The Best Robot Vacuums
A robot vacuum will do most of the cleaning work for you. It will remove pet hair, lint, and dirt from surfaces and furniture before they can get stuck. Many robot vacuums are compatible with smart assistants such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to give you a hands-free cleaning experience.
Many models have maps, which allows them to draw a map of your home. This can help them avoid falling off ledges or moving around clusters of devices if cords are.
What to Find
Some robots have advanced features that allow you to control them using voice assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant. These include smart mapping spot and zone cleaning and the ability to avoid objects. They may also have longer battery life and bigger dust collection bins.
Select a model with broad brushes that can remove large particles, and is thin enough to fit under furniture. Also check whether the robot vacuum is able to move across different flooring types without having to swap out brushes or change suction settings. This can reduce its cleaning effectiveness and shorten its life.
The top robot vacuums are equipped with high-quality filters to trap fine particles and protect your home. They also have an enormous accessible collection bin that allows you to empty it often. Certain robot vacuums come with an additional side brush to remove pet hair and debris from difficult-to-access places like under and behind furniture. The dustbins are usually transparent, allowing you to see the amount of dirt in the bin and when to empty it.
In addition to scheduling your robot vacuum for times when you're most likely to be at home, you can use the app to draw a boundary around your furniture and areas that you want it to avoid. Certain models also recognize the kind of floor and adjust their vacuum and brush settings accordingly.
There are robots that can recharge and continue cleaning where they left off when their battery is exhausted. And some have a built-in camera that lets you see your robot vacuum's route and even see what it's taken in.
Many robots also allow you to control them with your voice, however not all do so as easily as others. Make sure the model you choose is compatible with your voice assistant of preference, and then test how well it responds to various commands during the purchase process. Some robots are able to automatically empty their trash bins and clean their docking stations, which can reduce the chores you have to do a bit. This is a costly feature as is a larger storage container and a more rapid charging speeds.
Cleaning Performance
While robots cannot substitute for a full-on vacuum cleaner or broom, they can provide a practical and efficient alternative to the everyday chore of keeping floors clean. The best robotic cleaners can pick up small debris like pet hair, dust and crumbs, or bigger items such as metal shavings or wood shavings. They can do this without damaging the floor or furniture.
They will often register the type of floor they are cleaning and adjust their suction/brush settings according to the type of floor you have. This allows them to clean it more thoroughly. This is particularly important if you have a variety of flooring across your home. There are many models that offer many options for setting virtual boundaries, which allows you to instruct the robot to stay clear from certain areas of your home. This can help prevent your children or pets from getting into areas they shouldn't. It helps ensure that your house is cleaned at the end of each scheduled session.
It is also important to consider the amount of autonomy you're comfortable with giving your robot. Certain models require you be present and attentive, whereas others work on their own. They can alter cleaning schedules and cleaning modes using an app on mobile devices or by voice commands using an integrated smart assistant. Certain models map and understand your home's space, and let you create zones, and tell the robot to clean certain areas in your home on a daily or weekly basis.
In our tests, the iRobot j7+ proved to be the most effective robot to "set it and forget it". It was better in mapping, creating virtual borders and avoiding obstacles than any robots that vacuum and mop of the other robots that we test. It can also empty itself, so you don't need to do it manually. The side brushes are used to sweep debris from corners and edges which a vacuum can't reach.
Its slim profile and infrared sensors also allow it to get behind and under furniture for an even more thorough clean than most robots, while its advanced navigation system allows it to be more capable of cleaning the entire area of your home in one charge as compared to other devices we've tried. With its low cost you'll find it hard to beat in everyday use.
Battery Life
A robot vacuum can make cleaning your floors feel like less of a chore, and more like an indulgence. Fastly removing dirt, crumbs, and shed pet hair can make all the difference in how clean your home is every day. While a basic robot can keep up with most cleaning tasks, those seeking more of a hands-free experience should choose models that double as a mop.
The Ecovacs Deebot T10 OMNI is among the top models for both as it delivers excellent performance in both vacuuming and mop modes and can easily handle dirt debris, pet hair and even cat litter. Its ability to avoid objects is impressive. It allows it to avoid objects and avoid getting caught on them.
It also comes with a long battery life and a large dust bin which allows it to cover a decent amount of space in just one session. It's also smart vacuum, which means that it can create maps of your home and use apps, like the ones offered by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to allow you to control it using voice commands.
The app that comes with the robot is simple and simple to use it allows you to create schedules, assign rooms for cleaning, and to pause and resume your sessions. It will notify you when its battery is depleted and will return to the docking station for recharging.
The robot can also differentiate between hard floors and carpets, and adjust its settings in accordance with the type of flooring. This prevents the machine from becoming stuck on one type of floor and accidentally tearing your furniture. It is not able to detect seams or carpeting with high pile in rooms, so it is crucial to be aware when grabbing large objects.
All robot vacuums require a certain degree of maintenance, such as getting rid of hair from brushes, emptying (and sometimes rinsing) the trash bin after each cleaning session, and wiping down sensors or cameras between uses to ensure they are in good condition. The manufacturer will offer specific guidelines for these and other maintenance procedures, which may vary depending on the particular model.
Cost
The top robot vacuums aren't cheap, but they're far less expensive than a professional carpet cleaner or a full-size stand-up vac. They also need less maintenance than a traditional vacuum as they require that you empty (and sometimes wash) their bins of dust after each cleaning session, and periodically cleaning their sensors or cameras.
A lot of robot vacuums have intelligent features that make them more efficient within your home. For example mapping technology allows you to inform the vacuum of where to go via an app, ensuring it doesn't go through stairs or under furniture, where there may be an unclean mess. Other robot vacuums can recognize the kind of flooring they are cleaning so they can adjust their suction and brush functions to get the most effective results.
Certain models come with objects avoidance, which utilizes sensors (or even a camera) to spot toys and other items on the floor and coach the robot to go around them instead of running over them. This could be extremely helpful when you have children or pets who scatter toys all over the home.
Voice control is another smart feature that you could consider useful. It allows you to operate your robot with your voice, instead of the buttons on board. This is helpful when your children aren't old enough yet to operate the robot, or is it just more practical for you.
How often you should use your robot will be contingent on how much dirt or debris is on your floor. Most experts suggest using a robot vacuum several times a week to keep your floors looking good and nabbing pet hair lint and surface dirt before it gets ground in or become more difficult to remove.
If you only have only a small amount of floor space and don't intend to make use of the robot for other purpose and you're looking for a budget model, like our top choice Eufy 11S is a great option. It's simple to use, affordable, and does the job without making any noise when you're working or watching TV.