14 Smart Ways To Spend Your Extra Robot Vacuum Budget

How to Find the Best Robot Vacuum

If you don't need advanced features like mapping and you aren't worried about emptying your bin every 60 to 90 days, a basic robotic vacuum is likely to be the best choice for you. Pick a model that has an uncluttered base that can work with voice assistants.

It is the most effective robo-vacuum we have tested at picking up dirt and pet hair on tiles, hardwood floors, and carpeting with low pile. It also has the ability to map out and create virtual no go zones for rooms or areas.

1. Powerful Suction

A robot vacuum can help you keep up with the pet fur, dust and dander that settles on your floor every day. It also can reduce the frequency of deep cleaning, which will save your time and effort. The best models have powerful suction, which will tackle most messes with ease and leave your house cleaner.

Selecting a vacuum that also mop will allow you to get more space with one machine, which can be particularly beneficial for homes with a large area. There are models with a water tank either integrated into the chassis or as an extra piece that you can remove after vacuuming. You'll have to empty it and fill it up, however, so this is an additional task that requires a little extra work on your part.

In a perfect world, you'd clear your floors before you used your robot vacuum to prevent it from hitting things. In the majority of homes, however, this is not possible or desirable. Most robots allow you to make use of an app that you can install on your phone to create virtual barriers that the robot will detect. Some models have no-go zones that you can mark areas that you don't want it to access. For instance an area for children's play or a pile of cords in an area.

This model is a great option for those looking for an easy robot cleaner that doesn't have all the bells. It's quiet and is able to work on hard floors as well as low-pile carpets and can be programmed using the app to vacuum and mop at your convenience. It comes with a battery life that can last up to 180 minutes.

2. Simple to operate

Robot vacuums generally require very little effort from you. They utilize instruments for navigation, such as sensors, lasers, and cameras to maneuver and collect dust, pet hair and food crumbs off hard floors, tile and hardwood. Many have boundary strips that help them stay within the walls of a room, while higher-end models can be set to automatically wake up and begin cleaning at a set time. Some models include fall detection technology to help them avoid falling down stairs or becoming tangled in cords.

If you'd like to control your robot vacuum from the comfort of your couch, search for models that integrate voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant. Also, look for models that connect to Wi-Fi and allow you to begin cleaning from any location via an app. You may prefer a model that has a long-lasting battery and an enormous dust bin, based on the size of your house.

Some robot vacuums are also mops. They make use of water reservoirs to wash the floor. This is ideal for mopping, but not ideal for difficult messes such as pet poop and other spills. There are hybrids that have an ejectable microfiber pad for mopping, or choose self-emptying models that let you go for 30 to 60 days without needing to empty the base.

3. Smart Mapping

Some robots utilize advanced mapping technology to create a detailed map of your floorplan as they clean the floor, which makes it easier for them to avoid falling into furniture or tripping over things such as cords or chairs. This feature is only available on the top models however, it lets your robot get a complete understanding of the layout of your home and to know where it should go when the battery runs out.

The majority of robots allow you to create virtual barriers. This can be done through an app or physical boundary strips. You can block off areas you don't want your robot to go into, so that it can focus on the areas that require the most attention.

A lot of robots are able to automatically navigate to different flooring types depending on the surface they're cleaning, whether they're switching between hard flooring and carpet or focusing on particular areas of your home, such as baseboards and corners. This feature was helpful during our tests and helped improve the performance of the vacuum on both hardwood flooring and carpet flooring with low pile. It's important to tuck away any loose cords or furniture before using your robot vacuum and mop combo vacuum, so it doesn't get caught.

4. Remote Control

Most robot vacuums come with WiFi capabilities and can be controlled via voice commands, Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa or Siri Shortcuts. Many connect to smart home systems and create maps of your home after each cleaning session to "learn" your layout and design more efficient routes for future runs. There are also built-in obstacles avoidance, which stops them from hitting furniture and damaging it or getting stuck on things like loose charging cables or shoe laces, as well as pet hair.

Most robots come with a remote that you can use to steer them around your home. Most robots can be controlled by a mobile app that comes with more features. You can set up multiple cleaning schedules and make an agenda of your most-loved rooms. You can also manually guide the robot by using directional Arrows.

Some models offer no-go zones These are virtual barriers you can set up in the app to block the robot from entering certain areas (like toys for children or dog bowls and beds). Certain apps let you draw a map of your house and provide detailed information about the floors. The app we ranked as our top choice Roborock S7+, the Roborock S7+, has a lot of useful options to help you tidy your home, but its interface isn't as polished as those from iRobot and Shark.

5. Long Battery Life

Ihome Robot Vacuum vacuums that clean your entire house without stopping to recharge or emptying their trash bins save time and effort. Some robot vacuums are compatible with smart home devices like Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri Shortcuts to enable hands-free operation. They can also draw a map of the space to allow you to program them for specific areas or rooms and to stay clear of obstacles.

The majority of robot vacuums detect objects, but the iRobot j7 comes with advanced features, such as "home mapping" and obstacle avoidance. These can simplify your life (although one of our test bots did "eat" a couple of socks). If you're looking to push your home maintenance even further, look for a robotic mop that comes with an water tank that can be filled and then empty.

While none of the models that we tested could match the ability to pick up dirt of a stand-up vacuum, they did an excellent job of cleaning hard floors and low pile carpets. They excel in sweeping up dust and food particles, dirt tracked in and pet hair. They are also able to tackle stray cat litter and metal screws and nuts. The best robot vacuums can clean corners and edges and Ihome robot vacuum can work on furniture. For a basic model that functions on its own and is relatively inexpensive, check out the Eufy 11S.

6. Convenient Self-Charging

A robot vacuum can keep your home tidy and clean without having to do much work. You can schedule your cleanings using the app and create no-go zones to ensure that your robot won't trample your plants or your favorite chair. A majority of our top picks automatically empty their trash bins and clean their docking stations for you.

The top robot vacuums are programmable to keep your floors clean for months or weeks at a time, making it easier to save time and effort of manually sweeping or mopping your floors each week or even every day. This helps you spend more time on things you like and decreases the amount of time your floors need to be cleaned manually.

During testing, the Q Revo was able to capture tiny particles such as oatmeal and baking soda, heavier debris such as nails and screws made of steel and even fluffy matter like hair from pets. It's not equipped with the sophisticated mapping and object avoidance features found in our top picks, but it's sufficient for the majority of families.

The best thing about the j7 is that it uses camera and processor-powered sensors to identify and avoid obstacles such as power cords, shoes socks, and pet waste. This means that you don't need to tidy up before using your robot. However, cluttered rooms may cause your bot to become stuck and perform a poor job.