What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A good robot vacuum can help you stay on top of pet hair, lint and dust on a daily basis. Many use apps that let you schedule cleaning sessions and create virtual boundaries, or “walls” to keep them away from areas that you don’t want to be cleaned.

This smart vac-mop will create an outline of your home’s layout with its initial run. It then stores the area for future cleaning jobs. It comes with a huge dust bin that automatically emptys and self-cleaning brush roll.

Object Detection

When selecting a robot vacuum cleaner, choose one that can clean up large items like toys and lamp cords as well as dust particles of fine size. This will ensure that they do not get caught in the roller brush or left on your floor. This feature is particularly important for those who have children or pets and you may have to clean the robot on a regular basis.

It’s recommended to select a model that has a powerful motor and lots of suction power. This will enable it to be more efficient in removing pet hair, dust and lint from carpets and hardwood flooring.

The size of your home is another important consideration. If you have a large house it is possible to pick a model that has multiple cleaning zones so that you can clean the entire house in one session. Some models also come with mopping capabilities that can be used to keep your floors fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums are long-lasting however, they must be cleaned properly and regularly. Cleaning the rotating brushes, emptying the dust bin and wiping down the sensors on a regular basis will ensure that your robot is running smoothly for long time to be. Many of the robot vacuum owners we speak to have owned their machines for 10 years or longer (and have replaced motors, brushes, and batteries with time).

A basic robot is much less expensive than a full size vacuum cleaner. They will still be able to do a fantastic job of cleaning dirt from surfaces pet fur, lint and other debris. They’re a great maintenance cleaner that you can use often throughout the week to keep your floors free of dirt. The drawback is that they don’t come with as smart technology, and can be prone to becoming stuck or require human intervention.

Object Avoidance

The most effective robot vacuums utilize sensors, lasers or cameras to help them navigate your home without getting stuck or falling down the stairs. They are also able to avoid obstacles like cords and furniture legs and some models will automatically return to their dock or base when they run low on energy. Some of the more expensive models come with mapping capabilities, which allow them to memorize your home’s layout and therefore spend less time bouncing against walls.

If you’re not looking to spend the money on the most sophisticated robotic vacuums, you could find one that does a great job of picking up pet hair, dirt, dust and dust from floors made of wood and tile and low-pile carpets. They also can handle larger particles like nails that are rusty, metal screws or even toys that have been discarded. Some models even have self-emptying bases which is helpful if you don’t want to empty the trash bin after every clean-up.

Some robotic vacuums have clever features, which make the traditional stick vacuum look quaint. These include scheduling, zone-targeting and the capability to control them using an app or a voice assistants, such as Alexa. You can also set up cleaning zones and ‘virtual walls’ to block off areas you do not want the robot to go.

Some robotic vacs, such as the Eufy 11S and my former top pick Roborock S8 Roborock S8, have obstacle avoidance technology that prevents them from crashing into furniture or tangling with cords. Some robot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+ have more advanced AI obstacle-avoidance technology that uses a camera, processors and smarts to avoid items like lamp cords and pet waste. It’s a little more expensive than other bots I’ve tried, but it does a fantastic job of avoiding obstacles, and never is stuck or tripped when I’m working on my floor.

The iRobot J7+ was a great obstacle-avoiding robot, but it did not always do a good job at avoiding crumbs and dirt on my rugs. It also was known to over-vacuum certain areas which resulted in a lot of dust in the filters and a less clean home.

Smart Mapping

The best buy robot vacuum mop robot vacuums have an app that allows you to alter cleaning modes, create schedules, and look at an image of the floor area that is covered by the machine. This is an extremely useful feature that other models don’t have. This allows you to create profiles that will automatically start your robot at specific times and keep it running on an ongoing basis, such as cleaning the living area prior to dinner or on a regular basis.

A good app will also let you control your robot using voice commands. Certain models are compatible with Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, which allows you to control your robot using voice commands.

Look for models with a large dustbin. This will allow you to do numerous cleaning sessions without having to empty it. There are models that are self-emptying that take some of the burden of emptying the machine after each cleaning run.

If you’re looking for a robotic that is more than a vacuum, think about a model with mopping capabilities. They are typically larger than robotic vacuums and come with a water tank that can store multiple cleaning sessions worth of dust and dirt before needing to emptied.

Robots that are more advanced can create their own maps, and can remember the arrangement of your home from one cleaning session to the next, preventing them from getting lost or stuck. This can make a big difference in the speed at which your robot vacuums because it won’t be spending time going back to the beginning of the room when it encounters furniture or walls.

Our test participants who utilized a robot with this capability found it to be extremely efficient, and could easily watch TV or do other chores while the robot was cleaning. Some models use laser navigation to create an outline of your home. You can program them to clean your bedroom after dinner, or in all rooms while you’re working.

App Control

If you want to customize the frequency with which the robot cleans your home and choose a cleaning option you should choose one that is compatible with an app that can be downloaded on mobile. Through the app, you can also examine the status of your vacuum and its dust bin. Some of the most effective robot vacuums can even be controlled by voice with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri Shortcuts.

A robot that has a self-emptying bin and washable filters makes it easy to keep hygienic, especially when you are able to access the filter and then remove it to wash it. A high-powered brush is another excellent feature that can reach into corners and along baseboards for removal of dirt and hair. Certain robots are better in avoiding the chair’s legs than others, and some have self-cleaning sensors that can prevent the clogging of brushes that can happen in other robots.

Some robo-vacs have navigation tools that assist them in navigating around obstacles and learn your home. The top models come with sensors and cameras that detect obstacles like furniture, stairs and cords, while cheaper models often use boundary strips you place on the floor to mark off areas where you don’t want it to leave. Object avoidance is especially important for families with young children who have socks and toys scattered around the house, as it helps your robot nab these items instead of scattering them.

We’re beginning to see more robots that have mops, which are useful for those who have hard floors and require to clean them regularly. They have a water reservoir built into their chassis or as a separate component that can be swapped in when ready to mop. These robots might need to be refilled frequently, but are ideal for homes that have hard floors and can’t be cleaned with vacuums.

We’ve seen some impressive technology incorporated into these tiny robots, and they’re a lot cheaper than you think. In fact, you can get a good one for under $200 that does a decent job of getting rid of pet hair and crumbs from hard floors, while moving around the edges of light carpets or area rug. You can program the robot to vacuum a room on a regular basis, and it can be controlled remotely via the app or by pressing buttons on its side.