Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot vacuums are great to keep your floors clean but they are not a substitute for a traditional vacuum. Even the most advanced robots have trouble getting deep into rugs and carpets, and they can become tangled with cords and socks.

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

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums are able to handle a couple of cleaning sessions without having to be charged. The Ecovacs Q30S Combo is the runner-up of our top selections. It comes with a battery that can last up to 180 minute (3,230 square foot) on one charge. That amount of runtime is enough to clean the majority of smaller homes that have carpets that are hard and carpets with low pile or a larger house where the rooms are roughly the same size.

A longer battery lifespan also means the robot can spend more time cleaning and less time charging on its dock. It is recommended to choose a model that has an auto-emptying bin. These models are more efficient at collecting debris and then returning to docks to recharge. It is important to clean or replace filters and wipe down sensors and the camera on a regular schedule so they can see clearly.

Smart mapping technology is a useful feature to be looking for since it permits you to program your robot to clean specific rooms or areas where it's more likely to crash into furniture or other obstacles. It's also beneficial for ensuring your robot is able to get under and around beds, sofas and other furniture that is tall. Some cheap robovacs come with boundary strips that you can use to block off certain areas. Other models of higher quality rely on sensors and cameras.

Even the top robot vacuums aren't able to substitute a traditional vac for heavy-duty dirt and debris. It's recommended to have an electric vacuum in your home to tackle these tasks, and also schedule robot vacuums for light cleaning throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot cleaner should be able to navigate your home without getting stuck or running into things such as metal screws or pet hair that is loose, or sand. In our tests, we employ a tracking device to track the robot as it travels through a multi-room lab and maps out its surroundings. We also look for the extent to which it can avoid obstacles, including power cords, furniture legs, and pet waste.

The best automatic vacuum cleaner robots are able to map out multiple floors and can recognize landmarks such as doors and windows. The most advanced models, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, feature a dual-sensor navigation system which uses the LIDAR sensor to map out the space and a structured light camera at the front of the robot to detect objects in real-time. This allows the S8 to stay clear of common obstacles like power cords and furniture legs and can store up to four floor maps within its internal memory.

The more affordable models don't have this kind of detection and rely on bump sensors, which aren't as precise. In my tests they were able detect dog poop and cords, as well as a pair shoes placed in the middle. The Dreametech D10+ is the best value choice. It is a great carpet and hard Floor washing robot pickup, great tangle and hair pickup, and an almost perfect auto empty score.

Another feature worth mentioning is a large onboard dustbin which doesn't have to be manually empty. It also has, for models that mop, a water tank which can store weeks of mopping sessions. The Karcher RCV 5 comes with this, and a large enough footprint to be placed under furniture, but not so large that it won't fit in the space between your bathtub and toilet.

Apps

Robot vacuums are a lot like their upright counterparts and require lots of technology to get them up and running at speed. There are many options in a market that is a mature. However, even the most advanced models require some interaction with their users - particularly when it comes to scheduling cleanings as well as establishing a home floor plan and setting up virtual barriers.

To reduce the impact of this interaction, consider looking for a model that uses its own app to identify the location of your home, and save the settings for the future. This will allow the robot vacuum to continue where it started on subsequent runs rather than having the mapping process restarted each time.

You should also consider models that offer spot or zone cleaning. You can tell the robot vacuum cleaner to focus on an area, like under the table after a large family meal. You can choose to do this by using the app or by voice commands.

Avoidance of objects is a different feature that's available with numerous models. It allows the robot to detect objects in its path, such as shoes, a crate of dog toys or a crate full of dog toys, and then guide itself around it. This will stop it from crashing into objects that could damage its sensors or cause jams.

Some of the more expensive models we've tested come with this feature. They depend on bump sensor technology to do this however they weren't always able to keep things out of my test home.

Pet Hair

When you're looking to remove pet hair, you should choose the right model designed to handle this kind of debris. The most effective models will have an extremely high suction, a brush that stops tangling, and an automatic hoover robot emptying mechanism. Some models are able to detect levels of dirt and adjust the intensity of cleaning. They can also detect objects that aren't a part of your home's flooring like furniture toys, food bowls, toys cords, and so on.

Certain robot vacuums have additional features that are pet-friendly. They include the water dispenser that can be used to clean floors, and an HEPA filtering system that eliminates allergens such as pet dander. They could also provide an operation that is quieter, which can reduce the amount of sound 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 an action plan according to the layout and obstructions in each room. For example, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum is a smart vacuum with an impressive ability to map a room and navigate around furniture and other obstacles using accelerometer and gyroscope sensors which work in tandem to understand the layout of your home.

Other advanced models allow you to set no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is meant to avoid--like fragile items or pet feeding spots--by adjusting settings using an app. This feature is especially useful for families with busy schedules, since it allows you to schedule cleaning sessions without having to be present in the space where the vacuum is. Spot cleaning is a great feature. You can use the vacuum cleaner to clean a space that is particularly filthy or filled with pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you're not looking for a small size it is recommended to select one that can hold at least a complete bag of garbage from a single cleaning session. This is why we suggest opting for a model that has an enormous bin or a self vacuum-emptying dustbin. The first will let you keep up with the process of emptying your bin regularly enough to ensure its efficiency. The second will save you time and effort by automatically emptying the contents into an internal container every few cleanings.

Look for models that have smart mapping capabilities, which allow them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes. They can also sense and avoid objects that may hinder their routes (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Make sure you choose models with intelligent mapping capabilities. This allows them to "learn the structure of your home and plan more efficient routes.

Some models also provide spot cleaning, which lets users to select specific areas of your home for intense cleaning. We've found that most of the top performers in our tests can take in fine particles such as baking soda and sand, along with heavier particles like oatmeal orzo pasta screws, and pet hair.

Based on the manufacturer, most robots can last for years and will remain in good working order as long as you keep up with maintenance, such as cleaning tangled hair from brushes and dust bins, emptying them after each use, and wiping down sensors and cameras whenever needed. The best-performing robots also tend to be more modular and therefore easier and less expensive to replace or repair parts like batteries and wheels when they get worn out.