Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop

Eufy's top-rated robot vacuum and mop takes a bit of the work of keeping your floors spotless. It is able to refill its own water tank, self-empty its tower bin that is larger and then change out the dust bag.

More advanced models are smart enough to draw a map of your home and take note of furniture placement. They also can detect dangers and avoid them, like loose charging cables or unintentional socks.

Object Avoidance

Object avoidance helps your robot to avoid hitting things like cords, toys, and even clothes that might get caught in the vacuum. These are especially important if you have children or pets who may be prone to leaving objects on the floor where your robot could find them.

Depending on the model you pick depending on the model you choose, you may have an array of different sensors to assist your robot in its journey through obstacles. Some of the most well-known include crossed IR sensor beams that are a focused infrared light that scan the room for things like furniture legs or door frames. This technology has been widely adopted by numerous robots available, and you can also get it in top models that cost more than others.

Other object avoidance technology that can be found in more expensive robotics includes 3D Structured Light which uses cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the surrounding area and identify obstacles. Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that measure and emit the amount of time that it takes the light to reflect off an object, to determine its distance, is also available. While these are less common, they can be an excellent addition to your robot if it needs extra peace of mind that it won't get caught up in cables or socks while cleaning.

In addition to picking up dust and debris on hard floors The majority of the top-rated robots can mop your floor as well. Some come with their own water tanks, allowing them to clean up the stains and spills that are wet. You'll have to empty your robot's dust bin and wipe down its cameras and sensors between cleaning sessions, but these tasks shouldn't take much of your time.

Mapping

The ability to map is essential in robot vacuums since they help them keep track of your home's layout and avoid hitting things like walls. Without mapping, they could be tripped by furniture, cords or pet toys and end up removing less of your space. Most robots employ sensors to map your home and navigate around obstacles. They can clean the floor in fewer passes, and make it easier for you to save time. A lot of the top robot vacuums also come with this feature, which enables you to create areas of no-go.

Robots equipped with LIDAR utilize this technology to map your home efficiently and quickly. The Eufy Clean robot divided my room into separate areas and cleaned each separately during our tests. This was a huge improvement over other models that only used sensors on the front of the vehicle. This was a much more precise way to navigate my home, and it was easy to control with the app on the device.

While there aren't any robotic vacuums that can climb stairs, best models do have mapping and obstacle avoidance features. These tools let them remove debris from low-pile and hard floors, and avoid falling down the stairs. Some tools are equipped with sensors to make sure they don't fall over the edge of stairs. Others come with boundary strips to keep them from getting in.

Certain robots have a large base tower that collects dirt. This reduces the amount of dust or allergens released within your home. They can be kept for weeks or months without being emptied, which is especially helpful if you suffer from allergies. Additionally, some models come with self-emptying mechanisms that let you empty their dust bins without needing to open and close them.

Wi-Fi enabled

Some robot vacuums make use of Wi-Fi to communicate with their apps and allow you to control them with your smartphone rather than (or in addition to) an actual remote. These models are more expensive but can save you time by allowing you to plan cleaning time on a weekly, daily or even a monthly basis. These models also allow you to edit floor maps and save them for later use. They also offer alternate cleaning schedules.

The most advanced robot vacuums use dual sensors, combining with a LIDAR system to map your space with a structured light sensor that is able to see objects and avoid them, even if they're under furniture or power cords. These features let your robot vacuums best access tight areas, such as the nook beneath your kitchen cabinets or under your sofas. Other robots struggle with these spaces. They're also faster to get over obstacles and have longer run times with bigger dust bins, making them more suitable for large homes than entry-level robotics.

The best robot hoover rated robot vacuums tend to be swift, intelligent and powerful cleaning up all kinds of floor debris, including pet hair, kitty litter and other messes. They can also be quiet which makes them a great choice for homes with young children and pets. Most robot vacuum owners we've talked to say they appreciate the convenience of keeping their floors spotless with minimal effort, especially when used frequently. Robots can last as long as traditional vacuum cleaners with the right maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping the track of spare parts). PCWorld offers a helpful guide that provides techniques to keep your machine running efficiently for many long time to come.

Larger Dust Bags

A robotic vacuum is not as effective at cleaning as a canister or upright vacuum, but it is great at picking up the dust and debris that regular vacuuming has left behind. It can be used to perform quick touch-ups of bare floors and can also navigate around cords or other obstacles in your home. If you don't wish to do the deep cleaning yourself, a robot vacuum can be sent out to scour your floors on a regular schedule.

The top-rated robot vacuums have large easy to empty dust bags that can hold more dirt than a room. This will save time and money through replacement bags. This feature is available on a variety of models which includes our top choice, the Ecovacs T30S Combo. This all-in-one robovac boasts an impressive performance score and comes with an auto-emptying bin. It also has mopping functions and effective navigation. It's a close match between this and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, which comes with intelligent mapping and avoidance technology. This robovac has more capacity but is slightly more expensive.

Another major difference between the two models is how well they handle long human hair, which can tangle in the rollers of some robots. The best-performing models include the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have superb hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores along with great path planning and near perfect auto empty results. The Shark Matrix Plus and eufy are also excellent options, with respectable hair pick-up and tangle avoidance but they don't have as much path planning or auto empty.

The latest robots are fitted with sensors that can identify dirt and other debris on carpets and they are more adept at picking up pet hair. Some robots have mopping mode, where they can use the reservoir of water to clean up stuck-on debris and spills. This feature is a must for families with pets as well as children.

Maintenance

A robot vacuum will help you keep up with your home. While no robot can substitute an upright or canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the highest models are rated to remove pet hair, lint and other dirt that accumulates on carpets with low pile and hard floors, picking up much more than you would find using a broom. They come with navigational features that help them avoid getting stuck on power cords, rug fringes or furniture.

According to the model, you can schedule a robot vacuum to run multiple times a day or observe it in action with an app. These machines are useful however they can be clogged and require regular maintenance. This includes emptying the onboard dust bin (or in some cases, the base's bigger bin) as well as checking the brushes for tangled fur and a regular cleaning of the filters and drying them according to the manufacturer.

Emily Rairdin is a vacuum expert and store owner apprentice from University Vacuum + Sewing. She believes that a robotic vacuum can last from three to five years with proper care. She recommends emptying the bin and the brush roll regularly and cutting off hair that gets caught in the brushes, and then regularly cleaning and drying the filter, especially if it is also a mop. It is a good robot vacuum idea to wipe the sensors and charging contacts of the dock or robot with a soft clean cloth every now and then. Then, refill and recharge the robot when needed for your next cleaning session.