What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum
A quality robot vacuum will keep you on top of pet hair, lint and dust on a daily basis. Many use apps that allow you to schedule cleaning sessions and create virtual boundaries, or 'walls' to keep them out of areas that you don't want to be cleaned.
This smart vac-mop will create an outline of your home with its initial run. It then stores the area for future cleaning jobs. It has an extra-large dustbin that automatically emptys, as well as self-cleaning, self-cleaning brush roll.
Object Detection
When choosing a robot vacuum cleaner, choose one that can pick-up large items like toys and lamp cords as well as dust particles of fine size. This will ensure that the items don't get caught in the roller brush or strewn across your floor. This is especially important if your robot will be cleaned regularly by children or pets.
It's recommended to choose a model with strong motors and plenty of suction power. This will make it more efficient in removing pet hair, lint and dust from your hardwood and carpet floors.
Another important consideration is the size of your home. If you live in a large house you might want to choose models that have multiple cleaning zones so that you can clean your entire home in one session. Certain models also include mopping capabilities, which can be used to keep your floors fresh and clean.
Robot vacuums can last for a long time however they'll need to be maintained and cleaned regularly. Cleaning the rotating brushes regularly and emptying the dust bin, and wiping the sensors will keep your machine functioning efficiently for many years. Many of the owners of robot vacuums we speak to have been using their machines for 10 years or more (and have replaced motors, brushes and batteries as time went by).
A basic robot will cost less than a large-sized vacuum cleaner, but they'll do a fantastic job of keeping up with surface dirt, pet hair and lint. You can use them to scrub your floors multiple times per day. They aren't as technologically advanced and are more susceptible to becoming jammed or requiring manual intervention.
Object Avoidance
The best robot vacuums use sensors, cameras or lasers to navigate your home and avoid getting stuck or falling down the stairs. Certain models are able to return to their dock or base when their battery is depleted. They can also stay clear of obstacles like furniture legs and cords. Some of the most expensive models come with mapping capabilities that allow them to learn your home's layout and spend less time bouncing against walls.
You don't need to spend a lot of money on the most expensive robotic vacuums. There are models that do an excellent job of picking up pet hair and dirt from hard surfaces like tile, wood and low-pile rugs. They can also do a decent job of handling larger debris like metal screws and staples that are rusty or even abandoned toys. Some have a base that automatically empty itself, which is ideal for those who don't want to empty it at the end of each cleaning session.
The majority of robotic vacuums have advanced features that make your standard stick vacuum seem prehistoric such as zones, schedules, and the ability to control them with an app or a voice assistant such as Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas that you don't wish the robot to get into.
Some robotic vacs such as the Eufy 11S and my former top choice Roborock S8 Roborock S8, have obstacle avoidance technology that keeps them from getting sucked into furniture or getting caught in cords. Other models, like the iRobot Roomba j7+, have more advanced AI obstacle avoidance that uses sensors powered by processors to identify and avoid items like shoes, lamp cords, socks and pet waste. It is a little bit more expensive than other bots that I've tried, but it does an excellent job of avoiding obstacles and rarely is stuck or derails when I'm working on my floor.
Although the iRobot J7+ was a good obstacle avoidance bot but it wasn't always able to do well in removing dirt and crumbs from my rugs. It also had a tendency to over-vacuum certain areas, which led to an abundance of dust in the filter and a less-clean house.
Smart Mapping
A few of the top robot vacuums come with an app that lets you set up cleaning modes and schedules, as well as view a map of your area of floor that the machine covers. This is an extremely useful feature that other models don't have. This makes it easy to create profiles that 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 with voice commands. Some models are compatible with Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, which allows you to control your robot with voice commands.
Find the model with an enormous dust bin. This allows you to complete many cleaning sessions without needing to empty it. You can also find models that self-empty, which takes some of the work out of emptying the machine after each cleaning run.
If you're looking for a robot that can do more than vacuum, consider one that has mopping functions. These are usually bigger than the robotic vacuums, and include a water tank in the interior that can hold many cleaning sessions of dirt and debris prior to having to be empty.
The most advanced robots create their own maps of your home and can even keep track of the arrangement from one cleaning to the next and help them avoid getting lost or stuck in corners. This can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of your robot vacuum as it will not have to return to the beginning when it encounters walls or furniture.
Our test subjects who tested a robot with this feature discovered it to be extremely efficient, and could easily watch TV or complete other chores while the robot was cleaning. Some of these models utilize 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 each room of the house when you're at work.
App Control
If you want to customize the frequency with which the robot cleans your home and choose the cleaning mode you should choose one that is compatible with an app that can be downloaded on mobile. Within the app, you can check the status of your vacuum and its dust bin. The best vacuums that are robotic can be controlled by Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri Shortcuts.
A robot that has a self-emptying bin and washable filters is simple to keep clean, especially when you are able to access the filter and remove it to wash it. A high-powered brush is another fantastic feature that allows you to reach into corners and along baseboards for removal of dirt and hair. Some robots are more adept at avoiding chair leg than others. Others have an automatic cleaning system that cleans brushes to prevent clogging.
Certain robo-vacs come with navigational tools that assist them in navigating around obstacles and to learn about your home. The top models come with sensors and cameras that detect obstacles such as furniture, stairs and cords, while cheaper models may use boundary strips you place on the floor to mark off areas you don't want it to enter. Avoidance of objects is particularly important for families with children who throw socks and toys scattered across the house, since it allows your robot to grab these items instead of scattering them.
We're starting to see more robots that have mops, which are great for people who have hard floors and require to regularly clean them. robotvacuummops.com have a reservoir of water built into their chassis or as a separate piece you can swap in when ready to mop. They might need to be filled more frequently than other types of robots, but they're ideal for homes with floors made of wood that aren't easily cleaned by vacuum.
These robots are packed with impressive technology, and they cost much less than you'd think. You can get a good one under $200, which does a decent cleaning job on hard floors, while also navigating around the edges of carpets and rug. You can schedule the robot to vacuum rooms regularly, and it can be controlled remotely using the app or by pressing buttons on its side.