Eufy's robot mop and vacuum is the top-rated product in its class. It takes a lot of work out of cleaning your floors. It has the ability to replenish its own water tank and empty its tower bin. It also has the capability to change its dust bag.
Advanced models can map your house and note furniture positioning. They also can detect dangers and help you avoid them, like loose charging cables or unintentional socks.
Object Avoidance
Object avoidance helps your robot to avoid hitting objects like cords, toys, and clothes that could get caught in the vacuum. These features are particularly crucial if you have pets or children that could leave items on the floor for your robot to find.
Depending on which model you pick, your robot vacuum cleaner may have several sensor options to aid in navigating around obstacles. Some of the most popular include crossed IR sensors that beam focused beams of infrared lights across the room to spot things like doors and furniture legs. A lot of robots have adopted this technology, and you'll find it in the flagship models that are more expensive.
Another object avoidance technology can be found in more expensive robotics includes 3D Structured Light which uses cameras and a crossed IR sensors to map the environment, and identify obstacles. Time of Flight (ToF), sensors that measure and emit the duration that it takes the light to reflect off of an object to determine its distance, is also available. These are less common but are a great addition to your robot, if you're looking for extra peace of mind.
Most of the top-rated robotics can also clean your floors. Some robots come with own water tanks that let them clean up messes and spills. You'll need to empty the dust bin onboard and clean its cameras and sensors in between cleaning sessions.
Mapping
Robot vacuums must have mapping capabilities. This allows them to navigate around your home and avoid bumping against things like walls. Without mapping, they could get tripped up by cords, furniture or pet toys and end up cleaning less of your space. Using sensors, most robots map your home to track any obstacles and assist them to navigate around them. They can sweep the floor in fewer passes and make it easier for you to save time. Many of the top robotic vacuums also have this feature, which enables you to create no-go areas.Robots that have a 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 one independently this was a significant improvement over the less expensive models we tested that utilized an in-front bump sensor. This was a much more accurate way of navigating my home and was simple to control with the app on the device.
While no robot vacuum can climb stairs yet, the majority of the top-rated models come with obstacle avoidance and mapping capabilities. These tools let them collect dirt from low-pile or hard floors, and to avoid falling down the stairs. Some have cliff sensors that stop them from crossing over the edge of stairs and others have boundary strips that can keep them away from certain areas.
Some robots come with a massive tower base which holds their collected dirt, minimizing the amount of dust and allergens released into your home. These bases can go weeks or even months between emptying and are especially beneficial if you have allergies. Additionally, some models come with self-emptying mechanisms that let you dump out their onboard dust bins without having to manually open and close them.
Wi-Fi Enabled
Some robot vacuums make use of Wi-Fi to connect with their apps which allows users to control them with your smartphone rather than (or in addition to) a physical remote. They are more expensive but can save you time by letting you schedule cleaning sessions on a daily, weekly or even a monthly basis. They also often allow users to edit and save floor maps and offer alternative cleaning patterns.
Dual sensors are employed by the most advanced robot vacuums. They combine with a LIDAR mapping system with a structured-light sensor which can detect and avoid objects, even when they're hidden under furniture or power cables. Those features allow your robot to get into tight spaces such as the nook underneath the kitchen cabinets or beneath sofas, where many other robots have difficulty. They also have a faster speed to maneuver around obstacles, have longer runtimes, and bigger dust bins. This makes them ideal for large homes compared to the smallest robots.
The best robot hoover robot vacuums are swift efficient, smart and powerful. They can pick up an array of floor debris, including pet hair, kitty litter and other messes. They can also be quite quiet which makes them a great option for homes with young kids and pets. Most robot vacuum users have told us that they appreciate the ease of having their floor cleaned with little effort. This is especially true if they are used frequently. With proper maintenance (cleaning the rotating brushes and keeping tabs on replacement parts) robots can last as long as a conventional full-size vacuum cleaner. PCWorld offers a guide that includes some helpful tips to keep yours running smoothly.
Larger Dust Bags
While a robotic vacuum may not clean as well as an upright or canister model, it is great in removing dust and debris that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It can be used to do quick repairs to floors that are not clean, and can maneuver around cords and other household obstacles. It is possible to use a robot to clean your floors according to a schedule in case you don't have the time to do it yourself.
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 can help save time and money by providing replacement bags. This feature is available on a variety of models, including our top choice which is the Ecovacs T30S Combo. This all-in-one robovac has an excellent performance rating and includes self-emptying bin. It has a mopping feature and an efficient navigation. It is a close race between the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ and this model, which utilizes the latest technology for avoidance and smart mapping. This model is more expensive, however it has a bigger capacity.
Another big difference between these two models is the way they deal with hair that is long that can get caught in the rollers of some robots. The most efficient models are the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have excellent hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores, along with excellent path planning and close to perfect auto empty results. The Shark Matrix Plus and eufy are also great options with decent hair pick-up and tangle avoidance, however not as much path planing or auto empty.
The newest robots have sensors that detect dirt and other debris in the carpet, and are better at picking up loose pet hair. Some have a mopping mode that uses the reservoir of water to eliminate spills and stuck-on mess. This feature is crucial for families with children and pets.
Maintenance
A robot vacuum can be a great help in keeping up with your home. While no robot is able to replace an upright or canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the top models are rated to remove pet hair, lint, and other dirt that accumulates on hard floors and low-pile carpets, picking up much more than you would find using a Broom. 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 a robot automatic vacuum cleaner to run multiple times per day or even watch it perform its duties using an app. They are convenient however they can be clogged and require regular maintenance. This means emptying the dust bin that is onboard (or in certain cases, the base's larger bin) as well as checking the brushes for tangled fur, and a regular cleaning of the filters and drying them according to the manufacturer.
Emily Rairdin is a vacuum expert and store owner apprentice at University Vacuum + Sewing. She says that a robot vacuum can last from three to five years with proper care. She suggests regularly emptying the brush roll and bin and cutting off hair that's tangled in the brushes, and regularly washing and drying the filter if your robot also acts as mop. It's also recommended to wipe down the charging contacts and sensors on the dock or robot every now and then with a soft cloth. Then, refill and recharge your robot prior to the next clean-up session.