Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop
Eufy's top-rated robot mop and vacuum takes a lot of the hands-off work out of keeping your floors clean. It can re-fill its own water tank, self-empty its tower bin, and swap the dust bag.
More advanced models are able to draw a map of your home and take note of the furniture's position. They can also detect hazards and help you avoid them, like loose charging cables or unintentional socks.
Object Avoidance
Object avoidance helps your robot to avoid hitting objects such as cords, toys and clothes that could get caught in the vacuum. These features are particularly important if you have pets or children who may leave items on the floor for your robot to discover.
Depending on the model you select depending on the model you select, your robot could have various sensors to assist it in its quest to avoid obstacles. Some of the most popular are crossed IR sensors that focus beams of infrared lights across the room to identify things like doors and furniture legs. Many robots have embraced this technology, and you'll see it in the most expensive models that cost more.
Other technology for avoiding objects can be found in more expensive robots include 3D Structured Light, which makes use of cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the surrounding area and detect obstacles. Also, Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that emit light and measure the time it takes for light to reflect off objects, to determine the distance between them. While these are less common, they can be beneficial to your robot if you want extra peace of mind that it won't get stuck on cords or socks when cleaning.
Most of the top-rated robots can also mop your floors. Some come with their own water tanks, which allow them to wash away wet spills and messes. You'll need to empty your robot's dust bin and clean the cameras and sensors in between cleaning sessions, but these chores should not take a lot of time.
Mapping
The ability to map is essential in robot vacuums as they enable them to remember your home's layout and avoid hitting things like walls. Without mapping, they might be tripped over by furniture, cords, or pet toys, and end up cleaning less of your space. With sensors, the majority of robots map out your home to keep track of any obstacles and help them navigate around them. They can clean your floors in fewer passes and save you time. Many of the top robotic vacuums also come with this feature, which allows you to create areas of no-go.
Robots with a built-in LIDAR system make use of this technology to map your home quickly and efficiently. The Eufy Clean robot separated my room into different areas and cleaned each in a separate manner during our tests. This was a vast improvement over cheaper models that only used the front bumper sensor. This was a more accurate method of navigating my home and was easy for me to control using the app that came with the device.
While no robot vacuum is able to climb stairs yet, most of the best rated models have good obstacle avoidance and mapping features. These tools allow them to pick up debris from hard floors and low-pile carpets, and to avoid falling down the stairs. Some tools have sensors that stop them from falling over the edge of the stairs. Others have boundary strips to keep them away.
Certain robots have a huge tower base that houses their dirt and debris, reducing the amount of dust and allergens that are released into your home. They can last for weeks or even months between emptying, and are particularly beneficial for those with allergies. Some models come with self-emptying dust bins that you can empty without opening or closing them manually.
Wi-Fi Enabled
Some robot vacuums utilize Wi-Fi to connect with their apps which allows you to control them using your smartphone rather than (or in addition to) a physical remote. These models are more expensive but can save you time by allowing you to schedule cleaning times on a daily, weekly or even a monthly basis. These models also allow you to modify floor maps and save them for later use. They also offer alternative cleaning patterns.
The most advanced robot vacuums use dual sensors, which combine the LIDAR system to map your space with a structured light sensor that can see objects and avoid them even if they're buried under furniture or power cords. Those features allow your robot to enter tight spaces like the nook beneath your kitchen cabinets and beneath sofas, areas where other robots have difficulty. They are also more efficient in getting over obstacles and have longer running times thanks to larger dust bins, which makes them better suited for large homes than the entry-level robots.
The top-rated robot vacuums are fast, smart and powerful and can clean up all kinds of floor debris such as pet hair, cat litter and other dirt. They are also quite quiet, making them a great option for homes with pets as well as young children. Most robot vacuum owners we've spoken to report that they enjoy the ease of keeping their floors cleaned with little effort, particularly when they are used regularly. Robots can last just as long as traditional vacuum cleaners, provided they have the proper maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping the track of spare parts). PCWorld offers a helpful guide that provides tips to help you keep your machine running efficiently for many years to come.
Dust Bags Larger
A robotic vacuum is not as effective at cleaning as an upright or canister vacuum, but it is great at picking up the dust and debris that regular vacuuming leaves behind. vacuum bot can also be used for quick touch-ups on bare floors, and it can also navigate through cords and other obstacles that are common to household use. You can use robots to clean your floors according to a schedule if you don't have time to do it yourself.
The top-rated robot vacuums have huge dust bags that are easy to empty. They can hold more than one room's worth of dirt. This can save time and money through bags that can be replaced. A number of the models we've listed feature this feature, including our top choice one, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This robovac all-in-one is a top-performing robovac that has a self-emptying bin. It comes with a mopping function and efficient navigation. It's a close contest between this and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, which has the ability to avoidance and smart mapping. This model is more expensive, however it has more capacity.
The two models also differ in their handling of long hair, which can get tangled up in the rollers of certain robots. The best-performing models include the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have superb hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores, along with fantastic path planning and close to perfect auto empty results. The Eufy and Shark Matrix Plus are also good choices with decent hair pickup and tangle avoiding, 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're better at picking up pet hair. Some robots come with a 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
A robot vacuum can help keep up with your home. While no robot can replace an upright or canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the highest rated models pick up pet hair, lint, and other dirt that accumulates on hard floors and low-pile carpets, picking up much more than you can with the vacuum. They also have navigational features to help them avoid getting stuck on power cords, rug fringe or furniture.
According to the model, you can program the robot vacuum to run several times per day, or watch it perform its duties using an app. However, these useful machines are also susceptible to clogging and require frequent maintenance such as emptying the onboard bin (or the base's bigger dust bin in some cases), checking brushes for hair that is tangled, and regularly rinsing and allowing the filters to dry according to the manufacturer.
Emily Rairdin is a vacuum expert and store owner apprentice from University Vacuum + Sewing. She claims that a robot vacuum can last up to five years with proper maintenance. She recommends emptying the bin and the brush roll regularly, cutting free hairs that get caught in the brushes, and frequently cleaning and drying the filter if your machine is also a mop. It's also a good idea to wipe down the charging contacts and sensors on the dock or the robot often with a soft, clean cloth. You can refill and recharge your robot for the next clean-up session.