Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop

Eufy's top-rated robotic vacuum and mop takes a bit of the burden of keeping your floors tidy. It is able to refill its own water tank, self-empty its larger tower bin and change the dust bag.

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

Object Avoidance

Object avoidance features enable your robot to avoid hitting things like power cords, toys and even clothes that could be caught in the vacuum. These features are especially important if you have pets or children who may leave items on the floor for your robot to search.

Based on the model you select the robot you choose may come with a variety of sensor options to aid in navigating around obstacles. Some of the most popular include crossed IR sensors that focus beams of infrared light across the room to detect things like doors and furniture legs. This technology is widely used by a variety of robots available and you can see it in the top models that cost more than other models.

Another object avoidance technology is available in more expensive robotics includes 3D Structured Light which uses cameras and a crossed IR sensors to map the surroundings and detect obstacles. Time of Flight (ToF), sensors that measure and emit the amount of time that it takes for the light to reflect off of an object, to determine its distance, are available. These aren't very common but could be a great option to add to your robot if you're looking for extra security.

The majority of the top-rated robots are also able to mop your floors. Some even come with their own water tanks, which allow them to clean up water-based spills and messes. It is necessary to empty the dust bin onboard and clean its cameras and sensors between cleaning sessions.

Mapping

Mapping capabilities are crucial in robot vacuums because they allow them to keep track of your home's layout and prevent them from bumping into objects like walls. Without mapping, they could be tripped by furniture, cords or pet toys, and end up cleaning less of your space. Using sensors, most robots map your home to track any obstacles and help them navigate around them. They can clean your floors in fewer passes, and save you time. Many of the top robotic vacuums also come with this feature, which allows you to create areas of no-go.

Robots with built-in LIDAR system use this technology to create a map of your home quickly and efficiently. In our tests of the Eufy Clean robot used this feature to divide my home into distinct areas and clean each independently, which was a huge improvement over the cheaper models we tested that had the front bump sensor. This was a much more precise way to navigate my home and was easy for me to control with the app on the device.

While no robot vacuum is able to climb stairs yet, most of the best rated models come with good obstacle avoidance and mapping capabilities. These tools allow them to collect debris from low-pile and hard floors, and avoid falling down the stairs. Some have cliff sensors that prevent them from crossing the edge of stairs and others have boundary strips that can stop them from entering certain areas.

Some robots come with an enormous base tower that can collect dirt. This reduces the amount of dust or allergens that are released within your home. They can be left for weeks or even months without emptying which is particularly beneficial if you suffer from allergies. Some models also have self-emptying systems that let you take out the dust bins without having to manually open or close them.

Wi-Fi enabled

Some robot vacuums make use of Wi-Fi to connect with their apps, allowing you to control them using your smartphone instead of (or in addition to) the physical remote. They are more expensive, but they save you time by letting you schedule cleaning times on a weekly, daily or even monthly basis. They also often allow users to edit and save floor maps and offer alternative cleaning patterns.

The most advanced robot vacuums employ dual sensors, which combine with a LIDAR system to map your space using a structured light sensor that can see objects and avoid them, even if they're hidden under furniture or power cords. Those features allow your robot to enter tight spaces such as the nook underneath the kitchen cabinets or beneath sofas, areas where other robots struggle. They also are faster to maneuver around obstacles, and have longer run times and larger dust bins. This makes them more suitable for homes with large spaces compared to entry-level robots.

The best robot vacuums are fast and efficient. They are also intelligent and powerful. They can pick up a wide range of floor debris including pet hair, kitty litter and other mess. They are also quite quiet, making them a great option for homes with pets as well as young children. The majority of robot vacuum owners we've interviewed report that they enjoy the convenience of keeping their floors clean without much effort, particularly when they are used often. Robots can last as long as traditional vacuum cleaners if they are given the right maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping the track of spare parts). PCWorld offers a useful guide that provides techniques to keep your machine running smoothly for long time to come.

Dust Bags Larger

A robotic vacuum isn't as good at cleaning as an upright or canister vacuum, but it is excellent at removing dust and other debris that regular vacuuming has left behind. It is a great tool for quick repairs to floors that are not clean and is able to navigate around cords or other obstacles in your home. If you don't want to do the deep cleaning yourself, a robot vacuum can be set to send it out to sweep your floors on a regular schedule.

A few of the top-rated robotic vacuums come with big easy to empty dust bags that can store more dirt than one room. This can help save time and money through bags that are replaced. This feature is available on a variety of models which includes our top model, the Ecovacs T30S Combo. This all-in-one robovac boasts an impressive performance score and comes with a self-emptying bin. It also has mopping functions and effective navigation. It is a close race between the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ and this one, which uses the latest technology for avoidance and smart mapping. This robovac is more expensive but has a bigger capacity.

Another significant difference between these two models is how they deal with long human hair, which can tangle in the rollers on some robots. The most efficient models include the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have superb hair pickup and tangle avoidance scores, along with fantastic path planning and near 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 path-planning or auto empty.

The newest robots have sensors that can spot dirt and other debris in the carpet, and are better at removing loose pet hair. Some robots feature a mopping mode that makes use of the water reservoir in order to clean up stuck-on debris and spills. This feature is essential for families with children as well as pets.

Maintenance

Having a Robot Vacuum Mops vacuum can be a huge aid in keeping up with your home. While no robot is able to replace an upright or canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the highest models are rated to remove pet hair, lint and other dirt on carpets and floors with low pile, picking up much more than you could using the vacuum. They also have navigational features to help them avoid getting stuck on power cords, rug fringes or furniture.

Depending on the model, a top-rated robot vacuum can be scheduled to run multiple times a day or allow users to observe it at work via an app. However, these convenient machines are also susceptible to clogging and require regular maintenance such as emptying the bin onboard (or the base's bigger dust bin in some cases), checking brushes for tangled hair, and periodically rinsing and letting the filters dry according to the manufacturer.

Emily Rairdin is a vacuum expert and store owner apprentice from University Vacuum + Sewing. She believes that a robotic vacuum can last up to five years with proper care. She recommends emptying the bin and brush roll frequently, cutting free hairs that get caught in the brushes, and frequently cleaning and drying the filter if your robot is a mop as well. It's also a good idea to wipe down the charging contacts and sensors on the dock or the robot often with a soft, clean cloth. You can recharge and refill your robot for the next cleaning session.