The Best Robot Vacuums

A robot vacuum can do most of the cleaning work for you. It will take pet hair, lint, and surface dirt from carpets and furniture before they can get stuck. Many also work with smart assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant to offer a hands-free experience.

Many models come with maps that allow them to create an interactive map of your home. This helps them avoid tumbling off ledges or navigating cords that connect devices.

What to Find

Certain robots have advanced features that let you control them via apps and voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. Smart mapping, zone cleaning and object avoidance are some of the features. They may also have longer battery lives and bigger dust collection bins.

Choose a model with a broad brushes that can clean up large pieces of debris and one that's slim enough to be able to fit under furniture. Also, make sure that the vacuum is able to move across different kinds of floors without the need to swap brushes or change suction settings, which could decrease the effectiveness of cleaning and decrease its lifespan.

The best robot vacuums come with top-quality filters that can capture fine particles and protect your home from damage. They also have an ample, easily accessible collection bin so you can empty it frequently. Some come with an additional side brush for sweeping up pet hair and other debris in difficult-to-access areas under and behind furniture. The dustbins are usually transparent, so you can observe the amount of dirt in the bin and when to empty it.

In addition to scheduling your robot vacuum to run at times when you're likely to be at home, you can use the app to draw a boundary around your furniture and areas that you want it to avoid. Certain models also recognize the type of floor and adjust their vacuum and brush settings to match.

There are also robots that recharge and continue cleaning exactly where they left off when their battery runs low. There are some that have an inbuilt camera that lets you track the route of your robot vacuum and see what it has collecting.

Many robots also allow you to control them with your voice, but not all of them do it as well as others. Make sure the model you choose is compatible with the voice assistant of your choice, and test out the way it responds to different commands during the buying process. Some robots even empty their trash bins or clean their docking station, which will help you reduce your chore list. However, this feature comes at cost, as do a larger collection bin and a faster charging speed.

Cleaning Performance

While robots cannot substitute for a full-on vacuum cleaner or broom, they offer a reliable and effective alternative to the daily chore of cleaning floors. If you're looking to keep track of tracked-in dust, crumbs and pet hair or get rid of larger debris like wood shavings and metal screws, most top-rated robotic cleaners are adept at picking up a variety of materials on the first go-around and doing so without damaging the flooring or furniture.

Most of the time, they'll detect the type of surface they're cleaning and adjust their suction or brush features accordingly to more thoroughly clean your floors. This is particularly important if your home has various types of flooring. Many models offer the option to set virtual boundaries. This allows you to tell your robot to stay out of certain areas in your home. This is useful in preventing your kids or pets from entering areas they shouldn't be, and it can help ensure that your home is cleaned up at the end of every scheduled time.

You should also think about the level of autonomy you're comfortable giving your robot. Certain models require you be present and attentive, whereas others can work independently. They can alter cleaning schedules and cleaning modes using an app on mobile devices or by voice commands via an integrated smart assistant. Some models map and learn your home's space, and allow you to define zones and instruct the robot to clean specific areas of your home on a daily or weekly basis.

In our tests, the iRobot j7+ proved to be the most effective robot for "set it and leave it". It was superior in mapping the virtual boundaries and eliminating obstacles than any of the other robots that we test. Additionally, it can completely empty itself so you don't have to do that manually and has side brushes that can help sweep debris into its path from corners and edges that a vacuum may not reach.

Its slim profile and infrared sensors allow it to get behind and under furniture for an even more thorough clean than most robots, and its advanced navigation system allows it to be more capable of cleaning the entire area of your home on a single charge than other models we've tried. With its low cost you'll find it hard to beat for daily use.

Battery Life

A high-quality robot vacuum can make keeping your floors clean seem less like a chore, and more like a treat. The difference between a clean house and one that is filthy can be achieved by getting rid of tracked-in dirt as well as crumbs, pet hair, and other messes. While a robot of a basic design can keep up with most cleaning tasks, those looking for a bit more of a hands-free experience should consider a model that doubles as a mop.

The Ecovacs Deebot T10 OMNI is one of the best rated robot vacuum models for both as it offers great performance in both its mop and vacuuming modes and can easily handle dirt debris, pet hair and even cat litter. Its object avoidance feature is awe-inspiring, allowing it to steer clear of objects and avoid getting stuck on them.

It also has a long battery lifespan and a huge dust bin, making it able to cover a decent amount of space in one session. It's also a smart vacuum, which means that it can map your home, and can be used with apps like those offered by Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant to let you control the vacuum with voice commands.

The application that comes with the robot lets you create schedules, define specific rooms for cleaning or pause/resume sessions. It will even notify you when its battery is running low and then return to its docking station to recharge.

This robot can also distinguish between hard floors and carpets and adjust its settings accordingly. This will prevent the machine from getting stuck on one type of surface and then accidentally tearing furniture. However, it isn't yet able to detect high pile carpeting or the seams between rooms, so you'll still have to be careful about picking up large objects.

To keep robot vacuums in top condition they require regular maintenance. This includes cleaning the brushes of hair, and emptying the trash bin (and sometimes washing it) after each cleaning session. Cameras and sensors must also be cleaned between each use. The manufacturer will provide specific instructions for these actions and other procedures, which will vary according to the model.

Cost

The top robot vacuums aren't inexpensive, but they're cheaper than a professional carpet cleaner or even an entire stand-up vacuum. They require less maintenance than traditional vacuums, since they only require you to empty and occasionally clean their dust bins after every cleaning session.

A lot of robot vacuums have intelligent features that make them more efficient in your home. For instance mapping technology allows you to inform the vacuum of where to go through an app, ensuring it doesn't run into the stairs or under furniture, where there might be an unclean mess. Other robot vacuums can detect the type of flooring they are cleaning so they can adjust their suction and brush functions to achieve the best results.

Some models feature object avoidance, which uses sensors (or even cameras) to spot objects and toys on the floor. They then instruct the robot to walk around them rather than run over them. This is a great benefit if you have kids or pets who tend to scatter toys around the home.

Voice control is another smart feature you may consider useful. It lets you control your robot with your voice, instead of the buttons on the board. This is a great option for children who aren't yet old enough to operate the controls, or if you just want a hands-free option.

How often you have to utilize your robot is contingent upon the amount of dirt and dust is normally found on your floors. Most experts recommend using your robot vacuum at least every week in order to keep your floors spotless and to get rid of pet hair, lint and dirt on the surface.

If you're only working with only a small amount of floor space and do not intend to make use of the robot for other tasks such as cleaning, then a budget model, like our top choice Eufy 11S is a great option. It's user-friendly, affordable, and does the job without creating any noise when you're working or watching TV.