What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A robot vacuum will help keep you on the top of pet hair and lint on daily bases. Many work with apps to allow you to schedule cleaning sessions and create virtual boundaries, or "walls" to keep them away from areas that you don't want to be cleaned.

This smart vac-mop makes the map of your home's layout with its initial run. It then stores the area for future cleaning jobs. It has a self-cleaning brush roll and an extra-large dust bin that empty automatically.

Object Detection

When picking a robot vacuum, choose one that can take in large objects, such as lamps and toys and also dust particles. This will ensure that they don't become entangled in the roller brush, and don't end up on your floors. This feature is especially crucial if your robot is going to be cleaned frequently by children or pets.

A model that has an engine that is powerful and lots of suction is also a good choice. This will allow it to be more efficient in eliminating dust, pet hair and lint from carpets and hardwood floors.

The size of your home is another crucial factor to consider. If you live in a big home, you may choose models with multiple cleaning zones that can cover your entire house in a single session. Certain models have mopping features that can be used to keep floors looking fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums can last a long time however they'll need to be cleaned regularly and properly. Cleaning the rotating brushes, emptying the dust bin and wiping the sensors clean on a regular basis will keep your machine running efficiently for the years to be. Many of the owners of robot vacuums we speak to have owned their machines for 10 years or more (and have replaced motors, brushes, and batteries along with time).

A basic robot is less expensive than a large vacuum cleaner. They'll perform a great job of cleaning surface dirt, pet fur and lint. They're a great maintenance cleaner that you can use every week to keep your floors clean. They do not have as much technology and are more susceptible to get stuck or require manual intervention.

Object Avoidance

The most effective robot vacuums utilize sensors, lasers, or cameras to help them navigate your home without falling off or getting stuck on the stairs. Some models can return to their base or dock when their battery is depleted. They also can avoid obstacles such as furniture legs and cords. The most expensive models usually feature mapping capabilities that allow them to memorize the layout of your home and lessen the time you spend hitting walls.

If you don't want to spend the money on the most sophisticated robotic vacuums, you can locate a model that is capable of removing pet hair dirt, dust, and debris from floors that are hard like wood and tile and carpets with a low pile. They also be capable of handling larger debris like metal screws and staples that are rusty or even discarded toys. Some models even have an auto-emptying base which is helpful if you don't want to empty the dustbin after every clean-up.

Many robotic vacuums also come with smart features that make your standard stick vacuum seem prehistoric, including schedules, zone targeting and the ability to control them with an app or voice assistant like Alexa. You can also set up cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas that you don't want the robot to get into.

Some robotic vacuums, like the Eufy 11S or my former top pick, Roborock S8, come with obstacle avoidance technology to stop them from falling over furniture or cords. Certain robot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+ have more sophisticated AI obstacle-avoidance technology which uses a camera, processors and smarts to avoid items like lamp cords as well as pet waste. It's a bit more expensive than the other bots I've tried, however it does a fantastic job of avoiding obstacles and never is stuck or tripped when I'm working on my floor.

The J7+ from iRobot was a great obstacle-avoiding shark robot vacuum self empty however it didn't always succeed at avoiding dirt or crumbs on my carpets. It also tends to over-vacuum some areas, resulting in lots of dust in the filter, and an unclean home.

Smart Mapping

Some of the top robot vacuums come with an app that allows you to customize cleaning modes, create schedules, and view an image of the area covered by the machine. This is a handy feature, and vacuums one that many competitors don't have. This allows you to create profiles that will automatically start the robot at certain times, and keep it running continuously. For instance, you could clean the living area every day, or just before dinner.

A good app will allow you to control your robot with 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 having to use the app.

To have a hands-free experience, look for vacuums a model with a large dust bin that can accommodate many cleaning sessions before needing to be empty. You can find models that self-empty, which eliminates the need to empty the robot after each vacuuming session.

If you're looking for a machine that is more than just vacuum, you'll want to look into a model that can mop floors. These are typically larger than robotic vacuums and have a water tank in the interior 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 remember the arrangement from one cleaning to another and help them avoid getting lost or trapped in corners. This can make a big difference in the efficiency of your robot vacuum, since it won't have to return to where it was when it comes across walls or furniture.

Our test participants found that the robots with this feature were extremely efficient. They could watch TV or do other tasks while the robot cleaned. Some models use laser navigation to create the map of your home. You can program them to clean your bedroom after dinner, or in all rooms while you're working.

App Control

It is best to select a robot vacuum cleaner black friday that has an app for mobile devices if you want to customize the frequency of cleaning and select cleaning mode. You can also view the state of the vacuum and the condition of its dust bin in the app. Some of the best robot vacuums are controlled by voice with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri Shortcuts.

It is easy to maintain a robot with the ability to wash the filter and a self-emptying container, especially if the filter can be easily cleaned and washed. A high-powered brush is another excellent feature that can reach into corners and along baseboards for removal of hair and dirt. Certain robots are better at avoiding chair legs than others, and some even have a self-cleaning sensor that prevents the clogging of brushes that can be a problem in other machines.

Some robot vacuums come with navigation tools that aid them in navigating obstacles and learn your home. High-end models use sensors and cameras to recognize obstacles such as furniture, stairs and cords. Cheaper models may utilize boundary strips to mark areas where you don't want it to go. Avoidance of objects is particularly important for families with young children who have toys and socks scattered throughout the house, since it assists your robot in capturing those objects instead of scattering them.

We're seeing more robots with mops, which are useful for those who have hard floors and need to clean them regularly. These robots come with a water reservoir that is built into their chassis or as a separate component that can be swapped in when ready to mop. These robots might need to be refilled frequently but they're ideal for homes that have hard floors that aren't cleaned easily with vacuums.

These robots are packed with some impressive technology, and cost much less than you'd think. You can get a good one under $200, which does a decent cleaning job on hard floors and can be scoured around the edges of carpets and area rugs. The robot can be programmed to vacuum a particular room on a regular basis. It can also be controlled remotely via an app or by pressing buttons.