Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot vacuums are great to keep your floors clean but they cannot replace a traditional vacuum. Even the best self cleaning vacuum robots have difficulty getting deep into carpets and rugs, and they can become tangled in cords and socks.

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

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums are capable of handling a few cleaning sessions before needing a charge. The Ecovacs Q30S Combo is the second-best of our top robot vacuum cleaner choices. It has a battery that can last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square foot) on a single charge. The runtime is enough to clean smaller homes with a mix of hard floors and low-pile carpets, or a larger home in which the rooms are about the same size.

A longer battery lifespan also means the robot can spend more time cleaning and less time charging on its dock. It is recommended to choose one with an automatic emptying bin. These models are more efficient at cleaning up debris and bringing it to docks to recharge. It is also essential to empty or replace the filter and wipe down sensors and cameras regularly so that they are able to see your home clearly.

Smart mapping technology is a great feature to look out for since it permits you to program your robot to only clean certain rooms or avoid areas where it's likely to hit furniture or other obstacles. This feature is also beneficial to ensure that your robot can reach under and around furniture, such as beds, sofas and other high-height items. Some robovacs that are inexpensive have 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 achieve this goal.

Even the best robot vacuums aren't able to substitute a traditional vac for heavy-duty dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a power vacuum on hand for these tasks and schedule robot vacs for light cleanings throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot must be able to traveling around your home and not getting caught or running into objects like metal screws or pet hair, or sand. In our tests the tracking device is used to track the robot through a multi-room lab. It then tracks its surroundings. We also examine how the robot can avoid obstacles like power cords, furniture leg, and pet waste.

The most advanced robots can identify multiple floors and recognize landmarks, like doors and windows. The most advanced models such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, have a dual-sensor navigation system that uses a LIDAR sensor to map the room, and a lighting camera in front of the robot to detect objects in real time. The S8 can avoid obstacles such as cables for power and furniture legs. It also has the capability to store up to four floor maps.

Cheaper models don't come with this kind of detection and rely on bump sensors which aren't as accurate. In my tests they were able to rip through dog poop, cords, and even a pair of shoes placed in the middle of the room. The Dreametech D10+ is the most value-for-money option. It has excellent carpet and hard floor pickup, great hair and tangle pickup and an almost perfect auto vacuum empty score.

A large dust bin onboard, which does not need to be empty manually, is also a feature that is essential. For models that sweep the floor, this water tank can provide enough water for several weeks of cleaning sessions. Karcher's RCV 5 is an excellent illustration of this. It has a large 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 a lot like their upright counterparts, and it takes an enormous amount of technology to get them up and running at speed. There are many options in a market that is maturing. But even the top rated robot vacuum models still require some interaction with their users - particularly when cleaning schedules are being planned as well as establishing a home floor plan, and setting up virtual barriers.

To lessen the chance of this kind of interaction, look for a model that has its own app to recognize the location of your home, and save those settings for future use. This will allow the robot vacuum to continue where it began when it runs again, instead of having the mapping process restarted every time.

It is also recommended to look for models that offer spot or zone cleaning. These allow you to tell the robot vacuum to focus on a particular area, such as under the dining table after the family's big meal. You can choose to use the app or voice commands.

Many models also provide objects-avoidance. It allows the robot, when it comes across something that is in its path such as a box shoe or a crate with dog toys, to guide itself around. This will prevent it from running into objects that could harm its sensors or cause jams.

This feature is available on some of the more expensive models we tried. However, they typically rely on bump sensors to accomplish this, and they weren't always able to avoid things in my test homes.

Pet Hair

When you're looking to remove pet hair, look for a model that's designed specifically to handle this type of debris. The most effective models will feature an extremely high suction, a brush that keeps hair from tangling and an automated emptying mechanism. Some can also detect dirt levels and adjust cleaning intensity accordingly. They are also able to detect items that aren't a part of your flooring in your home, such as furniture, toys, and food bowls.

Certain robot vacuums have additional pet-friendly features. They include the water dispenser that can be used to mop floors and a HEPA filtration system that reduces allergens, such as pet dust. They may also offer the option of a quieter operation, which will reduce the amount of sound generated during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums with the ability to map are a great option for pet owners, as they're engineered to assess your home and devise an action plan based on the layout and obstacles in every room. For example, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum is a smart vacuum with an impressive capability to map a room and navigate around furniture and other obstructions with accelerometer and gyroscope smart sensors that work together to learn the layout of your space.

Apps allow you to set up zones that are not allowed. These are areas where the robot is not allowed, for instance, areas with fragile objects or pet feeding areas. This feature can be especially useful for households with busy schedules as it permits you to plan your cleaning schedule and make adjustments without having to be in the same space as the vacuum. Spot cleaning is another excellent feature. You can direct the vacuum cleaner to clean an area that is particularly dirty or filled with pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you don't need something tiny, choose a robot with a large bin or even a self cleaning vacuum cleaner-emptying dustbin. We recommend picking one with an enormous bin, or even a dustbin that automatically emptys. The former will allow you to keep track of emptying the bin often enough to stay on top of its performance, while the latter will help you save time and hassle by automatically dumping its contents into an internal container after every few cleans.

Look for models that have smart mapping capabilities that permit them to "learn" the layout of your house and plan more efficient routes. They also detect and avoid objects that may hinder their routes (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Make sure you choose models with smart mapping capabilities. This lets them "learn the structure of your home and plan more efficient routes.

Some models provide spot cleaning. This allows you to choose a specific area of your home to be targeted for intensive cleaning. In our tests, we discovered that the top models can remove fine particles such as baking soda, sand, orzo, screws made of metal and pet hair, as well heavier debris like oatmeal orzo, and metal screws.

The brand you choose will determine the longevity of the robot. the majority of robots last for years and will continue to perform well as long as you maintain them with regular maintenance, such as cleaning tangled hair from brushes and dust bins, emptying them after each use, and wiping down sensors and cameras as required. The most efficient robots tend to be more modular, which makes them easier and cheaper to repair or replace components such as batteries and wheels as they wear out.