Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop

Eufy's top-rated robot vacuum and mop takes a bit of the work of keeping your floors tidy. It is able to refill its own water tank as well as empty its tower bin. It also has the capability to change its dust bag.

Advanced models can map your home and note furniture arrangement. They can also identify hazards and navigate around them, like loose charging cables or stray socks.

Object Avoidance

Object avoidance helps your robot to avoid hitting objects like toys, cords, and even clothes that might get caught in the vacuum. These features are particularly crucial if you have pets or children that could leave items on the floor for your robot to find.

Based on the model you pick You may have an array of different sensors to help your robot navigate around obstacles. Some of the most popular include crossed IR sensor beams that are infrared-focused lights that scan across the room looking for things like furniture legs or door frames. This technology is used by many robots available and you can get it in top models that cost more than other models.

Other technology for avoiding objects can be found in higher-end robots include 3D Structured Light, which uses cameras and crossed IR sensors to map the surroundings 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 to them. These aren't very common but could be a great option to add to your robot should you want to have more peace of mind.

The majority of the top-rated robots can also clean your floors. Some come with their own water tanks, allowing them to remove water-based spills and messes. You'll need to clean the robot's dust bin and clean its sensors and cameras in between cleaning sessions.

Mapping

Mapping capabilities are essential in robot vacuums because they help them remember your home's layout and avoid hitting things like walls. They could be tripped by cords, pet toys or furniture without mapping. This results in them taking up less space. Using sensors, most robots map your home to keep track of any obstacles and assist them to navigate around them. They can sweep the floor in fewer steps and make it easier for you to save time. Many of the top robotic vacuums also come with this feature, which enables you to designate areas that are not accessible.

Robots that have a built-in LIDAR system make use of this technology to create a map of your home quickly and efficiently. The Eufy Clean robot divided my room into separate areas and cleaned each one separately during our tests. This was a huge improvement over cheaper models that only had a front-bumper sensor. This was a much more precise way to navigate my home and was simple for me to control using the app on the device.

While no robot vacuum can climb stairs yet, most of the Best robot vacuum cleaner UK rated models have good obstacle avoidance and mapping capabilities. These tools allow them to remove debris from low-pile and hard floors, and to avoid falling down stairs. Some have cliff sensors that stop them from crossing over the edge of stairs, and some have boundary strips that can prevent them from certain areas.

Some robots come with a massive tower base that houses their collected dirt, minimizing the amount of dust and allergens emitted into your home. They can be left for weeks or months without emptying which is particularly beneficial if you suffer from allergies. Additionally, some models come with self-emptying mechanisms that let you take out the dust bins without having to manually open and close them.

Wi-Fi enabled

Some robot vacuums connect via Wi-Fi with their applications. This lets you control them with your smartphone instead of (or in addition) to a physical remote. Those models are more expensive, but they save you time by allowing you to plan cleaning time on a weekly, daily or even monthly basis. These models also allow you to edit floor maps and save them, as well as provide different cleaning schedules.

The most advanced robot vacuums utilize dual sensors, which combine the 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 make it easier for your robot to maneuver into narrow spaces like the nook under your kitchen cabinets and beneath sofas, where many other robots struggle. They also have a faster speed to get around obstacles, have longer run times and larger dust bins. This makes them ideal for large homes compared to the smallest robots.

The top rated robot vacuums are swift, intelligent and powerful cleaning up all kinds of floor debris, including pet hair, cat litter, and other dirt. They also are quiet, making them an excellent choice for homes that have pets or young children. The majority of robot vacuum owners we've interviewed report that they enjoy the convenience of keeping their floors cleaned with little effort, particularly when they are used regularly. Robots can last as long as traditional vacuum cleaners with the right maintenance (cleaning rotating brushes and keeping the track of spare parts). PCWorld offers a manual with helpful tips to ensure that your robot is running smoothly.

Dust Bags Larger

A robotic vacuum is not as efficient in cleaning as an upright or canister vacuum, but it is great at picking up the dust and dirt that regular vacuuming leaves behind. It can also be used for quick touch-ups on floors, and it can also navigate through cords and other obstacles in the home. It is possible to use a robot to clean your floors according to a schedule when you don't have the time to do it yourself.

A few of the top-rated robotic vacuums come with big, easy to empty dust bags that can hold more dirt than a room. This will save time and money through replacement bags. This feature is available on many models including our top choice which is the Ecovacs T30S Combo. This all-in one robovac is a high-performance robovac and comes with a self emptying bin. It also has mopping capabilities and efficient navigation. It's a close match between this and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, which comes with smart mapping and avoidance technology. This model has a greater capacity but is slightly more expensive.

The two models also differ in their handling of long hair, which can get caught in the rollers of certain robots. The most efficient models are the Roborock Q5 Max+ and SwitchBot K10S Plus, both have outstanding 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 good hair pickup and tangle avoiding, but not as much path planning or auto empty.

The most recent robots are outfitted with sensors that can detect dirt and debris on carpets and they're better at 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 a must for families with pets and children.

Maintenance

A robot vacuum can be a great aid in keeping up with your home. While no robot can replace an upright or a canister vacuum for deep cleaning, the top models that are rated highly pick up pet hair, lint and other dirt that accumulates on carpets and floors with low pile which can pick up more than you would find with the broom. They also have navigation capabilities that prevent them from getting stuck on power cords or rug fringe and are able to slide easily under furniture.

Depending on the model, a highly rated robot vacuum can be scheduled to run several times per day or may allow you to watch it in action via an app. However, these useful devices can also be prone to clogging, and require regular maintenance such as emptying the bin onboard (or the base's larger dust bin in certain cases) as well as checking the brushes for tangled hair, and then periodically washing and allowing the filters to dry as recommended by the manufacturer.

Vacuum expert Emily Rairdin, a store owner apprentice at University Vacuum + Sewing, says a high-quality robot vacuum will last for three to five years or more with regular maintenance and care. She suggests regularly emptying the bin and brush roll and cutting off any hair that has gotten caught in the brushes, and regularly washing and drying the filter, when your robot cleaner with mop is also used as mop. It's a good idea to wipe the sensors and charging contacts on the dock or the robot vacuum that mops with an easy, clean cloth every now and then. You can then refill and recharge your robot for the next clean-up session.