Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop

Eufy's robot vacuum and mop is the highest-rated of its kind. It takes a lot of work out of cleaning your floors. It can re-fill its own water tank, and self-empty its larger tower bin and swap the dust bag.

Advanced models can map your house and note furniture positioning. They can also detect obstacles and navigate around hazards such as loose charging cables and stray socks.

Object Avoidance

Object avoidance helps your robot to avoid hitting things like toys, cords, and clothing that could be caught in the vacuum. These are especially important if you have kids or pets who may be likely to leave items on the floor, where your robot can discover them.

Depending on the model you pick You may have a variety of sensors to assist your robot in its journey around obstacles. A few popular ones include crossed IR sensors that focus beams of infrared lights across the room to detect things like doors and furniture legs. A lot of robots have adopted this technology, and you'll find it in the most expensive models that cost more.

Other object avoidance technologies that can be found in higher-end robots include 3D Structured Light, which makes use of cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the surroundings and identify obstacles; and Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that emit and measure the time it takes for light to reflect off of objects to determine the distance between them. These aren't very common but are a great option for your robot should you want to have more security.

Besides collecting dust and debris on hard floors The majority of the top-rated robots can also mop your floors as well. Some robots come with own water tanks that allow them to clean up spills and messes. You will need to clean the robot's dust bin onboard and clean its sensors and cameras in between cleaning sessions.

Mapping

Robot vacuums need to have mapping capabilities. This allows them to navigate around your home and avoid hitting things like walls. Without mapping, they may be tripped by furniture, cords, or pet toys and end up cleaning less of your space. Most robots use sensors to map your home and navigate around obstacles. They can clean your floors in fewer passes and save you time. A lot of the top robot vacuum best vacuums also have this feature, which enables you to create areas of no-go.

Robots with built-in LIDAR system make use of this technology to create a map of your home quickly and efficiently. The Eufy Clean robot separated my room into different areas and cleaned each one independently during our tests. This was an enormous improvement over cheaper models that only had sensors on the front of the vehicle. This was a far more precise method of navigating my home and was simple to control via the on-device application.

While no robot vacuum can climb stairs yet, most of the top-rated models come with good obstacle avoidance and mapping capabilities. These tools help them to pick up debris from hard floors and low-pile carpets and also to keep them from falling down the steps. Certain tools come with sensors that make sure they don't fall over the edge of the stairs. Others come with boundaries to keep them away.

Certain robots have a huge tower base which holds the dirt they collect, minimizing the amount of dust and allergens emitted into your home. These bases can last for weeks or even months between emptying and are especially beneficial if you have allergies. Additionally, some models come with self-emptying mechanisms that let you dump out their onboard dust bins without having to manually open and close them.

Wi-Fi enabled

Some robot vacuums utilize Wi-Fi to connect with their apps and allow you to control them using your smartphone instead of (or in addition to) an actual remote. Those models are more expensive but can help you save time by allowing you to schedule cleaning sessions on a daily, weekly or even a monthly basis. These models also allow you to edit floor maps, save them and offer different cleaning patterns.

Dual sensors are employed by the most advanced robot vacuums. They combine with a LIDAR mapping system with a structured-light sensor which can detect and avoid objects, even if they are hidden beneath furniture or power cables. Those features make it easier for your robot to enter narrow spaces like the nook under your kitchen cabinets and under sofas, where other robots have trouble. They're also quicker to get over obstacles and have longer run times with larger dust bins, which makes them ideal for larger homes than the entry-level robots.

The best rated robot vacuums tend to be swift, intelligent and powerful, picking up most kinds of floor debris, including pet hair, kitty litter and other messes. They can also be quiet making them a good option for homes with young children and pets. The majority of robot vacuum users have told us that they appreciate the ease of having their floor cleaned with little effort. This is especially true when used regularly. Robots can last as long as traditional automatic vacuum and mop cleaners with the right maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping an eye on replacement parts). PCWorld offers a manual that offers some useful suggestions to ensure your machine is running smoothly.

Dust Bags Larger

While a robotic vacuum might not be as efficient as an upright or canister model, it is great in removing dust and debris that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It is also a great tool for quick touch-ups on floors and can maneuver through cords and other obstacles that are common to household use. You can use robotics to sweep your floors on a regular basis in case you don't have the time to do it yourself.

Some of the best rated robot vacuum rated robot vacuums come with large dust bags that are easy to empty and hold more than a single room's worth of dirt. This can help you save time and money on replacement bags. Several of the models we've listed include this feature, including our top choice model, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This all-in-one robovac has an excellent performance rating and includes a self-emptying bin. It also has a mopping feature and a streamlined navigation. This is a close race between the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ and this one, which uses the latest technology for avoidance and smart mapping. This robovac has more capacity, but is slightly more expensive.

The two models differ in how they handle long hair, which can become tangled in the rollers of certain robots. The Roborock Q5 Max+, SwitchBot K10S Plus and Roborock Q5 Max+ are the top performing models. They both have excellent hair pickup and tangle-avoidance scores along with great auto empty performance and great path planning. The Shark Matrix Plus and eufy are also good options with decent hair pick-up and tangle avoidance but not as much path planning or auto empty.

The newest robots have sensors that can detect dirt and debris on the carpet, and are better at picking up hairs that have fallen off of pets. Some even have a dedicated mopping mode that can use the water reservoir to remove spills and messes that have gotten stuck. This feature is a must for families with pets and children.

Maintenance

Having a robot vacuum is a great aid in keeping a close eye on your home. The most effective models pick up more dirt pet hair, and lint than a broom on low-pile or hard flooring. They also have navigational features to keep them from getting stuck on power cords, rug fringe or furniture.

Depending on the model, a highly rated robot vacuum is also able to run multiple times a day, or permit you to watch it in action via an app. However, these useful vacuums are also prone to clogging and require regular maintenance like emptying the bin onboard (or the base's bigger dust bin in some cases) and checking the brushes for hair that is tangled, and regularly rinsing and allowing the filters to dry according to the manufacturer.

Vacuum expert Emily Rairdin, a store owner apprentice at University Vacuum + Sewing, says a good robot vacuum cleaner best vacuum will last for three to five years or more with regular maintenance and care. She recommends emptying the bin and brush roll often and cutting off hair that gets caught in the brushes, and frequently washing and drying the filter if your machine is also a mop. It's also an excellent idea to wipe down the sensors and charging contacts on the dock or the robot every now and then with a soft cloth. Then simply recharge and refill the robot when needed for the next time you clean.