Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop
Eufy's top-rated robot mop and vacuum takes a lot of the burden of keeping your floors spotless. It is able to refill its own water tank as well as empty its tower bin. It can also change its dust bag.
Advanced models are smart enough to trace your home's layout and note furniture placement. They can also spot obstructions and avoid dangers like charging cables that are loose and stray socks.
Object Avoidance
Object avoidance functions allow your robot to avoid crashing into things such as power cords, toys and even clothes that could get caught up in the vacuum. These features are especially crucial if you have pets or children that could leave things on the floor for your robot to find.
Based on the model you pick, your robot may have a variety of sensor options to aid in navigating around obstacles. Some of the most sought-after include crossed IR sensor beams, which are a focused infrared light that scan across the room for things like furniture legs or door frames. Many robots have adopted this technology, and you'll see it in the most expensive models that cost more.
Other technology for avoiding objects that is available in higher-end robotics is 3D Structured Light which uses cameras and a crossed IR sensors to map the surroundings and identify obstacles. Time of Flight (ToF), sensors that measure and emit the duration it takes for the light to reflect off an object to determine its distance, are available. These are less common but could be a great option for your robot in case you're looking to add security.
The majority of the top-rated robots can also clean your floors. Some come with their own water tanks, which allow them to clean up wet spills and messes. You'll have to empty your robot's onboard dust bin and clean its cameras and sensors between cleaning sessions, but these chores shouldn't take much of your time.
Mapping
Robot vacuums should have mapping capabilities. This allows them to navigate your home and avoid bumping against things like walls. They can be tripped up by cords, pet toys, or furniture without mapping. This will result in them taking up less space. With sensors, the majority of robots map your home to track any obstacles and assist them to navigate around them. This allows them to clean the entire floor with fewer passes, saving your time. Many of the best robot vacuums also have this feature, which allows you to designate areas that are not accessible.
Robots with built-in LIDAR system make use of this technology to create a map of your home quickly and efficiently. The Eufy Clean robot divided my room into separate areas and cleaned each separately during our tests. This was a vast improvement over cheaper models that only used a front-bumper sensor. This was a more accurate way of navigating my home and was also easy to control via the app on the device.
While there aren't any robotic vacuums that can climb stairs, the best models do have mapping and obstacle avoidance features. These tools allow them to collect dirt from low-pile or hard floors, and avoid falling down stairs. Some have cliff sensors to stop them from going over the edge of stairs, and some have boundary strips that can prevent them from certain areas.
Some robots come with a massive tower base that holds their collected dirt, minimizing the amount of dust and allergens released into your home. The bases can be left for weeks or even months without being emptied and are particularly helpful if you suffer from allergies. Some models come with self-emptying dust bins that can empty without opening and closing them manually.
Wi-Fi enabled
Some robot vacuums utilize Wi-Fi to connect with their apps and allow users to control them with your smartphone instead of (or in addition to) a physical remote. These models are more expensive but they can save you time as you can schedule cleaning time daily, weekly or monthly. These models also allow you to edit floor maps and save them for later use. They also offer alternate cleaning schedules.
Dual sensors are employed by the most advanced robot vacuums. They combine with a LIDAR mapping system with a structured-light sensor that can detect and avoid objects, even if they're hidden under furniture or power cables. These features let your robot reach tight spaces, such as the space under your kitchen cabinets or underneath sofas. Some robots have difficulty in these spaces. They're also quicker to get around obstacles and have longer run times due to larger dust bins, which makes them ideal for larger homes than entry-level robots.
The best robot vacuums are fast efficient, smart and powerful. They are able to pick up many kinds of floor debris such as pet hair, kitty litter and other dirt. They also are quiet, which makes them a great choice for homes with pets as well as young children. Many of the robot vacuum owners we've spoken to say they appreciate the convenience of having their floors clean without much effort, especially when used regularly. With proper maintenance (cleaning the rotating brushes and keeping track on the parts that need replacement) robots can last as long as a traditional full-size vacuum cleaner. PCWorld offers a guide with helpful tips to ensure that your robot is running smoothly.
Larger Dust Bags
A robotic vacuum isn't as effective in cleaning like an upright or canister vacuum, but it's great at picking up the dust and dirt that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It can be used to do quick touch-ups of bare floors and can also maneuver around cords and other obstacles in your home. If you don't wish to do the deep cleaning yourself, a robotic cleaner can be set to send it out to scour your floors on a regular basis.
The top-rated robot vacuums come with big easy to empty dust bags which can hold more dirt than a room. This can save you time and money on bags that need to be replaced. A number of the models we've listed feature this feature, including our top choice model, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This all-in one robovac is a top-performing robovac that includes a self-emptying bin. It also has a mopping feature and a streamlined navigation. It's a close contest between this and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, which comes with smart mapping and avoidance technology. This robovac is more expensive but has a bigger capacity.
The two models differ in the way they handle long hair, which may get tangled up in the rollers of some robots. The Roborock Q5 Max+, SwitchBot K10S Plus and Roborock Q5 Max+ are the top performing models. They both have excellent hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores, together with excellent auto empty results and great path planning. The eufy and Shark Matrix Plus are also excellent options with good hair pickup and tangle avoidance but not as much planning for paths or auto empty.
The most recent robots have sensors that can spot dirt and debris on the carpet, and are better at picking up hairs that have fallen off of pets. Some models even have a mopping mode that uses the reservoir of water to eliminate spills and messes that have gotten stuck. This feature is essential for families with children as well as pets.
Maintenance
Having a robot vacuum can be a great aid in keeping up with your home. The top models can pick up more dirt pet hair and lint than a broom on low-pile or hard floors. good robot vacuum have navigational features that prevent them from getting stuck on power cords, rug fringes or furniture.
According to the model, you can program the robot vacuum to run several times a day or watch it perform its duties using an app. However, these convenient 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 hair that is tangled, and regularly rinsing and letting the filters dry as suggested by the manufacturer.
Emily Rairdin is a vacuum expert and store owner apprentice from University Vacuum + Sewing. She believes that a robotic vacuum can last up to five years if it is properly care. She suggests regularly emptying the bin and brush roll and cutting out any hair that has gotten caught in the brushes, and frequently washing and drying the filter when your robot is also used as a mop. It's also an excellent idea to wipe down the sensors and charging contacts on the robot or dock occasionally with a soft cloth. Then, recharge and refill your robot prior to the next clean-up session.