Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner
While robot vacuums are fantastic at keeping your floors clean, they can't replace a large-sized vacuum. Even the best robots aren't able to get deep into carpets and rugs and they may get caught in cords and socks.
Maintaining a regular schedule of maintenance (replacing filters cutting hair that is tangled from brushes and emptying the dust bin) can help your robot last longer.
Battery Life
Most robot vacuums can handle a few cleaning sessions before needing a charge. The Ecovacs Q30S Combo is the second-best of our top selections. It has batteries that last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) on one charge. That amount of runtime is more than enough time to clean the majority of smaller homes that have carpets that are hard and low-pile carpets or a bigger home where the rooms are roughly the same size.
A longer battery life means the robot can spend more time cleaning and less time charging on its dock. It is recommended to choose one with an automatic emptying bin. These models are more efficient at collecting debris and then returning back to the dock to recharge. It is important to clean or replace filters and wipe down the sensors and the camera on a regular schedule so they can be seen clearly.
Smart mapping technology is a great feature to look for, as it allows you to program your robot to clean specific rooms or areas where it's likely to crash into furniture or other obstacles. This feature is also helpful to ensure that your robot is able to get under and around furniture, such as beds, sofas and other tall items. A few robovacs are cheap and have boundaries that you can place on the floor to block off areas and other models with higher-end features use cameras and sensors to accomplish this.
Even the most powerful robot vacuums cannot replace a conventional vac when it comes heavy-duty dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a standard power vac in reserve to handle these chores and to schedule robot vacs regularly for light cleanups throughout the week.
Navigation
A robot should be able to navigate you home without getting stuck or crashing into objects like screws made of metal or loose pet hair or sand. In our tests, we employ a tracking device to follow the robot as it goes through a multiroom lab. It shows its surroundings. We also check how well the robot avoids obstacles such as power cords, furniture legs, and pet waste.
The best robots are able to map out multiple floors and can recognize landmarks such as doors and windows. The most advanced robots, such as 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 at the front to spot objects in real-time. This allows the S8 to stay clear of common obstacles such as power cords and furniture legs and can store up to four floor maps within its internal memory.
The more affordable models don't have this kind of object detection and rely on bump sensors which aren't as precise. In my testing they were able to rip through dog poop, cords, and even shoes that were placed in the middle of the room. The best value pick the Dreametech D10+, is one exception to this. It is a great carpet as well as a hard floor, tangle and hair pickup. It also has an auto empty score that is close to perfect.
A large dust bin onboard, which doesn't have to be emptying manually, is also a aspect that's crucial. For models that mop the floor, this water tank can hold enough water for several weeks of cleaning sessions. The Karcher RCV 5 has this, and a large enough footprint to be tucked away under furniture but not so big that it can't fit into the nook between your bathtub and toilet.
Apps
Robot vacuums are similar to their upright counterparts and require a lot of technology to keep them up-to-date. The result is a pretty mature market full of options. But even the best models require interaction with their users - especially when cleaning schedules are being planned and establishing a floor plan, and setting up virtual barriers.
You might consider a model with its own app that can determine the layout of your home and save these settings for future use. This will let the vacuum begin where it left off on subsequent runs, rather than having to restart the mapping process each time.
Also, consider models that offer zones or spot cleaning. You can tell the robot vacuum cleaner to focus on a specific area, such as under the table after a huge family meal. You can do this by using the app or by voice commands.
best robot vacuum offer objects avoidance. It lets the robot observe something in its path, like a box of shoes or a crate filled with dog toys, and then guide itself around it. This prevents it from running into things that could damage its sensors or cause jams.
This feature is available on some of the more expensive models we test. However, they tend to rely on bump sensors to accomplish this, and they weren't always able to avoid obstacles in my test homes.
Pet Hair
Find an upright vacuum cleaner designed to pick up pet hair. The best models have powerful suction capabilities and a brush that prevents tangling, and an emptying mechanism that will automatically empty hair into the bin when it is needed. Some models can detect levels of dirt and alter the level of cleaning. They can also detect objects that aren't a part of your flooring like furniture and toys, food bowls, cords, and more.
Certain robot vacuums come with pet-friendly features, such as a small water dispenser that can be used for mopping floors and a HEPA filter that can help reduce allergens like pet dander. They could also feature a quieter mode of operation to minimize the amount of noise generated during cleaning sessions.
Robot vacuums with maps are a great option for pet owners, since they're engineered to assess your home and develop an action plan in accordance with the layout and the obstacles in every room. For example the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Vacuum is a smart vacuum with an impressive capability to map the room and navigate around furniture and other obstructions using gyroscope and accelerometer smart sensors that work together to learn the layout of your room.
Other models that are more advanced allow you to create no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is supposed to avoid, such as items that are fragile or pet feeding spots. You can adjust these settings via an app. This feature is especially useful for a busy household, as it allows you to plan your cleaning schedule and adjust settings without having to be in the same room with the vacuum. Spot cleaning is another fantastic feature. You can direct the vacuum cleaner to clean a space that is particularly filthy or stuffed with pet hair.
Dust Bin
If you don't want something small, go for a model with a large bin or even a self-emptying trash bin. We recommend picking a model that has a large bin or a bin that automatically emptys. The former will allow you to keep up with emptying your bin often enough to keep it functioning. The latter will help you save time and effort by automatically dumping the contents into an inner container every few cleanings.
Find models that have smart mapping capabilities that permit them to "learn" the layout of your house and plan more efficient routes. They also detect and avoid objects that could block their paths (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Consider models that have smart mapping capabilities that enable them to "learn" the layout of your home and devise more efficient routes, as well as ones that are able to detect and avoid objects that may hinder their routes (like shoelaces or the tangled charging cables).
Some models also offer spot cleaning. This lets you manually target an area of your home for thorough cleaning. We've observed that the majority of the top performers in our tests can remove fine particles such as sand and baking soda, as well as heavier debris like oatmeal orzo pasta, metal screws and pet hair.
According to the manufacturer the company, robots can last for years and continue to perform as well, so long as they're maintained. For example cleaning hair tangled of brushes and emptying dust bins after each use, and wiping sensors and cameras down as needed. The best-performing robots also tend to be more modular which makes them simpler and less costly to repair or replace components like batteries and wheels when they wear out.