We also like that the dustbin is concealed in the center of the robot, which makes it simple and convenient to access. The filter acts as a door to help keep the dust contained when it comes to removal – ideal if you suffer from allergies and don’t want to make a mess. Plus, its D-shaped design means it’s got good reach against flat surfaces, such as baseboards. This Braava Jet M6 robot will mop your kitchen floor better than other cleaning tools.
The dust- and crumb-pickup stress tests are meant only to give us an idea of each bot’s cleaning power—they don’t tell the whole story. No more need to think about cleaning, it will take care of vacuuming and washing your floors efficiently and in a single pass. In an ideal world, you wouldn’t need to use a regular vacuum in addition to a robot vacuum. Some people do decide to get rid of their regular vacuums to save space—“if used correctly and supervised, a vacuum robot is efficient, and you won’t need a vacuum backup,” says Rodriguez. There’s also a bright white light on the camera, which we found odd at first.
But when we saw how well the Roomba navigated around furniture legs and stray socks, it all made sense. Emptying this robot vacuum was easy, too—all it takes is the click of a button. It also has built-in sensors to help it avoid small objects in its path, so you can feel more comfortable running it without supervision. During testing, we found that it avoided all the objects we placed in front of it—including socks, power cords, and pet messes. When trying to move over bumps in the flooring, such as from hard floor to a rug, the Ecovacs vacuum will maneuver itself at different angles in order to successfully navigate throughout the room.
Many of their models also feature onboard mopping modules, though most are passive systems that provide little surface agitation. That said, iRobots tend to feel sturdier, while their twin rubber brushroll system usually results in better pet hair pickup. The main downside to smart mapping is that, like anything that increases the complexity of a system, it adds more opportunities for something to go wrong and disappoint you. With the best models, mapping glitches don’t happen often, but problems will eventually crop up for everyone who owns one of these bots. Even Shark and Samsung joined the laser-nav bonanza (after previously releasing robots that used camera-based smart navigation), with the Shark AI Robot Vacuum RV2000 series and the Samsung Jet Bot and Jet Bot AI+, respectively. Of the three, we’ve tested only the AI+, and we wouldn’t recommend it based on its cleaning abilities.
You should also keep an eye on your filter and clean it regularly as specified in your manual. Some brands, including Eufy, iLife, Neato, and Roborock, offer cleaning tools with their robot vacuums to help with maintenance. This is because it clings to the carpet, made all the worse by footfall, and it can jam the brush bar with ease too. So, most robot vacuum cleaners will either fail to collect pet hair, or end up clogged in the process.
Looking for more products that have earned our BHG Recommends seal of approval? This model also included a newer version of the navigation software, now called iAdapt. Barbara Booth is a former CNBC reporter whose work spans a wide range of business and social topics, including work/life issues, international business and personal finance. In addition to CNBC, her work has been seen in USA Today, Huffington Post, Yahoo Finance, HerMoney, and for various television news programs including the Nightly Business Report. By Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, a smart home reviewer who’s been testing connected gadgets since 2013.
Roborock does a decent job of keeping spare parts like filters and spare brushes in stock for its recent-model robots, which is an improvement over the company’s spotty stock status in past years. Even if you can find something like a spare transmission or wheel, it’s not so easy bissell crosswave cordless to just swap it in using a regular screwdriver, as it is with Roomba devices. But we’re happy to report that Roborock seems to be establishing a decent reputation for product quality and support. While the iRobot Roomba i4 EVO is better at cleaning, the Roborock Q5 is smarter.
We’ve also tested some cheap bump bots that are slightly different from the standard-issue Eufy, including the Eureka Groove. That bot was basically fine, but it couldn’t match the agility of the Eufy model (and its endless clones) or the durability of the Roomba bots we’ve tested. We bought one of the Goovi models, and lo and behold, we found that it was functionally identical to the 11S, with many of the same components and even the same beep and boop sounds. In one test, the basic Eufy RoboVac 11S spent an hour picking up enough debris to fill the palm of our hand. Next we ran the Neato Botvac D7 (usually $700 when it was a current model), and it picked up only enough hair to coat the filter and a bit of dust. Then we ran the iRobot Roomba s9+ (usually $1,100), and it came back with barely anything in the bin.
Just set your Roomba to run while you’re away, so you can come back to a clean home—or at the very least, clean floors. Roomba budget models (Dirt Dog and Model 401) used a simplified interface (a single “Clean” button) and lacked some of the software-controlled flexibility of other versions. The Roomba Dirt Dog contained sweeping brushes and a larger dust bin, but lacked the vacuum motor, using the space that would be required for the vacuum for additional dust bin volume. It was designed for a home shop or garage environment.[6] The Roomba Model 401 was similar but had a standard-size dust bin and vacuum system.
You can also start some Roomba models from your smartphone before you even get home. Other features include smart mapping, where your Roomba learns your home so you can tell it, “Clean the living room,” and it will concentrate its cleaning run to that area. When the Roomba is done cleaning your home, it will dock itself and empty the debris into the tower, so you don’t have to release dust back into the air by emptying the dust bin. During testing, we found that the machine did leave a little bit of debris behind in the dust bin.