Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

While robot vacuums are great at keeping your floors clean, they can't replace a large-sized vacuum. Even the best robots can struggle to get deep into carpets or rugs and often get tangled in socks and cords.

Your robot will last longer if you perform regular maintenance. This includes replacing filters, cutting hairs that are tangled from brushes and emptying the dustbin.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuum sale vacuums can handle a few cleaning sessions before needing a charge. The runner-up of our top picks is the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo, has a battery that is designed to last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on one charge. That amount of runtime is more than enough to clean the majority of smaller homes that have carpets that are hard and smart vacuum low-pile carpets or a bigger home with rooms that are roughly the same size.

A longer battery life means the robot will be able to spend less time charging and can spend more time cleaning. It's a good idea to choose an auto-emptying dust bin, as those models are more efficient when it comes to picking up debris and returning to the dock to recharge. It is important to clean or replace the filters and clean the sensors and camera regularly so they can be seen clearly.

Smart mapping technology can be a valuable feature, as it allows you to program your robot to ensure that it only cleans specific rooms or avoids areas where it's likely to crash into furniture and other obstacles. This feature is also beneficial to ensure that your buy robot vacuum cleaner is able to reach under and around furniture such as sofas, beds and other high-height items. A few robovacs are cheap and have boundary strips you can place on the floor to block off certain areas, and other models with higher-end features utilize sensors and cameras to accomplish this.

Even the most powerful robot vacuums cannot replace a traditional vacuum when it comes to heavy-duty large-pile dirt and other debris. It's advisable to keep a traditional power vac in reserve for these tasks, and to schedule robot vacuums regularly for light cleanups throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot should be able to navigate you home without getting stuck or crashing into things such as metal screws, loose pet hair, or sand. In our tests, we use a tracking device to track the robot as it goes through a multiroom lab. It shows its surroundings. We also check the extent to which it can avoid obstacles, including power cords, furniture legs and smart vacuum pet waste.

The top robots can map out multiple floors, and recognize landmarks like doors and windows. The most advanced models, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, have a dual-sensor navigation system that utilizes an LIDAR sensor to map the space and a structured light camera at the front of the robot to detect objects in real time. The S8 can evade obstacles such as power cords as well as legs of furniture. It also has the capability to store up to four floor maps.

Most affordable models depend on bump sensors that aren't as precise. In my tests they were able to detect dog poop through cords, as well as a pair of shoes placed in the middle. The Dreametech D10+ is the most value-for-money option. It has excellent carpet and hard floor, tangle and hair pickup. It also has an auto empty score that is close to perfect.

Another feature worth mentioning is a large onboard dustbin that doesn't need to be manually empty, and for models that mop, a water tank that can last for weeks of cleaning sessions. The Karcher RCV 5 has this feature and has 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 similar to their upright counterparts and require a lot of technology to keep them up-to-date. The result is a mature market full of options. However, even the most advanced models require interaction with their users - particularly when it comes to scheduling cleanings and establishing a floor plan and setting up virtual barriers.

To lessen the chance of this kind of interaction, look for a model that uses its own app to identify the layout of your home and save the settings for future use. This will let the vacuum begin where it left off in subsequent runs, rather than having to restart the mapping process every time.

Also, look for models that provide zone or spot cleaning. They let you tell the robot vacuum to concentrate on a specific spot for example, like under the dining table after an enormous family meal. You can typically do this via the app or voice commands.

A lot of models also offer objects avoidance. It allows the robot, when it spots something in its way, like a box of shoe or a crate with dog toys, to instruct itself around. This prevents it from hitting objects that could harm its sensors or cause jams.

This feature is available on some of the more expensive models we test. They rely on bump sensor technology to do this however they weren't always able to avoid things in my test home.

Pet Hair

When you're looking to remove pet hair, choose a model that's designed specifically to handle this type of debris. The best models have high suction power and a brush that prevents getting caught in a knot, and an emptying mechanism that can automatically dump hair into the trash bin when it is needed. Some models can detect levels of dirt and adjust cleaning intensity. They are able to detect objects that aren't a part of your flooring, such as furniture and toys, food bowls cords, and much more.

Certain robot vacuums have additional pet-friendly features. They include a water dispenser that is used to mop floors and a HEPA filtering system that eliminates allergens such as pet dander. They could also feature a quieter mode of operation to reduce the amount noise generated during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums with mapping capabilities are a great option for pet owners. They're designed to assess your home, and create an attack plan based upon the arrangement of each room and obstacles. For instance, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 robot cleaning machine Vacuum is a smart vacuum that has an impressive ability to map the room and navigate around furniture and other obstructions with accelerometer and gyroscope sensors which work in tandem to understand the layout of your room.

Other models that are more advanced allow you to create no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is meant to stay clear of, such as fragile items or pet feeding spots. You can adjust these settings using an app. This feature is especially beneficial for families with busy schedules, since it allows you to schedule cleaning sessions without needing to be in the room in which the vacuum is. Spot cleaning is a excellent feature. You can use the vacuum cleaner to clean an area that is particularly filthy or stuffed with pet hair.

Dust Bin

Unless you're looking for something tiny You should pick a robot capable of holding at least a large bag of garbage from one cleaning session. That's why we recommend opting for a model with a large bin or even self-emptying garbage bin. The former will enable you to keep track of emptying the bin frequently enough to keep track of its performance while the latter will help you save time and hassle by automatically dumping the contents into an internal container every few cleanings.

Look for models that have smart mapping capabilities that allow them to "learn" the layout of your home and devise more efficient routes. They also can detect and avoid objects that could hinder their routes (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Look for models that have intelligent mapping capabilities. This lets them "learn the patterns of your house and plan more efficient route.

Some models also offer spot cleaning. This lets you choose a specific area of your home to be targeted for thorough cleaning. In our tests, we discovered that the top models are able to remove small particles like sand, baking soda, orzo, screws made of metal and pet hair, as well heavier debris like oatmeal orzo, and metal screws.

According to the company, robots can last years and perform well as long as they are properly maintained. For instance, cleaning tangled hair out of brushes and emptying dust bins after each use and wiping sensors and cameras down as needed. The most efficient robots tend to be more modular and therefore easier and cheaper to repair or replace components like batteries and wheels when they wear out.