Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop
Eufy's top-rated robotic mop and vacuum takes a lot of the work of keeping your floors clean. It is able to refill its own water tank and empty its tower bin. It also has the ability to change its dust bag.
Advanced models can map your house and record furniture arrangement. They can also detect hazards and avoid them, like loose charging cables or unintentional socks.
Object Avoidance
Object avoidance features enable your robot to avoid running into things like power cords, toys and clothes that can be caught in the vacuum. This is especially important if you have children or pets who are likely to leave items on the floor where your robot can discover them.
Depending on the model you select, you might have a variety of sensor options available to help your robot navigate through obstacles. A few popular ones include crossed IR sensors that beam focused beams of infrared light throughout the room to identify things like furniture legs and door frames. This technology is widely used by many robots available, and you can also see it in the top models that cost more than other models.
Other object avoidance technology that is available in more expensive robotics includes 3D Structured Light which uses cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the surroundings and detect obstacles. Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that measure and emit the amount of time that it takes for the light to reflect off an object, to determine its distance, are also available. These aren't very common but can be an excellent option to add to your robot should you want to have more security.
Most of the top-rated robots can also clean your floors. Some even come with their own water tanks that allow them to wash away water-based spills and messes. You'll need to empty the robot's onboard dust bin and clean its cameras and sensors between cleaning sessions, but these chores will not take a lot of your time.
Mapping
Mapping capabilities are essential in robot vacuums as they allow them to recognize your home's layout, and avoid bumping into things like walls. Without mapping, they may be tripped over by furniture, cords, or pet toys, and end up removing less of your space. Most robots employ sensors to map your home and navigate around obstacles. They can clean your floors in fewer steps and make it easier for you to save time. A lot of the top robot vacuums also have this feature, which allows you to designate areas that are not accessible.
Robots that have a built-in LIDAR system make use of this technology to map out your home quickly and efficiently. During our tests of the Eufy Clean robot made use of this feature to divide my room into different areas and clean each independently, which was a huge improvement over the cheaper models we tested, which had a front bump sensor. This was a more accurate method to navigate my home and it was simple for me to control via the app on the device.
While no robot vacuum is able to climb stairs yet, most of the best rated models come with good obstacles avoidance and mapping features. These tools let them collect dirt from low-pile or hard floors, and prevent falling down the stairs. Some tools have sensors that make sure they don't fall over the edge of the stairs. Some have boundary strips to keep them away.
Some robots come with a large base tower that can collect dirt. This decreases the amount of dust or allergens released in your home. helpful resources can last for several months or even weeks between emptying, which is especially useful 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 communicate via Wi-Fi to their apps. This lets you control them with your smartphone instead (or in addition) to a physical remote. These models are more expensive, but they can save you time by allowing you to schedule cleaning sessions on a weekly, daily or even monthly basis. They also often allow you to edit and save floor maps, and offer different cleaning schedules.
Dual sensors are employed by the most modern robot vacuums. They combine the LIDAR mapping system with a structured-light sensor that can detect and block out objects, even if they're hidden beneath furniture or power cables. These features allow your robot to maneuver into small spaces, like the nook beneath the kitchen cabinets or beneath sofas, 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 ideal for larger homes than entry-level robotics.
The top rated robot vacuums tend to be swift, intelligent and powerful cleaning up all kinds of floor debris, including pet hair, cat litter and other dirt. They can also be quiet, making them an ideal choice for homes with children and pets. Many of the robot vacuum owners have told us that they enjoy the convenience of having their floor cleaned without much effort. This is especially true when used regularly. With proper maintenance (cleaning the rotating brushes and keeping tabs on the replacement parts) robots can last longer than a traditional full-size vacuum cleaner. PCWorld has a helpful guide that provides tips to keep yours running smoothly for long time to come.
Dust Bags Larger
While a robotic vacuum may not clean as well as a canister or upright model, it is excellent in picking up dust and other debris that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It can be used to do quick retouching of floors and can also navigate around cords or other obstacles in your home. You can use robots to clean your floors on a regular basis in case you don't have the time to do it yourself.
Some of the best rated robot vacuums have huge dust bags that are easy to empty and hold more than a single room's worth of dirt. This will save time and money in the form of replacement bags. This feature is available on several models, including our top pick one, the Ecovacs T30S Combo. This all-in-one robovac has an excellent performance score and includes an auto-emptying bin. It comes with a mopping function and a streamlined 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 robovac has more capacity, but it is a bit more expensive.
The two models differ in how they handle long hair, which could become tangled in the rollers of a few robots. The best-performing models are the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have excellent hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores along with fantastic path planning and near perfect auto empty results. The Shark Matrix Plus and eufy are also great options with respectable hair pick-up and tangle avoidance, but not as much path planning or auto empty.
The newest robots have sensors that can detect dirt and debris in the carpet, and they're better at removing loose pet hair. Some even have a dedicated mopping mode that makes use of the reservoir of water to wash away the stains and spills. This feature is crucial for families with children and pets.
Maintenance
A robot vacuum will help you keep up with your home. The most effective models remove more dirt from the surface pet hair and lint, than the broom that is used on low-pile or hard floors. They also come with navigation features that ensure they don't get caught in cords for power or rug fringe and can glide easily under furniture.
Depending on the model, a top-rated robot vacuum can be scheduled to run multiple times per day or allow you to view it at work via an app. However, these handy vacuums are also prone to clogging, and require regular maintenance such as emptying the bin onboard (or the base's larger dust bin in some instances) and checking the brushes for tangled hair, and periodically rinsing and letting the filters 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 with regular maintenance and care. She recommends emptying the bin and the brush roll regularly and cutting off hair that gets caught in the brushes, and regularly cleaning and drying the filter if your machine is a mop as well. It's also an excellent idea to clean the charging contacts and sensors on the dock or the robot occasionally with a soft cloth. You can refill and recharge your robot prior to the next cleaning session.