Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop

Eufy's robotic mop and vacuum is among the best-rated in its class. It takes a lot of chore of cleaning your floors. 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.

Advanced models can map your house and take note of furniture placement. They can also identify hazards and navigate around them, such as loose charging cables or loose socks.

Object Avoidance

Object avoidance features allow your robot to avoid running into things like toys, power cords and clothes that can be caught in the automatic vacuum cleaner. These features are particularly crucial if you have pets or children that could leave things on the floor for your robot to find.

Depending on the model you pick depending on the model you select, your robot could have various sensors to help it navigate around obstacles. Some of the most popular include crossed IR sensors that send focused beams of infrared light throughout the room to identify things like doors and furniture legs. This technology is used by numerous robots available and you can get it in top models that are priced higher than others.

Other technologies for avoiding objects that are typically found in more expensive robots are 3D Structured Light, which makes use of cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the surrounding area and detect obstacles; and Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that emit light and measure the time it takes for light to reflect off of objects, to determine the distance to them. These are less common but could be a great option to add to your robot vacuum with mop if you're looking for extra peace of mind.

The majority of the top-rated robots can also clean your floors. Some robots come with own water tanks which enable them to clean up spills and messes. You'll need to empty your robot's onboard dust bin and clean its cameras and sensors between cleaning sessions, but these tasks will not take a lot of your time.

Mapping

Robot vacuums need to be able to map. This lets them navigate your home without hitting things like walls. Without mapping, they might be tripped by furniture, cords or pet toys and end up taking less space from your space. Using sensors, most robots map your home to track any obstacles and help navigate around them. They can clean the floor in fewer passes, and make it easier for you to save time. Many of the top-rated robot vacuums also have this feature to create no-go zones, allowing you to set specific areas that you do not want the robot to get into.

Robots with a built-in LIDAR system use this technology to create a map of your home quickly and efficiently. In our tests, the Eufy Clean robot used this feature to separate my room into various areas and clean each one independently this was a significant improvement over the cheaper models we tested, which utilized an in-front bump sensor. This was a more precise way to navigate my home and was simple to control with the on-device app.

While no robot vacuum can climb stairs, the majority of the best automatic vacuum cleaner rated models have good obstacle avoidance and mapping features. These tools let them collect debris from low-pile and hard floors, and prevent falling down stairs. Some have cliff sensors to stop them from crossing the edge of stairs and others have boundary strips that can keep them away from certain areas.

Certain robots have a huge tower base which holds their collected dirt, minimizing the amount of dust and allergens released into your home. These bases can go several months or even weeks between emptying, and are particularly beneficial for those with allergies. Alternatively, some models have self-emptying systems that let you empty their dust bins without having to manually open or close them.

Wi-Fi enabled

Some robot mop vacuums utilize Wi-Fi to connect with their apps which allows users to control them with your smartphone instead of (or in addition to) the physical remote. They are more expensive but can help you save time by letting you schedule cleaning sessions on a daily, weekly or even a monthly basis. They also permit you to modify and save floor maps as well as offer alternative cleaning schedules.

Dual sensors are utilized by the most modern robot vacuums. They combine the LIDAR mapping system with a structured-light sensor that can detect and block out objects, even if they're hidden under furniture or power cables. These features let your robot reach tight areas, like the kitchen's nook under cabinets or underneath sofas. Other robots struggle to reach these kinds of spaces. They also are faster to navigate around obstacles, have longer run times and larger dust bins. This makes them more suitable for large homes than the smallest robots.

The most effective robot vacuums are quick, intelligent and powerful. They are able to pick up an array of floor debris including pet hair, cat litter and other mess. They are also quite quiet, which makes them an ideal choice for homes that have pets or young children. Many of the robot vacuum owners we've spoken to report that they enjoy the convenience of having their floor cleaned without much effort. This is especially true if they are used frequently. Robots can last as long as traditional vacuum cleaners, provided they have the right maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping track of replacement parts). PCWorld offers a helpful guide that outlines some essential techniques to keep your machine running in good shape for the long time to come.

Dust Bags Larger

A robotic vacuum is not as effective in cleaning as a canister or upright vacuum, but it is fantastic at picking up dust and debris that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It can be used to do quick repairs to floors that are not clean, and can navigate around cords or robot cleaner other obstacles in your home. If you don't want to do the deep cleaning yourself, a robot cleaner can be sent out to scour your floors on a regular schedule.

The top-rated robot vacuums have large, easy to empty dust bags that can store more dirt than one room. This will save you time and money on bags that need to be replaced. Several of the models on our list have this feature, including the top pick, the Ecovacs Deebot T30S Combo. This robovac all-in-one has an impressive performance score and includes self-emptying bin. It comes with a mopping function and efficient navigation. It is a close call between this and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, which comes with the ability to avoidance and smart mapping. This robovac has a larger capacity, but it is a bit more expensive.

The two models also differ in their handling of long hair, which can get caught in the rollers of certain robots. The top-performing models include the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have excellent hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores with fantastic path planning and close to perfect auto empty results. The Eufy and Shark Matrix Plus are also excellent options with decent hair pickup and tangle avoidance but not as much planning for paths or auto empty.

The most recent robots are outfitted with sensors that detect dirt and other debris on carpets and they are better in removing pet hair. Some even have a dedicated mopping mode that makes use of the reservoir of water to wash away spills and messes that have gotten stuck. This feature is essential for families with children as well as pets.

Maintenance

A robot vacuum will help you keep up with your home. While no robot is able to replace an upright or a canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the top models are rated to remove pet hair, lint and other surface dirt on carpets and floors with low pile and pick up more than you could with a broom. They have navigational features that help them avoid getting stuck on power cords, rug fringe or furniture.

According to the model, you can set up the robot vacuum to run several times a day or watch it in action using an app. These machines are useful but they also get clogged and require regular maintenance. This includes emptying the dust bin that is onboard (or in certain cases, the base's larger bin), checking brushes for fur that is tangled, and regularly washing the filters and drying them in accordance with the manufacturer.

Vacuum expert Emily Rairdin, a store owner apprentice at University Vacuum + Sewing, says a good robot vacuum can last from three to five years or more with regular maintenance and care. She recommends emptying the bin and the brush roll regularly and cutting off hair that gets caught in the brushes, and then regularly cleaning and drying the filter if your robot is a mop as well. It's a good idea to wipe the sensors and charging contacts on the dock or the robot with an easy, clean cloth every now and again. Then simply recharge and refill the robot vacuum cleaner reviews whenever you need to for the next time you clean.