What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A robot vacuum can keep you on top of pet hair and lint on daily bases. Many robot vacuums have applications that let you schedule cleaning times. You can also set virtual boundaries, or "walls," to ensure that the vacuum stays away from areas you don't want to be cleaned.

This mop and vac creates a home map after its first run, Auto Vacuum storing your home's layout for future tasks. It comes with a self-cleaning brush roll and an large dust bin that is empty automatically.

Object Detection

When you are choosing a robotic vacuum, look for one that is able to pick up big items, such as lamp cords and toys, as well as dust particles. This will help ensure they don't get snarled in the roller brush and aren't left behind on your floors. This is particularly important if your robot will be cleaned frequently by pets or children.

It's also a good idea to select a model that has a powerful motor and lots of suction power. This will make it more efficient in removing pet hair, lint, and dust off your carpets and hardwood floors.

The size of your house is another crucial factor to consider. If you have a large house you might want to choose models that have multiple cleaning zones, so you can clean the entire house in one go. Certain models have mopping robot vacuum cleaner capabilities that can be utilized to keep floors clean and fresh.

Robot vacuums can last a long time however they'll need to be maintained regularly and in a proper manner. Cleaning the rotating brushes and emptying the dust bin and wiping the sensors clean on a regular basis will ensure that your robot is functioning efficiently for many long time to be. Many owners of robot vacuums that we have spoken with have owned the same model for a decade or more (and replaced brushes, motors and batteries in the process).

A basic robot is much less expensive than a large vacuum cleaner. They will still do an excellent job of cleaning surface dirt pet fur, lint and other debris. You can use them to clean your floor several times a day. 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 help them navigate your home without falling off or getting stuck on the staircase. Some models can return to their dock or base when the battery is low. They can also avoid obstacles like furniture legs and cords. The more expensive ones often come with mapping capabilities that permit them to remember the layout of your home and spend less time running into walls.

If you're not looking to spend a lot of money on the latest robotic vacuums, you can still find one that does an excellent job of picking up pet hair dirt, dust, and auto Vacuum debris from floors that are hard like wood and tile and carpets with a low pile. They can also do a good job of handling larger debris like metal screws or staples that have rust, or abandoned toys. Some models even have self-emptying bases which is helpful in the event that you don't wish to empty the dustbin after every cleaning session.

Most robotic vacs also offer innovative features that make a ordinary stick vacuum appear old-fashioned with features like schedules, zone targeting and the capability to control them using an app or a voice assistant like Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and 'virtual walls' to block off areas you do not want the robot to go.

Certain robotic vacuums, such as the Eufy 11S and my former top pick Roborock S8 Roborock S8, have obstacle avoidance technology that keeps them from getting sucked into furniture or tangling with cords. Other models, like the iRobot Roomba j7+, have more sophisticated AI obstacle avoidance that utilizes sensors powered by processors to see and avoid items like lamp cords, shoes, socks and pet waste. It is a little bit more expensive than other bots that I've tried, however it does an excellent job of avoiding obstacles and rarely gets stuck or derailed while working on my floor.

The iRobot J7+ was a great obstacle-avoiding robot cleaner and mop however, it didn't always do a good job at avoiding crumbs and dirt on my rugs. It also was known to over-vacuum specific areas, resulting in a lot of dust in the filters and a less tidy house.

Smart Mapping

Some of the best robot vacuums come with an app that can help you to customize cleaning settings, set schedules and see the area of floor that the machine covers. This is an excellent feature that some competitors lack altogether. This allows you to create profiles that will automatically start the robot at specific times and run it regularly. For instance, you could clean the living room each day, or just before dinner.

A good app can allow you to control your robot using voice commands. Some models are compatible with Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, which allows you to control your robot using voice commands.

To have a hands-free experience, opt for an option with a big dust bin that can hold many cleaning sessions before needing to be empty. There are models that are self-emptying which takes a portion of the burden of emptying the machine after each cleaning run.

If you're looking for a robot that is more than just vacuum, you'll want to look into a model that can mop your floors. They are usually larger than robotic vacuums and have a water tank inside that holds many cleaning sessions of dirt and other debris prior to having to be empty.

Robots that are more sophisticated can create their own maps and remember the layout of your home from one cleaning session to the next, preventing them from getting lost or stuck. This can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of your robot vacuum, since it won't have to go back to where it started when it encounters walls or furniture.

Our test subjects who tested the robot that has this capability found it to be very efficient. They could easily sit back and watch TV or perform other chores while the robot was cleaning. Some of these models utilize laser navigation and can make an exact map of your home, which means that you can program them to clean only the bedroom after dinner or every room in your home while you're at work.

App Control

If you want to customize the frequency with which the robot cleans your home and choose the cleaning mode it is recommended to purchase one that is compatible with an app for mobile devices. In the app, you can examine the status of your vacuum and its dust bin. Some of the best robot vacuums can even be controlled via voice with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri Shortcuts.

A robot with a self-emptying bin and washable filters makes it easy to keep clean, particularly when you are able to easily access the filter and then remove it to rinse it. A high-powered brush is a great feature that can reach into corners and along baseboards to remove hair and dirt. Certain robots are more adept in avoiding chairs' legs than others, and some also have an Auto Vacuum-cleaning sensor that helps prevent the obstruction of brushes that may occur in other machines.

Some robot vacuums have navigation tools that allow them to learn your home and get around obstacles. The top models come with sensors and cameras that detect obstacles such as furniture, stairs and cords, while cheaper models sometimes use boundary strips that you put on the floor to mark areas where you don't want it to enter. Object avoidance is especially important for families with young children who have toys and socks scattered throughout the house, as it assists your robot in capturing the objects instead of scattering them.

We're beginning to see more robots that have mops, which are beneficial for those who have hard floors and require to clean them regularly. These robots have water tanks built into the chassis or a separate piece you can put in when you're ready to mop. They may require frequent refills, but are ideal for homes that have hard floors and can't be easily cleaned by a vacuum.

These robots come with impressive technology, and cost a lot less than you would expect. You can find a quality one for less than $200, and it does a decent cleaning job on hard floors and can be scoured around the edges of carpets and rugs. The robot can be programmed to clean specific rooms on a regular schedule. It can also be controlled remotely using an app or by pressing buttons.