Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop

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

Advanced models can map your house and take note of furniture arrangement. They can also spot obstacles and avoid hazards like loose charging cables and stray socks.

Object Avoidance

Object avoidance functions allow your robot to avoid hitting things like power cords, toys and clothes that get caught up in the vacuum. These features are especially crucial if you have pets or children who may leave items on the floor for your robot to discover.

Depending on the model you choose, your robot may have several sensor options to assist it in its quest to avoid obstacles. Some of the most well-known include crossed IR sensor beams, which are infrared-focused lights that scan the room looking for things like furniture legs or door frames. This technology has been widely adopted by many robots on the market and you can get it in top models that are priced higher than other models.

Other object avoidance technologies that you might find in more expensive robots include 3D Structured Light, which makes use of cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the surrounding area and identify obstacles; and Time of Flight (ToF) sensors that emit and measure the time it takes for light to reflect off objects, to determine the distance between them. These aren't very common but could be a great option for your robot should you want to have more security.

Most of the top-rated robots can also clean your floors. Some robots come with own water tanks which enable them to clean up messes and spills. It is necessary to empty the robot's dust bin onboard and clean its sensors and cameras in between cleaning sessions.

Mapping

Robot vacuums must be able to map. This allows them to navigate around your home and avoid getting caught up against walls. Without mapping, they may be tripped by cords, furniture or pet toys and end up cleaning less of your space. With sensors, the majority of robots map your home to identify any obstacles and help navigate around them. This allows them to clean the entire floor with fewer passes, saving you time. Many of the top robotic vacuums also come with this feature, which allows you to designate areas that are not accessible.

Robots that have built-in LIDAR use this technology to map your home quickly and effectively. During our tests, the Eufy Clean robot made use of this feature to separate my room into distinct areas and clean each one independently it was a major improvement over the less expensive models we tested that used an in-front bump sensor. This was a much more precise method of navigating my home and was easy for me to control with the app that came with the device.

Although no robot vacuum has the ability to climb stairs yet, most of the best rated models have good obstacle avoidance and mapping capabilities. These tools allow them to collect dirt from low-pile or hard floors, and to avoid falling down stairs. Some have cliff sensors that stop them from crossing over the edge of the stairs, and some have boundary strips that stop them from entering certain areas.

Certain robots have a huge tower base that houses their collected dirt, minimizing the amount of dust and allergens that are released into your home. They can be kept for weeks or months without being emptied, which is especially helpful when you suffer from allergies. Some models have self-emptying dust bins which you can empty without opening and closing them manually.

Wi-Fi Enabled

Some robot vacuums utilize Wi-Fi to connect with their apps and allow you to control them with your smartphone instead of (or in addition to) the physical remote. These models are more expensive but they can save you time as you can schedule cleaning robot mop and vacuum time each week, daily or even monthly. They can also allow you to modify and save floor maps and offer different cleaning routines.

Dual sensors are utilized by the most modern robot vacuum that vacuums and mops vacuums. They combine a LIDAR mapping system with a structured-light sensor that can detect and block out objects, even when they're hidden under furniture or power cables. Those features make it easier for your robot hoover to enter tight spaces like the nook beneath your kitchen cabinets and beneath sofas, areas where other robots have difficulty. They're also faster to get around obstacles and have longer run times with larger dust bins, making them ideal for larger homes than entry-level robotics.

The best robot vacuums are fast and efficient. They are also intelligent and powerful. They can pick up an array of floor debris including pet hair, cat litter and other dirt. They can also be quiet which makes them a great choice for homes with young kids and pets. The majority of robot vacuum users we've spoken with say that they love the convenience of having their floors cleaned with little effort. This is especially true when used regularly. With proper maintenance (cleaning the rotating brushes and keeping track on the replacement parts) robots can last as long as a conventional full-size vacuum cleaner. PCWorld offers a helpful guide that provides tips to help you keep your robot running smoothly for years to come.

Larger Dust Bags

While a robotic vacuum may not clean as well as a canister or upright model, it is excellent at picking up dirt and dust that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It can be used to do quick retouching of floors, and can navigate around cords or other household obstacles. You can employ 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 come with large, easy-to-empty dust bags that hold more than a single room's worth of dirt. This can help you save time and money on replacement bags. This feature is available on many models, including our top choice, the Ecovacs T30S Combo. This all-in one robovac is a top-performing robovac that comes with a self emptying bin. It also has mopping capabilities and efficient navigation. It's a close contest between this and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, that has the ability to avoidance and smart mapping. This robovac is more expensive, however it has a bigger capacity.

Another major difference between the two models is how well they handle hair that is long that can get caught in the rollers of certain robots. The Roborock Q5 Max+, SwitchBot K10S Plus and Roborock Q5 Max+ are the best performing models. They all have top hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores, as well as excellent auto empty performance and great path planning. The Eufy and Shark Matrix Plus are also excellent options with respectable hair pickup and tangle avoidance, but not as much planning for paths or auto empty.

The latest robots are equipped with sensors that can detect dirt and debris on carpets, and they are more adept at removing pet hair. Some robots have mopping mode, where they can use the reservoir of water to remove stuck-on mess and spills. This feature is essential for families with children as well as pets.

Maintenance

A robot vacuum can help keep up with your home. While no robot can replace an upright or a canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the highest models that are rated highly pick up pet hair, lint and other dirt on hard floors and low-pile carpets and pick up more than you can using a broom. They have navigational features that prevent them from getting stuck on power cords, rug fringes or furniture.

Depending on the model, a top-rated robot vacuum mop cleaner robot can also be scheduled to run several times per day or allow you to view it in action via an app. These devices are convenient, but they can also be clogged and require regular maintenance. This means emptying the onboard dust bin (or in some cases, the base's bigger bin) as well as checking the brushes for tangled fur and periodically rinsing 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 will last for three to five years or more if it receives regular maintenance and care. She recommends emptying the bin and brush roll often and cutting off hairs that get caught in the brushes, and then regularly rinsing and drying the filter if your robot is also a mop. It's also recommended to clean the charging contacts and sensors on the robot or dock often with a soft, clean cloth. Then, simply refill and recharge the robot whenever you need to for your next cleaning session.