Best Rated Robot Vacuum and Mop

Eufy's robotic mop and vacuum is the highest-rated of its kind. It takes a lot of the chore of cleaning your floors. It can re-fill its own water tank, and self-empty its larger tower bin and change the dust bag.

Advanced models can map your house and record furniture placement. They also can detect dangers and help you avoid them, such as loose charging cables or stray socks.

Object Avoidance

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

Based on the model you pick, you might have a variety of sensors that can help your robot navigate through obstacles. Some of the most popular include crossed IR sensor beams that are focused infrared lights which scan the room to look for furniture legs or door frames. This technology has been widely adopted by numerous robots available, and you can also find it in flagship models that cost more than other models.

Another object avoidance technology can be found in higher-end robotics is 3D Structured Light which uses cameras and crossed IR sensor to map the surroundings and identify obstacles. Time of Flight (ToF), sensors that measure and emit the duration it takes for the light to reflect off an object, to determine its distance, is also available. These are less common but are a great option to add to your robot in case you're looking to add peace of mind.

Apart from collecting dust and debris on hard floors, most of the best-rated robots can mop your floor as well. Some robots come with their very own water tanks that allow them to clean up messes and spills. It is necessary to clean the robot's dust bin onboard and clean its cameras and sensors in between cleaning sessions.

Mapping

Robot vacuums need to have mapping capabilities. This lets them navigate around your home and avoid hitting things like walls. They could be tripped by pet toys, cords or furniture that are not marked. This results in them removing less space. By using sensors, many robots map out your home to identify any obstacles and help navigate around them. This allows them to clean the entire floor with fewer passes, saving your time. A lot of the top-rated robot vacuums also have this feature to create no-go zones, which allows you to designate rooms that you don't want the robot to get into.

Robots equipped with LIDAR utilize this technology to map your home quickly and effectively. In our tests with the Eufy Clean robot vacuum cleaner uk utilized this feature to separate my room into different areas and clean each independently this was a significant improvement over the cheaper models we tested that utilized a front bump sensor. This was a much more precise way to navigate my home and was simple to control via the app on the device.

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

Certain robots have an enormous base tower that can collect dirt. This reduces the amount of dust or allergens that are released in your home. They can be kept for weeks or months without having to be cleaned, which is especially helpful if you suffer from allergies. Some models come with self-emptying dust bins that can empty without opening or closing them manually.

Wi-Fi Enabled

Some robot vacuums utilize Wi-Fi to connect with their apps, allowing users to control them with your smartphone rather than (or in addition to) the physical remote. These models are more expensive but can help you save time by allowing you to schedule cleaning robot mop and vacuum times on a weekly, daily or even monthly basis. These models also let you modify floor maps, save them and offer alternate cleaning patterns.

Dual sensors are employed by the most advanced robot vacuums. They combine with a LIDAR mapping system with a structured-light sensor that can detect and avoid objects, even if they are hidden beneath furniture or power cables. Those features make it easier for your robot to maneuver into narrow spaces like the nook beneath your kitchen cabinets and under sofas, areas where other robots have trouble. They also have a faster speed to get around obstacles, have longer run times and larger dust bins. This makes them more suitable for large homes than entry-level robots.

The best automatic vacuum robot vacuums are swift, intelligent and powerful. They can remove an array of floor debris, including pet hair, cat litter and other dirt. They can also be quite quiet which makes them a great option for homes with young kids and pets. Many of the robot vacuum owners we've talked to have reported that they appreciate the convenience of having their floors spotless with minimal effort, especially when used frequently. And with proper maintenance (cleaning the rotating brushes and keeping tabs on the replacement parts) robots can last longer than a traditional full-size vacuum cleaner. PCWorld offers a guide that includes some helpful tips to keep yours running smoothly.

Larger Dust Bags

A robotic automatic vacuum cleaner and mop may not be as effective in cleaning as an upright or canister vacuum, but it's great at picking up the dust and debris that regular vacuuming has left behind. It is also a great tool for quick repairs to floors, and it can also navigate around cords and other household obstacles. You can employ robots to clean your floors on a schedule if you don't have time to do it yourself.

The top-rated robot vacuums have huge dust bags that are easy to empty. They can hold more than one room's worth of dirt. This can help save time and money in the form of bags that can be replaced. This feature is available on a variety of models, including our top pick, the Ecovacs T30S Combo. This robovac all-in-one is a top-performing robovac that has a self-emptying bin. It has a mopping feature and an efficient navigation. It's a close contest between the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ and this one, which uses smart mapping and avoidance technologies. This robovac has a larger capacity but is slightly more expensive.

The two models differ in the way they handle long hair, which can get caught in the rollers of some robots. The best-performing models, 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 great 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 detect dirt and debris on carpets and they are better at removing pet hair. Some have a mopping mode that can use the reservoir of water to eliminate the stains and spills. This feature is a must-have for families with pets as well as children.

Maintenance

Having a robot vacuum is a great aid in keeping a close eye on your home. The best models can pick up more surface dirt pet hair and lint than a broom on low-pile or hard flooring. They have navigational features that help them avoid getting stuck on power cords, rug fringe, or furniture.

Depending on the model, a top-rated robotic vacuum is also able to run multiple times per day, or permit you to view it in action using an app. These devices are convenient but they also get clogged and require regular maintenance. This includes emptying the onboard dust bin (or in some cases, the base's larger bin), checking brushes for tangled fur, and periodically rinsing the filters and allowing them to dry according to the specifications of 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 if it receives regular care and attention. She recommends regularly emptying the brush roll and bin, cutting out any hair that is tangled up in the brushes and regularly cleaning and drying the filter, in the event that your robot acts as mop. It's a good idea to clean the sensors and charging contacts of the dock or robot with an easy clean cloth every now and then. Then, simply recharge and refill the robot as needed for your next cleaning session.