What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A quality robot vacuum will help you stay on top of pet hair, lint, and dust on a regular basis. Many of them use apps to allow you to schedule cleaning times and create virtual boundaries, or "walls" to keep them from areas you don't want cleaned.

This smart vacuum and mop creates a home map after its first trip, and then it will remember your space for future jobs. It comes with a large dust bin that automatically emptys, as well as a self-cleaning, brush roll.

Object Detection

When you are choosing a robotic vacuum, make sure you choose one that can take in large objects, such as toys and lamp cords, as well as dust particles. This will help ensure they don't get caught in the roller brush and aren't left on your floors. This feature is especially important if your robot will be regularly cleaned by pets or children.

A model that has an engine that is powerful and lots of suction is also an excellent choice. This will make it more effective at getting up pet hair, dust and lint off your carpets and hardwood floors.

The size of your home is a different factor to consider. If you have a large home, you might choose a model with multiple cleaning zones that can clean the entire house in one go. Certain models also include mopping functions that can be used to keep your floors fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums are long-lasting however, they must be cleaned properly and regularly. Cleaning the rotating brushes, emptying the dust bin and wiping down the sensors regularly will keep your robot functioning efficiently for many years to be. Many of the owners of robot vacuums we speak to have been using their machines for 10 years or longer (and have replaced brushes, motors, and batteries as time went by).

A basic robot is less expensive than a full size vacuum cleaner. They'll perform a great job of cleaning surface dirt as well as pet fur and lint. You can use them to clean your floor several times a day. They don't have as much technology and are more susceptible to becoming jammed or requiring manual 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 staircase. Certain models are able to return to their dock or base when their batteries are low. They also can avoid obstacles like furniture cords and legs. Some of the more expensive models have the ability to map, which allows them to memorize your home's layout and therefore spend less time bumping against walls.

If you don't want to splurge on the most advanced robotic vacuums, you can still find one that is capable of picking up pet hair, dirt, dust and crumbs from hard floors like tiles and wood, as well as carpets with a low pile. They can also take care of bigger debris like nails with rusty screws, metal screws or even toys that have been discarded. Some come with an auto-emptying base that is handy in the event that you don't wish to empty the dustbin after every clean-up.

Some robotic vacuums have clever features, making the look of a stick vacuum quaint. They include zones-targeting, schedules, and the ability to control them through an app or voice assistant, such as Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas you don't want the robot to get into.

Some robotic vacuums, like the Eufy 11S or my former top pick, Roborock S8, come equipped with obstacle avoidance technology to prevent them from tripping over furniture or cords. Other models, like the iRobot Roomba j7+, have more sophisticated AI obstacle avoidance that uses cameras and processor-powered smarts to see and avoid items like lamp cords, shoes, socks, and pet waste. It's a little more expensive than other bots that I've tested, but it does a fantastic job of avoiding obstacles and rarely is stuck or derails when working on my floor.

The iRobot J7+ was a great obstacle-avoiding robot, but it did not always succeed in avoiding crumbs or dirt on my carpets. It also was known to over-vacuum certain areas, which resulted in dust accumulating in the filters and an unclean house.

Smart Mapping

The best robot vacuums have an app that can help you to customize cleaning settings set schedules, and view the flooring area that the machine covers. This is an excellent feature that some competitors lack altogether. This makes it easy to create profiles that automatically start your robot at certain times and keep it running on regularly, for example, cleaning your living room prior to dinner or on a regular basis.

A good app will also let you control your robot with voice commands. Certain models can be controlled by Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant and can work completely hands-free, so you can say "start with a clean" or "change cleaning mode" without using the app.

Look for the model with a large dustbin. This will allow you to perform many cleaning sessions without needing empty it. There are also models that self-empty which takes a portion of the burden of emptying the machine after each cleaning run.

If you're looking for a robotic that is more than a vacuum, you should consider one that has mopping capabilities. They are usually larger than the robotic vacuums, and come with an internal water tank that can hold many cleaning sessions of dirt and debris before having to be empty.

The most advanced robots create their own maps of your home. They can even keep track of the layout from one cleaning to another and help them avoid getting lost or stuck in corners. This can make a huge difference in the efficiency of your robot vacuum as it will not have to go back to where it started when it encounters furniture or walls.

Our testers found that robots that had this feature were extremely efficient. They could sit and watch TV or complete other things while the robot cleaned. Some models use laser navigation to create a map of your home. You can then program them to clean your bedroom after dinner, or all rooms while you are at work.

App Control

If you want to customize the frequency with which the robot cleans your home and select a cleaning option, it's best robot vacuum for mopping to get one that has a mobile app. You can also see the status of the vacuum and the state of its dust bin within the app. 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 an washable filter and self-emptying container, particularly when the filter can be easily cleaned and washed. A high-powered brush is another fantastic feature that allows you to reach into corners and along baseboards for removal of dirt and hair. Some robots are more adept in avoiding chair legs than others. Others come with a sensor that automatically cleans brushes to prevent obstruction.

Certain robo-vacs utilize navigation tools that help them understand your home and overcome obstacles. High-end models have sensors and cameras that can detect obstacles like furniture, stairs and cords, while cheaper 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 throw toys and socks scattered throughout the house, as it allows your robot to grab the objects instead of scattering them.

More robots are coming with mop heads. This is useful for those with floors that are hard and need to mop regularly. These robots come with water tanks built into the chassis or a separate piece you can swap in when it's time to mop. They may require frequent refills however, they are perfect for homes with hard floors and can't be cleaned with vacuums.

We've seen some impressive technology packed into these little robots and they're less expensive than you might think. You can find a decent one under $200, which does a decent job cleaning on hard floors, while also navigating around the edges of carpets and carpets. You can program the robot to sweep a room every day, and it can be controlled remotely via the app or by pressing buttons on its side.