Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot vacuums are fantastic for keeping your floors tidy but they are not a substitute for a traditional vacuum. Even the best vacuums struggle to get into carpets or rugs, and can often get caught in socks and cords.

Being on top of routine maintenance (replacing filters cutting hair that is tangled from brushes and emptying the dust bin) will help your robot last longer.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums are equipped to handle a few cleaning sessions without needing to be charged. The runner-up in our top picks is the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo is that is designed to last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on a single charge. This will be more than enough for homes that have the combination of hard floors and low pile carpets or larger homes where the rooms are about the same size.

A longer battery life means that the robot will spend more time cleaning and less time charging on its dock. It's recommended to select an auto-emptying dust bin, as these models are more efficient in cleaning up debris and returning to the dock for charging. It is essential to clean or replace the filters and clean the sensors and camera regularly so that they can see clearly.

Smart mapping technology is an important feature to look out for because it allows you to program your robot to clean certain rooms or avoid areas that it's likely to bump into furniture or other obstacles. It's also useful for ensuring that your robot is able to go under and around beds, sofas and other tall furniture. Some cheap robovacs come with boundary strips that you can use to block certain areas. Other high-end models rely on cameras and sensors.

Even the best robot vacs aren't able to replace a traditional vacuum for heavy-duty, large-pile dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a conventional power vac on standby for those tasks, and to schedule robot vacs regularly for light cleaning throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot should be able to navigate your home without getting stuck or crashing into things like metal screws or loose pet hair or sand. In our tests, a tracking device is used to track the robot through an entire lab. It then analyzes its surroundings. We also check how well it avoids obstacles, including furniture legs, power cords and pet waste.

The top robots are able to map out multiple floors and can recognize landmarks such as doors and Windows. The most advanced models, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, have a dual-sensor navigation system which uses a LIDAR sensor to map the room and a structured light camera on the front of the bot to detect objects in real time. The S8 can avoid obstacles such as cables for power and furniture legs. It can also store up to four automatic floor cleaners maps.

The majority of the models that are affordable use bump sensors, which aren't as precise. In my tests, they were able to see through dog poop and cords, as well as a pair of shoes placed in the middle. The Dreametech D10+ is the best value choice. It has excellent carpet and hard floor pickup, good tangle and hair pickup, and an almost perfect auto empty score.

A large dust bin onboard, that doesn't need to be emptying manually is another feature that's important. If you have models that mop the floor, this tank is able to hold enough water to last for several weeks of cleaning sessions. Karcher's RCV 5 is an excellent example of this. It has a wide enough footprint to fit under furniture but not so large that it cannot fit in the space between your toilet and tub.

Apps

Robot vacuums are like their upright counterparts and require lots of technology to get them up and running at speed. The result is a mature market that is brimming with options. Even the best models require interaction from their users, especially when it comes to plan cleaning schedules, design the floor plan of your home and set up virtual barriers.

You might consider a model with its own app that can determine the layout of your house and save the settings for future use. This will let the robot robotic vacuum cleaners begin where it left off on subsequent runs, without having to start the mapping process every time.

You should also look for models that provide spot or zone cleaning. They let you tell the robot vacuum to concentrate on a specific spot for example, like under the dining table after a big family meal. It is possible to use the app or via voice commands.

The ability to avoid objects is another option that is available on several models. It allows the robot when it comes across objects in its path such as a box shoes or a crate containing dog toys, to coach itself around. This will prevent it from crashing into objects that could harm its sensors or cause jams.

This feature is available on some of the more expensive models we tested. They depend on bump sensor technology for this, but they didn't always keep things out of my test home.

Pet Hair

When it comes to removing pet hair, you should choose one that is specifically designed to handle this type of debris. The top models feature powerful suction and a brush that prevents getting caught in a knot, and an emptying mechanism that will automatically dump hair into the trash bin when necessary. Some can also detect dirt levels and adjust cleaning intensity according to the amount of dirt. They can even spot items that aren't part of your home's flooring like furniture and toys, food bowls, cords, and more.

Certain robot vacuums come with pet-friendly features, like a water dispenser that can be used to mop floors and a HEPA filter that helps reduce allergens like pet dust. They may also have an operation that is quieter to minimize the amount of noise produced during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums with maps are an excellent option for pet owners. They are designed to analyze your home, and create an strategy based on the layout of each room as well as obstacles. Shark Matrix Plus is a 2-in-1 robot vacuum that can map a room, navigate around furniture, and other obstacles by using accelerometers and Gyroscope smart sensors.

Apps allow you to establish zones that are not allowed. These are areas where the robot shouldn't be allowed, for instance, areas with fragile objects or pet feeding areas. This feature is especially useful for families with busy schedules, since it allows you to schedule cleaning sessions without having to be in the room in which the vacuum is. Spot cleaning is an additional fantastic feature. You can direct the vacuum cleaner to clean a spot that is especially dirty or stuffed with pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you don't want something tiny, choose a robot floor cleaner with a big bin or even a self-emptying dustbin. This is why we suggest opting for a model with a large bin, or perhaps self-emptying garbage bin. The former will help you keep up with cleaning the bin regularly enough to stay on top of its performance while the latter will help you save time and hassle by automatically dumping the contents into an internal container every few cleanings.

Look for models with smart mapping capabilities, which enable them to "learn" the layout of your house and plan more efficient routes. They also detect and avoid objects that may hinder their travel (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Find models with intelligent mapping capabilities, which enable them to "learn" the structure of your home and design more efficient routes, as well as models that detect and avoid objects that could block their paths (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables).

Some models also provide spot cleaning, which lets you to manually target specific areas of your house for intensive cleaning. In our tests, we found that the top models can take out small particles like sand, baking soda, orzo, metal screws, and pet hair, as well as heavier debris such as oatmeal, orzo, and screws made of metal.

The brand you choose will determine the longevity of the robot. most robots will last for a long time and continue to perform in the event that you keep up with maintenance, like cleaning out hair that is tangled from brushes, emptying the dust bin after every use, and wiping down sensors and cameras whenever needed. The most reliable robots are more flexible. This makes it easier to replace or repair parts like wheels and batteries as they wear out.