Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop
Eufy's top-rated robot vacuum and mop takes some of the burden of keeping your floors clean. It is able to refill its own water tank, and self-empty its tower bin, and swap the dust bag.
Advanced models are able to draw a map of your home and take note of the location of furniture. They also can detect obstacles and avoid hazards like loose charging cables and loose socks.
Object Avoidance
Object avoidance helps your robot to avoid hitting things like toys, cords, and clothes that could get caught in the vacuum. These are especially important if you have kids or pets who are prone to leaving objects on the floor, where your robot will discover them.
Depending on which model you select depending on the model you select, your robot could have a variety of sensor options to assist it in its quest to avoid obstacles. Some of the most well-known include crossed IR sensor beams that are a focused infrared light that scan the room to look for furniture legs or door frames. This technology has been widely adopted by a variety of robots on the market and you can see it in the top models that cost more 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 environment and detect obstacles; and Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that emit light and measure the time it takes for light to reflect off of objects, to determine the distance to them. These are less common but could be a great addition to your robot, should you want to have more security.
robot vacuum cleaners of the top-rated robots can also mop your floors. Some come with their own water tanks, which allow them to clean up wet spills and messes. You'll have to empty the robot's onboard dust bin and clean the cameras and sensors in between cleaning sessions, but these tasks should not take a lot of time.
Mapping
Robot vacuums should be able to map. This allows them to navigate your home without bumping against things like walls. Without mapping, they could get tripped up by furniture, cords or pet toys and end up removing less of your space. With sensors, the majority of robots map out 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 you time. Many of the top-rated robot vacuums can also use this feature to create no-go zones allowing you to set specific areas that you do not want the robot to enter.
Robots with a built-in LIDAR system use this technology to map 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 huge improvement over other models that only used a front-bumper sensor. This was a more precise method of navigating my home and was also easy to control via the on-device app.
While no robot vacuum is able to climb stairs yet, the majority of the best rated models come with obstacle avoidance and mapping features. These tools help them to remove dirt from carpets with low pile and hard floors, and to avoid falling down the stairs. Some tools are equipped with sensors to prevent them falling over the edge of the stairs. Others have boundary strips to keep them out.
Certain robots have a huge tower base that houses their dirt and debris, reducing the amount of dust and allergens released into your home. These bases can last for weeks or even months between emptying, and are particularly useful if you suffer from allergies. Certain 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 communicate with their apps, allowing users to control them with your smartphone instead of (or in addition to) an actual remote. Those models are more expensive, but they save you time by allowing you to 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 schedules.
Dual sensors are employed by the most modern robot vacuums. They combine the LIDAR mapping system with a structured-light sensor which can detect and avoid objects, even when they're hidden under furniture or power cables. These features allow your robot to reach into tight areas, like the space under your kitchen cabinets or underneath sofas. Some robots have difficulty in these areas. They are also faster to maneuver around obstacles, have longer runtimes, and bigger dust bins. This makes them more suitable for large homes than the smallest robots.
The best rated robot vacuums tend to be swift, intelligent and powerful and can clean up all kinds of floor debris such as pet hair, cat litter and other messes. They can also be quite quiet, making them an ideal option for homes with young children and pets. The majority of robot vacuum owners we've spoken to have reported that they appreciate the ease of keeping their floors spotless with minimal effort, particularly if they use it regularly. And with proper maintenance (cleaning the rotating brushes and keeping track on the replacement parts) robots can last as long as a conventional full-size vacuum cleaner. PCWorld offers a manual that includes some helpful tips to keep yours running smoothly.
Larger Dust Bags
A robotic vacuum is not as good at cleaning like an upright or canister vacuum, but it is great at picking up the dust and other debris that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It is a great tool for quick repairs to floors that are not clean and is able to maneuver around cords and other household obstacles. You can employ robotics to sweep your floors on a regular basis in case you don't have the time to do it yourself.
The top-rated robot vacuums have huge dust bags that are easy to empty and hold more than a single room's worth of dirt. This can save you time and money on replacement bags. A number of the models on our list feature this feature, including the most popular one, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This all-in one robovac is a high-performance robovac and comes with a self emptying bin. It also comes with a mopping function and efficient navigation. This is a close race between the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ and this model, which utilizes the latest technology for avoidance and smart mapping. The robovac is more expensive, but it has more capacity.
Another significant difference between these two models is the way they deal with long human hair, which can tangle in the rollers of certain robots. The top-performing models are the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have outstanding hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores with fantastic path planning and near perfect auto empty results. The Eufy and Shark Matrix Plus are also good choices with good hair pickup and tangle avoidance, but not as much path-planning or auto empty.
The most recent robots have sensors that can spot dirt and debris in the carpet, and they're better at picking up hairs that have fallen off of pets. Some have a mopping mode that uses the reservoir of water to wash away spills and stuck-on mess. This feature is crucial for families with children and pets.
Maintenance
Having a robot vacuum can be a great aid 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 on carpets with low pile and hard floors and pick up more than you would find with the vacuum. They also come with navigation features which prevent them from getting stuck on cords for power or rug fringe and are able to glide effortlessly under furniture.
Based on the model, a top-rated robot vacuum is also able to run multiple times per day, or permit you to watch it in action using an app. However, these useful vacuums are also prone to clogging and require frequent maintenance such as emptying the onboard bin (or the base's larger dust bin in some cases) and checking the brushes for tangled hair, and regularly rinsing 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 high-quality robot vacuum should last three to five years or more if it receives regular maintenance and care. She recommends regularly emptying the bin and brush roll and cutting off any hair that has gotten caught 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 clean the sensors and charging contacts on the robot or dock often with a soft, clean cloth. You can then recharge and refill your robot prior to the next cleaning session.