Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot vacuums are great to keep your floors clean however they aren't a replacement for a traditional robotic vacuum cleaner reviews. Even the most advanced robots have trouble getting deep into carpets and rugs, and they may get caught in cords and socks.

Your robot will last longer if you perform routine maintenance. This includes replacing filters, removing hairs that are tangled from brushes and emptying the dustbin.

Battery Life

The majority of robot vacuums can manage a few cleaning sessions before needing a charge. The runner-up in our overall picks is the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo is rated to last up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on one charge. This should suffice for homes that have the combination of hard flooring and carpets with low pile or larger homes with rooms that are about the same size.

A longer battery life means the robot can spend less time charging and spend more time cleaning. It's recommended to select an auto-emptying dust bin, since they are more efficient when it comes to collecting debris and returning to the dock to recharge. It is also essential to clean or replace the filter and clean cameras and sensors regularly so that they can see your home clearly.

Smart mapping technology is a great feature to be looking for, as it allows you to program your robot to only clear certain rooms or areas that it's likely to bump into furniture or other obstacles. It's also beneficial for ensuring your robot is able to get under and around sofas, beds and other tall furniture. Some cheap robovacs come with boundary strips you can use to block off certain areas. Other models of higher quality rely on cameras and sensors.

Even the best robot vacuums cannot replace a traditional vacuum when it comes to heavy-duty large-pile dirt and other debris. It is recommended to keep a power vacuum on hand to tackle these tasks, and also schedule robot vacuums for light cleaning throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot should be able to navigate you home without getting stuck or crashing into objects like metal screws or pet hair that is loose, or sand. In our tests, we employ a tracking device to follow the robot as it goes through a multi-room lab and shows its surroundings. We also examine how the robot avoids obstacles like power cords, furniture leg, and pet waste.

The top robot vacuum cleaner robots are able to map out multiple floors, and recognize landmarks such as doors and windows. The most advanced robots, like the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra have a dual sensor navigation system which utilizes a LIDAR to map out a room and a structured-light camera at the front to identify objects in real-time. This lets the S8 to avoid common obstacles, such as furniture legs and power cords, and it can store up to four floor maps within its internal memory.

The more affordable models don't have this type of object detection and rely on bump sensors which aren't as precise. In my tests they were able to rip through cords, dog poop and even a pair of shoes placed in the middle of the room. The most cost-effective choice the Dreametech D10+, is one exception to this. It is a great carpet and hard automatic floor Vacuum pickup, good hair and tangle pickup, and an auto empty score.

Another feature that is important is a huge onboard dustbin that doesn't require manually empty. It also has, for those models that mop, a water tank which can store weeks of mopping. Karcher's RCV 5 is an excellent example of this. It has a wide enough footprint to be able to be placed under furniture, but not too big 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. The result is a pretty mature market with plenty of options. Even the top models require interaction from their users especially when it comes time to schedule cleanings, create a floor plan for your home and set up virtual barriers.

Consider a model with its own app that can identify the layout of your house and save these settings for future use. This will allow the robot vacuum to continue where it began in subsequent runs, rather than having the mapping process restarted every time.

It is also recommended to look for models that provide zone or spot cleaning. You can tell the robot vacuum cleaner to concentrate on a specific area, such as under the table after a big family meal. You can usually choose to do this using the app or by voice commands.

Many models also provide objects-avoidance. It permits the robot, when it spots something that is in its path such as a box shoe or a crate with dog toys, to coach itself around. This prevents it from crashing into objects that could damage its sensors or cause jams.

Some of the most expensive models in our tests come with this feature. They rely on the technology of bump sensors for this, but they didn't always avoid things in my test home.

Pet Hair

When it comes to picking up pet hair, look for the right model designed to handle this type of debris. The most effective models come with powerful suction capabilities and a brush that prevents tangling, and an emptying mechanism that can automatically empty hair into the bin when it is needed. Some can also detect dirt levels and adjust the intensity of cleaning accordingly. They are also able to detect objects that aren't part your flooring at home, such as toys, furniture and food bowls.

Some robot vacuums have extra pet-friendly features, such as a small water dispenser that can be used for mopping floors and an HEPA filter that can help reduce allergens like pet dander. They could also provide an operation that is quieter, which can minimize the amount of noise generated during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums with maps are a great option for pet owners, as they're engineered to assess your home and create a plan of attack based on the layout and the obstacles in every room. Shark Matrix Plus is a dual-purpose robot vacuum that can create a map of a room, and navigate around furniture and other obstacles with the help of accelerometers and gyroscope smart sensors.

Other models that are more advanced let you define no-go zones that are areas that the robot is expected to avoid, such as items that are fragile or pet feeding areas--by altering settings through an app. This feature is particularly beneficial for families with a lot of activity because it allows you to plan your cleaning schedule and make adjustments without having to be in the same room as the robotic vacuum cleaners. Another feature that is extremely useful is spot cleaning which gives you the option to use the vacuum to clean a particular area that is particularly dirty or full of pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you're not looking for something small it is recommended to select a robot capable of holding at least a complete bag of garbage from one cleaning session. That's why we recommend opting for a model that has an enormous bin or self-emptying bins. The first will let you keep up with emptying your bin often enough to maintain its performance. The second will save you time and effort by automatically emptying the contents into an inner container every few cleanings.

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

Some models also provide spot cleaning, which allows you to manually target specific areas of your home for thorough cleaning. We've observed that the majority of the top 5 robot vacuum performers in our tests can pick up fine particles like baking soda and sand along with heavier debris such as oatmeal orzo pasta screws, and pet hair.

According to the brand, robots can last years and continue to perform as well, so long as they are properly maintained. For instance, cleaning tangled hair out of brushes, emptying dust bins after each use, and wiping sensors and cameras down as required. The most efficient robots tend to be more modular which makes them simpler and less expensive to replace or repair parts such as wheels and batteries as they wear out.