10 Best Rated Robot Vacuum Tricks All Experts Recommend

Best Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot vacuums are fantastic for keeping your floors tidy but they are not a substitute for a regular vacuum. Even the best Vacuums (120.77.2.93) struggle to get into carpets or rugs, and can often get caught in socks and cords.

Your robot vacuum black friday will last longer if it is maintained with routine maintenance. This includes replacing filters, removing the tangled hairs from brushes, and emptying the dust bin.

Battery Life

Most robot vacuums are capable of handling just a few cleaning sessions before needing to recharge. The Ecovacs Q30S Combo is the second-best of our overall picks. It has an energy-efficient battery that can last up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) on a single charge. This will suffice for the majority of small homes with carpets, hard floors and low pile carpets or larger homes with rooms that are roughly the same size.

A longer battery life means that the robot can spend less time charging and can spend more time cleaning. You should select a model that has an auto-emptying bin. These models are more efficient in collecting debris and then returning to docks to recharge. It is important to clean or replace the filters and wipe down the sensors and cameras regularly so they can be seen clearly.

Smart mapping technology can be a useful feature, since you can program your robot so that it only cleans specific rooms or stays clear of areas where it is likely to bump into furniture and other obstacles. This feature is also helpful to ensure that your robot can reach under and around furniture like beds, sofas and other large objects. Some robovacs are inexpensive and come with boundary strips that you can use to block off specific areas. Other high-end models rely on cameras and sensors.

Even the best robot vacuums can't replace a conventional vac when it comes heavy-duty dirt and debris. It's recommended to have a power vacuum available to tackle these tasks, and also schedule robot vacs for light cleanings throughout the week.

Navigation

A robot should be capable of moving around your home without being caught or running into things like metal screws, pet hair or sand. In our tests, we employ a tracking device to track the robot as it travels through a multiroom lab and determine its surroundings. We also check the way it manages to avoid obstacles like furniture legs, power cords, and pet waste.

The most advanced robots can map out different floors and recognize landmarks, like doors and windows. The most advanced ones such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, have a dual-sensor navigation system that uses an LIDAR sensor to map out the space and a structured lighting camera in front of the bot to detect objects in real time. The S8 can avoid obstacles like cables for power and legs of furniture. It can also store up to four floor maps.

The most affordable models rely on bump sensors which aren't as precise. In my tests they cut right through cords, dog poop and even a pair of shoes placed in the middle of the room. The Dreametech D10+ is the best value choice. It has excellent carpet and hard floor pickup, good tangle and hair pickup, and an auto empty score.

Another feature worth mentioning is a large onboard dustbin which doesn't have to be manually empty, and for those models that mop, a tank of water which can store weeks of mopping sessions. The Karcher RCV 5 comes with this, and a large enough footprint to be tucked away under furniture however, it's not so huge that it doesn't fit into the nook between your toilet and bathtub.

Apps

Robot vacuums are like upright vacuums, and it takes an enormous amount of technology to get them up and running at speed. The result is a pretty mature market full of options. Even the most advanced models require input from their users particularly when it comes to schedule cleaning, make a an outline of your home, and set up virtual barriers.

You might consider a model with its own app that can recognize the layout of your house and save these settings for future use. This will let the vacuum begin where it left off on subsequent runs, instead of having to start the mapping process each time.

It's also worth keeping an eye out for a model that offers spot or zone cleaning modes. You can tell the robot vacuum cleaner to focus on an area, like under the table after a large family meal. You can choose to do this using the app or by voice commands.

A lot of models also offer objects avoidance. It allows the robot, when it comes across objects in its path, like a box of shoe or a crate with dog toys, to guide itself around. This will stop it from hitting objects which could harm its sensors or cause jams.

Some of the more expensive models we tested include this feature. They rely on bump sensor technology for this however they weren't always able to keep things out of my test home.

Pet Hair

Choose a vacuum cleaner that is specifically designed to collect pet hair. The best models will have an extremely high suction, a brush that prevents tangling and an automatic emptying mechanism. Some models are able to detect dirt levels and alter the level of cleaning. They also can detect objects that aren't part your flooring at home, such as furniture, toys, and food bowls.

Some robot vacuums have extra pet-friendly features, like a small water dispenser that can be used to mop floors, and a HEPA filter that can reduce allergens like pet dander. They could also feature a quieter mode of operation to cut down on the amount of noise that is generated during cleaning.

Robot vacuums that include maps are a great option for pet owners, as they are designed to analyze your home and create a plan of attack based on the layout and obstructions in every room. For example the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Vacuum is a smart vacuum with an amazing ability to map the room and navigate around furniture and other obstructions with accelerometer and gyroscope sensors that work in conjunction to learn the layout of your room.

Other models that are more advanced let you set no-go zones, which are areas that the robot is meant to stay clear of, such as fragile items or pet feeding areas--by altering settings via an app. This feature is especially useful for families with busy schedules, since you can schedule cleaning sessions without needing to be in the space where the intelligent vacuum cleaner is. Another feature that is extremely useful is spot cleaning which allows you to control the vacuum to clean a specific area that is particularly dirty or full of pet hair.

Dust Bin

If you don't want anything small, consider a robot with a large bin or even a self-emptying bin. We recommend picking one with an enormous bin, or even a dustbin that automatically emptys. The former will help you keep track of emptying the bin often enough to ensure you are on top of its performance and the latter will help you save time and effort by automatically emptying its contents into an internal container after every few cleans.

Whatever the size of your home the majority of robots are able to climb up and around furniture, and most are able to detect and navigate around household obstacles like shoes, loose cords, and dog poop. Look for models with smart mapping capabilities that allow them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes, and ones that are able to detect and avoid objects that could hinder their path (like shoelaces or strangling charging cables).

Some models offer spot cleaning. This allows you to choose a specific area of your home to be targeted for thorough cleaning robots for home. In our tests, we discovered that the best robot vacuum for vinyl plank floors models can remove small particles like baking soda, sand, orzo, screws made of metal and pet hair, in addition to heavier debris like oatmeal orzo, and screws made of metal.

According to the brand the manufacturer, robots last for a long time and perform as well, so long as they are maintained. For instance cleaning hair that is tangled out of brushes and emptying dust bins after each use, and wiping cameras and sensors down when needed. The best-performing robots also tend to be more modular which makes them simpler and less expensive to replace or repair parts such as wheels and batteries when they get worn out.