What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum
A robot vacuum can help keep you on top of pet hair and lint on daily bases. Many work with apps to allow you to schedule cleaning times and create virtual boundaries, or 'walls' to keep them away from areas that you don't want to be cleaned.
This smart vac-mop will create a map of your home with its first run. It then stores the area to help you with future cleaning tasks. It comes with self-cleaning brush rolls and an large dust bin that is empty automatically.
Object Detection
When selecting a robot vacuum cleaner, pick one that can clean up big items such as lamps and toys as well as dust particles that are fine. This will ensure that they don't get caught in the roller brush or end up on your floor. This is particularly crucial if your robot is going to be cleaned frequently by children or pets.
A model that has a powerful engine and lots of suction is also an excellent choice. This will help it to be more efficient in removing dust, pet hair and lint from carpets as well as hardwood flooring.
The size of your house is another crucial factor to consider. If you live in a big home, you may choose models with multiple cleaning zones that cover the entire home in one go. Certain models also include mopping capabilities that can be used to keep your floors looking fresh and clean.
Robot vacuums are tough but they need to be cleaned properly and regularly. Cleaning the rotating brushes and emptying the dust bin and wiping down the sensors on a regular basis will keep your robot running smoothly for the years to come. Many owners of robot vacuums we chat with have had the same model for a period of 10 years or more (and replaced brushes, motors and batteries as they went along).
A basic robot is less costly than a larger vacuum cleaner. They will still do an excellent job of cleaning the surface of dirt, pet fur and lint. You can use them to sweep your floors several times per day. The downside is they don't come with as smart technology, and can be prone to becoming stuck or requiring human intervention.
Object Avoidance
The most effective robot vacuums utilize sensors, lasers, or cameras to guide them around your home without getting stuck or falling down the stairs. They also can avoid obstacles such as furniture legs and cords, and some models will automatically return to their base or dock when they run out of energy. The most expensive models usually come with mapping capabilities that permit them to remember the design of your home and spend less time running into walls.
If you're not looking to spend the money on the most sophisticated robotic vacuums, you can still find one that is capable of picking up pet hair, dirt, dust and dust from floors made of wood and tile and carpets with low pile. They can also do a good job of removing larger debris such as metal screws and staples that are rusty or even the remains of toys. Some models even have self-emptying bases which is helpful for those who don't want to empty the dustbin after every cleaning session.
Certain robotic vacuums come with smart features that make the standard stick vacuum look old-fashioned. They include scheduling, zone-targeting and the capability to control them through an app or voice assistant, such as Alexa. You can also set up cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas that you don't want robots to access.
Some robotic vacuums, like the Eufy 11S or my former favorite, Roborock S8, come with obstacle avoidance technology that will stop them from falling over furniture or cords. Some robot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+ have more sophisticated AI obstacle avoidance technology that makes use of a camera, processors and smarts to avoid items like lamp cords as well as pet waste. It's a little more expensive than other bots I've tested, however, it did a great job of avoiding obstacles within my home. It was also very rarely derailed or trapped when I was cleaning my floors.
The iRobot J7+ was a fantastic obstacle avoidance robot however it didn't always do a good job at avoiding dirt or crumbs on my rugs. It also was prone to over-vacuum specific areas, leading to a lot of dust in the filters and an unclean house.
Smart Mapping
Some of the best robot vacuums have an app that can help you to customize cleaning settings, set schedules and see a map of your area of floor that the machine covers. This is an extremely useful feature that many competitors do not have. This lets you create profiles that will automatically start the robot at specific times and run it regularly. For example, cleaning the living room every day, or just before dinner.
A good app will also allow you to control your robot with voice commands. Some models are compatible with Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant and can work completely hands-free. You can say "start a clean" or "change cleaning mode" without the need for an app.
Look for a model that has a large dustbin. This allows you to complete many cleaning sessions without needing to empty it. You can also find models that are self-emptying that take some of the labor out of emptying the robot after each cleaning run.
If you're looking to purchase a robot that is more than a vacuum, you should consider the models that have mopping functions. These are typically larger than the robotic vacuums and include a water tank in the interior that holds many cleaning sessions of dirt and other debris prior to needing to be cleaned.
The most advanced robots can create their own maps of your house and can even remember the arrangement from one cleaning to another which can help them avoid getting lost or trapped in corners. This can make a big difference in the effectiveness of your robot vacuum as it will not have to go back to the beginning when it encounters walls or furniture.
Our test participants found that the robots that had this feature were very efficient. They could watch television or perform other tasks while the robot was cleaning. Some models employ laser navigation and can create an exact map of your entire home, which means that you can program them to clean only the bedroom after dinner or each room of the house while you're at work.
App Control
If you'd like to alter the frequency with which the robot cleans your house and select the cleaning mode, it's best to get one that works with an app that can be downloaded on mobile. In the app, you can also examine the status of your vacuum as well as its dust bin. Some of the top robot vacuums can be operated by voice using Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri Shortcuts.
It is simple to maintain a robot equipped with the ability to wash the filter and a self-emptying container, especially if the filter can be easily cleaned and washed. A high-powered brush is another great feature that can reach into corners and along baseboards to get rid of hair and dirt. Certain robots are better at avoiding chair leg than others. Others come with an automatic cleaning system that cleans brushes to avoid clogging.
Some robo-vacs use navigation tools to help them understand your home and overcome obstacles. The top models come with sensors and cameras that recognize obstacles like stairs, furniture and cords. On the other hand, less expensive models sometimes utilize boundary strips that you place on the floor to mark areas where you don't want it to enter. Avoidance of objects is crucial for families with young children who leave socks and toys scattered around the house, since it allows your robot to grab these objects instead of scattering them.
Robots are increasingly equipped with mop attachments. This is useful for those with floors that are hard and need to clean regularly. These robots come with a water tank built into relevant webpage the chassis, or a separate piece you can swap in when it's time to clean. They may require refilling frequently however, they are perfect for homes that have hard floors that aren't cleaned easily with vacuum cleaners.
We've seen some amazing technology in these small robots and they're less expensive than you might think. In fact, you can get a good one for under $200 that does a decent job of getting rid of pet hair and crumbs off hard floors, and also navigating the edges of lightweight carpets or area rug. You can schedule the robot to clean the room every day, and it can be controlled remotely using the app or by pressing buttons on its side.