Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop

Eufy's robot vacuum and mop is the top-rated product in its class. It takes a lot of work out of cleaning your floors. It is able to replenish its own water tank and empty its tower bin. It also has the capability to change its dust bag.

Advanced models are smart enough to map your home and note furniture placement. They can also detect obstacles and avoid hazards like loose charging cables and loose socks.

Object Avoidance

Object avoidance features allow your robot to avoid hitting things such as power cords, toys and even clothes that could be caught in the vacuum. These features are particularly important if your family has pets or children who may leave items on the floor for your robot to search.

Depending on the model you choose, you might have an array of different sensor options available to assist your robot in its journey through obstacles. Some of the most popular are crossed IR sensors that focus beams of infrared light across the room to identify things like furniture legs and door frames. This technology has been widely adopted by many robots that are available and you can get it in top models that are priced higher than other models.

Other technologies for avoiding objects that you might find in more expensive robots include 3D Structured Light, which uses cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the surrounding area and identify obstacles; and Time of Flight (ToF) sensors which emit and measure the time it takes for light to reflect off objects, to determine the distance to them. These are less common but can be an excellent option to add to your robot in case you're looking to add peace of mind.

Apart from collecting dust and debris on hard floors, most of the best-rated robots can mop your floor as well. Some even come with their own water tanks, allowing them to wash away wet spills and messes. You will need to empty the robot's dust bin onboard and clean its cameras and sensors in between cleaning sessions.

Mapping

Robot vacuums must have mapping capabilities. This allows them to navigate your home and avoid bumping against things like walls. Without mapping, they may be tripped over by furniture, cords, or pet toys and end up cleaning less of your space. Using sensors, most robots map out your space to track any obstacles and help navigate around them. This allows them to clean the entire floor in fewer passes, thereby saving you time. Many of the top-rated robot vacuums can also utilize this feature to create no-go zones, permitting you to define rooms that you don't want the robot to enter.

Robots with a built-in LIDAR system make use of this technology to create a map of your home quickly and efficiently. In our tests, the Eufy Clean robot utilized this feature to separate my room into different areas and clean each independently this was a significant improvement over the less expensive models we tested that had an in-front bump sensor. This was a much more precise way to navigate my home, and it was easy to control using the app on the device.

While there are no robot vacuums that can climb stairs, best models do have obstacles avoidance and mapping features. These tools assist to remove debris from carpets with low pile and hard floors and also to prevent falling down the stairs. Some have cliff sensors that prevent them from crossing the edge of stairs, and some have boundary strips that can stop them from entering certain areas.

Some robots have large towers on the base that collects dirt. This decreases the amount of dust or allergens that are released within your home. These bases can last for several weeks or even months without emptying, which is especially beneficial if you have allergies. Certain models come with self-emptying dust bins which you can empty without opening or closing them manually.

Wi-Fi Enabled

Some robot vacuums utilize Wi-Fi to connect with their apps, allowing you to control them with your smartphone instead of (or in addition to) an actual remote. Those models are more expensive, but they can help you save time by letting you schedule cleaning times on a daily, weekly or even a monthly basis. They also permit you to modify and save floor maps, and provide alternative cleaning routines.

The most advanced robot vacuums employ dual sensors, combining with a 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 access tight areas, like the nook beneath your kitchen cabinets or under sofas. Some robots have difficulty in these kinds of spaces. They're also quicker to get around obstacles and have longer running times thanks to larger dust bins, which makes them more suitable for large homes than entry-level robots.

The best robot vacuums are swift efficient, smart and powerful. They are able to pick up an array of floor debris including pet hair, kitty-litter and other messes. They also are quiet, which makes them an ideal option for homes with pets or young children. Many of the robot vacuum owners we've spoken to say they appreciate the convenience of having their floors clean without much effort, particularly when they are used frequently. Robots can last just as long as traditional vacuum cleaners with the proper maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping track of replacement parts). PCWorld has a helpful guide that covers some important techniques to keep your machine running smoothly for long time to come.

Larger Dust Bags

A robotic vacuum is not as efficient at cleaning as an upright or canister vacuum, but it is great at picking up the dust and debris that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It is a great tool for quick retouching of floors, and can navigate around cords or other obstacles in your home. If you don't wish to do the deep cleaning yourself, a robot cleaner will let you send it out to sweep your floors on a regular schedule.

robot vacuum uk rated robot vacuums come with large dust bags that are easy to empty and can hold more than one room's worth of dirt. This will save you time and money on bags that need to be replaced. This feature is available on several models including our top pick, the Ecovacs T30S Combo. This all-in-one robovac boasts an excellent performance rating and includes a self-emptying bin. It has a mopping feature and efficient navigation. It is a close race between the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ and this one, which uses smart mapping and avoidance technologies. This robovac has more capacity, but is slightly more expensive.

Another significant difference between these two models is how they deal with hair that is long and human that can get caught in the rollers of certain robots. The top-performing models, the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have superb hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores, along with great path planning and close to perfect auto empty results. The Shark Matrix Plus and eufy are also excellent options, with decent hair pick-up and tangle avoidance, however not as much path planing or auto empty.

The latest robots are fitted with sensors that detect dirt and debris on carpets, and they're better at picking up pet hair. Some models even have a mopping mode that uses the reservoir of water to eliminate spills and messes that have gotten stuck. This feature is a must for families with pets and children.


Maintenance

A robot vacuum can help you keep up with your home. While no robot can substitute an upright or canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the best models that are rated highly pick up pet hair, lint, and other surface dirt on carpets with low pile and hard floors which can pick up more than you could with the vacuum. They also have navigational features to help them avoid getting stuck on power cords, rug fringe, or furniture.

Based on the model, a top-rated robot vacuum can also be scheduled to run multiple times a day or allow users to observe it in action via an app. However, these handy vacuums are also prone to clogging and require frequent maintenance such as emptying the onboard bin (or the base's larger dust bin in certain cases) as well as checking the brushes for hair that has become tangled and regularly rinsing and allowing the filters to 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 if it receives regular care and attention. She suggests regularly emptying the bin and brush roll and cutting out any hair that has gotten caught in the brushes, and frequently washing and drying the filter if your robot also acts as a mop. It is a good idea to clean the sensors and charging contacts of the dock or robot with a soft, clean cloth every now and again. You can refill and recharge your robot before the next cleaning session.