What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A robot vacuum can help keep you on top of pet hair and lint on regular basis. Many robot vacuums have applications that allow you to schedule cleaning sessions. You can also set virtual boundaries or "walls," to ensure that the vacuum stays away from areas you don't wish to be cleaned.

This smart vac-mop makes 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 empty automatically.

Object Detection

When you are choosing a robotic vacuum, make sure you choose one that can take in large objects, such as toys and lamp cords, and also dust particles. This will ensure that they don't get snarled by the roller brush and don't end up on your floors. This is especially important for those who have children or pets and may need to clean the robot regularly.

A model that has an efficient engine and plenty of suction is also an excellent choice. This will allow it to be more effective in eliminating dust, pet hair, and lint off carpets and hardwood floors.

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

Robot vacuums can last for a long time however they'll need to be cleaned regularly and affordable properly. Cleaning the rotating brushes regularly and emptying your dust bin, and wiping your sensors will keep your robot working efficiently for many years. Many 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 as they went along).

A basic robot is much less expensive than a full size vacuum cleaner. They will still perform a great job of cleaning surface dirt pet fur, lint and other debris. They're a great maintenance cleaner that you can use several times a week to keep your floor free of dirt. They don't have as much technology and are more susceptible to getting jammed or needing manual intervention.

Object Avoidance

The best robot vacuum 2022 robot vacs use sensors, lasers or cameras to guide them around your home without getting stuck or falling down the stairs. They can also stay clear of obstacles such as cords and furniture legs, and some models will automatically return to their base or dock when they run low on energy. The ones that are more expensive usually have mapping capabilities that allow them to remember the arrangement of your home, and reduce the amount of time you're hitting walls.

If you don't want spend a lot of money on the latest robotic vacuums, you can find a model that does an excellent job of removing pet hair dirt, dust, and debris from floors that are hard like wood and tile and carpets with a low pile. They can also do a decent job of handling larger debris like metal screws, rusty staples or discarded toys. Some models come with a base that automatically empties itself, which is a great feature when you don't need to empty it every cleaning session.

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

Some robotic vacuums, such as the Eufy 11S or my former top choice, Roborock S8, come with obstacle avoidance technology to prevent them from tripping over furniture or cords. Certain robot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+ have more advanced AI obstacle avoidance technology that makes use of sensors, cameras and smarts to avoid items like lamp cords and pet waste. It's a little more expensive than the other bots I've tried, however it does a fantastic job of avoiding obstacles and never is stuck or derails when working on my floor.

The J7+ from iRobot was a great obstacle-avoiding robot, affordable but it did not always succeed at avoiding dirt or crumbs on my rugs. It also had a tendency to over-vacuum areas, resulting in an abundance of dust in the filter and a less-clean house.

Smart Mapping

The best robot vacuums have an app that can help you customize cleaning modes, set schedules and see a map of your area of floor that the machine covers. This is an extremely useful feature that many competitors do not have. It is easy to create profiles that will automatically start your robot at specific time intervals and run it on regularly, for example, cleaning your living room prior to dinner or every other day.

A good app can allow you to control your robot with voice commands. Certain models can be controlled by Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant and can work entirely hands-free, meaning you can say "start with a clean" or "change cleaning mode" without the need for an app.

Look for a model that has a large dustbin. This will allow you to do numerous cleaning sessions without having empty it. There are models that self-empty which takes a portion of the labor out of emptying the machine after each vacuuming run.

If you're looking for a robot that can do more than vacuum, think about one that has mopping functions. They are typically larger than robotic vacuums and come with a water tank which can hold several cleaning sessions' worth of dust and dirt before having to be emptied.

Robots that are more advanced can create their own maps and keep track of the plan of your house from one cleaning session to the next, preventing them from getting lost or stuck. This can make a significant difference in the efficiency of your robot vacuums because it won't have to spend time returning to the beginning of the room if it comes into contact with walls or furniture.

Our test subjects found that robots that had this feature were extremely efficient. They could sit and watch TV or complete other things while the robot was cleaning. Some of these models utilize laser navigation and can create an exact map of your entire home, meaning you can program them to clean only the bedroom after dinner, or every room in the house when you're at work.

App Control

It is recommended to select a robot that has an app that is mobile if you want to customize the frequency of cleaning and choose a cleaning mode. You can also view the status of the vacuum and the condition of its dust bin in the app. Some of the top robot vacuums are operated by voice using Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri Shortcuts.

A robot that self-empties a bin and washable filters is easy to keep clean, especially when you are able to access the filter and take it off it to wash it. A powerful brush is another great feature that can reach into corners and along baseboards to get rid of dirt and hair. Some robots are more adept in avoiding chair leg splinters than others. Some have an automatic cleaning system that cleans brushes to avoid the clogging.

Certain robo-vacs come with navigational tools that help them navigate around obstacles and learn your home. The top models utilize sensors and cameras to recognize obstacles such as furniture, stairs and cords. The cheaper models could utilize boundary strips to mark areas you don't want it to go. Object avoidance is especially important for families with children who throw socks and toys scattered across the house, since it assists your robot in capturing these objects instead of scattering them.

Robots are increasingly equipped with mops. This is useful for those with floors that are hard and need to mop frequently. They have a reservoir of water built into their chassis or as a separate piece you can swap in when ready to mop. They might need to be filled more frequently than other kinds of robots, however they're great for homes with hard floors that can't be easily cleaned using a vacuum.

These robots are packed with impressive technology, and they cost a lot less than you'd think. In fact, you can find an affordable model for less than $200 that does a good job of getting rid of pet hair and crumbs off hard floors while also moving around the edges of light carpets or area rug. The robot can be programmed to vacuum specific rooms at regular intervals. It can also be controlled remotely using an app or by pressing buttons.