The Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuums can make the chore of vacuuming a little less painful. Today's models also mop and even climb (small) stairs.
They have a small trash bin which they empty themselves and some are controlled from a smartphone app instead of a physical remote. Some have mapping features that aid in navigation.
1. Power
Our top pick for robotic vacuums has a suction power of 8,000Pa, which is powerful enough to eliminate even the most stubborn hairs and dirt. Its ultra-thin square shape allows it to slide beneath furniture, such as beds and sofas. Dual-Laser LIDAR technology allows for precise obstacle avoidance as well as intelligent navigation. It's also great at cleaning pet hair, baking powder and other debris that can be found near corners and baseboards.
Other high-powered robots on this list, in addition to the DEEBOT X2 OMNI include the IRobot Roomba j7+ as well as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra. It comes with a robust docking station that automates maintenance and includes mopping capabilities as well. Its powerful suction and efficient mopping made sure my floors were free of pet hair, muddy paw prints, and other debris in every flooring type test we conducted.
A model with 2500Pa suction should be sufficient for most homes in the lower price range. They are also quieter and are therefore a better choice for those with sensitive ears. They're not quiet, but they're not as loud as normal conversations at home.
To get the most effective mix of usability and power, consider your cleaning needs and budget. Regular light-duty cleaning requires a longer runtime and lower suction, while weekly high-volume cleaning requires the most power. Consider your flooring, layout of your home and cleaning schedules to select the best model for your needs. Look through our entire list of robot vacuum reviews and ratings for more information about the most current models. Many users report that their carpets and floors look cleaner after using a robot vacuum.
2. Navigation
A robot vacuum can't accomplish its task without knowing how to navigate your home. The best robots use sophisticated navigation technologies to scan rooms and make maps, ensuring thorough cleaning without getting stuck or hitting obstacles. There are three kinds of robot navigation: LiDAR-based sensor-based and camera-based.
The most expensive models employ LiDAR to build a virtual map of the room, delivering the highest level of accuracy and efficiency. Cheaper models rely on bump sensors, which can be more inaccurate and are more likely to miss the majority of debris in dark spaces. The majority of robots have cliff sensors to stop them from falling down stairs or other falls.
Many of the robots I tested utilized object recognition to efficiently navigate around things such as fake dog turds and cords, however, the best was the Eufy X10. It had excellent mapping capabilities with powerful oscillating mops, a user-friendly app and the ability to clean a zone, room or all of the home.
Other features worth a look include floor type sensors that can detect hard floors and soft carpet and automatically boost suction power when required. Certain robots such as the Roborock mop utilize mopping pads lift to reach into corners and clean dry spills. Many hybrids can apply cleaning solution on staining that is difficult to remove.
A smaller bin will require less frequent emptying, while larger ones can save money on replacements. The cheapest robotic cleaners typically employ a tiny disposable dust bag, whereas the majority of mid-range models come with larger 3L dustbins that last for decades. Certain premium robots such as the EcoVACS DEEBOT OMNI Station will self-empty and fill up their water tanks, allowing hands-free convenience.
3. App control
The best robot vacs have an app that allows you to monitor the progress of cleaning and schedule sessions and connect to your smart home devices to allow hands-free control. They also connect to Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to allow voice-controlled control. Some models have a separate remote control that allows you to start, pause and return to dock. Pick a model that comes with a larger dustbin and can self-empty, rather than one that needs manual emptying.
Some robots are equipped with technology for mapping to help them avoid obstacles such as furniture and stairs. Some allow you to set no-go zones or targeted rooms, ensuring that they only clean the areas that require it the most. They also have cliff sensor to keep them from falling, which is especially helpful in multi-leveled homes.
If you plan to use your robot vacuum to clean rugs, choose one that can be used both for wet and dry mopping. You'll have better results cleaning by having your robot vacuum also take off its mop pad. Rinse it, and then reattach it when you need to run another cleaning cycle. Look for robots with the rubber roller. This will be less likely to get caught from pet hair or other particles. It's a good idea check the robot's brushroll and side brushes for debris stuck on once or twice a week, too. If you notice that they're starting to clog, it might be time to buy replacement parts.
4. Collection of debris
Robot vacuums are designed to, as the name suggests, to collect dust and debris from your floors. The best ones pick small particles such as baking soda and sand as well in larger pieces of orzo pasta, screws made of metal, and pet hair. They also have better results on carpets with low pile than many manual vacuums.
All flooring types are covered, and the top-performing robots had pickup scores of greater than 95 percent. The ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 OMNI and the Roborock Q Revo were our two most efficient bots in this class. Both are highly automated, equipped with docking stations that perform maintenance on their own, and features in the app that make them extremely user-friendly.
Both have self-emptying bins which automatically empty the wastebasket. They also have the ability to clean the washboard as they mow. They also come with an 8,000Pa vacuum, intelligent mapping technology and advanced obstacle avoidance to help them navigate through even the most difficult spaces. The ECOVACS robot is among the few that can mop carpet and remove mop pads. This makes it a perfect option for people who need to switch between mopping and vacuuming frequently.
If you're looking for a cheaper option, look into the iRobot Roomba Combo J7 Plus, our budget choice. It has LIDAR navigation and decent debris pickup capabilities for the price. It is slow when it comes to mapping rooms and has a tendency of hitting obstacles, but the price is less than the other choices.
5. Battery life
The best robot vacuums are designed to let you move to work while keeping your floors looking spick and clean. While you'll still have to give your home a manual sweeping every now and again Robotic vacuums can help maintain a baseline level of cleanliness, and even wash even when you're away.
To maximize the time you get from your robovac, look for the model that has a high battery life. A good rule of thumb is to anticipate a model to last for about two complete cleaning sessions when you run it on the highest power setting. This is less than a large vacuum cleaner, but it is enough to provide for the majority of homes. If you don't wish to wait for your robovac to recharge you can opt for an option that automatically returns to the base station for charging.
If websites looking for a robot that has a little bit of everything in it, then think about one that is able to mop. Eufy's X10 is the best model in this category and provides self-emptying, auto-draining and self-refilling of your dust bin as well as the mop pad. It is also programmable to automatically re-fill and wash its own mops when they're empty.
Its dependable carpet and hard floor pickup excellent hair pickup, tangle avoidance, and near-perfect auto empty score makes it the clear winner of our test scores. It's not cheap and unless you have a small house with no pets, it might be too expensive for certain. The second choice one, the Dreametech D10+, has the same performance, but is priced 25 percent less.