The Best Robot Vacuums

A robot vacuum will take care of most of the cleaning work for you. It will take pet hair, lint and surface dirt from carpets and furniture before they can become stuck. Many also work with smart assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to give you the convenience of hands-free operation.

Many models have maps, which allows them to create a map of your home. This helps them avoid tumbling off ledges and traversing the cords of devices.

What to Look For

Certain robots come with advanced features, allowing you to control them via voice assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant. Smart mapping, zone cleaning, and object avoidance are some of the features. These machines might also have larger dust bins and longer-lasting batteries.

Select a model with an extensive brush that can clean up large debris and that is slim enough to fit under furniture. Check if the robot vacuum is able to clean various types of floors without changing the suction settings or brushes. This could reduce its effectiveness in cleaning and decrease its life span.

The best rated robot vacuum robot vacuums are equipped with high-quality filters that can trap fine particles and protect your home. They also have an ample accessible collection bin so you can empty it often. Some robot vacuums come with an additional side brush to remove pet hair or debris in hard-to reach places, such as under and behind furniture. The dustbins are usually transparent, which means you can see the amount of dirt in the bin and when to empty it.

In addition to scheduling your robot vacuum to operate at times when you're likely be at home, you can also use the app to draw a boundary around your furniture and rooms that you'd like it avoid. Some models can also detect the kind of flooring and adjust their vacuum and brush settings to match.

There are robotics that recharge and continue cleaning the area they left when their battery is exhausted. And some have a built-in camera that lets you see your robot vacuum's route and view what it's collected.

Some robots can be controlled via voice commands however, not all. Be sure that the robot you choose is compatible with the voice assistant of your preference, and then test how well it responds to various commands during the purchase process. Some robots will even empty their dustbins and clean their docking stations, making your list of chores a more. This is a costly feature as is a larger collection container and more rapid charging speeds.

Cleaning Performance

While robots can't replace a full-on vacuum or broom, they provide an effective and efficient alternative to the daily chore of cleaning your floors. The best robotic cleaners can remove small particles such as pet hair, dust and crumbs, or larger items such as metal shavings or wood shavings. They accomplish this without harming furniture or floors.

In most cases, they'll be able to detect what type of surface they're cleaning and adjust their suction or brush features accordingly to more thoroughly clean your floors. This is particularly important when you have a variety of flooring in your home. Many models come with the option of setting up virtual boundaries. This lets you instruct your robot to stay clear of certain areas of your home. This is useful in keeping your pets or children from entering areas they shouldn't be in, and also helps ensure that your entire home is cleaned up at the end of each scheduled session.

You should also consider how much autonomy you're willing to give your robot. Certain models require you be present and attentive, whereas others operate independently. They can alter cleaning modes and schedules via a mobile application or voice commands via an integrated smart assistant. Some will map and learn your home and allow you to define zones and instruct the robot to clean certain areas of your home on a daily or weekly basis.

In our tests, the iRobot+ proved to be the top robot for "set it and forget it". It was the best in mapping, creating virtual boundaries and getting around obstacles better than the other robots we tried. It can also empty itself so you do not have to manually do it. And, the side brushes help sweep debris off edges and corners that a vacuum cannot reach.

Its slim design and infrared sensor enable it to clean behind and under furniture, allowing it to do a better job than the majority of robots. Furthermore, its advanced navigation system lets it to sweep the entire floor of your home with just one battery charge. It's hard to beat even at its price.

Battery Life

A good robot vacuum can help keep your floors tidy and feel less like a chore, and more like a luxury. The distinction between a clean home and a dirty one can be made by removing dirt that has been tracked in, as well as crumbs, pet hair, and other messes. While a basic robot can keep up with most cleaning tasks, those seeking more of a hands-off experience should look for one that doubles as mop.

The Ecovacs Deebot T10 OMNI is among the top models for both, since it is extremely efficient in both its mop and vacuuming modes and is able to easily deal with dirt and pet hair, as well as debris and even cat litter. Its object avoidance feature is particularly impressive, allowing it to avoid objects and not become stuck on them.

It has a big dustbin as well as a battery that lasts for a long time, so it can cover a significant amount of space in just one go. It's also a smart vacuum, meaning it can make maps of your home and work with apps, like those offered by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, to let you control it with voice commands.

The application that comes with the robot is easy and straightforward to use, allowing you to set schedules, designate rooms for cleaning, or pause and resume sessions. It will even notify you the moment that its battery is low and return to its docking station to recharge.

The robot is also able to distinguish between hard floors and carpets, and adjust its settings accordingly. This prevents the machine from getting stuck on one type of floor and causing damage to furniture. However, it is not yet able to recognize high pile carpeting or the seams of rooms, so you'll still have to be careful about picking up large items.

All robot vacuums require a certain degree of maintenance, like brush hair removal and emptying (and occasionally rinsing) the bin of dust after each cleaning session, and wiping down sensors or cameras between uses to keep them in top shape. The manufacturer will give specific instructions for these and other maintenance procedures which can differ based on the specific model.

Cost

The top robot vacuums might not be cheap, but they are far cheaper than professional carpet cleaning machines or even a stand-up one. They also need less maintenance than traditional vacuums, with most requiring only that you empty (and occasionally rinse) their bins after each cleaning session and often wiping down their sensors or cameras.

Many robot vacuums come with intelligent features that make them more effective for your home, such as mapping technology, which allows you to guide the vacuum on the layout of your home by using an app, so it doesn't run over the stairs or underneath the furniture, where there might be a mess. Other robot vacuums can detect the type of floor they are cleaning so that they can adjust their suction and brush functions to get the best results.

Certain models come with objects avoidance, which utilizes sensors (or even a camera) to identify toys and other items on the floor and coach the robot to walk around them, rather than running over them. This could be extremely helpful for families with children or pets who scatter toys all over the home.

Another smart feature that may be important to you is voice control which allows you to operate your robot using your voice instead of using the buttons on the board. This is helpful when your children aren't old enough to operate the robot or if it's just practical for you.

How often you should use your robot will depend on the amount of dirt or debris has accumulated on your floor. Most experts recommend using a robot vacuum at least once a week to keep your floors looking their best and nabbing pet hair, dust and dirt from the surface before it is able to get ground in or become more difficult to get rid of.

If you're working with limited areas of floor space and don't want to use your robot for other tasks, a budget model like our top pick, the Eufy 11S, is a good choice. It's reasonably priced, easy to set up and use and does the job with minimal noise disturbance while you work or watch TV.