What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum
A quality robot vacuum will help you stay on top of pet hair, lint, and dust on a daily basis. Many robot vacuums work with applications that let you schedule cleaning times. You can also set virtual boundaries or "walls," to ensure that the vacuum stays away from areas that you don't want to be cleaned.
This smart vac-mop makes a map of your home using its initial run. It then remembers the space to help you with future cleaning tasks. It comes with a huge dust bin that automatically emptys and a self-cleaning, brush roll.
Object Detection
When choosing a robot vacuum cleaner, pick one that can pick-up big items such as toys and lamp cords as well as dust particles of fine size. This will help ensure they don't get caught in the roller brush, and don't end up on your floors. This is particularly crucial if the robot will be cleaned frequently by pets or children.
A model with a powerful engine and lots of suction is also a good option. This will allow it to be more efficient in eliminating dust, pet hair and lint from carpets and hardwood flooring.
Another important consideration is the size of your room. If you live in an area that is large, you may want to choose one that has multiple cleaning zones so you can clean your entire house in one go. Some models come with a mopping feature that can be utilized to keep 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 regularly and emptying the dust bin, and wiping your sensors will ensure that your robot is running smoothly for a long time. Many of the owners of robot vacuums that we have spoken with have had the same model for 10 years or more (and replaced brushes, motors and batteries in the process).
A basic robot will cost less than a full-size vacuum cleaner, but they'll still do a great job at removing dirt and pet hair and lint. You can use them to sweep your floors multiple times per day. They aren't as technologically advanced and are more susceptible to get stuck or require manual intervention.
Object Avoidance
The most effective robot vacuums utilize cameras, sensors or lasers to help you navigate your home and prevent getting stuck or falling down the stairs. Certain models are able to return to their dock or base when their batteries are low. They also can avoid obstacles like furniture cords and legs. Some of the more expensive models have the ability to map, which allows them to remember your home's layout and therefore spend less time bumping against walls.
If you don't want spend a lot of money on the latest robotic vacuums, you could locate a model that does a great job 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 be capable of removing larger debris such as metal screws, rusty staples or abandoned toys. Some have a base that automatically empties itself, which is great if you do not want to empty it after each cleaning session.
Most robotic vacs also offer smart features that make your standard stick vacuum seem prehistoric such as scheduling, zone targeting, and the ability to control them with an app or a voice assistant like Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas where you do not want the robot to venture.
Some robotic vacs, such as the Eufy 11S and my former favorite, the Roborock S8, have obstacle avoidance technology that keeps them from crashing into furniture or tangling cords. Certain robot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+ have more sophisticated AI obstacle avoidance technology that makes use of cameras, processors and smarts to avoid items like lamp cords and pet waste. It is a little bit more expensive than other bots that I've tested, but it does a great job of avoiding obstacles and never is stuck or derails when I'm working on my floor.
Although the iRobot J7+ was a solid obstacle avoidance bot but it wasn't always able to do an excellent job of avoiding dust and crumbs from my carpets. It also was prone to over-vacuum certain areas leading to dust accumulating in the filters and a less tidy home.
Smart Mapping
Some of the best robot vacuums come with an app that helps you customize cleaning modes and schedules, as well as view the area of floor that the machine covers. This is a handy feature that a few competitors do not have. This makes it easy to create profiles that will automatically start your robot at specified time intervals and run it on regularly, for example, cleaning the living room before dinner or on a regular basis.
A good app will also allow you to control your robot using voice commands. vacuum mop combo are compatible with Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, which allows you to control your robot with voice commands.
To have a hands-free experience, choose a model with a large dust bin that can accommodate many cleaning sessions before needing to be emptied. You can also find models that self-empty, which takes some of the work out of emptying the machine after each vacuuming run.
If you want a robot that is more than simply vacuum, you'll need to look at a model that can mop floors. They are typically larger than robotic vacuums and come with a water tank that can hold multiple cleaning sessions' worth of dirt and dust before having to be emptied.
The most advanced robots create their own maps of your home and can even keep track of the layout from one cleaning to another and help them avoid getting lost or trapped in corners. This can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of your robot vacuum, because it won't need to return to where it was when it encounters furniture or walls.
Our test subjects who tested robots with this capability found it to be extremely efficient. They could watch TV or complete other chores while the robot cleaned. Some models use laser navigation to create a map of your home. You can program them to clean the bedroom after dinner, or throughout the house while you're working.
App Control
It is recommended to select the vacuum that comes with an app that is mobile in case you wish to alter the frequency of cleaning and select cleaning mode. Within the app, you can also examine the status of your vacuum as well as its dust bin. Some of the top robot vacuums can even be controlled by voice with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri Shortcuts.
It is easy to maintain a robot equipped with a washable filter and a self-emptying bin, particularly if the filter can be easily removed and rinsed. A powerful brush is another fantastic feature that allows you to reach into corners and along baseboards for removal of hair and dirt. Some robots are more adept at avoiding chair leg than others. Others have sensors that automatically clean brushes to avoid the clogging.
Some robo-vacs have navigation tools that aid them in navigating obstacles and help you understand your home. The top models come with sensors and cameras that detect obstacles like furniture, stairs and cords, whereas cheaper models sometimes utilize boundary strips that you place on the floor to mark off areas you don't want it to leave. Avoidance of objects is particularly useful for families with children who scatter toys and socks all over the home. This helps your robot to collect these items instead of scattering.
More robots are coming with mop attachments. This is great for those with hard floors who require to clean regularly. These robots have a reservoir of water built into their chassis or as a separate piece that you swap in when they're ready to mop. They may require refilling frequently but they're ideal for homes with hard floors and can't be easily cleaned by vacuum cleaners.
These robots are packed with impressive technology, and they are priced much less than you'd think. In fact, you can get a good one for under $200 that does a decent job of cleaning pet hair and crumbs off hard floors, and also navigating the edges of lightweight carpets or area rugs. The robot can be programmed to vacuum specific rooms on a regular basis. It can also be controlled remotely via an app or by pressing buttons.