Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner
While robot vacuums are great in keeping your floors spotless, they can't substitute for a larger vacuum. Even the most advanced robots have difficulty getting deep into carpets and rugs, and they can get tangled in cords and socks.
Maintaining a regular schedule of maintenance (replacing filters cutting hair tangled from brushes and emptying the dust bin) will make your robot last longer.
Battery Life
The majority of robot vacuums are able to handle a couple of cleaning sessions without having to be charged. The Ecovacs Q30S Combo is a close second in our top choices. It has a battery that can last up to 180 minute (3,230 square foot) on one charge. This should be more than enough for most small homes with the combination of hard floors and low pile carpets or larger homes where the rooms are about the same size.
A longer battery life means that the robot will spend more time cleaning, and less time charging on its dock. You should choose one with an Automatic floor cleaner emptying bin. These models are more efficient in picking up debris and returning to docks to recharge. It is essential to clean or replace the filters and clean the sensors and the camera regularly so they can see clearly.
Smart mapping technology is a beneficial feature, as it allows you to program your robot to ensure that it only cleans specific rooms or avoids areas where it is likely to bump into furniture or other obstacles. It's also helpful for ensuring your robot is able to go under and around sofas, beds and other tall furniture. Some robovacs are inexpensive and come with boundary strips that you can use to block off specific areas. Other high-end models depend on sensors and cameras.
Even the best robot vacuums can't replace a traditional vacuum when it comes to heavy-duty dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a conventional power vac on standby for these tasks and to schedule robot vacuums regularly for cleaning up light chores throughout the week.
Navigation
A robot should be able of traveling around your home and not getting caught or running into things such as metal screws or pet hair, or sand. In our tests, we use an instrument to track the robot as it goes through a multiroom lab and shows its surroundings. We also check how well the robot is able to avoid obstacles such as power cords, furniture leg and pet waste.
The most advanced robots can map out multiple floors, and recognize landmarks like doors and windows. The most advanced models, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, come with a dual-sensor navigation device that uses a LIDAR sensor to map the room, and a lighting camera in front of the robot to detect objects in real time. The S8 can avoid obstacles such as power cords and legs of furniture. It can also store up to four floor maps.
The most affordable models rely on bump sensors which are not as accurate. In my tests they were able to detect dog poop through cords, as well as a pair shoes placed in the middle. The most cost-effective choice, the Dreametech D10+, is an exception to this. It is a great carpet and hard floor pickup, great hair and tangle pickup and an auto empty score.
A large onboard dustbin that doesn't need to be manually empty is another feature that's important. For models that mop the floor, this tank will hold enough water to last for several weeks of cleaning sessions. Karcher's RCV 5 is a great example of this. It has a large enough footprint to be able to be placed under furniture, but not so large that it can't fit into the space between your toilet and tub.
Apps
Robot vacuums are a lot like upright vacuums and require lots of technology to get them up to speed. The result is a pretty mature market that is brimming with options. Even the best models require interaction from their users, especially when it comes time to plan cleaning schedules, design the floor plan of your home and install virtual barriers.
To reduce the impact of this kind of interaction, look for a model that uses its own app to recognize the location of your home, and save these settings for the future. This will let the robot vacuum begin where it left off in subsequent runs, instead of having to restart the mapping process each time.
It's also worth keeping an eye out for a model that has zones or spot cleaning modes. These allow you to tell the robot vacuum to concentrate on a specific area for example, like under the dining room table after an enormous family meal. You can usually choose to do this via the app or via voice commands.
Many models also offer object avoidance. It allows the robot, when it comes across something in its way such as a box shoes or a crate containing dog toys, to guide itself around. This will stop it from crashing into objects that could damage its sensors or cause jams.
Some of the more expensive models we tested include this feature. They depend on bump sensor technology for this however they did not always keep things out of my test home.
Pet Hair
Choose the best vacuum cleaner designed to pick up pet hair. The top models feature powerful suction capabilities and a brush that prevents the tangling and an emptying mechanism that can automatically empty hair into the bin when necessary. Some are also able to detect dirt levels and adjust the intensity of cleaning according to the amount of dirt. They are able to detect items that aren't part of the flooring in your home like furniture and toys, food bowls, cords, and more.
Some robot vacuums include pet-friendly features, like small water dispensers that can be used to mop floors and a HEPA filter that can help reduce allergens such as pet dust. They might also have an operation that is quieter to reduce the amount noise that is generated during cleaning.
Robot vacuums that have mapping capabilities are a great option for pet owners. They're designed to assess your home and develop an attack plan based upon the arrangement of each room and obstacles. Shark Matrix Plus is a two-in-one robot vacuum that can map a room, and navigate through furniture, and over other obstacles using accelerometer and Gyroscope smart sensors.
Other advanced models let you create no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is supposed to avoid--like fragile items or pet feeding spots. You can adjust these settings through an app. This feature is especially beneficial for families with busy schedules, since you can schedule cleaning times without needing to be in the room in which the vacuum is. Another excellent feature is spot cleaning which gives you the option to use the vacuum to clean a particular area that is dirty or brimming with pet hair.
Dust Bin
If you don't need something small, consider a robot with a large bin, or even a self-emptying bin. We recommend choosing one with an enormous bin, or even a dustbin that automatically emptys. The former will allow you to keep up with emptying your bin often enough to ensure its efficiency. The second will save you time and effort by automatically emptying the contents into an internal container each time you clean it.
Look for models with smart mapping capabilities that permit them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes. They also can detect and avoid objects that may hinder their routes (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Look for models with smart mapping capabilities that allow them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes, as well as ones that can sense and avoid objects that could hinder their routes (like shoelaces or the tangled charging cables).
Some models also offer spot cleaning, which lets you to manually target a particular area of your home for thorough cleaning. We've found that most of the top performers in our tests are able to take in fine particles such as baking soda and sand, together with larger debris such as oatmeal orzo pasta screws and pet hair.
Depending on the brand, most robots will last for years and will continue to perform well in the event that you are on top of maintenance, such as cleaning hair that has become tangled from brushes and emptying the dust bin after each use, and wiping down cameras and sensors whenever required. The most efficient robots tend to be more modular which makes them simpler and less costly to repair or replace components such as wheels and batteries when they wear out.