10 Quick Tips For Good Robot Vacuum What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A quality robot vacuum will help you stay on top of pet hair, lint, and dust on a daily basis. Many use apps that let you schedule cleaning sessions and set virtual boundaries or "walls" to keep them from areas you don't want cleaned.

This smart vac-mop creates a map of your home using its first run. It then remembers the area to help you with future cleaning tasks. It comes with a self-cleaning brush roll and an extra-large dust bin that empties automatically.

Object Detection

When selecting a robot vacuum cleaner, choose one that is able to pick up big items such as toys and lamp cords and fine dust. This will ensure that they don't get caught in the roller brush, and aren't left behind on your floors. This is especially important when you have pets or children and may need to clean the robot regularly.

It's an excellent idea to select a model that has strong motors and plenty of suction power. This will make it more effective in removing pet hair, lint and dust from your hardwood and carpet floors.

The size of your home is another crucial factor to consider. If you live in a big home, you may prefer one with multiple cleaning zones that can cover the entire home in one go. Some models also have mopping functions, which can be used to keep your floors fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums are long-lasting, but they need to be cleaned properly and regularly. Cleaning the rotating brushes, emptying the dust bin and wiping down the sensors regularly will ensure that your robot is running efficiently for long time to come. Many of the owners of robot vacuums that we have spoken with have had the same machine for a period of 10 years or more (and replaced brushes, motors and batteries as they went along).

A basic robot will cost less than a full-sized vacuum cleaner, but they'll still do a great job at keeping up with surface dirt, pet hair and lint. You can use them to scrub your floors multiple times per day. However, they don't offer as much technological innovation, and may be prone to getting stuck or needing human intervention.

best rated robot vacuum utilize cameras, sensors or lasers to navigate your home and avoid getting stuck or falling on the stairs. They can also avoid obstacles such as cords and furniture legs and some models can automatically return to their dock or base when they run out of power. The ones that are more expensive usually have mapping capabilities that allow them to memorize the design of your home and lessen the time you spend running into walls.

There is no need to spend an enormous amount of money on the most expensive robotic vacuums. You can still find models that do a great job at picking up pet hair and dirt from hard surfaces such as tiles, wood, and low-pile rugs. They can also do a good job of removing larger debris such as metal screws, rusty staples or abandoned toys. Some even come with self-emptying bases which is helpful if you don't want to empty your trash bin after every clean-up.

Some robotic vacuums have smart features that make the look of a stick vacuum outdated. These include schedules, zone-targeting, and the ability for you to control them using an app or voice assistant, such as Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas that you don't wish the robot to enter.

Certain robotic vacuums, such as the Eufy 11S or my former top pick, Roborock S8, come equipped with obstacle avoidance technology to stop them from falling over cords or furniture. Certain robot vacuums, such as the iRobot Roomba j7+ have more advanced AI obstacle-avoidance technology which uses a camera, processors and intelligent algorithms to avoid objects like lamp cords and pet waste. It's a bit more expensive than other bots that I've tried, however it does a fantastic job of avoiding obstacles and rarely gets stuck or derailed when working on my floor.

The iRobot J7+ was an excellent obstacle avoidance robot however it didn't always succeed at avoiding dirt or crumbs on my rugs. It also tends to over-vacuum some areas, resulting in lots of dust in the filter, and a less-clean house.

Smart Mapping

The best robot vacuums come with an app that helps you set up cleaning modes, set schedules and see the flooring area that the machine covers. This is a very useful feature that some competitors do not have. This makes it easy to create profiles that will automatically start your robot at certain times and continue to run on an ongoing basis, such as cleaning the living area prior to dinner or on a regular basis.

A good app can also let you control your robot using voice commands. Certain models can be controlled by Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant and can work completely hands-free. You can say "start a clean" or "change cleaning mode" without having to use the app.

Find models with an enormous dust bin. This will allow you to do many cleaning sessions without needing empty it. There are also models that are self-emptying that take some of the labor out of emptying the machine after each vacuuming run.


If you're looking to purchase a robot that does more than vacuum, you should consider the models that have mopping capabilities. They're usually bigger than robotic vacuums and come with a water tank that can hold multiple cleaning sessions' worth of dust and dirt before needing to emptied.

The most advanced robots can create their own maps of your home and can even keep track of the layout from one cleaning to another which can help them avoid getting lost or trapped in corners. This can make a big difference in how efficiently your robot vacuums because it won't have to spend time going back to the beginning of the room if it encounters furniture or walls.

Our test participants who utilized the robot that has this feature found it to be extremely efficient, and could easily sit back and watch TV or perform other chores while the robot was cleaning. Some models employ laser navigation and can make an exact map of your home, which means that you can program them to clean just the bedroom after dinner, or every room in your home while you're working.

App Control

It is recommended to select one that comes with an app for mobile devices in case you wish to alter the frequency of cleaning and choose a cleaning mode. Within the app, you can also examine the status of your vacuum and its dust bin. Some of the best robotic vacuums can be controlled using Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri Shortcuts.

A robot that has a self-emptying bin and washable filters is simple to keep hygienic, especially when you are able to access the filter and take it off it to rinse it. A high-powered brush is another excellent feature that can reach into corners and along baseboards to get rid of dirt and hair. Some robots are more adept at avoiding chair leg than others. Others have sensors that automatically clean brushes to avoid obstruction.

Certain robo-vacs utilize navigation tools that allow them to discover your home and overcome obstacles. High-end models use sensors and cameras to detect obstacles such as furniture, stairs, and cords. Cheaper models may utilize boundaries to mark areas you don't want it to enter. Avoidance of objects is particularly important for families with young children who have toys and socks scattered throughout the house, since it helps your robot nab the items instead of scattering them.

More robots are equipped with mop heads. This is beneficial for those with hard floors who need to clean regularly. They come with water tanks built into the chassis or an additional piece that you can swap in when it's time to mop. These robots might require refilling frequently, but are ideal for homes that have hard floors that aren't cleaned easily with vacuums.

We've seen some impressive technology packed into these little robots and they're less expensive than you might expect. You can find a quality one under $200, which does a decent cleaning job on hard floors while navigating around the edges of carpets and area rugs. You can program the robot to clean a room every day and can be controlled remotely using the app or by pressing buttons on its side.