What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A quality robot vacuum will keep you on top of pet hair, lint, and dust on a daily basis. Many use apps that allow you to schedule cleaning sessions and create virtual boundaries, or 'walls' to keep them out of areas you don't want cleaned.

This smart vacuum and mop creates a home map after its first trip, and then it will remember your home's layout for future tasks. It has a self-cleaning brush roll and an extra-large dust bin that empty automatically.

Object Detection

When you are choosing a robotic vacuum, make sure you choose one that can pick up large objects, such as lamps and toys as well as fine dirt. This will ensure that they don't get stuck in the roller brush or strewn across your floor. This is especially important when you have pets or children and you may have to clean the robot on a regular basis.

A model that has an engine that is powerful and lots of suction is also an excellent option. This will allow it to be more effective in eliminating dust, pet hair and lint from carpets as well as hardwood flooring.

The size of your home is a different factor to consider. If you live in an apartment you might want to pick one that has multiple cleaning zones so that you can clean the entire house in a single session. Some models come with mopping capabilities that can be used to keep floors clean and fresh.

Robot vacuums are long-lasting but they need to be maintained and cleaned regularly. Regularly cleaning the rotating brushes and emptying the dust bin, and wiping the sensors will keep your machine functioning efficiently for many years. Many of the owners of robot vacuums we have spoken to have owned their machines for ten years or longer (and have replaced brushes, motors, and batteries with time).

A basic robot is much less expensive than a large vacuum cleaner. They'll do an excellent job of cleaning surface dirt as well as pet fur and lint. They're an excellent maintenance cleaner that you can distribute often throughout the week to keep your floors free of dirt. They don't have as much technology and are more prone to becoming jammed or requiring manual intervention.

Object Avoidance

The most effective robot vacuums make use of sensors, lasers or cameras to guide them around your home without falling off or getting stuck on the stairs. Some models can return to their dock or base when their batteries are low. They can also avoid obstacles like furniture legs and cords. The more expensive ones often feature mapping capabilities that allow them to remember the arrangement of your home, and spend less time hitting walls.

If you don't want splurge on the most advanced robotic vacuums, you could find a model that does an excellent job of picking up pet hair, dirt, dust and dust from floors made of wood and tile and carpets with a low pile. They can also handle larger particles like metal screws, rusty nails or even toys that have been discarded. Some models come with a base that automatically empties itself, which is great if you do not want to empty it after each cleaning session.

Certain robotic vacuums come with smart features, making the standard stick vacuum look quaint. They include schedules, zone-targeting, and the ability for you to control them through an app or a voice assistants, such as Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas that you don't want the robot to enter.

Certain robotic vacuums such as the Eufy 11S and my former top pick Roborock S8 Roborock S8, have obstacle avoidance technology that prevents them from getting sucked into furniture or tangling cords. Others, like the iRobot Roomba j7+, have more sophisticated AI obstacle avoidance that utilizes a camera and processor-powered smarts to detect and avoid objects like shoe cords, lamp cords socks, and pet waste. It's a bit more expensive than the other bots I've tested but it did an impressive job of avoiding obstacles around my home and rarely got stuck or tangled when I was working on my floors.

Although the iRobot J7+ was a solid obstacle avoidance robot but it wasn't always able to do an excellent job of avoiding dirt and crumbs off my rugs. It also was known to over-vacuum specific areas, resulting in a lot of dust in the filters, and a less tidy home.

Smart Mapping

A few of the top robot vacuums have an app that can help you to customize cleaning settings set schedules, and view the area of floor that the machine covers. This is a handy feature that a few competitors do not have. This allows you to create profiles which will automatically start the robot at certain times, and keep it running continuously. For example, cleaning the living room each day or before dinner.

A good app will also allow you to control your robot with voice commands. Certain models can be controlled by Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant and can work completely hands-free. You can say "start with a clean" or "change cleaning mode" without the need for an app.

To enjoy a hands-free and effortless experience, look for models with a large dust bin that can withstand numerous cleaning sessions before needing to be empty. There are models that self-empty, which eliminates the need to empty the machine after every vacuuming session.

If you're looking for a robot that can do more than just vacuum, you'll want to look into a model that can mop floors. These are usually bigger than the robotic vacuums, and have an internal water tank that holds many cleaning sessions of dirt and other debris prior to needing to be cleaned.

The most advanced robots create their own maps of your house and can even keep track of the arrangement between cleanings and help them avoid getting lost or trapped in corners. This can make a significant difference in the effectiveness of your lidar robot vacuum vacuum because it won't need to go back to where it started when it encounters walls or furniture.

Our testers found that robots that had this feature were very efficient. They could watch TV or do other things while the robot cleaned. Some of these models utilize laser navigation, and can create an exact map of your home, which means that you can program them to clean only the bedroom after dinner, or each room of the house while you're at work.

App Control

It's best robot vacuum for pet hair to choose one that comes with an app for mobile devices for those who want to modify the frequency of cleaning and choose the cleaning mode. You can also see the status of the vacuum and the condition of its dust bin in the app. Some of the best robot vacuum with mapping robot vacuums can even be controlled by voice with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri Shortcuts.

A robot with a self-emptying bin and washable filters is simple to keep clean, particularly if you can easily access the filter and take it off it to rinse it. Another feature that is great is a high-powered brush that gets into corners and along baseboards which makes it easier to remove hair and dirt. Some robots are more adept in avoiding chair legs than others. Others come with an automatic cleaning system that cleans brushes to prevent obstruction.

Some robot vacuums have navigation tools that allow them to learn your home and get around obstacles. High-end models have sensors and cameras that can detect obstacles like stairs, furniture and cords, while cheaper models often use boundary strips you place on the floor to mark areas where you don't want it to go. Object avoidance can be especially useful for families with young kids who scatter socks and toys all over the house. This allows your robot to collect the items instead of scattering.

More robots are coming with mops. This is great for those with hard floors who require to mop regularly. These robots have a water reservoir that is built into their chassis or as a separate piece you can swap in when ready to mop. They may need to be refilled more often than other kinds of robots, however they're ideal for homes with floors made of wood that aren't easily cleaned with a vacuum.

We've seen some amazing technology packed into these little robots, and they're a lot cheaper than you imagine. You can get a good one for under $200. It does a decent cleaning job on hard floors while navigating around the edges of carpets and carpets. The robot can be programmed to clean specific rooms on a regular basis. It can also be controlled remotely using an app or by pressing buttons.