps of your home and can even keep track of the layout from one cleaning to the next which can help them avoid getting lost or trapped in corners. This can make a significant difference in the efficiency of your robot vacuum as it will not have to return to where it was when it comes across furniture or walls.

Our testers who used the robot that has this feature found it to be very efficient. They could sit back and watch TV or perform other chores while the robot cleaned. Some models employ laser navigation and can create an exact map of your entire home, meaning you can program them to clean only the bedroom after dinner or each room of the house while you're working.

App Control

It is recommended to select the vacuum that comes with an app for mobile devices if you want to customize the frequency of cleaning and choose the cleaning mode. In the app, you can also monitor the condition of your vacuum as well as its dust bin. Some of the best robotic vacuums can be controlled by Alexa, Google Assistant, xilubbs.xclub.tw or Siri Shortcuts.

A robot with a self-emptying bin and washable filters makes it easy to keep clean, particularly when you are able to easily access the filter and then remove it to wash it. Another excellent feature is a powerful brush that gets into corners and along baseboards, making it easier to clean up hair and dirt. Some robots are better in avoiding chairs' legs than others, and some have self-cleaning sensors that can prevent the clogging of brushes that can be a problem in other machines.

Some robo-vacs have navigation tools that aid them in navigating obstacles and learn your home. High-end models have sensors and cameras that recognize obstacles such as furniture, stairs and cords. On the other hand, less expensive models sometimes utilize boundary strips that you place on the floor to mark areas you don't want to enter. Object avoidance can be especially useful for families with young kids who scatter socks and toys around the house. This can help your robot to gather these items, instead of scattering them.

We're starting to see more robots with mops, which are useful for those who have hard floors and need to regularly clean them. These robots come with water tanks built into the chassis or a separate piece you can put in when it's time to mop. They may need to be filled more frequently than other types of robots, but they're great for homes with floors made of wood that can't be easily cleaned with a vacuum.

These robots come with some amazing technology, and cost a lot less than you'd expect. In fact, you can get an affordable model for less than $200 that does a decent job of getting rid of pet hair and crumbs off hard floors while also moving around the edges of light carpets or area carpets. The robot can be programmed to clean specific rooms on a regular schedule. It can be controlled remotely through an app or by pressing buttons.