The Best Robot Vacuums

A good robot vacuum will do the majority of the work and removes pet hair, lint and dirt before it adheres to furniture or get ground into carpets. Some also integrate with smart assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to give you an unrestricted experience.

Many models have mapping capabilities that allow them to create an interactive map of your home. This allows them to avoid falling off ledges and navigating around clusters of device cords.

What to Look for

Certain robots come with advanced features, which allow you to control them via voice assistants such as Alexa or Google Assistant. These include smart mapping, spot and zone cleaning and objects avoiding. These machines might also come with larger dust bins and longer-lasting batteries.

Look for a model with a wide brush that is able to sweep up large pieces of debris and one that's slim enough to fit under furniture. Also, make sure that the vacuum is able to move across different flooring types without having to swap out brushes or change suction settings. This can make it less effective in cleaning and decrease its lifespan.

The best robot vacuums are equipped with high-quality filters to capture fine particles and protect your home from damage. They also have an ample, easily accessible collection bin that allows you to empty it frequently. Some robot vacuums have an additional side brush to clean pet hair and debris from hard-to reach places, such as under and behind furniture. The dustbins are usually transparent, allowing you to see the amount of dirt in the bin and when you should empty it.

In addition to scheduling your robot vacuum for times when you're likely to be at home, you can use the app to draw an area around your furniture and the rooms that you'd like it avoid. Some models can also detect the type of flooring and alter their brush and vacuum settings to match.

You can also find robots that will recharge and continue cleaning right where they left off if their battery runs low. And some have a built-in camera that allows you to observe the path of your robot vacuum and see what it has collecting.

Some robots also allow you to control them with your voice, but they may not do so as well as others. Make sure that the model you choose is compatible with your voice assistant of choice, and test out how well it responds to different commands during the purchasing process. Some robots are able to automatically empty their bins of dust and clean their docking stations, making your chore list a little bit more. This feature is costly as is a larger storage container and a faster charging speed.

Cleaning Performance

While robots cannot substitute for a full-on vacuum cleaner or broom, they can provide an effective and efficient alternative to the everyday chore of cleaning your floors. The best robotic cleaners can clean up small particles like pet hair, dust and crumbs, or larger items such as metal shavings or wood shavings. They accomplish this without harming furniture or floors.

Most of the time, they'll detect what type of surface they're cleaning and adjust their suction or brush features accordingly to more thoroughly clean your floors. This is particularly important if your home is surrounded by different types of flooring. Many models also come with a wide range of options to set up virtual boundaries that allow 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 also ensures that your entire house is cleaned at the end of each scheduled time.

You should also think about the amount of autonomy you're comfortable giving your robot. Certain models require your presence and attention while others operate independently, with the ability to alter cleaning schedules and cleaning modes via a mobile app or voice commands through an integrated smart assistant. Some models map and learn your home's space, and let you set up zones, and tell the robot to clean specific areas within your home on a weekly or daily basis.

In our testing the iRobot J7+ was the best "set it and forget it" robot. It was more adept at mapping virtual boundaries, making virtual borders and avoiding obstacles than any of the other robots that we tested. It can also empty itself completely so you don't have to do that manually and has side brushes that can help sweep debris into its path from corners and edges that it is difficult to reach.

Its slim design and infrared sensor allows it to clean behind and under furniture, allowing it to perform better than other robots. Furthermore, its advanced navigation system allows it to clean the entire floor of your home with just one battery charge. 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 less of a chore, and more like an indulgence. Promptly nabbing tracked-in dirt, crumbs and shed pet hair can make a big difference in how clean your home is on a regular basis. A basic robot can take care of most cleaning tasks. However, those who prefer a more relaxed experience may want to look for a model which also doubles as a mops.

The Ecovacs Deebot T10 OMNI is one the top models for both, since it delivers excellent performance in both its mop and vacuuming modes, and is able to handle dirt debris, pet hair and even cat litter. Its object avoidance function is amazing. It allows it to keep away from objects and avoid getting caught on them.

It also comes with a long battery life and a large dust bin that allows it to cover a considerable amount of space in a single session. It's also smart vacuum, which means that it can create maps of your home and use apps, such as those provided by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, to let you control it using voice commands.

The app that comes with the robot allows you to create schedules, define specific rooms for cleaning, or pause/resume sessions. It can even notify you the moment that its battery is low and then return to its docking station to recharge.

This robot can also distinguish between carpets and hard floors and adjust its settings accordingly. This will prevent the machine from getting stuck on one type of surface and accidentally tearing your furniture. But, it's not yet able to discern high pile carpeting or seams in rooms, so you'll have to be cautious when picking up large objects.

All robot vacuums require some level of maintenance, like removing hair from brushes and emptying (and sometimes, rinsing) the dust bin after each cleaning session, and cleaning sensors or cameras between uses to keep them in top shape. The manufacturer will give specific instructions for these steps and others, which can vary according to the model.

Cost

The top robot vacuums may not be expensive, but they are far cheaper than a professional carpet cleaner or even a stand-up vacuum. They require less maintenance than traditional vacuums as they require that you empty and clean their dust bins get more info after each cleaning session.

Many robot vacuums have intelligent features that make them more effective for your home, such as mapping technology that allows you to instruct the vacuum on the layout of your room through an app so it is aware not to go over the stairs or underneath the furniture where there could be an issue. Other robot vacuums can detect the type of floor they are cleaning, so that they can adjust their suction and brush capabilities to ensure the best results.

Some models feature objects avoidance, which utilizes sensors (or even cameras) to identify toys and other items on the floor and coach the robot to move around them, rather than running through them. This could be extremely helpful when you have children or pets that tend to scatter toys around the house.

Another feature that might be important to you is voice control, which lets you operate your robot with your voice instead of using the buttons on the board. This is a great option when your children aren't yet old enough to operate the robot, or is it just more convenient for you.

The frequency at which you should use your robot will depend on how much dirt and debris is usually found on your floors. Most experts recommend using your robot vacuum at least once a week in order to keep your floors spotless and to get rid of pet hair, lint and surface dirt.

If you're only working with the space for a space on your floor and do not plan to use the robot for any other tasks and you're looking for a budget model, like our top choice Eufy 11S is a great choice. It's reasonably priced, easy to install and operate, and gets the job done with minimal noise disturbance while you watch TV or work.