Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

While robot vac vacuums are excellent in keeping your floors clean, they can't replace a full-size vacuum. Even the most powerful robots struggle to get deep into carpets or rugs, and can often get caught in socks and cords.

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

Battery Life

The majority of robot vacuums are able to handle a few cleaning sessions without needing to be charged. The second-placed model in our top picks is the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo, has a battery rated to last up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on one charge. This should suffice for homes that have the combination of hard flooring and carpets with low pile or larger homes with rooms that are roughly the same size.

A longer battery life means the robot can spend less time charging and more time cleaning. You should select the model with an automatic emptying bin. These models are more efficient at cleaning up debris and bringing it to docks to recharge. It's important to clean or replace the filters and clean the sensors and the camera on a regular schedule so they can be seen clearly.

Smart mapping technology is a useful feature to look for because it allows you to program your robot to only clean smart robot certain rooms or avoid areas that it's likely to hit furniture or other obstacles. This feature is also helpful for ensuring that your robot can reach under and around furniture, such as beds, sofas and other tall items. Some cheap robovacs come with boundary strips that you can use to block certain areas. Other models of higher quality rely on cameras and sensors.

Even the top robot vacuums cannot replace a conventional vac when it comes to heavy-duty dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a power vacuum on hand for these tasks and schedule robot vacuums for light cleaning throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot should be able to navigate your home without getting stuck or crashing into objects such as metal screws, loose pet hair, or sand. In our tests the tracking device is used to track the robot through an entire lab. It then tracks its surroundings. We also test how the robot cleaner avoids obstacles such as power cords, furniture legs, and pet waste.

The best robots can map out several floors, and recognize landmarks such as doors and windows. The most advanced models such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, come with a dual-sensor navigation device that utilizes a LIDAR sensor to map out the room, and a light camera on the front of the robot to detect objects in real time. The S8 can evade obstacles such as 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 testing, they plowed right through cords, dog poop, and even the shoes that were placed in the middle of the room. The most affordable choice the Dreametech D10+, is one exception to this. It has excellent carpet, hard floor, tangle and hair pickup. It also has an auto empty score that is near-perfect.

A large onboard dustbin which doesn't have to be empty manually is another feature that is essential. For models that sweep the floor, this tank will provide enough water for several weeks of cleaning sessions. Karcher's RCV 5 is a great example of this. It has a large enough footprint to fit under furniture, but not so large that it cannot fit in the space between your bathtub and toilet.

Apps

Robot vacuums are similar to their upright counterparts and require lots of technology to keep them up-to-date. The result is a mature market that is brimming with options. Even the best robot hoover models require input from their users, especially when it comes to schedule cleaning, make a an outline of your home and install virtual barriers.

You might consider a model with its own app that can recognize the layout of your home 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 important to look out for a model that has spot or zone cleaning modes. They allow you to instruct the robot vacuum to concentrate on a specific spot for example, like under the dining table following a big family meal. You can usually choose to do this using the app or voice commands.

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

This feature is available on some of the more expensive models we tried. They rely on bump sensor technology to do this however they did not always keep things out of my test home.

Pet Hair

Find an upright vacuum cleaner specifically designed to collect hair from pets. The best models have high suction power and a brush that is free of tangling, and an emptying mechanism that will automatically empty hair into the dust bin when necessary. Some models can also determine dirt levels and adjust the cleaning intensity according to the amount of dirt. They can even spot objects that aren't part of your flooring, such as furniture and toys, food bowls, cords, and more.

Certain robot vacuums have additional features that are pet-friendly. These include a water dispenser that is used to mop floors, and a HEPA filtration system that reduces allergens, such as pet dander. They might also offer the option of a quieter operation, which will minimize the amount of noise generated during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums with the ability to map 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 obstructions in every 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 room.

Apps allow you to establish no-go zones. These are areas that the robot shouldn't be allowed, such as fragile objects or pet feeding areas. This feature is particularly useful for households with busy schedules as it permits you to schedule cleaning time and make adjustments without having be in the same space as the vacuum. Spot cleaning is a fantastic feature. You can use the vacuum cleaner to clean an area that is particularly dirty or filled with pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you're not searching for something small, you'll want to choose a robot capable of holding at least a full bag of trash from one cleaning session. This is why we suggest opting for a model that has an enormous bin or a self-emptying dustbin. The one will let you keep up with emptying your bin frequently enough to maintain its performance. The latter will help you save time and effort by automatically dropping the contents into an inside container each time you clean it.

Look for models with smart mapping capabilities, which enable them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes. They can also sense and avoid objects that may block their paths (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Look for models that have smart mapping capabilities. This allows them to "learn the structure of your home and plan an efficient route.

Some models also offer spot cleaning, which lets users to select specific areas of your home for intense cleaning. In our tests, we discovered that the top models can remove fine particles such as sand, baking soda, orzo, metal screws and pet hair, as well as heavier debris like oatmeal orzo, and metal screws.

The brand you choose will determine the longevity of the robot. most robots will last for years and will continue to perform in the event that you are on top of maintenance, such as cleaning hair that is tangled from brushes and emptying the dust bin after every use and cleaning cameras and sensors as required. The best robots are also more adaptable. This makes it easier to repair or replace parts such as wheels and batteries when they wear out.