The Best Robot Vacuums

A good robot vacuum does the majority of the work for you and nabs pet hair, lint and surface dirt before it can cling to furniture or get ground into carpets. Some also integrate with smart assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to give you a hands-free experience.

Many models come with maps, which allows them to draw a map of your home. This can help them avoid falling off ledges and navigating around the cords of devices.

What to Look for

Certain robots come with advanced features, which allow you to control them using voice assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant. Smart mapping, zone cleaning and object avoidance are a few of the features. These machines could also have larger dust bins as well as longer-lasting batteries.

Select a model that has a wide brush to remove large particles, and that is slim enough to fit under furniture. Also, check if the vacuum can be used on multiple kinds of floors without having to change brushes or alter suction settings, which could decrease the effectiveness of cleaning and shorten its life.

The best robot vacuums come with top-quality filters that capture fine particles and protect your home. They also come with an ample easy-to-access collection bin so you can empty it frequently. Some robot vacuums have an additional side brush that can sweep up pet hair or debris in hard-to reach places like under or behind furniture. The dustbins are usually transparent, allowing you to observe the amount of dirt in the bin and Good robot vacuum when you should empty it.

In addition to scheduling your robot vacuum for times when you're most likely to be at home, you can also use the app to set a boundary around your furniture and rooms that you want it to avoid. Some models are also able to detect the type of floor and alter their brush and vacuum settings to match.

There are robots that recharge and continue cleaning the area they left after their battery has run out. Certain robot vacuums have a camera built in which allows you to view the path that your robot has taken and what it has collected.

Some robots are controlled via voice commands however, not all. Be sure that the robot you choose is compatible with the voice assistant of your choice, and test the way it responds to different commands during the buying process. Some robots will even empty their dustbins and clean their docking stations, making your chore list a little bit more. However, this feature comes at an expense, as does an extra bin for collection and a faster charging speed.

Cleaning Performance

While robots can't replace a traditional vacuum or broom, they can provide a practical and efficient alternative to the routine of cleaning your floors. The best robotic cleaners can pick up small debris like dust, pet hair and crumbs, or bigger items such as metal shavings or wood shavings. They do this without harming furniture or floors.

They will often register the type of surface that they are cleaning and adjust their suction/brush functions in order to clean your floors more thoroughly. This is especially important when your home is made up of various types of flooring. A lot of models come with a wide range of options to set up virtual boundaries that allow you to tell the robot to stay clear from certain areas of your home. This can be helpful in preventing your kids or pets from entering areas they shouldn't be in, and also helps ensure that your home is cleaned up at the end of every scheduled session.

You should also think about the amount of autonomy you're comfortable giving your robot. Certain models require your presence and attention while others work independently, with the ability to change the cleaning mode and schedule through a mobile app or voice commands via an integrated smart assistant. Certain models map and learn your space and allow you to define zones and instruct the robot to clean certain areas in your home on a daily or weekly basis.

In our tests, the iRobot j7+ proved to be the best robot for "set it and leave it". It excelled in mapping, creating virtual boundaries and avoiding obstacles better than all the other robots we tried. It can also completely empty itself so that you don't have to do that manually and has side brushes that can help sweep debris away from corners and edges that it is difficult to reach.

Its slim profile and infrared sensors permit it to go under and behind furniture for an even more thorough clean than most robots, and its advanced navigation system allows it to be more capable of cleaning the entire level of your home in one charge as compared to other devices we've tried. Even at its affordable price, you'll find it tough to beat for daily use.

Battery Life

A high-quality robot vacuum can make keeping your floors clean feel less like a chore, and more like a luxury. Quickly removing dirt, crumbs and shed pet hair can make a big difference in how clean your home is every day. While a robot of a basic design can handle most cleaning tasks, those who want a bit more of a hands-free experience should choose models that double as mop.

Ecovacs Deebot T10 OMNI provides excellent performance in both vacuuming and mopping modes. It can handle pet hair, dirt and even cat litter. Its object avoidance function is remarkable. It lets it keep away from objects and not get caught on them.

It also comes with a long battery life and a large bin for dust, making it able to cover a considerable amount of space in one session. It's also a smart cleaner which means that it can track your home and works with apps such as those provided by Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to let you control the vacuum using voice commands.

The app that comes with the robot is easy and simple to use it allows you to create schedules, designate rooms for cleaning, or pause and resume sessions. It can even alert you to when its battery is running low and return to its docking station to recharge.

The robot is also able to distinguish between hard floors and carpets, and adjust its settings according to the type of floor. This prevents the machine from squeezing on one type of surface and causing damage to furniture. But, it's not yet able to recognize high pile carpeting or the seams between rooms, so you will still need to be vigilant about picking up large items.

All robot vacuums require a amount of maintenance, like getting rid of hair from brushes, emptying (and sometimes rinsing) the dust bin after each cleaning session, and cleaning sensors or cameras between use to keep them in top shape. The manufacturer will provide specific instructions for these and other steps to maintain which can differ based on the particular model.

Cost

The best robot vacuums don't come expensive, but they're less expensive than a professional carpet cleaner, or even an all-in-one stand-up vac. They require less maintenance than traditional vacuums, since they require that you empty and occasionally rinse their dust bins following every cleaning session.

Many robot vacuums come with intelligent features that make them more efficient within your home. For example mapping technology allows you to inform the vacuum mop combo robot of where to go using an app, so it doesn't get stuck in stairs, or under furniture, where there may be an unclean mess. Other robot vacuums can detect the kind of floor they are cleaning so they can adjust their suction and brush capabilities to get the most effective results.

Some models feature object avoidance, which uses sensors (or even cameras) to spot objects like toys and other things on the floor. They then instruct the robot to move around them instead of running over them. This can be a huge help when you have children or pets who tend to scatter toys all over the home.

Another feature that might be important to you is voice control, which lets you operate your robot using your voice instead of using the buttons on board. This is a great option for children who aren't yet old enough to use the controls or are looking for a hands-free option.

How often you have to use your robot will depend on how much dirt and debris is normally found on your floors. Most experts suggest using a robot vacuum several times a week to keep your floors looking good and to remove pet hair, dirt and lint before it is able to get trapped or become difficult to remove.

If you're only working with a limited amount of floor space and do not plan to make use of the robot for other purpose and you're looking for you should consider a budget model like our top pick Eufy 11S is a great option. It's easy to use and affordable, and it does the job without causing any noise when you work or watching television.