Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop

Eufy's top-rated robot mop and vacuum takes a lot of the hands-off work out of keeping your floors tidy. It has the ability to replenish its own water tank and empty its tower bin. It also has the ability to change the dust bag it uses.

Advanced models are smart enough to draw a map of your home and take note of the location of furniture. They can also detect hazards and navigate around them, like loose charging cables or unintentional socks.

Object Avoidance

Object avoidance helps your robot to avoid hitting objects like cords, toys, and clothes that could get caught in the vacuum. These are particularly important if you have children or pets who may be inclined to leave objects on the floor, where your robot could discover them.

Based on the model you select, your robot may have a variety of sensor options to help it navigate around obstacles. A few popular ones include crossed IR sensors that focus beams of infrared lights across the room to detect things like doors and furniture legs. This technology has been widely adopted by many robots on the market and you can find it in flagship models that are priced higher than other models.

Other object avoidance technology that can be found in more expensive robots is 3D Structured Light which uses cameras and a crossed IR sensors to map the surroundings and detect obstacles. Time of Flight (ToF), sensors that measure and emit the duration it takes for the light to reflect off of an object, to determine its distance, is also available. They aren't as common, but could be a great option to add to your robot should you want to have more security.

Most of the top-rated robotics are also able to mop your floors. Some robots come with their own water tanks which allow them to clean up messes and spills. You will need to clean the robot's dust bin onboard and clean its sensors and cameras between cleaning sessions.

Mapping

Mapping capabilities are essential in robot vacuums as they allow them to remember your home's layout and prevent them from bumping into objects like walls. Without mapping, they might get tripped up by furniture, cords or pet toys, and end up taking less space from your space. The majority of robots utilize sensors to map your home and navigate around obstacles. This allows them to sweep the entire floor with fewer passes, saving your time. Many of the top-rated robot vacuums can also utilize this feature to create zones that are not allowed, which allows you to designate rooms that you don't want the robot to enter.

Robots with a built-in LIDAR system use this technology to map out your home quickly and efficiently. The Eufy Clean robot divided my room into distinct areas and cleaned each one independently during our tests. This was a huge improvement over other models that only had the front bumper sensor. This was a more accurate way to navigate my home and was easy for me to control via the app on the device.

While there aren't any robotic cleaner and mop vacuums that can climb stairs, the most effective models have mapping and obstacle avoidance features. These tools allow them to remove dirt from carpets with low pile and hard floors, and to avoid falling down the stairs. Some have cliff sensors that stop them from going over the edge of the stairs and some also have boundary strips that keep them away from certain areas.

Certain robots have a huge tower base that holds the dirt they collect, minimizing the amount of dust and allergens emitted into your home. These bases can last for several weeks or even months without emptying, and are particularly beneficial if you have allergies. Additionally, some models come with self-emptying systems that let you take out the dust bins without having to manually open or close them.

Wi-Fi enabled

Some robot vacuums communicate via Wi-Fi with their applications. This allows you to control them using your smartphone instead (or in addition) to the physical remote. These models are more expensive but they can save you time because they can schedule cleaning times daily, weekly or even monthly. These models also allow you to modify floor maps, save them and offer alternative cleaning patterns.

The most advanced robot vacuums employ dual sensors, which combine with a LIDAR system to map your area with a structured light sensor that can see objects and avoid them even if they're buried under furniture or power cords. These features let your robot reach into tight areas, like the space under your kitchen cabinets or under sofas. Other robots struggle with these kinds of spaces. They also are faster to maneuver around obstacles, have longer run times and larger dust bins. This makes them more suitable for large homes than basic robots.

The best robot vacuum and mop robot vacuums are fast, intelligent and powerful. They can pick up many kinds of floor debris such as pet hair, kitty-litter and other mess. They are also quite quiet, making them a great choice for homes with pets as well as young children. Many of the robot vacuum owners have told us that they enjoy the convenience of having their floors cleaned with little effort. This is especially true when used regularly. If you take care of maintenance (cleaning the rotating brushes and keeping track on the replacement parts) robots can last as long as a conventional full-size vacuum cleaner. PCWorld offers a manual that includes some helpful tips to keep yours running smoothly.

Dust Bags Larger

A robotic vacuum is not as good in cleaning as a canister or upright vacuum, but it is excellent at removing dust and dirt that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It is also a great tool for quick touch-ups on bare floors and can navigate through cords and other obstacles that are common to household use. If you don't wish to do the deep cleaning yourself, a robotic cleaner can be sent out to scour your floors on a regular basis.

A few of the top-rated robotic vacuums have large dust bags that can store more dirt than a single room. This can save time and money in the form of replacement bags. Several of the models on our list feature this feature, including the most popular model, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This all-in-one robovac boasts an excellent performance rating and comes with an auto-emptying bin. It also has mopping functions and effective navigation. It's a close contest between this and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, which comes with the ability to avoidance and smart mapping. The robovac is more expensive but has a larger capacity.

Another major difference between the two models is how well they deal with hair that is long, which can tangle in the rollers of certain robots. The Roborock Q5 Max+, SwitchBot K10S Plus and Roborock Q5 Max+ are the top performing models. They all have outstanding hair pickup and tangle-avoidance scores, along with great auto empty results and great path planning. The Shark Matrix Plus and eufy are also good options with decent hair pick-up and tangle avoidance but not as much path planing or auto empty.

The newest robots have sensors that can spot dirt and debris on the carpet, and they're better at picking up loose pet hair. Some robots feature mopping mode, which allows them to use the water reservoir in order to clean up stuck-on debris and spills. This feature is essential for families with children and pets.

Maintenance

A robot vacuum is a great help in keeping up with your home. The most effective models remove more surface dirt, pet hair, and lint than a broom on low-pile or hard floors. They also have navigation features that ensure they don't get stuck on cords for power or rug fringe and can glide easily under furniture.

According to the model, you can set up the robot vacuum to run multiple times a day or observe it in action with an app. They are convenient however they can get clogged and require regular maintenance. This includes emptying the dust bin that is onboard (or in certain cases, the base's larger bin) as well as checking the brushes for tangled fur and regularly washing the filters and drying them according to the specifications of the manufacturer.

Vacuum expert Emily Rairdin, a store owner apprentice at University Vacuum + Sewing, says that a quality robot cleaner vacuum can last from three to five years or more with regular care and attention. She recommends emptying the bin and brush roll frequently cutting out hair that gets caught in the brushes, and then regularly cleaning and drying the filter, especially if it is also a mop. It's a good idea to clean the charging contacts and sensors on the dock or the robot with an easy, clean cloth every now and again. You can then refill and recharge your robot prior to the next cleaning session.