Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop
Eufy's top-rated robotic mop and vacuum takes a lot of the work of keeping your floors spotless. It can refill its own water tank, self-empty its tower bin, and change the dust bag.
Advanced models can map your house and note furniture placement. They can also identify hazards and help you avoid them, such as loose charging cables or loose socks.
Object Avoidance
Object avoidance features allow your robot to avoid running into things such as power cords, toys and clothes that can get caught up in the vacuum. These features are especially crucial if you have pets or children who may leave things on the floor for your robot to search.
Depending on which model you pick the robot you choose may come with several sensor options to assist it in its quest to avoid obstacles. Some of the most popular are crossed IR sensors that send focused beams of infrared light throughout the room to detect things like doors and furniture legs. A lot of robots have adopted this technology, and you'll find it in the flagship models that cost more.
Other object avoidance technology that is available in higher-end robotics is 3D Structured Light which uses cameras and crossed IR sensor to map the environment, and detect obstacles. Time of Flight (ToF), sensors that measure and emit the amount of time that it takes the light to reflect off an object to determine its distance, is also available. While they are not as popular, they can be beneficial to your robot if you want extra peace of mind that it will avoid getting hung up on power cords or socks when cleaning.
Most of the top-rated robots can also mop your floors. Some robots come with their own water tanks that allow them to clean up messes and spills. You'll need to empty the robot's onboard dust bin and clean the cameras and sensors in between cleaning sessions, but these tasks shouldn't take much of your time.
Mapping
Mapping capabilities are essential in robot vacuums as they enable them to remember your home's layout and avoid bumping into things like walls. Without mapping, they might get tripped up by furniture, cords, or pet toys, and end up taking less space from your space. By using sensors, many robots map your home to track any obstacles and help navigate around them. They can clean the floor in fewer passes, and save you time. Many of the top rated robot vacuums can also use this feature to create no-go zones, which allows you to designate rooms that you don't want the robot to enter.
Robots with built-in LIDAR system make use of this technology to map your home quickly and efficiently. In our tests with the Eufy Clean robot used this feature to divide my room into various areas and clean each independently, which was a huge improvement over the cheaper models we tested that just utilized an in-front bump sensor. This was a more accurate method of navigating my home and was easy for me to control using the app on the device.
Although no robot vacuum has the ability to climb stairs yet, most of the top-rated models come with obstacles avoidance and mapping features. These tools allow them to collect dirt from low-pile or hard floors, and prevent falling down stairs. Some have cliff sensors to stop them from crossing the edge of the stairs and some also have boundary strips that can stop them from entering certain areas.
Some robots come with a large base tower that is able to collect dirt. This reduces the amount of dust or allergens released in your home. They can last for several months or even weeks between emptying and are especially useful if you suffer from allergies. Some models also have self-emptying systems that allow you to empty their dust bins without having to manually open and close them.
Wi-Fi Enabled
Some robot vacuums use Wi-Fi to communicate with their apps which allows users to control them with your smartphone rather than (or in addition to) a physical remote. These models are more expensive, however, they can save time since you can schedule cleaning sessions each week, daily or even monthly. These models also allow you to edit floor maps and save them for later use. They also offer alternate cleaning patterns.
automatic vacuum advanced robot vacuums use dual sensors, combining with a LIDAR system to map your area with a structured light sensor that can see objects and avoid them even if they're hidden under furniture or power cords. These features allow your robot to reach tight areas, like the space under your kitchen cabinets or under your sofas. Other robots struggle to reach these spaces. They're also quicker to get around obstacles and have longer run times due to larger dust bins, which makes them better suited for large homes than entry-level robots.
The most effective robot vacuums are quick, intelligent and powerful. They can remove an array of floor debris, including pet hair, cat litter and other mess. They can also be quiet which makes them a great option for homes with young kids and pets. Many of the robot vacuum owners we've spoken to have reported that they appreciate the convenience of having their floors spotless with minimal effort, particularly if they use it often. Robots can last as long as traditional vacuum cleaners if they are given the proper maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping track of replacement parts). PCWorld offers a guide that includes some helpful tips to keep yours running smoothly.
Larger Dust Bags
Although a robot vacuum may not be as effective as a canister or upright model, it is great in picking up dirt and dust that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It can also be used for quick touch-ups on floors and can navigate around cords and other household obstacles. If you don't want to perform the deep cleaning yourself, a robot cleaner will let you send it out to sweep your floors on a regular schedule.
Some of the top-rated robot vacuums have large, easy to empty dust bags that can hold more dirt than one room. This can help you save time and money on replacement bags. A number of the models we've listed include this feature, including our top pick model, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This all-in-one robovac has an excellent performance rating and comes with a self-emptying bin. It has a mopping feature and efficient navigation. It's a close contest between the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ and this one, which is equipped with intelligent mapping and avoidance technology. This robovac is more expensive, however it has more capacity.
Another significant difference between these two models is how they handle long human hair that can get caught in the rollers of some robots. The top-performing models are the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have excellent hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores with great path planning and close to perfect auto empty results. The Shark Matrix Plus and eufy are also great options with respectable hair pick-up and tangle avoidance but not as much path planing or auto empty.
The newest robots have sensors that can spot dirt and debris in the carpet, and they're better at removing hairs that have fallen off of pets. Some robots feature mopping mode, which allows them to use the reservoir of water to get rid of stuck-on messes and spills. This feature is crucial for families with children as well as pets.
Maintenance
Having a robot vacuum is a great aid in keeping up with your home. While no robot can replace an upright or a canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the highest models are rated to remove pet hair, lint and other dirt that accumulates on carpets with low pile and hard floors, picking up much more than you would find with the broom. They also have navigation features that prevent them from getting stuck on power cords or rug fringe and can glide easily under furniture.
Depending on the model, a top-rated robotic vacuum can also be scheduled to run several times per day or allow you to view it in action via an app. However, these convenient vacuums are also prone to clogging, and require regular maintenance like emptying the onboard bin (or the base's larger dust bin in some instances), checking brushes for tangled hair, and then periodically washing and letting the filters dry as recommended by the manufacturer.
Emily Rairdin is a vacuum expert and store owner apprentice from University Vacuum + Sewing. She says that a robot vacuum can last up to five years if it is properly care. She recommends emptying the bin and brush roll frequently and cutting off any hair tangled in the brushes, and then regularly washing and drying the filter if your robot is a mop as well. automated vacuum 's a good idea to clean the charging contacts and sensors on the robot or dock with an easy clean cloth every now and again. You can recharge and refill your robot prior to the next cleaning session.