What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum
A good robotic vacuum can assist you in keeping track of pet hair, lint and dust on a daily basis. Many robot vacuums are compatible with apps that allow you to schedule cleaning times. You can also set virtual boundaries, or walls, to ensure that the vacuum is kept away from areas you don’t want to be cleaned.
This smart vacuum and mop creates a home map after its first run, storing your space for future jobs. It has self-cleaning brush rolls and an extra-large dust bin that empty automatically.
Object Detection
When picking a robot vacuum, choose one that is able to pick up large items, like toys and lamp cords, as well as dust particles. This will ensure that they do not get caught in the roller brush or strewn across your floor. This feature is especially crucial if your robot is going to be regularly cleaned by pets or children.
A model with a powerful engine and lots of suction is an excellent option. This will make it more effective at getting up pet hair, dust and lint off your carpets and hardwood floors.
The size of your house is another crucial factor to consider. If you have a large home, you may want to opt for a model with multiple cleaning zones that cover your entire house in a single session. Some models have mopping features that can be used to keep floors fresh and clean.
Robot vacuums can last a long time however, they must be maintained and cleaned regularly. Cleaning the rotating brushes regularly and emptying the dust bin, and wiping your sensors will ensure that your robot is running smoothly for a long time. Many owners of robot vacuums that we have spoken with have had the same model for 10 years or more (and have replaced motors, brushes and batteries as they went along).
A basic robot will cost you less than a large-sized vacuum cleaner, however they’ll still do a great job of keeping up with surface dirt, pet hair, and dust. You can use them to scrub your floors several times per day. They aren’t as technologically advanced and are more susceptible to becoming jammed or requiring manual intervention.
Object Avoidance
The best robot vacuums use cameras, sensors or lasers to navigate your home, avoiding getting stuck or falling down the stairs. They are also able to avoid obstacles like furniture legs and cords, and some models can automatically return to their dock or base when they run low on power. The more expensive ones often come with mapping capabilities that permit them to learn the arrangement of your home, and spend less time hitting walls.
You don’t have to spend an enormous amount of money on the most expensive robotic vacuums. You can still find models that do a fantastic job at picking up pet hair and dirt from hard surfaces like tile, wood, and low-pile rugs. They also do a good job of handling larger debris like metal screws and staples that are rusty or even abandoned toys. Some come with a self-emptying base which is helpful for those who don’t want to empty the trash bin after every cleaning session.
The majority of robotic vacuums have smart features that make your regular stick vacuum appear ancient, including zones, schedules, and the capability to control them using an app or a voice assistant such as Alexa. You can also design cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas that you don’t wish the robot to enter.
Certain robotic vacuums like the Eufy 11S and my former top choice, the Roborock S8, have obstacle avoidance technology that stops them from getting sucked into furniture or tangling cords. Certain robot vacuums, such as The Best Robot Vacuum Mop iRobot Roomba j7+ have more sophisticated AI obstacle-avoidance technology which uses sensors, cameras and algorithms to stay clear of items like lamp cords as well as pet waste. It’s more expensive than other bots I’ve tested, however, it did a great job of avoiding obstacles within my home and rarely got derailed or trapped when I was cleaning my floors.
While the iRobot j7+ was a good obstacle avoidance bot, it didn’t always do well in removing dust and crumbs from my rugs. It also was known to over-vacuum specific areas, resulting in a lot of dust in the filters and an unclean house.
Smart Mapping
Some of the top robot vacuums come with an app that lets you alter cleaning modes, create schedules, and look at the area covered by the machine. This is a useful feature that a few competitors do not have. This allows you to create profiles that automatically start your robot at specific time intervals and run it on regularly, for example, cleaning the living area prior to dinner or on a regular basis.
A good app will also let you control your robot with voice commands. Some models support Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant and can work completely hands-free, so you can say “start a clean” or “change cleaning mode” without the need for an app.
Find a model that has an enormous dust bin. This will allow you to perform numerous cleaning sessions without having empty it. There are also models that are self-emptying that take some of the labor out of emptying the robot after each cleaning run.
If you want a robot that can do more than simply vacuum, you’ll need to consider the possibility of a model that can mop floors. They’re usually bigger than robotic vacuums, and include a tank of water that can hold multiple cleaning sessions’ worth of dirt and dust before having to be emptied.
The most advanced robots generate their own maps of your home and can even remember the layout between cleanings which can help them avoid getting lost or stuck in corners. This can make a big difference in how efficiently your robot vacuums, since it won’t be spending time going back to the beginning of the room whenever it comes across walls or furniture.
Our test participants who utilized a robot with this feature found it to be very efficient, and could watch TV or do other chores while the robot was cleaning. Certain models utilize laser navigation to create an outline of your home. You can program them to clean the bedroom after dinner, or in all rooms while you’re working.
App Control
It is recommended to select one that comes with an app for mobile devices for those who want to modify the frequency of cleaning and select the cleaning mode. In the app, you can also monitor the condition of your vacuum and its dust bin. Some of the top vacuums that are robotic can be controlled using Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri Shortcuts.
It is simple to maintain a robot that has an washable filter and self-emptying container, particularly when the filter can be easily cleaned and washed. A high-powered brush is another great feature that can reach into corners and along baseboards to get rid of hair and dirt. Certain robots are better in avoiding chairs’ legs than others, and some have an auto-cleaning sensor that helps prevent the obstruction of brushes that may happen in other robots.
Some robot vacuums have navigation tools that allow them to learn your home and overcome obstacles. The top models utilize sensors and cameras to recognize obstacles such as furniture, stairs, and cords. The cheaper models could utilize boundary strips to mark off areas where you don’t want it to go. Object avoidance can be especially beneficial for families with young children who throw socks and toys around the home. This helps your robot collect the items instead of scattering.
We’re seeing more robots with mops, which are useful for those who have hard floors and need to mop them regularly. These robots have an integrated water tank into the chassis, or an additional piece that you can put in when it’s time to mop. They may need to be refilled frequently, but are ideal for homes that have hard floors that aren’t easily cleaned by a vacuum.
We’ve seen some impressive technology packed into these little robots, and they’re a lot less expensive than you might think. You can get a good one for under $200. It can do a decent job of cleaning on hard floors, while also navigating around the edges of carpets and rug. It is possible to schedule the robot to sweep a room regularly and it can be controlled remotely via the app or by pressing buttons on its side.