What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A good robot automatic vacuum and mop robot can assist you in keeping track of pet hair, lint and dust on a daily basis. Many work with apps to allow you to schedule cleaning times and create virtual boundaries, mini robot vacuum or 'walls' to keep them from areas that you don't want to be cleaned.

This smart vac-mop creates a map of your home using its initial run. It then stores the area to be used for cleaning tasks in the future. It comes with a self-cleaning brush roll and an extra-large dust bin that empties automatically.

Object Detection

When choosing a robot vacuum, look for one that can pick up large objects, such as toys and lamp cords, as well as dust particles. This will ensure that they do not get caught in the roller brush or end up on your floor. This is especially important if your robot will be cleaned frequently by pets or children.

A model with an engine that is powerful and lots of suction is also an excellent choice. This will help it to be more effective in getting rid of dust, pet hair, and lint from carpets and hardwood floors.

Another important consideration is the size of your room. If you have a huge home, you may prefer models with multiple cleaning zones that can cover 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 can last a long time however they'll need to be cleaned regularly and properly. Cleaning the rotating brushes and emptying the dust container and wiping down the sensors on a regular basis will keep your machine running smoothly for years to be. Many of the owners of robot vacuums we chat with have had the same model for a period of 10 years or more (and replaced brushes, motors and batteries along the way).

A basic robot is much less costly than a larger vacuum cleaner. They will still do an excellent job of cleaning dirt from surfaces pet fur, lint and other debris. They're a great maintenance cleaner that you can use often throughout the week to keep your floors free of dirt. They do not have as much technology and are more prone to getting jammed or needing manual intervention.

Object Avoidance

The best robot vacuums use sensors, cameras or lasers to guide you around your home and avoid getting stuck or falling down the stairs. They are also able to avoid obstacles like furniture legs and cords, and some models can automatically return to their dock or base when they run out of power. Some of the most expensive models come with the ability to map, which allows them to learn your home's layout and therefore spend less time bouncing against walls.

If you don't want spend the money on the most sophisticated robotic vacuums, you can find one that does a great job of removing pet hair dirt, dust, and debris from floors that are hard like wood and tile and carpets with low pile. They can also handle larger particles like nails with rusty screws, metal screws or discarded toys. Some come with self-emptying bases which is helpful for those who don't want to empty the dustbin after every clean-up.

Certain robotic vacuums come with smart features, which make the traditional stick vacuum look old-fashioned. These include scheduling, zone-targeting and the capability to control them using an app or a voice assistants, such as Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones as well as 'virtual walls' to block off areas where you do not want the robots to enter.

Some robotic vacs, such as the Eufy 11S and my former favorite the Roborock S8, have obstacle avoidance technology that prevents them from crashing into furniture or tangling cords. Certain robot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+ have more sophisticated AI obstacle-avoidance technology which uses cameras, processors and smarts to avoid items like lamp cords and pet waste. It's more expensive than other bots I've tried, but it did an impressive job of avoiding obstacles within my home. It also didn't get derailed or trapped when I was working on my flooring.

The J7+ from iRobot was an excellent obstacle avoidance robot however, it didn't always do a great job in avoiding crumbs or dirt on my rugs. It also had a tendency to over-vacuum some areas, which resulted in an abundance of dust in the filter and a less-clean house.

Smart Mapping

The best robot vacuums come with an app that lets you set up cleaning modes and schedules, as well as view a map of your area of floor that the machine covers. This is an excellent feature that a few competitors do not have. This makes it easy to create profiles that automatically start your robot at certain times and continue to run on regularly, for example, cleaning the living area prior to dinner or every other day.

A good app will allow you to control your robot using voice commands. Some models are compatible with 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 mini robot Vacuum an app.

Find a model that has a large dustbin. This will allow you to do many cleaning sessions without having empty it. There are also models that self-empty that take some of the labor out of emptying the robot after each cleaning run.

If you're looking for a robotic that can do more than vacuum, you should consider one that has mopping functions. These are typically larger than the robotic vacuums, and come with a water tank in the interior which can store many cleaning sessions of dirt and other debris prior to needing to be cleaned.

Robots that are more sophisticated can create their own maps and keep track of the layout of your home from one cleaning session to the next, preventing them from getting lost or stuck. This can make a big difference in the efficiency of your robot vacuums because it won't be spending time returning to the beginning of the room whenever it encounters furniture or walls.

Our test participants who utilized a robot with this feature found it to be extremely efficient, and they could sit back and watch TV or perform other chores while the mini robot vacuum cleaned. Some models employ laser navigation to create the map of your home. You can then program them to clean your bedroom after dinner, or throughout the house while you are at work.

App Control

It is best to select a robot that has an app for mobile devices if you want to customize the frequency of cleaning and choose cleaning mode. You can also view the state of the vacuum and the state of its dust bin within the app. The best robotic vacuums can be controlled with Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri Shortcuts.

It is easy to maintain a robot with a washable filter and a self-emptying bin, particularly when the filter is easily removed and rinsed. A high-powered brush is another fantastic feature that allows you to reach into corners and along baseboards for removal of hair and dirt. Some robots are more adept at avoiding chair leg than others. Some have sensors that automatically clean brushes to avoid clogging.

Some robo-vacs use navigation tools that allow them to understand your home and overcome obstacles. The top models utilize sensors and cameras to recognize obstacles such as stairs, furniture and cords. The cheaper models could use boundary strips to mark areas where you don't want it to enter. Object avoidance can be especially beneficial for families with young kids who scatter socks and toys all over the house. This can help your robot to collect these items instead of scattering.

We're starting to see more robots with mops, which are beneficial for those who have hard floors and require to regularly clean them. These robots come with a reservoir of water built into their chassis or as a separate piece that you swap in when they're ready to mop. These robots might need to be refilled frequently but they're ideal for homes with hard floors and can't be cleaned with a vacuum.

These robots are loaded with impressive technology, and they are priced significantly less than you'd think. In fact, you can get a good one for under $200 that does a decent job of cleaning pet hair and crumbs off hard floors, and also moving around the edges of light carpets or area carpets. You can schedule the robot to vacuum a room on a regular basis, and it can be controlled remotely using the app or by pressing buttons on its side.