Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop
Eufy's top-rated robot vacuum and mop takes some of the work of keeping your floors spotless. It has the ability to refill its own water tank as well as empty its tower bin. It can also change its dust bag.
Advanced models can map your house and take note of furniture positioning. They can also detect obstacles and navigate around hazards such as loose charging cables and unintentional socks.
Object Avoidance
Object avoidance helps your robot to avoid hitting objects like toys, cords, and clothing that could be caught in the vacuum. These features are particularly important if you have children or pets that may leave objects on the floor for your robot to search.
Based on the model you pick You may have a variety of sensors to help your robot navigate around obstacles. Some of the most popular include crossed IR sensors that send focused beams of infrared light across the room to identify things like furniture legs and door frames. This technology has been widely adopted by a variety of robots on the market, and you can also see it in the top models that are priced higher than other models.
Other technologies for avoiding objects that can be found in more expensive robots include 3D Structured Light, which uses cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the surroundings and detect obstacles. Also, Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that emit and measure the time it takes for light to reflect off of objects to determine the distance between them. These are less common but can be an excellent option for your robot should you want to have more security.
The majority of the top-rated robots are also able to mop your floors. Some robots come with their own water tanks which enable them to clean up spills and messes. You'll need to empty the dust bin and clean its sensors and cameras in between cleaning sessions.
Mapping
The ability to map is essential in robot vacuums as they enable them to recognize your home's layout, and avoid bumping into things like walls. They could be tripped by pet toys, cords or furniture without mapping. This will result in them removing less space. Most robots use sensors to map your home and navigate around obstacles. This allows them to sweep your floors in fewer passes, thereby saving your time. Many of the best robot vacuums also come with this feature, which enables you to designate areas that are not accessible.
Robots equipped with LIDAR make use of this technology to map your home quickly and effectively. The Eufy Clean robot divided my room into distinct areas and cleaned each separately during our tests. This was a huge improvement over cheaper models that only had the front bumper sensor. This was a more precise method of navigating my home and was also easy to control with the on-device application.
Although there aren't any robot vacuums that can scale stairs, the most effective models have obstacles avoidance and mapping features. These tools allow them to collect dirt from low-pile or hard floors, and prevent falling down stairs. Some have cliff sensors that prevent them from going over the edge of the stairs and others have boundary strips that prevent them from certain areas.
Certain robots have an enormous base tower that can collect dirt. This decreases the amount of dust or allergens released within your home. These bases can go several months or even weeks between emptying, and are particularly useful if you suffer from allergies. Certain models come with self-emptying dust bins which you can empty without opening or closing them manually.
Wi-Fi enabled
Some robot vacuums connect via Wi-Fi with their applications. This allows you to control them using your smartphone instead of (or in addition) to a physical remote. They are more expensive, but they can save you time by allowing you to plan cleaning time on a weekly, daily or even monthly basis. These models also allow you to modify floor maps and save them, as well as provide alternative cleaning schedules.
The most advanced robot vacuums utilize dual sensors, combining the LIDAR system to map your area with a structured light sensor that can see objects and avoid them, even if they're hidden under furniture or power cords. These features allow your robot to reach tight spaces, such as the kitchen's nook under cabinets or under your sofas. Other robots struggle to reach these areas. They're also faster to get over obstacles and have longer run times with bigger dust bins, making them more suitable for large homes than entry-level robots.
The top-rated robot vacuums tend to be swift, intelligent and powerful and can clean up all kinds of floor debris such as pet hair, kitty litter, and other dirt. They are also quite quiet, making them an ideal choice for homes with pets or young children. Most robot vacuum users have told us that they appreciate the ease of having their floors cleaned with minimal effort. This is especially true when used regularly. Robots can last just as long as traditional vacuum cleaners with the right maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping an eye on replacement parts). PCWorld offers a helpful guide that outlines some essential tips to help you keep yours running smoothly for long time to come.
Larger Dust Bags
While a robotic vacuum may not be as effective as a canister or upright model, it's great in removing dust and other debris that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It can be used to perform quick repairs to floors that are not clean and can also navigate around cords or 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 sweep your floors on a regular schedule.
Some of the best rated robot vacuums have huge, easy-to-empty dust bags that hold more than a single room's worth of dirt. This will save you time and money on bags that need to be replaced. Several of the models we've listed have this feature, including our top choice one, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This robovac all-in-one has an excellent performance rating and comes with self-emptying bin. It also comes with mopping capabilities and efficient navigation. It's a close contest between this and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, that has smart mapping and avoidance technology. The robovac is more expensive, but it has a bigger capacity.
The two models also differ in their handling of long hair, which can get caught in the rollers of certain robots. The top-performing models, 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 Shark Matrix Plus and eufy are also good options with decent hair pickup and tangle avoidance, however not as much path planning or auto empty.
The most recent robots have sensors that can detect dirt and other debris in the carpet, and they're better at picking up loose pet hair. Some even have a dedicated mopping mode that uses the reservoir of water to wash away the stains and spills. My Source is essential for families with pets and children.
Maintenance
A robot vacuum will help you keep up with your home. While no robot is able to replace an upright or a canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the best models that are rated highly pick up pet hair, lint and other dirt that accumulates on carpets and floors with low pile, picking up much more than you could using the broom. They also have navigation capabilities that ensure they don't get caught on cords for power or rug fringe and can glide easily under furniture.
According to the model, you can set up the robot vacuum to run multiple times per day or even observe it in action with an app. However, these handy vacuums are also prone to clogging and require regular maintenance, such as emptying the onboard bin (or the base's bigger dust bin in some cases), checking brushes for hair that has become tangled and regularly rinsing and allowing the filters to dry as recommended by the manufacturer.
Vacuum expert Emily Rairdin, a store owner apprentice at University Vacuum + Sewing, says a high-quality robot vacuum can last from three to five years or more if it receives regular maintenance and care. She suggests regularly emptying the brush roll and bin and cutting out hair that's tangled in the brushes, and regularly washing and drying the filter when your robot is also used as mop. It's also a good idea to wipe down the sensors and charging contacts on the dock or robot often with a soft, clean cloth. Then, simply recharge and refill the robot as needed for the next time you clean.