What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A good robotic vacuum can keep you on top of pet hair, lint and dust on a regular basis. Many of them use apps to allow you to schedule cleaning sessions and create virtual boundaries, or 'walls' to keep them away from areas that you don't want to be cleaned.

This smart vac-mop creates a map of your home using its first run. It then saves the space for future cleaning jobs. It comes with self-cleaning brush rolls as well as an large dust bin that is empty automatically.

Object Detection

When picking a robot vacuum, make sure you choose one that can take in big items, such as toys and lamp cords, as well as dust particles. This will ensure that they do not get caught in the roller brush or left on your floor. This is especially important for those who have pets or children and need to clean the robot on a regular basis.

It's also a good idea to choose a model with a powerful motor and lots of suction power. This will make it more efficient at getting up pet hair, lint and dust from your hardwood and carpet floors.

Another crucial aspect to consider is the size of your space. If you have an apartment you might want to pick a model that has multiple cleaning zones, so you can clean the entire house in a single session. Some models also come with mopping functions, which can be used to keep your floors fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums can last a long time, but they'll need to be maintained regularly and in a proper manner. Cleaning the rotating brushes and emptying the dust bin and wiping the sensors clean on a regular basis will ensure that your robot is running efficiently for years to be. Many of the owners of robot vacuums that we have spoken with have owned the same model for 10 years or more (and have replaced motors, brushes and batteries along the way).

A basic robot will cost you less than a full-size vacuum cleaner, however they'll do a fantastic job at keeping up with dirt on the surface, pet hair, and lint. They're a great maintenance cleaner that you can use every week to keep your floors tidy. The drawback is that they don't come with as advanced technology, and could be prone to getting stuck or needing human intervention.

Object Avoidance

The Best vacuum and mop combo robot vacuums use sensors, cameras or lasers to help you navigate your home and prevent getting stuck or falling on the stairs. Some models can return to their dock or base when their batteries are low. They can also avoid obstacles like furniture legs and cords. The ones that are more expensive usually feature mapping capabilities that allow them to memorize the design of your home and lessen the time you spend hitting walls.

If you don't want to spend the money on the most sophisticated robotic vacuums, you can find one that is capable of removing pet hair dirt, dust, and crumbs from hard floors like tile and wood as well as carpets with low pile. They can also handle larger debris such as nails that are rusty, metal screws or discarded toys. Some have an automatic base that drains itself, which is great for those who don't want to empty it at the end of each cleaning session.

The majority of robotic vacuums have advanced features that make your ordinary stick vacuum appear old-fashioned, including schedules, zone targeting and the capability to control them using an app or a voice assistant like Alexa. You can also set up cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas that you don't want the robot to get into.

Some robotic vacuums, such as the Eufy 11S or my former favorite, Roborock S8, come with obstacle avoidance technology to keep them from tripping over furniture or cords. Some robot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+ have more advanced AI obstacle avoidance technology that makes use of sensors, cameras and smarts to avoid items like lamp cords as well as pet waste. It's a bit more expensive than the other bots I've tried, but it does a fantastic job of avoiding obstacles, and never gets stuck or derailed when working on my floor.

The J7+ from iRobot was a fantastic obstacle avoidance robot however, it didn't always do a great job at avoiding dirt or crumbs on my carpets. It also had a tendency to over-vacuum certain areas resulting in a lot of dust in the filters and an unclean home.

Smart Mapping

A few of the top robot vacuums come with an app that can help you to customize cleaning settings set schedules, and view the flooring area that the machine covers. This is a very useful feature that many competitors do not have. This lets you create profiles that will automatically start the robot at certain times and run it regularly. For example, cleaning the living room each morning or prior to dinner.

A good app will also allow you to control your robot with voice commands. Some models are compatible with Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, which allows you to control your robot using voice commands.

Find a model that has an enormous dust bin. This allows you to complete many cleaning sessions without having empty it. You can find models that self-empty, eliminating the requirement to empty the machine after every time you vacuum.

If you're looking for a robotic that is more than a vacuum, you should consider the models that have mopping capabilities. They are usually larger than robotic vacuums and have a water tank in the interior that holds many cleaning sessions of dirt and other debris prior to needing to be emptied.

Robots that are more sophisticated can make their own maps and keep track of the plan of your house from one cleaning session to the next, which prevents them from getting lost or stuck. This can make a significant difference in the efficiency of your robot vacuum, since it won't have to return to where it started when it encounters furniture or walls.

Our test participants who utilized the robot that has this feature discovered it to be extremely efficient. They could easily sit back and watch TV or perform other chores while the robot cleaned. Some models use laser navigation to create a map of your home. You can then program them to clean the bedroom after dinner, or all rooms while you are at work.

App Control

If you're looking to change the frequency at which the robot cleans your home and select a cleaning mode you should choose one that works with a mobile app. In the app, you can also monitor the condition of your vacuum as well as its dust bin. Some of the top vacuums that are robotic can be controlled by Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri Shortcuts.

A robot with a self-emptying bin and washable filters is simple to keep clean, especially when you are able to easily access the filter and remove it to rinse it. A high-powered brush is another fantastic feature that allows you to reach into corners and along baseboards to remove hair and dirt. Some robots are more adept in avoiding chairs' legs than others, and some even have a self-cleaning sensor that prevents the blockage of brushes that could be a problem in other robots.

Some robo-vacs have navigation tools to aid them in navigating obstacles and to learn about your home. High-end models are equipped with sensors and cameras that can detect obstacles like furniture, stairs and cords. On the other hand, less expensive models may use boundary strips you place on the floor to mark areas you don't want it to leave. Object avoidance is especially important for families with children who have socks and toys scattered around the house, because it helps your robot nab these objects instead of scattering them.

We're beginning to see more robots equipped with mops which are great for people who have hard floors and need to clean them regularly. These robots have a water reservoir that is built into their chassis or as a separate component that you can swap in when ready to mop. They may need to be filled more frequently than other kinds of robots, but they're great for homes with floors made of wood that aren't easily cleaned using a best vacuum mop combo.

These robots are packed with impressive technology, and they are priced a lot less than you'd expect. You can get a good one for under $200. It does a decent job cleaning on hard floors while navigating around the edges of carpets and area rug. You can program the robot to sweep rooms on a regular basis and it can be controlled remotely using the app or by pressing buttons on its side.