Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop
Eufy's top-rated robotic vacuum and mop takes some of the burden of keeping your floors spotless. It is able to refill its own water tank, and self-empty its tower bin that is larger and change out the dust bag.
Advanced models can map your home and take note of furniture arrangement. They can also detect hazards and help you avoid them, like loose charging cables or unintentional socks.
Object Avoidance
Object avoidance features enable your robot to avoid running into things like power cords, toys and even clothes that could be caught in the vacuum. These features are especially crucial if you have children or pets that may leave things on the floor for your robot to discover.
Based on the model you select depending on the model you choose, you may have an array of different sensors that can aid your robot in navigating around obstacles. Some of the most popular are crossed IR sensors that beam focused beams of infrared lights across the room to spot things like furniture legs and door frames. A lot of robots have adopted this technology, and you'll find it in the top models that are more expensive.
Another object avoidance technology you may find in higher-end robotics is 3D Structured Light which uses cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the surroundings and identify obstacles. Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that measure and emit the time that it takes the light to reflect off an object, in order to determine its distance, is also available. Although they aren't as common but they could be a great addition to your robot if you want peace of mind knowing that it won't get hung up on cords or socks when cleaning.
Most of the top-rated robotics can also mop your floors. Some come with their own water tanks that allow them to clean up the stains and spills that are wet. It is necessary to empty the dust bin onboard and clean its cameras and sensors between cleaning sessions.
Mapping
Mapping capabilities are essential in robot vacuums because they help them keep track of your home's layout and prevent them from bumping into objects like walls. They may be tripped by pet toys, cords, or furniture without mapping. This can result in them removing less space. With sensors, the majority of robots map your home to identify any obstacles and help them navigate around them. This way, they're able to clean the entire floor in fewer passes, thereby saving your time. Many of the top robotic vacuums also come with this feature, which allows you to create no-go areas.
Robots with a built-in LIDAR utilize this technology to map your home efficiently and quickly. In our tests of the Eufy Clean robot made use of this feature to divide my home into distinct areas and clean each independently this was a significant improvement over the lesser models we tested that had the front bump sensor. This was a more precise method to navigate my home, and it was easy for me to control via the app on the device.
While no robot vacuum can climb stairs yet, most of the best rated models have good obstacles avoidance and mapping features. These tools allow them to collect debris from low-pile and hard floors, and to avoid falling down the stairs. Some have cliff sensors to stop them from crossing the edge of stairs, and some have boundary strips that can prevent them from certain areas.
Certain robots have a huge tower base which holds their dirt and debris, reducing the amount of dust and allergens that are released into your home. These bases can last for several months or even weeks between emptying, and are particularly useful if you suffer from allergies. Alternatively, some models have self-emptying mechanisms that let you take out the dust bins without having to manually open and close them.
Wi-Fi Enabled
Some robot vacuums communicate via Wi-Fi with their apps. This allows you to control them with your smartphone instead of (or in addition) to an actual remote. These models are more expensive, but they can help you save time by allowing you to schedule cleaning times on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. These models also let you edit floor maps and save them for later use. They also offer alternative cleaning patterns.
The most advanced robot vacuums employ dual sensors, which combine a LIDAR system to map your space using a structured light sensor that is able to see objects and avoid them even if they're buried under furniture or power cords. These features let your robot reach into tight areas, such as the nook beneath your kitchen cabinets or underneath sofas. Some robots have difficulty in these areas. They are also faster to maneuver around obstacles, and have longer run times and larger dust bins. This makes them more suitable for homes with large spaces compared to basic robots.
The top rated robot vacuums are fast, smart and powerful cleaning up all kinds of floor debris, including pet hair, kitty litter, and other mess. They can also be quiet which makes them a great choice for homes with young kids and pets. Most robot vacuum users have told us that they love the convenience of having their floor cleaned with minimal effort. This is especially true if they are used frequently. If you take care of maintenance (cleaning the rotating brushes and keeping tabs on the parts that need replacement) robots can last as long as a conventional full-size vacuum cleaner. PCWorld offers a guide with helpful suggestions to ensure your machine is running smoothly.
Larger Dust Bags
While a robotic 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 is also a great tool for quick touch-ups on floors and can maneuver around cords and other household obstacles. If you don't want to perform the deep cleaning yourself, a robotic cleaner can be set to send it out to scour your floors on a regular basis.
Some of the best rated robot vacuums come with large dust bags that are easy to empty and can hold more than one room's worth of dirt. This will help you save time and money on bags that need to be replaced. Many of the models we've listed feature this feature, including our top pick one, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This robovac all-in-one is a top-performing robovac that includes a self-emptying bin. It has a mopping feature and efficient navigation. This is a close race between the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ and this one, which is equipped with the latest technology for avoidance and smart mapping. This robovac has more capacity, but is slightly more expensive.
Another significant difference between these two models is how they deal with long human hair that can get caught in the rollers of some robots. The best-performing models are the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have superb hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores, along with fantastic path planning and near perfect auto empty results. The Shark Matrix Plus and eufy are also great options with decent hair pickup and tangle avoidance but not as much path planning or auto empty.
The most recent robots are outfitted with sensors that can identify dirt and debris on carpets, and they are more adept at removing pet hair. Some robots have mopping modes which allows them to use the water reservoir in order to get rid of stuck-on messes and spills. This feature is essential for families with pets and children.
Maintenance
A robot vacuum will help you keep up with your home. While robot vacuum cleaner reviews can replace an upright or a canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the best models are rated to remove pet hair, lint, and other surface dirt on hard floors and low-pile carpets and pick up more than you can with a Broom. They also have navigation capabilities that ensure they don't get caught in rug fringe or power cords and are able to glide effortlessly under furniture.
According to the model, you can program a robot vacuum to run several times per day, or watch it perform its duties using an app. However, these handy vacuums are also prone to clogging and require regular maintenance, such as emptying the bin onboard (or the base's bigger dust bin in certain cases), checking brushes for tangled hair, and then periodically washing and allowing the filters to dry as suggested by the manufacturer.
Vacuum expert Emily Rairdin, a store owner apprentice at University Vacuum + Sewing, says a good robot vacuum will last for three to five years or more with regular maintenance and care. She suggests regularly emptying the bin and brush roll and cutting off hair that's tangled up in the brushes and regularly cleaning and drying the filter, when your robot is also used as mop. It's a good idea to clean the sensors and charging contacts of the dock or robot with a soft clean cloth every now and again. You can refill and recharge your robot prior to the next cleaning session.