16 Must-Follow Facebook Pages To Good Robot Vacuum-Related Businesses What to Look For in a Good Robot Vacuum

A robot vacuum can keep you on the top of pet hair and lint on daily basis. Many robot vacuums have apps that allow you to schedule cleaning sessions. You can also set virtual boundaries or "walls," to ensure that the vacuum stays away from areas you don't wish to be cleaned.

This mop and vac creates a home map with its first run, memorizing your space for future jobs. It comes with self-cleaning brush rolls as well as an large dust bin that is empty automatically.

Object Detection

When picking a robot vacuum, choose one that can take in large items, like lamp cords and toys, as well as fine dirt. This will ensure that they don't get caught by the roller brush and aren't left on your floors. This is especially crucial if the robot will be cleaned regularly by children or pets.


A model that has an engine that is powerful and lots of suction is an ideal option. This will make it more efficient in removing pet hair, dust and lint from your hardwood and carpet floors.

Another factor to consider is the size of your space. If you live in a large house it is possible to select one that has multiple cleaning zones, so you can clean your entire house in a single session. Some models have a mopping feature that can be utilized to keep floors fresh and clean.

Robot vacuums are long-lasting, but they need to be maintained and cleaned regularly. Cleaning the rotating brushes, emptying the dust bin and wiping down the sensors regularly will keep your machine running efficiently for the years to be. narwal robot vacuum of the owners of robot vacuums we speak to have owned their machines for 10 years or longer (and have replaced motors, brushes and batteries along with time).

A basic robot is less expensive than a large vacuum cleaner. They'll still perform a great job of cleaning dirt from surfaces, pet fur and lint. You can use them to clean your floors multiple times per day. They aren't as technologically advanced and are more susceptible to get stuck or require manual intervention.

Object Avoidance

The most effective robot vacuums utilize sensors, lasers or cameras to guide them around your home without getting stuck or falling down the staircase. They also can avoid obstacles like cords and furniture legs, and some models automatically return to their base or dock when they are running low on power. The more expensive ones often feature mapping capabilities that allow them to learn the design of your home and lessen the time you spend bumping into walls.

You don't have to spend a lot of money on the most expensive robotic vacuums. There are models that do an excellent job at picking up pet hair and dirt from hard surfaces like tile, wood and low-pile rugs. They can also do a decent job of removing larger debris such as metal screws or staples that have rust, or discarded toys. Some have an automatic base that drains itself, which is great when you don't need to empty it every cleaning session.

The majority of robotic vacuums have innovative features that make a ordinary stick vacuum appear old-fashioned with features like scheduling, zone targeting, and the capability to control them using an app or a voice assistant such as Alexa. You can also create cleaning zones and virtual walls to block off areas you don't wish robots to access.

Certain robotic vacuums like the Eufy 11S and my former favorite Roborock S8 Roborock S8, have obstacle avoidance technology that prevents them from getting sucked into furniture or tangling cords. Other models, like the iRobot Roomba j7+, have more sophisticated AI obstacle avoidance that uses a camera and processor-powered smarts to identify and avoid items like shoe cords, lamp cords socks and pet waste. It's more expensive than the other bots I've tested, however, it did a great job of avoiding obstacles around my home. It also didn't get derailed or trapped when I was working on my flooring.

While the iRobot's j7+ was a good obstacle avoidance tool but it wasn't always able to do an excellent job of avoiding dirt and crumbs off my rugs. It also was known to over-vacuum specific areas, leading to dust accumulation in the filters and an unclean home.

Smart Mapping

The best robot vacuums come with an app that can help you set up cleaning modes, set schedules and see an outline of the floor area that the machine covers. This is a handy feature that many competitors don't have. This makes it easy to create profiles that automatically start your robot at specific times and continue to run on an ongoing basis, such as cleaning your living room prior to dinner or every other day.

A good app will also allow you to control your robot with voice commands. Certain models are compatible with Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, which allows you to control your robot using voice commands.

For a truly hands-free experience, choose a model with a large dust bin that can hold several cleaning sessions before having to be emptied. There are models that self-empty, which eliminates the requirement to empty the robot after every vacuuming session.

If you want a robot capable of doing more than just vacuum, you'll want to consider the possibility of a model that can mop floors. They are typically larger than robotic vacuums and come with a water tank which can hold several cleaning sessions worth of dust and dirt before needing to emptied.

The most advanced robots create their own maps of your home. They can even remember the arrangement from one cleaning to the next, which helps them avoid getting lost or trapped in corners. This can make a big difference in the efficiency of your robot vacuum since it won't have to return to where it started when it encounters walls or furniture.

Our testers found that robots that had this feature were extremely efficient. They could sit and watch TV or complete other things while the robot was cleaning. Some of these models utilize laser navigation, and can create an exact map of your house, which means you can program them to clean only the bedroom after dinner, or every room in your home when you're at work.

App Control

If you'd like to alter the frequency at which the robot cleans your home and choose a cleaning mode you should choose one that has an app for mobile devices. Within the app, you can also examine the status of your vacuum and its dust bin. Some of the best robot vacuums can even be controlled via voice with Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri Shortcuts.

A robot with a self-emptying bin and washable filters makes it easy to keep clean, especially if you can easily access the filter and then remove it to wash it. A high-powered brush is another excellent feature that can reach into corners and along baseboards to remove hair and dirt. Certain robots are better in avoiding chair legs than others. Some have a sensor that automatically cleans brushes to avoid obstruction.

Certain robo-vacs come with navigational tools to aid them in navigating obstacles and to learn about your home. The top models come with sensors and cameras that can detect obstacles like stairs, furniture and cords. On the other hand, less expensive models may utilize boundary strips that you place on the floor to mark off areas where you don't want it to go. Object avoidance can be especially useful for families with young kids who throw socks and toys all over the home. This allows your robot collect these items, instead of scattering them.

More robots are coming with mop attachments. This is great for those with hard floors who need to mop regularly. These robots come with an integrated water tank into the chassis or an extra piece which you can change out when it's time to mop. They may require to be refilled more frequently than other kinds of robots, but they're ideal for homes with floors made of wood that aren't easily cleaned with a vacuum.

We've seen some incredible technology incorporated into these tiny robots, and they're a lot less expensive than you might imagine. In fact, you can find a decent one for less than $200 that can do a decent job of cleaning pet hair and crumbs from hard floors while also moving around the edges of light carpets or area rugs. You can program the robot to clean rooms on a regular basis and it can be controlled remotely with the app or by pressing buttons on its side.