14 Smart Ways To Spend Your Leftover Robot Vacuum Budget
How to Find the Best Robot Vacuum
If you don't require advanced features such as mapping and do not mind cleaning your trash bin every 60 to 90 days A basic robot vacuum is likely to be the best choice suitable for you. Choose a model with an uncluttered base that can work with voice assistants.
It is the best robo-vacuum we have tested at picking up dirt and pet hair from tile floors, hardwood floors and low-pile carpeting. It can also map and set virtual no-go zones in rooms or areas.
1. Powerful Suction
A robot vacuum cleaner can help you keep up with the pet fur, dust and dander that settles on your floor every day. It also can reduce the frequency you have to do a deeper clean and saves your time and effort. The most effective models feature powerful suction that can tackle most messes with ease and leave your home cleaner.
You can cover more area by using a robot vacuum and mop, which can be beneficial if you live in a large home. You can find a model that has a water tank in the chassis itself or as an additional piece that you can swap out after vacuuming. It will need to be emptied and refilled, so it's an extra chore.
In a perfect world you would clean your floors first before using your robot vacuum to prevent it from hitting anything. In the majority of homes, this is not possible or desirable. Thankfully, most models allow you to use your smartphone to create virtual barriers that the robot can see and avoid. Some models have no-go zones which you can use to mark areas you don't want it to be in, like kids rooms or a stack of cords for your device in the corner.
If you're looking for a basic robot vacuum that doesn't have all the bells and whistles, this model made by the networking company TP-Link is a great choice. It's quiet and works well on hard floors and low-pile rugs. It can be scheduled via the app to mop or vacuum at any time. It's got a long battery life that can last up to 180 minutes before it needs to recharge.
2. Easy to operate
In general, robot vacuums require very little input from you. They utilize navigation tools like sensors, lasers and cameras to maneuver around obstacles and remove dust, food crumbs and pet hair from hard flooring, tile carpets, and hardwood. Many models come with boundary strips to help them stay inside a room. Higher-end models can be programmed to start up at a certain time and start cleaning. Some models include fall detection technology to help them avoid falling down stairs or getting caught in cords.
Look for models that you can control from the comfort of your sofa using voice assistants, such as Alexa or Google Assistant. You can also pick Wi-Fi models that allow users to start a cleaning session anywhere using an app. You might want to choose one with a long-lasting battery, as well as a large dust bin, depending on the size of your house.
Some robot vacuums double as mops and use reservoirs of water to clean your floors. This is great for mopping, but not ideal for difficult messes such as pet poop and other spills. You can choose hybrids that have a removable microfiber mopping pad or a self-emptying option that allows you to stay for up to 60 days without emptying the base.
3. Smart Mapping
Some robots utilize advanced mapping technology to create an accurate map of your floorplan while they clean, making it easier for them to avoid falling into furniture or tripping over things like chair legs or cords. This feature is usually only available on higher-end models, but it's certainly one of the best ways to ensure your robot has a complete understanding of the layout of your house and is aware of where to go when it runs out of battery.
If you do not want your robot to go into areas of your home that you'd prefer it to stay clear from (like your kids' toys or the tangled mess of gadget cords in the corner), most robots offer some way to create virtual barriers, either through their apps or a set of physical boundary strips. This lets you define areas that you don't want your robot to explore, so that it can concentrate its attention on rooms and spaces that need the most attention.
A lot of robots are able to automatically navigate to different flooring types based on the type of floor they're cleaning, whether that's switching between carpet and hard flooring or focusing on certain areas of your home, like baseboards and corners. This feature was effective during our tests and helped improve the vacuum's performance on both hardwood flooring and carpeting for floors with low-pile. However, it's still important to secure loose cords and furniture before running your robot vacuum so that it doesn't get stuck or come into contact with something it shouldn't.
4. Remote Control
Almost all robot vacuums are WiFi-connected and work with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri Shortcuts, which enable you to control them using voice commands or via your smartphone. Many connect to smart home systems and build maps of your home after each cleaning session so that they can "learn" your layout and devise more efficient routes for future runs. Some have obstacles avoidance built-in, which prevents them from causing damage to furniture or getting stuck on things like loose charging cables or pet hair.
More Tips have a remote control that you can use to move them around your house. However, most can also be controlled with an app on your mobile that comes with additional features. It is possible to set multiple cleaning schedules, create the list of rooms you like and even manually guide your robot around specific areas by using directional arrows that appear on the screen.
Some models have zones that are not allowed. These are virtual barriers you can set up in the app to stop the robot from accessing certain areas (like toys for children or dishes for dogs and dog beds). Some apps allow you to draw an outline of your home and provide detailed information on the floors. The app that we recommend as our top choice one, the Roborock S7+, has a lot of useful options to help you clean your home, but its interface isn't as polished and elegant as those from iRobot and Shark.
5. Long Battery Life
Robot vacs that can work all over your home without stopping to recharge or empty their bins of dust save you time and effort. Some work with smart home platforms such as Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri Shortcuts to allow hands-free operation. They can also create a map of your home, allowing you to program them to clean specific rooms or areas and avoid obstacles.
The majority of robot vacuums can detect objects, however the iRobot j7 comes with advanced features like "home mapping" and obstacle avoidance. These features can make your life much easier (although one of our test bots did "eat" a few socks). If you're looking to push your home cleaning to the next level opt for a robotic mop that has a tank of water that you fill and empty yourself.
While none of the models we tested compete with the power of a stand-up vacuum, most do an admirable job of cleaning carpets with low pile and hard floors. They excel at picking up food crumbs, and dirt that has been tracked in. They can also handle metal screws and nuts and the stray cat litter. The best robot vacuums can clean edges and corners and can work on furniture. For an affordable model that can work on its own and is reasonably priced, check out the Eufy 11S.
6. Convenient Self-Charging
With the right setup and the right setup, a robotic vacuum can assist you in keeping your home looking and looking and feeling cleaner every day without much work from you. You can schedule your cleanings using the app and set up no-go zones to ensure that your robot doesn't harm your plants or your favorite chair. A majority of our top picks empty their trash bins for you and clean their docking station.
The best robot vacuums can be programmed to keep your floors clean for weeks or months at a time, thereby which saves you the time and effort of manually sweeping or mopping your floors each week or even every day. This lets you spend more time doing things you like and reduces the time needed to clean your floors manually.
During testing, the Q Revo was able to pick up small particles such as baking soda and oatmeal as well as heavier debris such nails and screws made of metal and even fluffy matter like pet hair. It lacks the smart mapping and objects-avoiding features of our top picks, but is still a good choice for families with children.
The best aspect of the j7 robot is that it makes use of cameras and processor-powered smarts to recognize and avoid obstacles such as power cords, shoes, socks, and pet waste. This means you don't have to spend time tidying up before running your robot, but messy rooms can mean that the robot may become stuck and not be able to do as good a job.