Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot vacuums are fantastic to keep your floors clean however they aren't a replacement for the regular vacuum. Even the most advanced robots have trouble getting deep into carpets and rugs and they can become tangled in cords and socks.

Maintaining a regular schedule of maintenance (replacing filters cutting hair tangled from brushes and emptying the dust bin) will make your robot last longer.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums are able to handle a few cleaning sessions without needing to be charged. The Ecovacs Q30S Combo is the runner-up of our top choices. It has an energy-efficient battery that can last up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) on a single charge. That amount of runtime is more than enough time to clean most smaller homes with carpets that are hard and carpets with low pile, or a larger home with rooms that are roughly the same size.

A longer battery life also means that the robot sweeper is able to spend more time cleaning, and less time charging on its dock. It is recommended to choose the model with an auto-emptying bin. These models are more efficient at picking up debris and returning to docks to recharge. It's important to clean or replace filters and clean the sensors and camera regularly so they can be seen clearly.

Smart mapping technology can be a valuable feature, since you can program your robot so that it only cleans specific rooms or stays clear of areas where it's likely to bump into furniture or other obstacles. It's also useful for ensuring that your robot can get under and around sofas, beds and other furniture that is tall. Some robovacs are inexpensive and come with boundary strips you can use to block certain areas. Other models of higher quality rely on cameras and sensors.

Even the best robot vacuums aren't able to replace a traditional vacuum for heavy-duty, Best Rated Robot Vacuum large-pile dirt and debris. It is recommended to keep a standard power vac on standby for these tasks and to schedule robot vacuums regularly for cleaning up light chores throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot must be able to navigate around your home without getting stuck or crashing into objects like metal screws or loose pet hair or sand. In our tests, we use a tracking device to track the robot as it travels through a multiroom lab and shows its surroundings. We also check how well the robot can avoid obstacles like power cords, furniture leg, and pet waste.

The best robots can map out multiple floors and identify landmarks, like windows and doors. The most advanced ones such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, come with a dual-sensor navigation device that utilizes a LIDAR sensor to map out the room and a structured lightingequent runs, rather than having to restart the mapping process every time.

It's also worth keeping an eye out for a vacuum that comes with zones or spot cleaning options. You can instruct the vacuum cleaner to concentrate on an area, like under the table after a large family meal. You can typically do this using the app or voice commands.

Many models also offer object avoidance. It allows the robot, when it sees something that is in its path, like a box of shoes or a crate containing dog toys, to coach itself around. This prevents it from crashing into objects which could harm its sensors or cause jams.

This feature is available on a few of the more expensive models we test. However, they usually rely on bump sensors for this and didn't always manage to avoid things in my test homes.

Pet Hair

When it comes to picking up pet hair, choose a model that's designed specifically to handle this kind of debris. The best models will have the highest suction, a brush which stops tangling, and an automatic emptying mechanism. Some models can detect dirt levels and alter the level of cleaning. They are able to detect objects that aren't a part of your flooring like furniture toys, food bowls, toys, cords, and more.

Some robot vacuums include pet-friendly features, like a water dispenser that can be used to mop floors, and an HEPA filter that can reduce allergens, such as pet dander. They might also offer the option of a quieter operation, which will reduce the amount of noise that's produced during cleaning sessions.

Robot vacuums with mapping capabilities are a great option for pet owners. They're designed to assess your home, and create an attack plan based upon the arrangement of each room and obstacles. For example the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Vacuum is a smart vacuum with an impressive capability to map the room and navigate around furniture and other obstructions with gyroscope and accelerometer smart sensors that work together to learn the layout of your space.

Other models that are more advanced let you define no-go zones that are areas that the robot is meant to avoid--like fragile items or pet feeding spots. You can adjust these settings using an app. This feature is especially useful for families with busy schedules, since it allows you to schedule cleaning sessions without having to be present in the space where the vacuum is. Another great feature is spot cleaning which allows you to direct the vacuum to clean a particular area that may be particularly filthy or full of pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you don't want anything tiny, choose a robot with a big bin or even a self cleaning vacuum cleaner-emptying trash bin. We suggest choosing the one with a large bin, or even a dustbin that self cleaning vacuum-empties. The first will let you keep up with emptying your bin frequently enough to maintain its performance. The latter will save time and effort by automatically dropping the contents into an inner container after every cleaning.

No matter the size of your home Most robots are able to climb up and around furniture, and they can recognize and navigate around household obstacles like shoes, cords that are loose and dog puke. Find models with intelligent mapping capabilities. This allows them to "learn the patterns of your house and design a more efficient routes.

Some models offer spot cleaning. This lets you manually target an area of your home to be targeted for intensive cleaning. In our tests, we discovered that the best models can remove small particles like sand, baking soda, orzo, metal screws and pet hair, in addition to heavier debris like oatmeal, orzo, and screws made of metal.

According to the manufacturer the manufacturer, robots last for a long time and perform as well, so long as they're maintained. For example 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 adaptable. This makes it easier to replace or repair components like wheels and batteries as they wear out.