Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuums are great to keep your floors clean but they cannot replace a regular vacuum. Even the most powerful robots struggle to get into carpets or rugs, and can often get caught 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 dustbin.
Battery Life
Most robot vacuums are capable of handling one or two cleaning sessions before needing a charge. The second-placed model in our overall picks, the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo is rated to last up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on one charge. This will be more than enough for homes that have a mixture of hard floors and low pile carpets or larger homes where the rooms are about the same size.
A longer battery life means the robot can spend more time cleaning and less charging its dock. You should choose the model with a self-emptying bin. These models are more efficient at cleaning up debris and bringing it to docks to recharge. It is also essential to empty or change the filter and clean cameras and sensors on a regular basis so they are able to see your home clearly.
Smart mapping technology can be a useful feature, as you can program your robot to ensure it only cleans certain rooms or avoids areas where it's likely to crash into furniture or other obstacles. Click To See More is also useful for ensuring that your robot is able to reach under and around furniture such as sofas, beds and other tall items. Some robovacs are inexpensive and come with boundary strips you can use to block off specific areas. Other high-end models rely on cameras and sensors.
Even the best robot vacuums can't replace a conventional vacuum when it comes to heavy-duty large-pile dirt and debris. It's recommended to have a power vacuum available for these chores and plan robot vacuums for light cleaning throughout the week.
Navigation
A robot should be able of traveling around your home and not being caught or running into objects like metal screws or pet hair, or sand. In our tests we used a tracking device used to track the robot through the multi-room lab. It then tracks its surroundings. We also test how the robot can avoid obstacles such as power cords, furniture legs and pet waste.
The most advanced robots are able to map out multiple floors and recognize landmarks like doors and windows. The most advanced robots, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra have a dual sensor navigation system which utilizes the LIDAR to map out a room and a structured-light camera mounted on the front to detect objects in real-time. This allows the S8 to stay clear of common obstacles, such as power cords and furniture legs and can also store up to four different floor maps within its internal memory.
The majority of the models that are affordable depend on bump sensors that aren't as precise. In my tests they were able detect dog poop through cords as well as a pair shoes placed in the middle. The most affordable choice the Dreametech D10+, is one exception to this. It has excellent carpet and hard floor pickup, great hair and tangle pickup, and an almost perfect auto empty score.
Another feature that is important is a huge onboard dustbin that doesn't require manually empty. It also has, for the models that mop, a water tank which can store weeks of cleaning sessions. Karcher's RCV 5 is an excellent illustration of this. It has a large enough footprint to fit under furniture but not so large that it is unable to fit into the nook between your toilet and bathtub.
Apps
Robot vacuums are similar to their upright counterparts and require an array of technologies to keep them up-to-date. The result is a pretty mature market that is brimming with options. Even the top models require interaction from their users particularly when it comes to schedule cleanings, create the floor plan of your home and install virtual barriers.
You might consider a model with its own app that can recognize the layout of your home and save the settings for future use. This will allow the robot vacuum to continue where it began on subsequent runs rather than having the mapping process restarted every time.
It's important to look out for a model that offers zones or spot cleaning modes. You can tell the robot vacuum cleaner to focus on an area, like under the table after a large family meal. You can choose to do this using the app or voice commands.
Many models also offer objects avoidance. It allows the robot to detect objects in its path, for instance the shoe box or a crate filled with dog toys, and then guide itself around it. This will stop it from hitting objects which could harm its sensors or cause jams.
This feature is offered on some of the more expensive models we tried. They rely on the technology of bump sensors for this, but they didn't always avoid things in my test home.
Pet Hair
When it comes to removing pet hair, you should choose a model that's designed specifically to handle this type of debris. The top models feature high suction power, a brush that avoids the tangling and an emptying mechanism that can automatically dump hair into the trash bin when it is needed. Some models are able to detect levels of dirt and adjust the intensity of cleaning. They also can detect items that aren't a part of your flooring in your home, such as furniture, toys, and food bowls.
Certain robot vacuums come with pet-friendly features, like a small water dispenser that can be used for mopping floors, and a HEPA filter that can reduce allergens, such as pet dander. They could also provide the option of a quieter operation, which will minimize the amount of noise generated during cleaning sessions.
Robot vacuums with maps are an excellent option for pet owners. They are designed to analyze your home, and create an attack plan based on the arrangement of each room and obstacles. Shark Matrix Plus is a dual-purpose robot vacuum that can map a room, and navigate around furniture and other obstacles by using accelerometers and gyroscope sensors.
Other advanced models allow you to set no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is expected to avoid, such as items that are fragile or pet feeding spots. You can adjust these settings via an app. This feature is especially beneficial for busy households, as you can schedule cleaning sessions without having to be in the room where the vacuum is. Another great feature is spot cleaning that gives you the option to direct the vacuum to clean a specific area that is dirty or brimming with pet hair.
Dust Bin
If you don't want anything small, consider a robot with a large bin, or even a self-emptying trash bin. We recommend picking a model that has an enormous bin or a trash bin that automatically emptys. The former will allow you to keep up with emptying your bin often enough to ensure its efficiency. The latter will help you save time and effort by automatically dumping the contents into an inside container each time you clean it.
Find models that have smart mapping capabilities, which enable them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes. They also can detect and avoid objects that could hinder their routes (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Find models with smart mapping capabilities, which allow them to "learn" the structure of your home and plan more efficient routes, as well as ones that are able to detect and avoid objects that could block their paths (like shoelaces or strangling charging cables).
Some models offer spot cleaning. This lets you select an area of your home to be targeted for intensive cleaning. We've observed that the majority of the top performers in our tests can take in fine particles such as baking soda and sand as well as heavier debris such as oatmeal, orzo pasta, metal screws, and pet hair.
According to the company, robots can last years and perform as well, so long as they're maintained. For instance, cleaning tangled hair out of brushes and emptying dust bins after each use, and wiping cameras and sensors down as required. The most reliable robots are more adaptable. This makes it easier to repair or replace parts such as wheels and batteries as they wear out.