What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A good robot vacuum can keep you on top 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, or "walls" to keep them away from areas you don't want cleaned.

This smart vac-mop makes a map of your home's layout with its initial run. It then saves the space to help you with future cleaning tasks. It comes with a huge dust bin that automatically emptys, as well as a self-cleaning, brush roll.

Object Detection

When choosing a robot vacuum cleaner, choose one that can clean up large items like lamp cords and toys as well as fine dust. This will help ensure they don't become entangled by the roller brush and aren't left on your floors. This is especially crucial if the robot will be cleaned regularly by pets or children.

A model with a powerful engine and lots of suction is also a good option. This will make it more effective in removing pet hair, dust and lint off your carpets and hardwood floors.

Another crucial aspect to consider is the size of your room. If you have a large house you might want to select one that has multiple cleaning zones, so you can clean your entire house in one session. Some models also come with mopping functions that can be used to keep your floors looking fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums can last a long time however, they must be maintained and cleaned regularly. Cleaning the rotating brushes and emptying the dust container and wiping down the sensors regularly will ensure that your robot is functioning efficiently for many years to come. Many of the owners of robot vacuums who we talk to have owned their machines for 10 years or more (and have replaced motors, brushes, and batteries along with time).

A basic robot is much less expensive than a large vacuum cleaner. They'll still perform a great job of cleaning the surface of dirt as well as pet fur and lint. They're a great maintenance cleaner that you can distribute several times a week to keep your floors tidy. They don't have as much technology and are more prone to getting jammed or robot vacuum for Carpet needing manual intervention.

Object Avoidance

The best robot vacs use sensors, lasers or cameras to guide them around your home without falling off or getting stuck on the stairs. They can also stay clear of obstacles such as furniture legs and cords, and some models can automatically return to their base or dock when they run low on energy. The most expensive models usually come with mapping capabilities that permit them to learn the arrangement of your home, and lessen the time you spend running into walls.

You don't have to spend lots of money on the most expensive robotic vacuums. You can still find models that do a great job of picking up pet hair and dirt from hard surfaces such as tile, wood, and low-pile rugs. They can also handle larger debris such as metal screws, rusty nails or discarded toys. Some come with an automatic base that drains itself, which is a great feature if you do not want to empty it at the end of each cleaning session.

Many robotic vacuums also come with advanced features that make your regular stick vacuum appear ancient, including schedules, zone targeting and the ability to control them via an app or voice assistant like Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and 'virtual walls to block off areas where you don't want the robot to enter.

Some robotic vacs like 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 getting caught in cords. Certain robot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+ have more advanced AI obstacle-avoidance technology that uses sensors, cameras and algorithms to stay clear of items such as lamp cords and pet waste. It's more expensive than the other bots I've tested, however, it did a great job of avoiding obstacles within my home and rarely got stuck or tangled when I was cleaning my floors.

The iRobot J7+ was a fantastic obstacle avoidance robot, but it did not always succeed at avoiding dirt or crumbs on my carpets. It also had a tendency to over-vacuum specific areas, leading to a lot of dust in the filters and a less tidy house.

Smart Mapping

The best robot vacuums come with an app that lets you customize cleaning modes, create schedules, and see an image of the area covered by the machine. This is an extremely useful feature that some competitors do not have. This lets you create profiles that will automatically start the robot at certain times and continue to run continuously. For example, Robot Vacuum For Carpet it could be cleaning the living area every day or before dinner.

A good app will allow you to control your robot via voice commands. Some models support 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 hold many cleaning sessions before needing to be emptied. There are models that self-empty, eliminating the requirement to empty the machine after each vacuuming session.

If you're looking to purchase a robot that can do more than vacuum, think about a model with a mopping function. These are typically larger than robotic vacuums and come with an internal water tank that can hold several cleaning sessions worth of dirt and other debris prior to needing to be emptied.

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

Our test participants who utilized robots with this feature found it to be very efficient, and they could watch TV or do other chores while the robot cleaned. Some models employ laser navigation and can make an exact map of your house, which means you can program them to clean just the bedroom after dinner, or every room in the house when you're at work.

App Control

If you want to customize the frequency at which the robot cleans your home and select a cleaning option it is recommended to purchase one that works with an app that can be downloaded on mobile. You can also check the status of the vacuum and the state of its dust bin in the app. Some of the best robot vacuum and mop combo robot vacuums are controlled via voice with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri Shortcuts.

It is easy to maintain a robot equipped with the ability to wash the filter and a self-emptying bin, particularly 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 dirt and hair. Some robots are better in avoiding the chair's legs than others, and some have self-cleaning sensors that can prevent the clogging of brushes that can happen in other robots.

Some robot vacuums come with navigation tools that help them navigate around obstacles and learn your home. The most expensive models employ sensors and cameras to identify obstacles such as stairs, furniture and cords. The cheaper models could use boundaries to mark areas you don't want to see it go. Object avoidance is especially important for families with young children who have toys and socks scattered throughout the house, since it helps your robot vacuum for carpet nab these items instead of scattering them.

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

These robots come with some impressive technology, and they are priced significantly less than you would expect. In fact, you can get a good one for under $200 that does a good job of getting rid of pet hair and crumbs from hard floors, while traversing the edges of lightweight carpets or area 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.