The iRobot Roomba 980 Robot vacuum mop combo robot Cleaner

robot vacuum mop combo vacuums eliminate pet hair, lint, and dust from the floor before they settle. They can also avoid obstacles like furniture that is slippery and stairs.

Most robotic vacs require some maintenance, like emptying (and occasionally rinsing) the bin and wiping sensors and cameras. They also need to be connected. Many come with smartphone applications to schedule, adjust settings and more.

Roomba 980 from iRobot

The iRobot Roomba 980, the latest in a series of top-of the-line robot vacuum mop combo vacuums, is a staple for every modern home. This model is equipped with a HEPA-filter to aid those suffering from allergies. It also has a large battery that can clean for two hours before returning to its dock automatically once the bin is full.

Smart mapping is another feature that allows it to identify areas in your home that require attention, and then creates a cleaning path to get around them. We've seen this technology in action and it does an excellent job of maneuvering around toys that have been abandoned on the floor, or furniture legs that stick out from under things. Roomba also comes with a sensor that can snap Roomba to its real-world location if it begins to wander away from its initial location.

iRobot has also added a new set of rollers beneath the Roomba's bottom that don't have bristles and therefore tend to be more resistant to tangles than previous models. These are also a little taller than previous rollers, and will fit better under low couches and beds and are designed to help this model navigate more easily on varying floor types.

What makes the Roomba 980 stand out from other high-end models however, is its incorporation of the latest dirt detection feature that uses a camera to spot tiny bits of dirt. This is an improvement over the previous version that relied on a sensor-driven pseudorandom cover method to bounce around the room and clean the area three times, at different angles.

In our tests of its performance in our tests of its performance, the Roomba 980 did well on carpets and hard flooring. Its score on low pile carpet was impressive, and it got a very excellent score on mid pile too. It was successful in collecting pet hair, robot Vacuum Mop combo but struggled with long and thick pet hair that was stuck together.

The Roomba 980 is still one of the best performing robots in our list, despite these minor limitations. It's also less expensive than other top-of the-line models. It still has a lot of features we'd expect to find in a flagship model, but it doesn't have all the fancy app-enabled functions or smart home integration you'll find in other top models.

The iRobot Roomba can be set up quickly and is available for use right away. After removing the yellow bin insert and pull tab from its undercarriage you simply plug it into an outlet on the wall or to its Home Base docking stations, click the "Clean button" and let it do the job. It will automatically return to its dock when it is running out of battery or is full of sand. There are also indicator lights on top that indicate when the bin is empty, when it needs to recharge, or when it loses Wi-Fi.