Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot vacuums are fantastic for keeping your floors tidy however they aren't a replacement for the regular vacuum. Even the best robots can struggle to penetrate carpets or rugs and often get caught in socks and cords.

Maintaining a regular schedule of maintenance (replacing filters, cutting tangled hair from brushes and emptying the dust bin) will help your robot last longer.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums can handle a few cleaning sessions before needing to recharge. The runner-up of our overall picks, the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo, has a battery that is designed to last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on a single charge. The runtime is more than enough time to clean the majority of smaller homes that have carpets that are hard and low-pile carpets, or a larger home with rooms that are roughly the same size.

A longer battery life means that the robot is able to spend more time cleaning and less charging its dock. It's recommended to select a model with a self-emptying dust bin, as they are more efficient when it comes to picking up debris and returning to the dock to recharge. It is important to clean or replace the filters and wipe down the sensors and cameras regularly so they can see clearly.

Smart mapping technology is an important feature to look for since it permits you to program your robot to only clear certain rooms or areas where it's more likely to bump into furniture or other obstacles. This feature is also useful for ensuring that your robot is able to get under and around furniture such as beds, sofas and other large objects. Some cheap robovacs offer boundaries that you can put on the floor to block off areas and other models with higher-end features make use of sensors and cameras to accomplish this.

Even the best robot vacuums aren't able to replace a traditional vacuum for heavy-duty large-pile dirt and other debris. It's wise to keep a standard power vac on standby to handle these chores, and to schedule robot vacuums regularly for light cleaning throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot should be able of traveling around your home and not getting caught or crashing into things like metal screws or pet hair, or sand. In our tests, we employ a tracking device to follow the robot as it travels through a multiroom lab and determine its surroundings. We also check the way it manages to avoid obstacles like furniture legs, power cords and pet waste.

The most advanced robots can map out different floors and identify landmarks, like doors and windows. The most advanced robots like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra have a dual sensor navigation system which uses a LIDAR to create a floor plan and a structured-light camera mounted on the front to identify objects in real-time. This allows the S8 to stay clear of common obstacles such as furniture legs and power cords and can store up to four floor maps within its internal memory.

The most affordable models rely on bump sensors which aren't as accurate. In my tests, they were able to detect dog poop and cords as well as a pair of shoes placed in the middle. The most cost-effective choice Dreametech D10+, is an exception to this. It has excellent carpet and hard floor pickup, good hair and tangle pickup and a near perfect auto empty score.

Another feature that is important is a large onboard dustbin which doesn't have to be manually empty. It also has, for those models that mop, a tank of water that can last for weeks of cleaning sessions. The Karcher RCV 5 comes with this, and a large enough footprint to be placed under furniture but not so big that it won't fit in the nook between your bathtub and toilet.

Apps

Robot vacuums are like their upright counterparts and require a lot of tech to bring them up to speed. The result is a pretty mature market with plenty of options. But even the best floor vacuum robot models still require some interaction with their users, particularly when it comes to scheduling cleanings and establishing a floor plan, and setting up virtual barriers.

To help reduce this interaction, consider looking for a model that uses its own app to determine the location of your home, and save the settings for the future. This will let the vacuum begin where it left off in subsequent runs, rather than having to restart the mapping process each time.

Also, consider models that offer zone or spot cleaning. They allow you to instruct the robot vacuum to focus on a specific spot like under the dining table after an enormous family meal. You can choose to do this by using the app or by voice commands.

Many models also provide objects-avoidance. It allows the robot to detect objects in its path, like the shoe box or a crate full of dog toys, and then guide itself around it. This prevents it from running into objects that could harm its sensors or cause jams.

Some of the most expensive models in our tests have this feature. However, they typically rely on bump sensors for this and didn't always manage to stay clear of things in my test homes.

Pet Hair

When you're looking to remove pet hair, choose a model that's designed specifically to handle this type of debris. The best robot vacuum models have powerful suction and a brush that is free of tangling, and an emptying mechanism that can automatically dump hair into the trash bin when necessary. Some are also able to detect dirt levels and adjust the intensity of cleaning accordingly. They also can detect objects that aren't part your home flooring, like toys, furniture and food bowls.

Some robot vacuums include features that are pet-friendly, such as small water dispensers that can be used for mopping floors, and an HEPA filter that can reduce allergens like pet dander. They may also offer a quieter operation that can reduce the amount of noise generated during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums with maps are an excellent option for pet owners. They're designed to assess your home, and create an attack plan based upon the layout of each room and obstacles. For example, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum is a smart vacuum that has the amazing ability to map the room and navigate around furniture and other obstacles using gyroscope and accelerometer smart sensors that work together to learn the layout of your room.

Apps allow you to create zones that are not allowed. These are areas that the robot should not be allowed, for instance, areas with fragile items or pet feeding areas. This feature can be especially useful for a busy household as it permits you to plan your cleaning schedule and make adjustments without having to be in the same room as the vacuum. Another feature that is extremely useful is spot cleaning which gives you the option to use the vacuum to clean an area that is particularly dirty or brimming with pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you're not looking for a small size You should pick one that can hold at least a large bag of trash from one cleaning session. This is why we suggest opting for a model with an enormous bin or a self-emptying dustbin. The former will enable you to keep up with emptying the bin often enough to ensure you are on top of its performance and the latter will save you time and hassle by automatically emptying its contents into an internal bin every few cleanings.

Regardless of the size of your home the majority of robots are able to get up to and around furniture, and almost all can detect and navigate around household obstacles like shoes, loose cords, and dog puke. Look for models that have smart mapping capabilities. This allows them to "learn the patterns of your house and plan an efficient route.

Some models provide spot cleaning. This allows you to select an area of your house for thorough cleaning. We've observed that the majority of the top performers in our tests are able to remove fine particles such as baking soda and sand as well as heavier particles like oatmeal, orzo pasta, metal screws, and pet hair.

Depending on the brand, most robots will last for years and will continue to perform well as long as you are on top of maintenance, such as cleaning hair that has become tangled from brushes, emptying the dust bin after every use, and cleaning cameras and sensors as needed. The top robots are more flexible. This allows you to repair or replace parts like batteries and wheels, as they wear out.