Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuums can be great to keep your floors clean but they are not a substitute for a regular vacuum. Even the most powerful robots struggle to get deep into carpets and rugs. They also often get tangled in cords and socks.
Your robot will last longer if you perform routine maintenance. This includes replacing filters, cutting the tangled hairs from brushes, and emptying the dust bin.
Battery Life
Most robot vacuums are able to handle a few cleaning sessions without having to be charged. The Ecovacs Q30S Combo is a close second in our top picks. It has batteries that last up to 180 minute (3,230 square foot) on one charge. That amount of runtime is more than enough to clean smaller homes with a mix of hard floors and carpets with low pile or a larger house in which the rooms are about the same size.
A longer battery life means the robot will be able to spend less time charging and spend more time cleaning. It's worth opting for a model with a self-emptying dust bin, since those models are more efficient in cleaning up debris and returning to the dock for charging. It's also important to empty or change the filter and wipe down cameras and sensors on a regular basis so they are able to see your home clearly.
Smart mapping technology is a useful feature to look for, as it allows you to program your robot to only clean certain rooms or avoid areas that it's likely to bump into furniture or other obstacles. This feature is also helpful for ensuring that your robot can reach under and around furniture, such as beds, sofas and other large objects. A few robovacs are cheap and have boundaries that you can put on the floor to block off areas while others utilize sensors and cameras to achieve this goal.
Even the most powerful robot vacuums aren't able to substitute a traditional vac for heavy-duty dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a power vacuum on hand to tackle these tasks, and also schedule robot vacs to do light cleaning throughout the week.
Navigation
A robot should be capable of moving around your home without getting caught or crashing into things such as metal screws or pet hair, or sand. In our tests, a tracking device is used to follow the robot around a multi-room lab. It then maps its surroundings. We also check how well it avoids obstacles like power cords, furniture legs and pet waste.
The best robots can map out different floors and recognize landmarks such as doors and windows. The most advanced robots like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra have a dual sensor navigation system which utilizes an LIDAR to map out a room and a structured-light camera on the front to spot objects in real-time. This lets the S8 to avoid common obstacles such as furniture legs and power cords and can store up to four different floor maps in its internal memory.
The more affordable models don't have this kind of object detection and rely on bump sensors, which aren't as accurate. In smart robot , they plowed right through cords, dog poop and even a pair of shoes placed in the middle of the room. The most affordable choice the Dreametech D10+, is an exception to this. It is a great carpet and hard floor pickup, good hair and tangle pickup, and an auto empty score.
A large onboard dustbin which does not need to be empty manually, is also a feature that's important. If you have models that mop the floor, this water tank can provide enough water for several weeks of cleaning sessions. The Karcher RCV 5 has this and a big enough footprint to be tucked away under furniture however, it's not so huge that it can't fit into the space between your bathtub and toilet.
Apps
Robot vacuums are similar to their upright counterparts and require lots of technology to keep them up to date. There are many alternatives available in a marketplace that is mature. Even the best models require interaction from their users, especially when it comes time to schedule cleaning, make a a floor plan for your home and install virtual barriers.
Think about a model that has its own app that can determine the layout of your house and save the settings for future use. This will let the robot vacuum begin where it left off on subsequent runs, without having to start the mapping process each time.
It's important to look out for a model that offers zones or spot cleaning modes. They let you tell the robot vacuum to focus on a specific spot for example, like under the dining table after an enormous family meal. It is possible to do this using the app or via voice commands.
A lot of models also offer objects-avoidance. It allows the robot to see something in its path, such as a box of shoes or a crate filled with dog toys, and guide itself around it. This will keep it from running into things that could harm its sensors or cause a jam.
This feature is available on some of the more expensive models we tested. They depend on bump sensor technology to do this however they weren't always able to keep things out of my test home.
Pet Hair
When you're looking to remove pet hair, choose a model that's designed specifically to handle this kind of debris. The best models will have the highest suction, a brush which prevents tangling and an automatic emptying mechanism. Some models can also determine dirt levels and adjust the intensity of cleaning accordingly. They can also detect objects that aren't part your home flooring, like furniture, toys, and food bowls.
Some robot vacuums include additional features that are pet-friendly. They include a water dispenser that is used to mop floors and an HEPA filtration system that reduces allergens like pet dander. They may also have an operation that is quieter to cut down on the amount of noise that is generated during cleaning.
Robot vacuums that have the ability to map are a great option for pet owners. They're designed to assess your home, and create an attack plan based on the layout of each room as well as obstacles. For example, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Vacuum is a smart vacuum that has the impressive capability to map a room and navigate around furniture and other obstacles using accelerometer and gyroscope sensors that work together to learn the layout of your home.
Apps let you establish zones that are not allowed. These are areas where the robot shouldn't be allowed, such as fragile objects or pet feeding areas. This feature is especially useful for a busy household as it permits you to plan your cleaning schedule and make adjustments without having be in the same room as the vacuum. Another feature that is extremely useful is spot cleaning which lets you control the vacuum to clean a particular area that may be particularly dirty or brimming with pet hair.
Dust Bin
If you don't want anything small, consider a robot with a big bin or even a self-emptying bin. We recommend choosing a model that has a large bin, or even a dustbin that self-empties. The former will allow you to keep up with emptying the bin frequently enough to keep track of its performance while the latter will help you save time and hassle by automatically dumping its contents into an internal container every few cleans.
Whatever the size of your home the majority of robots are able to climb up and around furniture, and they can detect and navigate around household obstacles such as shoes, loose cords and dog urine. Look for models with smart mapping capabilities, which permit them to "learn" the patterns of your house and design more efficient routes, and models that detect and avoid objects that may hinder their routes (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables).
Some models also offer spot cleaning. This allows you to manually target an area of your home to be targeted for thorough cleaning. We've found that most of the top performers in our tests can pick up fine particles like sand and baking soda, as well as heavier debris like oatmeal orzo pasta screws and pet hair.
The brand you choose will determine the longevity of the robot. most robots can last for years and will remain in good working order so long as you keep up with maintenance tasks, such as cleaning hair that has become tangled from brushes, emptying the dust bin after every use, and cleaning cameras and sensors when needed. The top robots are more modular. This allows you to replace or repair parts like wheels and batteries when they wear out.