What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A good robot vacuum can assist you in keeping track of pet hair, lint and dust on a daily basis. Many use apps that allow you to schedule cleaning times and set virtual boundaries or 'walls' to keep them away from areas you don't want cleaned.

This smart vac-mop creates the map of your home with its initial run. It then remembers the space to be used for cleaning tasks in the future. It has a self-cleaning brush roll and an large dust bin that is empty automatically.

Object Detection

When choosing a robot vacuum, look for one that can take in big items, such as lamp cords and toys, as well as dust particles. This will help ensure they don't get caught in the roller brush and aren't left on your floors. This is especially crucial if the robot will be regularly cleaned by pets or children.

A model with an efficient engine and plenty of suction is also an excellent choice. This will help it to be more efficient in eliminating dust, pet hair and lint from carpets as well as hardwood flooring.

The size of your house is another important consideration. If you live in a big home, you may prefer one with multiple cleaning zones that cover the entire house in one go. Some models also come with mopping capabilities, which can be used to keep your floors looking fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums are durable but they need to be maintained and cleaned regularly. Cleaning the rotating brushes regularly and emptying your dust bin, and wiping your sensors will keep your robot working efficiently for many years. Many of the owners of robot vacuums that we have spoken with have had the same model for a decade or more (and replaced brushes, motors and batteries in the process).

A basic robot is much less costly than a larger vacuum cleaner. They'll still perform a great job of cleaning the surface of dirt pet fur, lint and other debris. You can use them to sweep your floors several times per day. However, they don't have as advanced technology, and could be susceptible to becoming stuck or needing human intervention.

Object Avoidance

The most effective robot vacuums utilize sensors, lasers, or cameras to help them navigate your home without falling off or getting stuck on the stairs. They are also able to avoid obstacles such as cords and furniture legs and some models can automatically return to their base or dock when they run low on power. The most expensive models usually have mapping capabilities that allow them to remember the layout of your home and spend less time hitting walls.

If you don't want spend the money on the most sophisticated robotic vacuums, you can find one that is capable of picking up pet hair dirt, dust, and debris from floors that are hard like wood and tile and low-pile carpets. They can also take care of larger debris such as nails with rusty screws, metal screws or even toys that have been discarded. Some even come with an auto-emptying base which is helpful for those who don't want to empty the dustbin after every clean-up.

Some robotic vacuums have clever features, which make the standard stick vacuum look quaint. These include zones-targeting, schedules, and the ability to control them via an app or voice assistant, like Alexa. You can also design cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas you don't want robots to access.

Certain robotic vacuums like the Eufy 11S and my former top choice, the Roborock S8, have obstacle avoidance technology that stops them from derailing by running into furniture or getting caught in cords. Some robot vacuums, like the iRobot Roomba j7+ have more advanced AI obstacle-avoidance technology which uses a camera, processors and smarts to avoid items like lamp cords and pet waste. It's more expensive than other bots I've tested, however, [empty] it did a great job of avoiding obstacles in my home. It also didn't get stuck or tangled when I was working on my floors.

While the iRobot j7+ was a good obstacle avoidance robot but it wasn't always able to do an excellent job of removing dirt and crumbs off my rugs. It also had a tendency to over-vacuum certain areas, which resulted in dust accumulation in the filters and an unclean house.

Smart Mapping

Some of the best robots vacuums include an app that lets you customize cleaning modes, create schedules, and view a map of the area covered by the machine. This is an extremely useful feature that some competitors don't have. It is easy to create profiles that will automatically start your robot at specified times and keep it running on an ongoing basis, such as cleaning your living room prior to dinner or every other day.

A good app can allow you to control your robot using voice commands. Certain models can be controlled by Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant and can work completely hands-free. You can say "start cleaning" or "change cleaning mode" without having to use the app.

To enjoy a hands-free and effortless experience, look for an option with a big dust bin that can hold several cleaning sessions before having to be emptied. You can also find models that self-empty, which takes some of the burden of emptying the machine after each vacuuming run.

If you're looking for a machine that is more than simply vacuum, you'll need to consider a model that can mop floors. These are usually bigger than robotic vacuums and have a water tank inside that can hold multiple cleaning sessions worth of dirt and debris before having to be empty.

Robots that are more sophisticated can create their own maps and remember the arrangement of your home from one cleaning session to the next, preventing them from getting lost or stuck. This can make a huge difference in how efficiently your robot vacuums, as it won't have to spend time returning to the beginning of the room whenever it comes into contact with walls or furniture.

Our testers who used a robot with this capability found it to be extremely efficient, and could easily sit back and watch TV or perform other chores while the robot cleaned. Some of these models use laser navigation, and can create an exact map of your entire house, which means you can program them to clean just the bedroom after dinner or every room in the house when you're at work.

App Control

It is best robot vacuum mop combo to select one that comes with a mobile application if you want to customize the frequency of cleaning and select cleaning mode. You can also see the status of the vacuum and the condition of its dust bin within the app. Some of the most effective robot vacuums can be controlled via voice with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri Shortcuts.

It is easy to maintain a robot with the ability to wash the filter and a self-emptying container, especially when the filter can be easily removed and rinsed. Another excellent feature is a powerful brush that gets into corners and along baseboards, making it easier to clean up hair and dirt. Some robots are better at avoiding chair legs than others, and some also have an auto-cleaning sensor that helps prevent the obstruction of brushes that may happen in other machines.

Certain robo-vacs utilize navigation tools that allow them to understand your home and get around obstacles. High-end models are equipped with sensors and cameras that detect obstacles like furniture, stairs and cords. On the other hand, less expensive models often use boundary strips that you put on the floor to mark off areas where you don't want it to enter. Object avoidance can be especially useful for families with young kids who scatter socks and toys all over the home. This allows your robot to collect the items instead of scattering.

We're beginning to see more robots that have mops, which are useful for those who have hard floors and require to mop them regularly. They have a water reservoir that is built into their chassis or as a separate piece you swap in when they're ready to mop. They might need to be refilled more often than other types of robots, but they're great for homes with floors made of wood that can't be easily cleaned using a vacuum.

We've seen some amazing technology incorporated into these tiny robots, and they're a lot cheaper than you expect. You can get a good one under $200, which does a decent cleaning job on hard floors while navigating around the edges of carpets and area carpets. The robot can be programmed to clean a particular room on a regular schedule. It can be controlled remotely through an app or by pressing buttons.