10 Quick Tips About Robot Vacuum How to Find the Best Robot Vacuum

If you're willing to live without smart capabilities like mapping, and you don't mind emptying the garbage bin every 60 days or so, a basic robotic vacuum could be a good choice for you. Pick a model that has clean and tidy base that is compatible with voice assistants.

It is a pro at picking up dirt, pet hair and cat litter on hardwood floors, tile and low-pile carpeting better than any other robo vacuum we've tested. It can also map and set virtual no-go zones for rooms and areas.

1. Powerful Suction

A robot vacuum is able to stay on top of the dust, pet hair and dander that collects on your floors on a daily basis. It also can reduce how often you need to clean your floors, saving you time and effort. The best models have powerful suction, which can take on the majority of messes and leave your home clean.

You can cover more area by using a robot vacuum and mop, which is particularly beneficial if you live in a large house. There are models that has a water tank built into the chassis or as an additional piece that you can take out after vacuuming. You'll have to empty it and refill it, though, so this is an additional task that will require a little extra work on your part.

In ideal world, you'd be able to clean your floors before you used your robot vac to keep it from hitting things. However, in the majority of homes, this isn't feasible or desirable. The majority of models let you use an app on your smartphone to create virtual barriers that the robot can detect. Some models have no-go zones, which you can flag areas you don't want the robot to enter. For instance an area for children's play or a pile of cords in a corner.

This model is a good option if you're looking for a basic robot cleaner that does not have all the bells and whistles. It is quiet, can be used on hard floors and carpets with low pile and can be programmed via the app to vacuum and mop at your leisure. It comes with a battery life of up to 180 minutes.

2. Easy to Operate

In general, robot vacuums require very little input from you. They use instruments for navigation, such as sensors lasers, cameras, and sensors to move and collect pet hair, dust and food crumbs from hard floors, tile and hardwood. Many models have boundary strips to help them stay inside a room. The more expensive models can be programmed to start up at a certain time and start cleaning. Some models even have fall detection technology that can help them avoid falling down stairs or becoming caught in electrical cords.

Find models that can be controlled from the comfort of your sofa using voice assistants such as Alexa or Google Assistant. Also, look for Wi-Fi-connected models that let you start a cleaning session from anywhere through an app. Depending on the size of your house is, you may prefer a model that has a long battery life and a roomy dustbin that doesn't have to be emptying frequently.

Some robot vacuums can also be mops. They make use of water reservoirs to wash the floor. This is helpful for regular mopping but won't work for extra-tough messes, like pet poop or other spills that get wet. You can find hybrids with an ejectable microfiber pad for mopping, or choose a self-emptying model that lets you go 30 to 60 days without having to empty the base.

3. Smart Mapping

Certain robots employ advanced mapping technologies to build a detailed map of your floorplan as they clean and tidy, allowing them to avoid falling into furniture or falling over things like cords or chair legs. This feature is only available on higher-end models, but it allows your robot to have a thorough understanding of the layout of your home and knows where to move when the battery runs out.


Most robots allow you to create virtual barriers. This can be done using an application or even physical boundary strips. This lets you create zones that you don't want your robot venture into, so it can focus its attention on the areas and rooms that require the most attention.

Many robots also have the ability to automatically navigate to different floors depending on the floor they're cleaning, whether they're switching between carpet and hard flooring or focusing on certain areas of your home, such as corners and baseboards. This feature proved helpful during our tests and helped improve the vacuum's performance on both hardwood flooring and low-pile floor carpeting. click through the following website 's nevertheless important to put away furniture and cords that are loose prior to running your robot vacuum so that it doesn't become stuck or get into something it shouldn't.

4. Remote Control

The majority of robot vacuums are WiFi-connected and can be controlled by Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri Shortcuts to allow you to control them via voice commands or via your smartphone. Many robot vacuums are connected to smart home systems and can create a map of the area they clean after each cleaning session. This lets them "learn" how your home is laid out and plan more efficient routes during future cleaning sessions. There are also built-in obstacles avoidance, which stops them from hitting furniture and causing damage or getting stuck on things like charging cables that are loose, shoe laces and hair from pets.

Most robots are equipped with the ability to control them with a remote that can be used to guide them around your house. However, many can be controlled via an app on your mobile, which gives you more options. You can typically create multiple cleaning schedules, create an inventory of your favorite rooms and even manually guide your robot around specific areas by using directional arrows that appear on the screen.

Some models offer no-go zones, which are virtual barriers that you can configure in the app to stop the robot from entering certain areas (like toys for children or dog beds and bowls). Some apps allow you to create an image of your home and provide more detailed information about the floors. The app that we recommend as our top pick one, the Roborock S7+, has many useful options to help you tidy your home, however its interface isn't as polished and elegant as those from iRobot and Shark.

5. Long Battery Life

Robot vacuums that can clean your entire home without stopping for a recharge or to empty their bins save time and effort. Some of them work with smart home platforms such as Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri Shortcuts for hands-free operation. They can also draw an outline of the space to allow you to program them for certain rooms or areas and to stay clear of obstacles.

The majority of robot vacuums detect objects, but the iRobot J7 has advanced features, such as "home mapping" and obstacle avoidance. These can make your life much easier (although one of our test robots did "eat" two socks). If you're trying to improve the quality of your home maintenance, think about the use of a robot mop and an water container that can be filled and then empty.

While none of the models we tested could match the ability to pick up dirt of a standup vacuum, they did a great job cleaning hard floors as well as carpets with a low pile. They excel at sweeping up fine dust and food crumbs, tracked-in dirt and pet hair. They can also handle nuts and screws made of metal as well as the stray cat litter. The best robot vacuums can remove dirt from edges and corners and can even work on furniture. Eufy 11S is a relatively affordable and basic model.

6. Convenient Self-Charging

With the right configuration with the right setup, a robot vacuum will help you keep your home looking and feeling cleaner regularly, without a lot of effort. You can schedule cleanings through the app, and you can create no-go zones so that your robot doesn't walk on your favorite chair or plants. The majority of our top picks also automatically empty their trash bins and clean their docking stations for you.

The best robot vacuums can be programmed to clean your floors on a regular basis for weeks or even months at a time, removing you from the arduous task of manually cleaning your floors on a weekly or daily basis. This lets you spend more time doing things you enjoy, and decreases the amount of time required to clean your floors manually.

In the course of testing, the Q Revo was able to pick up fine particles like baking soda and oatmeal as well as heavier debris such nails and screws made of metal and even fluffy matter like hair of pets. It lacks the advanced mapping and object-avoiding features found in our top picks, but is still a great option for families with children.

The best thing about the j7 is its ability to recognize and avoid obstacles such as power cords and socks, shoes, and pet waste. This means that you don't need to clean up after using your robot. However, messy rooms may cause your bot to get stuck and do poorly.