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 robot vacuums are compatible with apps that allow you to schedule cleaning times. You can also set virtual boundaries, or ‘walls,’ to ensure that the vacuum is kept away from areas that you don’t wish to be cleaned.

This smart vac-mop creates an outline of your home using its first run. It then remembers the area to be used for cleaning tasks in the future. It has an extra-large dustbin that automatically emptys and a self-cleaning, brush roll.

Object Detection

When you are choosing a robotic vacuum cleaner, choose one that can pick-up big items such as toys and lamp cords and dust particles that are fine. This will help ensure they don’t get caught by the roller brush and good robot vacuum aren’t left behind on your floors. This feature is especially important if your robot will be cleaned regularly by pets or children.

It’s an excellent idea to select a model that has an efficient motor and lots of suction power. This will enable it to be more effective in getting rid of dust, pet hair, and lint from carpets and hardwood flooring.

Another important consideration is the size of your space. If you have an area that is large it is possible to choose one that has multiple cleaning zones so you can clean the entire house in a single session. Certain models have mopping capabilities that can be utilized to keep floors fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums are durable but they need to be cleaned properly and regularly. Regularly cleaning the rotating brushes, emptying your dust bin, and wiping your sensors will ensure that your robot is working efficiently for many years. Many owners of robot vacuums that we have spoken with have owned the same model for 10 years or more (and changed motors, brushes and batteries along the way).

A basic robot will cost you less than a full-size vacuum cleaner, but they’ll do a fantastic job at removing dirt and pet hair, and lint. You can use them to clean your floors multiple times per day. They aren’t as technologically advanced and are more susceptible to get stuck or require manual intervention.

Object Avoidance

The best robot vacuum for high pile carpet robot vacs use sensors, lasers, or cameras to guide them around your home without getting stuck or falling down the staircase. They are also able to stay clear of obstacles such as cords and furniture legs and some models will automatically return to their dock or base when they run out of power. Some of the more expensive models have mapping capabilities that allow them to learn the layout of your home and spend less time bouncing off walls.

You don’t need to spend an enormous amount of money on the most expensive robotic vacuums. There are models that do a fantastic 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 removing larger debris such as metal screws and staples that are rusty or even abandoned toys. Some models come with an automatic base that drains itself, which is a great feature for those who don’t want to empty it at the end of each cleaning session.

Many robotic vacuums also come with advanced features that make your standard stick vacuum seem prehistoric with features like scheduling, zone targeting, and the capability to control them using an app or a voice assistant such as Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and virtual walls’ to block off areas where you do not want the robot to enter.

Certain robotic vacuums, such as the Eufy 11S and my former top choice, the Roborock S8, have obstacle avoidance technology that keeps them from derailing by running into furniture or tangling cords. Other models, like the iRobot Roomba j7+, are more sophisticated. AI obstacle avoidance that utilizes cameras and processor-powered smarts to detect and avoid objects like shoe cords, lamp cords socks, and pet waste. It’s a bit more expensive than the other bots I’ve tried, but it did an impressive job of avoiding obstacles in my home and rarely got stuck or derailment while working on my floors.

The J7+ from iRobot was a great obstacle-avoiding robot however, it didn’t always do a great job at avoiding crumbs and dirt on my rugs. It also tended to over-vacuum areas, which led to lots of dust in the filter and a less clean house.

Smart Mapping

Some of the best robot vacuum and mop robots vacuums include an app that allows you to alter cleaning modes, create schedules, and see the floor area that is covered by the machine. This is a handy feature, and one that some competitors lack altogether. This allows you to create profiles that will automatically start your robot at specific times and continue to run on regularly, for example, cleaning the living room before dinner or on a regular basis.

A good app can let you control your robot via voice commands. Some models are compatible with Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, which allows you to control your robot through voice commands.

Find the model with a large dust bin. This will allow you to perform many cleaning sessions without needing to empty it. You can also find models that self-empty that take some of the work out 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 look at the possibility of a model that can mop floors. They are usually larger than the robotic vacuums, and come with a water tank inside that can hold multiple cleaning sessions worth of dirt and debris before having to be empty.

The most advanced robots generate their own maps of your house and can even remember the arrangement from one cleaning to the next which can help them avoid getting lost or stuck in corners. This can make a big difference in the efficiency of your robot vacuums, as it won’t be spending time going back to the beginning of the room if it encounters furniture or walls.

Our test subjects who tested a robot with this feature discovered it to be extremely efficient. They could watch TV or do other chores while the robot cleaned. 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’d like to alter how often the robot cleans your house and select the cleaning mode it is recommended to purchase one that works with an app that can be downloaded on mobile. You can also see the status of the vacuum as well as the state of its dust bin using the app. The best vacuums that are robotic can be controlled by Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri Shortcuts.

It is simple to maintain a robot equipped with a washable filter and a self-emptying container, especially if the filter can be easily removed and rinsed. Another feature that is great is a high-powered brush that can be found in corners and along baseboards, making it easier to get rid of hair and dirt. Certain robots are better in avoiding chair leg splinters than others. Others have sensors that automatically clean brushes to prevent clogging.

Certain robo-vacs utilize navigation tools that allow them to discover your home and get around obstacles. The top models come with sensors and cameras that recognize obstacles like stairs, furniture and cords. On the other hand, less expensive models often utilize boundary strips that you place on the floor to mark areas you don’t want to enter. Avoidance of objects is particularly beneficial for families with young kids who scatter socks and toys all over the house. This can help your robot collect these items, instead of scattering them.

We’re beginning to see more robots that have mops, which are great for people who have hard floors and require to clean them regularly. They have a water reservoir built into their chassis or as a separate piece you can swap in when ready to mop. They may require to be refilled more often than other types of robots, however they’re perfect for homes with floors made of wood which aren’t easy to clean using a vacuum.

These robots are packed with some impressive technology, and they cost a lot less than you’d expect. In fact, you can get a decent one for less than $200 that can do a decent job of removing pet hair and crumbs off hard floors, while traversing the edges of lightweight carpets or area carpets. You can schedule the robot to vacuum a room regularly, and it can be controlled remotely with the app or by pressing buttons on its side.