How to Keep a Robot Vacuum Clean

Robot vacuums can help keep your floors clean. Depending on the model, they can also sweep, mop, and even vacuum staircases.

Find models with intelligent features, like remote access and app control. You can use apps to schedule cleaning sessions and monitor progress. Some can even suspend, recharge and return to where they were when they left.

1. Battery Life

With self-driving cars drones that can navigate the skies and robot vacuums that nimbly maneuver around furniture, it's safe to say that the future of cleaning is now here. However, as with all technologies, it requires some maintenance to ensure it's running smoothly.

The battery's charge-discharge cycles are the most important aspect for the life of your robot. Maintaining the dust bin full and empty, examining for tangled hairs regularly, and preventing the brushes from becoming stuck will help your robot run more efficiently.

The conditions in which your robot is kept can impact the battery's performance. Extreme temperatures and cold can affect the battery's performance. You can extend the life of your battery by ensuring that it is fully charged prior to storage, storing in an area that is cool, and disconnecting it from sources of power when not in use. Most smart devices also have periodic firmware updates that help improve performance and optimize battery. Check the app to see if there's any updates.

A robot vacuum is a fantastic option for those who have lots of hard flooring. It will get rid of dirt and debris fast and efficiently leaving your floors sparkling. If you want more than a quick clean-up, you should look for a model with superior navigation and obstacle avoidance.

Our top-rated robot, the Ecovacs Deebot T20, combines advanced navigation and a powerful suction and a wide range of mopping features to offer an extensive, thorough clean of your hard floors. It utilizes LiDAR sensors and cameras to create detailed maps of your home. This helps it stay on track and avoid getting caught on furniture legs or power cords. It also can detect objects such as clutter and shoes to automatically clean them. It also self-empties so you don't have to return it to its base to empty the trash after every cleaning session.

2. Dust Bin

Robots are good for quick midweek cleaning, but they aren't able to replace a plug in vacuum cleaner for deep cleans. Even the top robot vacuums are susceptible to getting caught in cords and toys. They can also overlook dirt piles near the baseboards, and struggle to eliminate the crumbs that have accumulated under furniture. Their onboard dust bins get so full that they need to return to their charging docks to self-empty--a process that can take as long as half an hour for some models.

It is essential to select a robot vacuum with a large dustbin that can be empty into the dock without having return to finish the job. You'll need to decide if you prefer bags or a bagless one. If you choose the bagless option, you'll need to know the amount of dust it can hold before you have to empty it.

In our tests, we placed 100 grams of sand to a medium-pile carpet surface and used a robot vacuum to remove the sand. The amount of sand that is weighed in the vacuum's dust bin onboard allows us to measure the amount of dirt that has been collected. A high amount of dirt suggests that the onboard bin may be filled up faster and may force your robot to stop its cleaning process or, even worse, cease working completely.

The good news is that many top robot vacuums come with an enormous dust bin that is easily empty and you can set up them to empty into their bases at least once a day or more. It is recommended to keep a can of compressed air in your bag to blow hairs out that have become entangled in the rotating brush. You can also clean any filters as recommended by the manufacturer.

3. Wi-Fi Connectivity

The top robot vacuums have many options to connect to your home's WiFi network. This lets the robot download and install updates to its software, and giving you the option to monitor your bot via an app or through voice-activated commands. Although not necessary it is a useful feature and personalization features that improve your overall robot vacuuming experience.

To ensure they're operating at their best they require a certain level of maintenance. For instance, emptying the dustbin and cleaning the brushroll. Regularly cleaning, detaching and examining consumable components will also increase their lifespan. Emily Rairdin, a vacuum expert at University Vacuum & Sewing, says that a robot's life expectancy is between three and five years. However, it can vary depending on how frequently you use it, and also if you take care of it.

A robot auto vacuum and mop must be able navigate obstacles and map your floor to be able to perform. Advanced navigation systems typically include sensors that detect cliffs and alert the robot to steep drops and optical and laser sensors that help it "see" the layout of a room. Certain robots have mopping capabilities that can be used to keep floors between deep cleanings by using the use of a vacuum.

The best rated robot vacuum 2-in-1 vacuums also mop. This means you don't need to switch between an automatic vacuum and manual vacuum. One example is the iRobot Roomba 690, which is a powerful and efficient Robot Vacuum best vacuum that can also clean surfaces with its water tank and wash the mop pad automatically. Its mapping and obstacle avoidance capabilities were so impressive that it won the CR's Best robot vacuum cleaner vacuum Award, along with an AVTech Editors' Choice Award.

4. Cleaning Patterns

The top robot vacuums in our tests have outstanding performance on carpets with low pile and hard floors, removing dirt, dust and pet hair. They also sweep away particles and crumbs from the edges of rooms and along baseboards. However, they cannot eliminate deep down dirt or tangles that are a part of the carpet's shag carpet as well as canister or upright vacuums. They also aren't able to remove spilled liquids and food, or heavy screws, and they may be unable to reach certain areas of the house (including under furniture).

Many models come with sophisticated features that make them more user-friendly. They typically have an app which allows you to schedule cleaning sessions and manage the robot remotely. They can be connected to your smart-home system to allow voice commands through Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Certain models come with multiple modes, allowing you to choose between mopping and sweeping, or vacuuming. They can also return to their docks to recharge and resume cleaning where they left off.

Obstacle-avoidance technology has advanced in recent years, however it is still necessary to clean out toys, cords, and pet messes prior operating the robot. It is also recommended to cover any floor-to-ceiling mirrors with cardboard before mapping out the room for the first time, since the lasers used by certain models may bounce off reflective surfaces, causing the robot to crash into the floor or wall.

Some premium models have advanced mapping capabilities, some using lidar to create a 3D map of your surroundings. This helps the robot to identify obstacles and create an efficient route around them. Some also allow you to set no-go zones, so the robot vacuum cleaner reviews can avoid specific areas, like your pet's food bowls or an expensive rug.

5. App Control

Many robots allow you to set a timer for cleaning and control their movements hands-free with an app, meaning you can keep your home clean when you're at work or away. Some robots can also self-empty their debris into a huge bin at the base. This can reduce dust release and is an excellent feature for those suffering from allergies.

Some robots, such as the pricier Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, can even detect objects on the floor and use a camera to coach them to avoid obstacles like power cords, furniture legs or pet toys. This impressive feature is available on even less expensive models. However, it's important to regularly empty your robot's trash bin and check for hairs that have become tangled as they build up.

Some models also have the ability to create 3D representations. This is helpful if you have more than one floor. You can choose certain rooms, and create digital "keep-out" zones to ensure your robot only cleans the areas you'd like.

Robots are ideal for midweek cleaning, but they cannot replace a plug-in vacuum cleaner particularly when it is a rug. They are more adept in removing dirt from carpets than bare flooring, but they will miss piles near baseboards and thresholds as well as knotted cords and socks. To get the most value from your robot, look for models that have spots and zone cleaning modes to target specific areas and avoid wasteful cleaning. You can also find models that can charge and resume where they stopped. This is ideal for homes with large rooms.