Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner
While robot vacuums are excellent in keeping your floors clean, they can't substitute for a larger vacuum. Even the most advanced robots have difficulty getting deep into carpets and rugs and they can become tangled with cords and socks.
Maintaining a regular schedule of maintenance (replacing filters cutting hair that is tangled from brushes, and emptying the dust bin) will make your robot last longer.
Battery Life
Most robot vacuums are able to handle a couple of cleaning sessions without needing to be charged. The runner-up in our overall selections is the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo comes with a battery that is designed to last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on a single charge. This will be more than enough for the majority of small homes with carpets, hard floors and low pile carpets or larger homes with rooms that are about the same size.
A longer battery life also means that the robot is able to spend more time cleaning and less charging on its dock. It's a good idea to choose models that have a self-emptying dust bin, since these models are more efficient when it comes to collecting debris and returning to the dock for recharging. It is essential to clean or replace the filters and clean the sensors and the camera regularly so that they can see clearly.
Smart mapping technology can be a useful feature, as you can program your robot to ensure it only cleans certain rooms or stays clear of areas where it's likely to crash into furniture or other obstacles. This feature is also beneficial for ensuring that your robot is able to reach under and around furniture, such as sofas, beds and other high-height items. Some cheap robovacs offer boundaries that you can put on the floor to block off areas while other high-end models utilize sensors and cameras to accomplish this.
Even the most powerful robot vacuums cannot replace a traditional vacuum when it comes heavy-duty dirt and debris. It's wise to keep a traditional power vac in reserve for these tasks, and to schedule robot vacs regularly for light cleaning throughout the week.
Navigation
A robot should be able to navigate your home without getting stuck or crashing into objects such as metal screws or loose pet hair or sand. In our tests the tracking device is used to follow the robot around the multi-room lab. It then analyzes its surroundings. We also check how well the robot avoids obstacles such as power cords, furniture legs, and pet waste.
The most advanced robots can create different floors and recognize landmarks, such as doors and windows. The most advanced ones such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, have a dual-sensor navigation system which uses a LIDAR sensor to map out the room, and a light camera at the front of the robot to detect 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 floor maps within its internal memory.
The most affordable models rely on bump sensors which aren't as accurate. In my tests they were able to detect dog poop through cords as well as a pair of shoes placed in the middle. The Dreametech D10+ is the most value-for-money option. It has excellent carpet and hard floor, tangle, and hair pickup. It also has an auto empty score that is near-perfect.
A large onboard dustbin, which doesn't have to be manually empty, is also a aspect that's crucial. If you have models that mop the floor, this tank can provide enough water for several weeks of cleaning sessions. Karcher's RCV 5 is a great illustration of this. It has a wide enough footprint to fit under furniture but not so big that it cannot fit in the space between your toilet and tub.
Apps
Robot vacuums are a lot like their upright counterparts and require lots of technology to bring them up to speed. There are robot vacuum cleaner on sale in a market that is mature. But even the best models still require some interaction with their users - particularly when cleaning schedules are being planned and establishing a floor plan and setting up virtual barriers.
Think about a model that has its own app that can determine the layout of your house and save these settings for future use. This will let the robot vacuum start where it left off on subsequent runs, instead of having to start the mapping process each time.
It's also worth keeping an eye out for a vacuum that comes with spot or zone cleaning modes. These allow you to tell the robot vacuum to focus on a specific spot for example, like under the dining table after a big family meal. You can typically do this using the app or via voice commands.
Many models also offer objects avoidance. It allows the robot when it comes across objects in its path such as a box of shoes or a crate filled with dog toys, to guide itself around. This will stop it from running into objects which could harm its sensors or cause jams.
Some of the more expensive models in our tests come with this feature. They depend on the technology of bump sensors for this however they did not always stay clear of things I tested at home.
Pet Hair
Look for the best vacuum cleaner specifically designed to collect pet hair. The most effective models will feature the highest suction, a brush which stops tangling, and an automatic emptying mechanism. Some models can detect levels of dirt and adjust the intensity of cleaning. They can even spot items that aren't part of your flooring like furniture and toys, food bowls cords, and much more.
Some robot vacuums have extra pet-friendly features, like a small water dispenser that can be used for mopping floors, and a HEPA filter that helps reduce allergens, such as pet dust. They might also have a quieter mode of operation to reduce the amount noise produced during cleaning sessions.
Robot vacuums with the ability to map are a great option for pet owners, since they're engineered to assess your home and devise an action plan based on the layout and obstacles in each room. Shark Matrix Plus is a dual-purpose robot vacuum that can map a room, and navigate through furniture, and over other obstacles by using accelerometers and gyroscope smart sensors.
Apps allow you to establish zones that are not allowed. These are areas that the robot is not allowed, such as fragile items or pet feeding areas. This feature is especially useful for families with busy schedules, since you can schedule cleaning sessions without having to be in the space in which the vacuum is. Spot cleaning is another fantastic feature. You can use the vacuum cleaner to clean a space that is particularly dirty or stuffed with pet hair.
Dust Bin
If you're not searching for a small size it is recommended to select an item that can carry at least a complete bag of garbage from one cleaning session. We suggest choosing one with an enormous bin or a bin that automatically emptys. The former will enable you to keep track of cleaning the bin regularly enough to ensure you are on top of its performance, while the latter will save you time and hassle by automatically dumping its contents into an internal bin every few cleans.
Find models that have smart mapping capabilities, which allow them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes. They also can detect and avoid objects that could block their paths (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Make sure you choose models with intelligent mapping capabilities. This allows them to "learn the structure of your home and devise a an efficient route.
Certain models also offer spot cleaning, which lets you to manually target specific areas of your house for intensive cleaning. We've observed that the majority of the top performers in our tests are able to pick up fine particles like sand and baking soda, together with larger debris like oatmeal orzo pasta, metal screws, and pet hair.
Based on the manufacturer, most robots can last for years and will continue to perform well in the event that you are on top of maintenance, like cleaning out tangled hair from brushes and dust bins, emptying them after every use and wiping down sensors and cameras when required. The best robots are also more modular. This makes it easier to repair or replace parts such as wheels and batteries as they wear out.