Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop

Eufy's top-rated robot vacuum and mop takes a bit of the burden of keeping your floors tidy. It has the ability to replenish its own water tank and empty its tower bin. It also has the ability to change the dust bag it uses.

Advanced models can map your house and note furniture positioning. They can also spot obstacles and navigate around hazards like charging cables that are loose and loose socks.

Object Avoidance

Object avoidance functions allow your robot to avoid hitting things like power cords, toys and even clothes that could get caught up in the vacuum. These are particularly important if you have kids or pets who may be inclined to leave objects on the floor, which your robot can find them.

Depending on the model you choose, your robot may have a variety of sensor options to assist it in its quest to avoid obstacles. Some of the most well-known include crossed IR sensor beams, which are focused infrared lights which scan the room to look for furniture legs or door frames. This technology is widely used by many robots that are available and you can see it in the top models that cost more than others.

Another object avoidance technology you may find in more expensive robotics includes 3D Structured Light which uses cameras and a crossed IR sensor to map the surroundings and detect obstacles. Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that measure and emit the duration it takes for the light to reflect off of an object, in order to determine its distance, is also available. These are less common but could be a great option for your robot if you're looking for extra security.

Besides picking up dust and debris from hard floors, most of the best robot vacuum that mops-rated robots can mop your floor as well. Some come with their own water tanks that allow them to clean up water-based spills and messes. You will need to empty the dust bin onboard and clean its cameras and sensors in between cleaning sessions.

Mapping

Robot vacuums need to be able to map. This allows them to navigate your home without hitting things like walls. Without mapping, they might be tripped over by furniture, cords or pet toys and end up removing less of your space. Most robots use sensors to map your home and navigate around obstacles. This allows them to sweep the entire floor in fewer passes, thereby saving you time. A lot of the top robot vacuums also come with this feature, which allows you to create no-go areas.

Robots with a built-in LIDAR make use of this technology to map your home quickly and efficiently. In our tests, the Eufy Clean robot used this feature to separate my room into distinct areas and clean each independently it was a major improvement over the less expensive models we tested, which had an in-front bump sensor. This was a much more accurate way of navigating my home and was simple to control via the on-device application.

While no robot vacuum can climb stairs, the majority of the best robot cleaner rated models come with obstacle avoidance and mapping features. These tools let them remove debris from low-pile and hard floors, and to avoid falling down stairs. Some have cliff sensors that stop them from crossing over the edge of stairs and some also have boundary strips that prevent them from certain areas.

Some robots have a large tower base which holds their dirt and debris, reducing the amount of dust and allergens emitted into your home. These bases can go several months or even weeks between emptying, which is especially useful if you suffer from allergies. Additionally, some models come with self-emptying mechanisms that let you take out the dust bins without having to manually open and close them.

Wi-Fi Enabled

Some robot vacuums communicate via Wi-Fi with their applications. This allows you to control them using your smartphone instead (or in addition) to a physical remote. These models are more expensive, but they can save you time because you can schedule cleaning sessions every day, weekly, or even monthly. They also permit you to edit and save floor maps, and provide alternative cleaning patterns.

The most advanced robot vacuums utilize dual sensors, which combine a LIDAR system to map your space using a structured light sensor that can see objects and avoid them even if they're under furniture or power cords. These features allow your robot to reach tight spaces, such as the nook beneath your kitchen cabinets or underneath sofas. Other robots struggle with these kinds of spaces. They're also quicker to get around obstacles and have longer running times thanks to bigger dust bins, making them better suited for large homes than the entry-level robots.

The best rated robot vacuums are swift, intelligent and powerful cleaning up all kinds of floor debris, such as pet hair, kitty litter, and other messes. They can also be quiet making them a good option for homes with young children and pets. Most robot vacuum owners we've interviewed say they appreciate the convenience of keeping their floors cleaned with little effort, especially when used frequently. Robots can last just as long as traditional vacuum cleaners, provided they have the proper maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping track of replacement parts). PCWorld offers a helpful guide that outlines some essential tips to keep your machine running smoothly for years to come.

Dust Bags Larger

While a robotic vacuum may not be as efficient as a canister or upright model, it is excellent in picking up dirt and dust that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It can be used to perform quick touch-ups of bare floors, and can maneuver around cords and other household obstacles. You can use a robot to clean your floors according to a schedule if you don't have time to do it yourself.

The top-rated robot vacuums have huge dust bags that are easy to empty. They hold more than a single room's worth of dirt. This can save you time and money on bags that need to be replaced. A number of the models we've listed have this feature, including our top pick one, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This all-in-one robovac is a high-performance robovac and comes with a self emptying bin. It also comes with a mopping function and efficient navigation. It's a close contest between this and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, that has intelligent mapping and avoidance technology. The robovac is more expensive, but it has more capacity.

Another major difference between the two models is how they handle hair that is long that can get caught in the rollers of certain robots. The best-performing models include the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have excellent hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores, along with excellent path planning and near perfect auto empty results. The eufy and Shark Matrix Plus are also good choices with good hair pickup and tangle avoiding, but not as much path planning or auto empty.

The most recent robots are outfitted with sensors that can detect dirt and other debris on carpets and they are better at picking up pet hair. Some robots have mopping mode, where they can use the water reservoir in order to get rid of stuck-on messes and spills. This feature is crucial for families with children as well as pets.

Maintenance

Having a robot vacuum can be a huge aid in keeping a close eye on your home. While no robot can replace an upright or a canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the best models are rated to remove pet hair, lint, and other surface dirt on carpets with low pile and hard floors and pick up more than you can with the Broom. They come with navigational features that keep them from getting stuck on power cords, rug fringe, or furniture.

Depending on the model, a top-rated robot vacuum can be scheduled to run multiple times a day or may allow users to observe it at work via an app. These devices are convenient however they can get clogged and require regular maintenance. This involves emptying the dust bin that is onboard (or in some cases, the base's bigger bin) and checking the brushes for tangled fur and periodically rinsing the filters and drying them according to the specifications of the manufacturer.

Emily Rairdin is a vacuum expert and store owner apprentice at University Vacuum + Sewing. She says that a robot vacuum can last from three to five years with proper maintenance. She recommends emptying the bin and brush roll often cutting out any hair tangled in the brushes, and regularly washing and drying the filter if your robot is also a mop. It's a good idea to clean the charging contacts and sensors on the dock or the robot vacuum cleaner uk with a soft clean cloth every now and again. You can then recharge and refill your robot prior to the next clean-up session.