Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

While robot vacuums are excellent at keeping your floors clean, they can't substitute for a larger vacuum. Even the most powerful robots struggle to penetrate carpets or rugs, and can often get caught in socks and cords.

Your robot will last longer if it is maintained with regular maintenance. This includes replacing filters, cutting the tangled hairs from brushes, and emptying the dust bin.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums are capable of handling one or two cleaning sessions before needing to recharge. The runner-up in our overall picks, the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo, has a battery that is designed to last for up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning time on one charge. That amount of runtime is more than enough time to clean the majority of smaller homes that have the combination of hard floors and low-pile carpets, or a larger home where the rooms are roughly the same size.

A longer battery lifespan also means that the robot is able to spend more time cleaning, and less time charging on its dock. It's recommended to select an auto-emptying dust bin, since those models are more efficient in collecting debris and returning to the dock to recharge. It's important to clean or replace filters and wipe down sensors and camera on a regular schedule so they can see clearly.

Smart mapping technology can be a useful feature, as you can program your robot so that it only cleans certain rooms or areas it's likely to bump into furniture and other obstacles. It's also useful for ensuring that your robot is able to go under and around beds, sofas and other tall furniture. A few robovacs that are cheap have boundary strips that you can use to block certain areas. Other models of higher quality rely on cameras and sensors.

Even the best rated robot vacuum robot vacuums cannot replace a traditional vacuum when it comes to heavy-duty large-pile dirt and other debris. It's recommended to have a power vacuum on hand for these chores and plan robot vacs for light cleanings throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot must be able to navigate around your home without getting stuck or running into things like screws made of metal or pet hair that is loose, or sand. In our tests, we employ an instrument to track the robot as it goes through a multi-room lab and determine its surroundings. We also check how well the robot avoids obstacles like power cords, [Redirect-302] furniture leg and pet waste.

The best robots are able to identify different floors and identify landmarks, like doors and windows. The most advanced robots, such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra have a dual sensor navigation system, which uses an LIDAR to map out a room and a structured-light camera on the front to spot objects in real-time. This lets the S8 to stay clear of common obstacles such as power cords and furniture legs, and it can store up to four different floor maps within its internal memory.

Cheaper models don't come with this kind of detection and rely on bump sensors which aren't as precise. In my tests they were able detect dog poop through cords as well as a pair of shoes placed in the middle. The Dreametech D10+ is the best value choice. It is a great carpet and hard floor, tangle, and hair pickup. It also has a near-perfect auto empty score.

Another feature that is important is a large dust bin which doesn't have to be manually emptied, and for models that mop, a tank of water which can store weeks of cleaning sessions. Karcher's RCV 5 is a great illustration of this. It has a wide enough footprint to fit under furniture, but not too big that it cannot fit in the nook between your toilet and bathtub.

Apps

Robot vacuums are similar to their upright counterparts and require an array of technologies to keep them up-to-date. The result is a mature market that is brimming with options. Even the best models require interaction from their customers especially when it comes to schedule cleanings, create a floor plan for your home and set up virtual barriers.

To reduce the impact of this kind of interaction, look for a model that uses its own app to determine the location of your home, and save the settings for future use. This will allow the robot cleaning machine vacuum to continue where it started on subsequent runs rather than having the mapping process restarted each time.

Also, look for models that offer zones or spot cleaning. You can instruct the vacuum cleaner to concentrate on a specific area, for example, under the table after a big family meal. You can use the app or voice commands.

The ability to avoid objects is another feature that's available with numerous models. It allows the robot to observe something in its path, like the shoe box or a crate full of dog toys, and coach itself around it. This will stop 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 depend on the technology of bump sensors for this however they did not always stay clear of things I tested at home.

Pet Hair

Choose an upright vacuum cleaner specifically designed to remove hair from pets. The most effective models will feature the highest suction, a brush that stops tangling, and an automatic floor cleaner emptying mechanism. Some models can also determine dirt levels and adjust the intensity of cleaning according to the amount of dirt. They also can detect objects that aren't part your flooring in your home, such as furniture, toys, and food bowls.

Some robot vacuums come with additional features that are pet-friendly. They include a water dispenser which is used to mop floors, and a HEPA filtration system that reduces allergens like pet dander. They might also offer an operation that is quieter, which can reduce the amount of noise generated during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums with the ability to map are a great option for pet owners, as they're designed to evaluate your home and create a plan of attack based on the layout and the obstacles in each room. Shark Matrix Plus is a two-in-one robot vacuum that can create a map of a room, and navigate through furniture, and over other obstacles by using accelerometers and gyroscope smart sensors.

Other advanced models allow you to set no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is meant to stay clear of, such as fragile items or pet feeding spots--by adjusting settings through an app. This feature can be especially beneficial for families with a lot of activity as it permits you to plan your cleaning schedule and adjust settings without having to be in the same room cleaning robot as the vacuum. Another great feature is spot cleaning which allows you to use the vacuum to clean a particular area that may be particularly filthy or full of pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you don't need something small, go for a model with a large bin, or even a self-emptying trash bin. We recommend going for a model that has an enormous bin or a self-emptying dustbin. The former will allow you to keep up with emptying the bin often enough to ensure you are on top of its performance, while the latter will help you save time and hassle by automatically emptying its contents into an internal container after every few cleanings.

No matter the size of your house, most robots can easily climb up and around furniture, and almost all can recognize and navigate around household obstacles like loose cords, shoes, and dog urine. Consider models that have intelligent mapping capabilities, which permit them to "learn" the structure of your home and devise more efficient routes, and ones that are able to detect and avoid objects that may hinder their path (like shoelaces or the tangled charging cables).

Certain models also offer spot cleaning, which lets you to choose specific areas of your home for thorough cleaning. In our tests, we found that the top models can take out small particles like baking soda, sand, orzo, metal screws, and pet hair, as well heavier debris such as oatmeal, orzo, and screws made of metal.

According to the brand, robots can last years and continue to perform well, as long as they're maintained. For instance cleaning hair that is tangled out of brushes and emptying dust bins after each use, and wiping cameras and sensors down when needed. The most reliable robots are more flexible. This makes it easier to replace or repair components such as wheels and batteries when they wear out.