Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop
Eufy's top-rated robot vacuum and mop takes some of the hands-off work out of keeping your floors spotless. It has the ability to refill its own water tank and empty its tower bin. It can also change the dust bag.
Advanced models can map your home and record furniture placement. They also can detect dangers and avoid them, like loose charging cables or unintentional socks.
Object Avoidance
Object avoidance helps your robot to avoid hitting objects like toys, cords, and clothes that could get caught in the vacuum. These are especially important if you have kids or pets who are likely to leave items on the floor, where your robot can discover them.
Based on the model you pick, your robot may have various sensors to aid in navigating around obstacles. Some of the most sought-after include crossed IR sensor beams, which are focused infrared lights which scan the room for things like furniture legs or door frames. This technology is widely used by a variety of robots that are available, and you can also see it in the top models that cost more than other models.
Other technologies for avoiding objects that you might find in more expensive robots are 3D Structured Light, which uses cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the environment and detect obstacles. Also, Time of Flight (ToF) sensors which emit and measure the time it takes for light to reflect off of objects to determine the distance between them. While these are less common but they could be an excellent addition to your robot if it needs extra peace of mind that it will avoid getting hung up on power cords or socks when cleaning.
Most of the top-rated robots can also mop your floors. Some robots come with very own water tanks that enable them to clean up spills and messes. You'll have to empty your robot's dust bin and clean its sensors and cameras between cleaning sessions, but these tasks shouldn't take much of your time.
Mapping
The ability to map is essential in robot vacuums as they help them keep track of your home's layout and avoid bumping into things like walls. They could be tripped by cords, pet toys, or furniture without mapping. This can result in them cleaning less space. Best robot vacuum uk use sensors to map your home and navigate around obstacles. This way, they're able to sweep your floors using fewer passes, which saves you time. Many of the top rated robot vacuums also have this feature to create zones that are not allowed, allowing you to set specific rooms that you don't want the robot to enter.
Robots that have a built-in LIDAR system make use of this technology to map out your home quickly and efficiently. The Eufy Clean robot divided my room into distinct areas and cleaned each one in a separate manner during our tests. This was a vast improvement over the cheaper models that only used sensors on the front of the vehicle. This was a much more accurate way of navigating my home and was also easy to control via the on-device app.
Although there aren't any robot vacuums that can scale stairs, the top models do come with obstacles avoidance and mapping features. These tools allow them to collect debris from low-pile and hard floors, and to avoid falling down the stairs. Certain tools come with sensors that make sure they don't fall over the edge of the stairs. Others have boundaries to keep them out.
Certain robots have a large base tower that can collect dirt. This reduces the amount of dust or allergens that are released in your home. These bases can go several months or even weeks between emptying, and are particularly beneficial if you have allergies. Some models also have self-emptying systems that allow you to dump out their onboard dust bins without having to manually open and close them.
Wi-Fi enabled
Some robot vacuums connect via Wi-Fi with their applications. This allows you to control them with your smartphone instead (or in addition) to the physical remote. Those models are more expensive but can save you time by allowing you to plan cleaning time on a daily, weekly or even a monthly basis. They also permit you to edit and save floor maps, and offer different cleaning patterns.
The most advanced robot vacuums use dual sensors, combining the LIDAR system to map your area with a structured light sensor that can see objects and avoid them, even if they're buried under furniture or power cords. These features allow your robot to reach into tight areas, like the nook beneath your kitchen cabinets or under your sofas. Some robots have difficulty in these areas. They're also quicker to get over obstacles and have longer running times thanks to larger dust bins, making them more suitable for large homes than the entry-level robots.
The best rated robot vacuums tend to be fast, smart and powerful, picking up most kinds of floor debris, including pet hair, cat litter, and other mess. They are also quite quiet, making them an ideal choice for homes with pets as well as young children. Many of the robot vacuum owners have told us that they appreciate the ease of having their floors cleaned without much effort. This is especially true if they are used frequently. Robots can last just as long as traditional vacuum cleaners if they are given the proper maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping track of replacement parts). PCWorld offers a manual that offers some useful suggestions to ensure your machine is running smoothly.
Larger Dust Bags
Although a robot vacuum may not be as effective as a canister or upright model, it is excellent in removing dust and debris that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It is a great tool for quick retouching of floors and can also navigate around cords or other obstacles in your home. If you don't wish to do the deep cleaning yourself, a robotic cleaner can be set to send it out to scour your floors on a regular schedule.
Some of the top-rated robot vacuums come with large dust bags which can hold more dirt than one room. This can help you save time and money on bags that need to be replaced. Several of the models we've listed include this feature, including the top pick, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This all-in-one robovac is a high-performance robovac and includes a self-emptying bin. It also comes with mopping functions and effective navigation. It's a close match between this and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, which comes with intelligent mapping and avoidance technology. This robovac has a larger capacity but is slightly more expensive.
Another major difference between the two models is the way they handle hair that is long and human which can get caught 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 along with fantastic path planning and near perfect auto empty results. The Shark Matrix Plus and eufy are also good options with respectable hair pick-up and tangle avoidance but not as much path planing or auto empty.
The latest robots come with sensors that can detect dirt and debris on the carpet, and are better at removing loose pet hair. Some models even have a mopping mode that makes use of the water reservoir to remove the stains and spills. This feature is a must for families with pets as well as children.
Maintenance
A robot vacuum can help keep up with your home. While no robot is able to replace an upright or a canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the top rated models pick up pet hair, lint, and other surface dirt on carpets with low pile and hard floors and pick up more than you could using the vacuum. They have navigational features that help them avoid getting stuck on power cords, rug fringe or furniture.
According to the model, you can program a robot vacuum to run several times a day or observe it in action with an app. However, these useful machines are also susceptible to clogging and require frequent maintenance like emptying the bin onboard (or the base's bigger dust bin in some cases) and checking the brushes for hair that is tangled, and periodically rinsing and letting the filters dry as suggested by the manufacturer.
Vacuum expert Emily Rairdin, a store owner apprentice at University Vacuum + Sewing, says that a quality robot vacuum will last for three to five years or more with regular maintenance and care. She recommends regularly emptying the brush roll and bin, cutting out any hair that has gotten caught up in the brushes and regularly washing and drying the filter, when your robot is also used as mop. It's also recommended to clean the sensors and charging contacts on the robot or dock occasionally with a soft cloth. You can then recharge and refill your robot for the next cleaning session.