This doesn’t mean that the performance you are getting with a robot vacuum will be any less, though. To identify the best robot vacuums, we put models from big brands such as Shark, Dyson, and Roomba to the test and smaller names, including Eufy and Roborock. To help you choose which robot vacuum cleaner might be best for the particulars of your home, we’ve tested popular models in all kinds of home environments.
You can use the Roborock as two separate robots — a vacuum and a mop — as it has a mop-only mode that moves in a tighter “Z” pattern and goes over the floors twice. I liked to send it out to vacuum everywhere first then recharge and go out again to mop, which resulted in sparklingly clean floors. My top pick, the Roomba j7, does work in combo with iRobot’s mopping robot, the Braava Jet M6.
There’s no denying it’s slow to set up, as the vacuum uses a camera to map rooms rather than LiDAR, but your patience will pay off. Once that’s completed, you’ll be able to split your house into zones and set restrictions such as avoiding altogether, not using the spinning brush bar , and stopping the vacuum from attempting to climb furniture. bissell crosswave cordless We’re re-testing the Roomba i3+ EVO and the Roomba j7+, to assess the latest software updates, which include more obstacle avoidance and mapping capabilities. As for the Roborock S6 MaxV, it failed the crucial dog-turd avoidance test multiple times when we first tested it in 2020, and was just okay at avoiding other kinds of obstacles.
Thanks to its bagless self-emptying system and self-cleaning brushroll, it’s one of the lowest-maintenance robot vacuums we’ve tested. That said, allergy sufferers might prefer the comparably priced Roomba i3+ EVO, which empties its bin into an AllergenLock bag so you’re not exposed to dust. Like other self-emptying robot vacuums, the Shark IQ XL returns to the base and empties its contents. The Shark, however, is the only vacuum we tested that features a bagless self-emptying base. To empty it, you simply detach the bin and empty it manually over the trash. This can get messy as dust flies around, but you save money buying replacement bags.
On that note, there is still a place in the world for cheaper robots that rely on semi-random navigation. (We like to call it bump-and-run navigation.) If you only need to clean a few rooms at a time , then one of these models can get the job done. For example, you could send the robot to vacuum your kitchen and dining room after dinner, while skipping the bedrooms and den so that the bot doesn’t disturb you while you’re relaxing or studying or whatever. And then you can tell the bot to clean those rooms at a time of day when nobody is around. Another option is to set up do-not-cross lines or no-go zones, which is a great way to keep bots out of areas where they tend to get stuck or make a mess .
Early adopters who purchased the first round of s9 robots have had some issues with software bugs. Many felt it took a bit too long for the s9 to autonomously learn floor plans. The robot can be controlled through the iHOME app, or by using voice commands through Alexa or Google Assistant. Nonreusable bags collect dirt and debris instead of a reusable dustbin. That would make owning the unit a little more cost-effective with less environmental impact.
It is important to manually remove large debris before beginning a cleaning cycle. While not a complete home-cleaning replacement, robot vacuums offer impressive cleaning capability given their small size and autonomous nature. They are able to tackle a variety of lighter cleanup projects throughout the home, all on their own.
This is because you can only store one floor plan, and because of the bulk of the appliance’s docking station. In future testing, we plan to assess whether those models offer any real improvements to the mopping process, and we’ll be interested to see how they do at obstacle recognition compared to their predecessors. The next important task for a robot vacuum is to cover as much ground as possible, as efficiently as possible. It just informed us in the app, after the session was over and the Nutella smeared everywhere, that there were many objects on our floor and that we should pick them up.
Lots of users are impressed with how intelligent the Roborock S7 MaxV is compared to other robotic cleaning machines. The unit creates a granular map of every level of your home in both 3D and 2D. You can access this data to clean a specific area instead of an entire floor and to create no-go zones, among other things. The 11S is the most basic and one of the few still available dyson robot vacuum that doesn’t connect to the internet. Other RoboVac variants, including the 30C, 35C, and 15C Max, do have WiFi connectivity, which allows you to use a companion app to turn the appliance on or off, steer it manually, and set a cleaning schedule. In our opinion, the Wyze Robot Vacuum is a much more advanced option than the Eufy G30 Edge, which comes at a similar price.