How to Find the Best Robot Vacuum

If you're willing to live without advanced features such as mapping, and aren't worried about emptying the garbage bin every 60 days or then, a basic robot vacuum is likely to work for you. Choose a model with an uncluttered base that can work with voice assistants.

It excels at picking up dirt, cat litter and pet hair on hardwood floors, tile and carpeting with less pile than any other vacuum we've tested. It can also map and set virtual no-go zones in rooms or best robot vacuum for pets areas.

1. Powerful Suction

A robot vacuum robot (Source) will stay clean of the pet hair, dust and dander that collects on your floors on a daily basis. It can also decrease the frequency of deep cleaning, which will save you time and effort. The best model has powerful suction that is able to clean up most mess and leave your home cleaner.

You can cover more area by using a robot vacuum as well as a mop, which can be useful if you have an extensive home. You can find a model that has a water tank in the chassis itself or as an additional piece that you can remove after vacuuming. It will have to be emptied and filled and refilled, which is an additional task to complete.

In ideal world, you'd clean your floors prior to using your robot vacuum to prevent it from crashing into objects. In the majority of homes, however it's not feasible or desirable. Thankfully, most models let you use your smartphone to create virtual barriers that the robot will detect and avoid. Certain models have no-go zones that you can mark areas you don't want the robot to access. For instance, a child's room or a pile of cords in an area.

If you're looking for a simple robot vacuum that doesn't have all the bells and whistles, this model from networking company TP-Link is a good choice. It's quiet, it is able to work on hard floors as well as carpets with low pile and can be programmed via the app to mop and vacuum at your leisure. It has a long battery life of around 180 minutes.

2. Easy to operate

In general, robot vacuums require very little input from you. They make use of sensors lasers, cameras, and sensors to move around and collect dust, pet hair, and food crumbs from hard floors, tile and hardwood. A lot of models come with boundary strips that allow them to remain in a room. The more expensive models can be programmed to get up at a particular time and begin cleaning. Some even come with fall detection technology that prevents falling down stairs or becoming caught in electrical cords.

If you're looking to control your robot vacuum from the comfort of a couch, look for models that can work with voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. You can also look for models that connect to Wi-Fi and allow you to start cleaning sessions from anywhere using an app. Depending on how big your home is, you may prefer an item with a long battery life and a spacious dust bin that doesn't have to be emptying frequently.

Certain robot vacuums are also mops. They use water reservoirs to wash the floor. This is useful for regular mopping but won't work for tough messes like pet poop, or other spills that get wet. There are hybrids that have a removable microfiber pad that can be used for mopping, or opt for a self-emptying model that lets you go for 30 to 60 days without having to empty the base.

3. Smart Mapping

Certain robots employ advanced mapping technology to create an accurate map of your floorplan while they clean and tidy, allowing them to avoid crashing into furniture or falling over things like cords or chair legs. This feature is typically only available on higher-end models, but it's certainly one of the best ways to make sure your robot vacuum mops has a complete understanding of the layout of your house and can determine where to go when it's running out of battery.

If you don't want your robot to venture into areas of your home you'd prefer it to stay clear from (like your kids' toys or the tangled mess of device cords in the corner), most robots offer some method of creating virtual barriers, either via their apps or physical boundary strips. You can block off areas that you don't wish your robot to enter in order to concentrate on rooms that require the most attention.

Many robots can also automatically navigate to different floors depending on the flooring they're cleaning, be it that's changing between hard flooring and carpet or focusing on particular areas of your home, such as baseboards and corners. In our tests it was a great feature that improved their scores on picking up carpeting made of low-pile or hardwood. It's important to tuck away any loose cords or furniture prior to using your robot vacuum, to ensure that it doesn't get caught.

4. Remote Control

Most robot vacuums have WiFi capabilities and can be controlled using voice commands, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa or Siri Shortcuts. Many robot vacuums connect to smart home systems and generate a map of the space they clean after each session. This allows them to "learn" the way your home is laid out, and then plan more efficient routes during future cleaning sessions. Certain models have obstacle avoidance built in, which prevents them from causing damage to furniture and getting stuck on things like loose charging cables or pet hair.

Most robots come with a remote you can use to pilot them around your home. However, the majority of them can be controlled with an app on your mobile that comes with additional options. You can set up multiple cleaning schedules and create an agenda of your most-loved rooms. You can also manually guide the robot by using direction arrows.

Some models provide no-go zones that are virtual barriers you can configure in the app to stop the robot from entering certain areas (like kids' toys or dog bowls and beds). Some apps allow you to draw an outline of your home and provide more detailed information about the floors. The app on our top choice one, the Roborock S7+, has a lot of useful options to help you tidy your home, however its interface isn't as polished as those from iRobot and Shark.

5. Long Battery Life

Robot vacuums that can clean your entire house without stopping to recharge or emptying their trash bins save time and effort. Certain robot vacuums can work with smart home platforms such as Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri Shortcuts to allow hands-free operation. They can also build a map of your living space, allowing you to program them to clean specific areas or rooms and beware of obstacles.

Most robot vacs have some degree of object detection however, higher-end models such as the iRobot J7 have advanced features like "home mapping" and advanced obstacle avoidance that will simplify your life (although our test bot did "eat" the socks of a pair). socks). If you're looking to improve your home maintenance, think about an automated mop that comes with water containers that you can fill and empty.

While no of the models we tested could compete with the dirt-picking power of a stand-up vacuum they did an excellent job cleaning hard floors and carpets with low pile. They are great at sweeping up fine dust and debris, food particles, dirt tracked in and pet hair. They can even tackle some stray cat litter and metal screws and nuts. The most effective robot vacuums are able to remove dirt from edges and corners and can even work on furniture. For an affordable model that can work on its own and is comparatively inexpensive, check out the Eufy 11S.

6. Convenient Self-Charging

A robot vacuum will help keep your home clean and tidy without doing much work. You can schedule cleanings through the app and set up zones that are not allowed to enter so that your robot doesn't damage your plants or ruin your favorite chair. Many of our top picks will empty their dustbins for you and clean their docking station.

The most effective robot vacuums can be programmed to clean your floors on a regular basis for months or even weeks at a time, removing you from the time-consuming task of manually cleaning your floors on a weekly or daily basis. This lets you spend more time doing things you like and reduces the amount of time required to clean your floors manually.

In the course of testing, the Q Revo was able to grab tiny particles such as oatmeal and baking soda as well as heavier debris such nails and screws made of metal and even fluffy matter such as hair of pets. It doesn't have the smart mapping and object avoidance features found in our top picks, however it's adequate for the majority of families.

The most impressive feature of the j7 is its ability to recognize and avoid obstacles such as power cords and socks, shoes, and pet waste. This means that you don't need to clean up after using your robot. However, messy rooms could cause your robot to get stuck and do an inadequate job.