What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A quality robot vacuum will keep you on top of pet hair, lint, and dust on a daily basis. Many of them use apps to allow you to schedule cleaning sessions and set virtual boundaries or 'walls' to keep them away from areas that you don't want to be cleaned.

This smart vacuum (visit the site) and mop creates a home map after its first run, memorizing your space for future jobs. It has self-cleaning brush rolls as well as an extra-large dust bin that empties automatically.

Object Detection

When selecting a robot vacuum cleaner, pick one that can clean up big items such as lamp cords and toys and fine dust. This will ensure that they do not get caught in the roller brush or left on your floor. This is especially crucial if your robot is going to be cleaned regularly by pets or children.

It's recommended to select a model that has strong motors and lots of suction power. This will allow it to be more effective in eliminating pet hair, dust and lint off carpets and hardwood floors.

Another important consideration is the size of your space. If you have an area that is large it is possible to choose models that have multiple cleaning zones so you can clean your entire house in one go. Some models have a mopping feature that can be used to keep floors fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums can last a long time however, they must be maintained regularly and in a proper manner. Cleaning the rotating brushes regularly, emptying your dust bin, and wiping the sensors will ensure that your robot is working efficiently for many years. Many owners of robot vacuums that we have spoken with have had the same machine for a period of 10 years or more (and replaced brushes, motors and batteries along the way).

A basic robot will cost less than a full-sized vacuum cleaner, however they'll still do an excellent job at removing surface dirt, pet hair, and smart vacuum dust. You can use them to sweep your floors multiple times per day. They don't have as much technology and are more susceptible to getting jammed or needing manual intervention.

Object Avoidance

The best robot vacs use sensors, lasers, or cameras to guide them around your home without falling off or getting stuck on the stairs. They can also avoid obstacles such as cords and furniture legs, and some models automatically return to their base or dock when they run out of power. The ones that are more expensive usually feature mapping capabilities that allow them to learn the arrangement of your home, and spend less time bumping into walls.

If you're not looking to spend the money on the most sophisticated robotic vacuums, you can still find a model that does an excellent job of picking up pet hair, dirt, dust and debris from floors that are hard like tiles and wood, as well as carpets with low pile. They can also do a good job of handling larger debris like metal screws, rusty staples or discarded toys. Some models come with an automatic base that drains itself, which is great if you do not want to empty it after each cleaning session.

Many robotic vacuums also come with advanced features that make your standard stick vacuum seem prehistoric with features like schedules, zone targeting and the ability to control them with an app or a voice assistant like Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas you don't wish the robot to enter.

Some robotic vacuums, such as the Eufy 11S or my former top choice, Roborock S8, come equipped with obstacle avoidance technology to stop them from falling over furniture or cords. Other models, like the iRobot Roomba j7+, have more sophisticated AI obstacle avoidance that utilizes sensors powered by processors to see and avoid items like lamp cords, shoes, socks, and pet waste. It's a bit more expensive than the other bots I've tested but it did an impressive job of avoiding obstacles around my home. It was also very rarely stuck or tangled while working on my flooring.

While the iRobot j7+ was a great obstacle avoidance robot however, it wasn't always doing an excellent job of removing dirt and crumbs off my carpets. It also tended to over-vacuum some areas, which resulted in a lot of extra dust in the filter and an unclean home.

Smart Mapping

Some of the best robots vacuums have an application that lets you alter cleaning modes, create schedules, and view a map of the floor area covered by the machine. This is an extremely useful feature that many competitors do not have. This allows you to create profiles that automatically start your robot at specific time intervals and run it on an ongoing basis, such as cleaning the living room before dinner or every other day.

A good app can let you control your robot using voice commands. Some models are compatible with Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant and can work entirely hands-free, meaning you can say "start a clean" or "change cleaning mode" without the need for an app.

For a truly hands-free experience, choose an option with a big dust bin that can withstand numerous cleaning sessions before needing to be emptied. You can also find models that self-empty, which takes some of the labor out of emptying the machine after each run of vacuuming.

If you're looking for a robotic that does more than vacuum, you should consider one that has mopping capabilities. They are typically larger than robotic vacuums, and have a water tank which can hold several cleaning sessions worth of dirt and dust before having to be emptied.

Robots that are more sophisticated can develop their own maps and keep track of the plan of your house from one cleaning session to the next, preventing them from getting lost or stuck. This can make a huge difference in the speed at which your robot vacuums, since it won't have to spend time going back to the beginning of the room whenever it comes across walls or furniture.

Our test subjects who tested the robot that has this capability discovered it to be extremely efficient, and they could easily sit back and watch TV or perform other chores while the robot cleaned. Some models employ laser navigation, and can create an exact map of your entire home, which means that you can program them to clean just the bedroom after dinner or each room of the house while you're at work.

App Control

If you want to customize the frequency with which the robot vacuum and mop best cleans your home and choose a cleaning mode you should choose one that works with an app that can be downloaded on mobile. Through the app, you can also check the status of your vacuum and its dust bin. Some of the best self vacuum vacuums that are robotic can be controlled by Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri Shortcuts.

It is simple to maintain a robot that has the ability to wash the filter and a self-emptying container, especially when the filter can be easily cleaned and washed. A powerful brush is another fantastic feature that allows you to reach into corners and along baseboards to get rid of dirt and hair. Some robots are more adept at avoiding chair leg than others. Others have a sensor that automatically cleans brushes to avoid obstruction.

Some robot vacuums come with navigation tools to assist them in navigating around obstacles and to learn about your home. The most expensive models employ sensors and cameras to recognize obstacles such as furniture, stairs, and cords. The cheaper models could utilize boundary strips to mark areas where you don't want it to go. Object avoidance can be especially beneficial for families with children who scatter toys and socks all over the home. This can help your robot collect these items, instead of scattering them.

We're starting to see more robots with mops, which are great for people who have hard floors and need to regularly clean them. They come with a water tank built into the chassis, or a separate piece which you can change out when it's time to clean. They may require to be refilled more often than other kinds of robots, however they're perfect for homes with hard floors that can't be easily cleaned using a vacuum.

These robots are packed with impressive technology, and they are priced much less than you'd think. In fact, you can get an affordable model for less than $200 that can do a decent job of cleaning pet hair and crumbs from hard floors, while navigating the edges of lightweight carpets or area rugs. The robot can be programmed to clean the room on a regular basis. It can also be controlled remotely using an app or smart vacuum by pressing buttons.