best robot vacuum for vinyl plank floors Rated Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Robot vacuums are great to keep your floors clean but they are not a substitute for the regular vacuum. Even the best vacuums struggle to penetrate carpets or rugs, and can often get tangled in cords and socks.
Being on top of routine maintenance (replacing filters cutting hair tangled from brushes, and emptying the dust bin) will make your robot last longer.
Battery Life
Most robot vacuums are able to handle a few cleaning sessions without having to be charged. The runner-up in our top picks is the Ecovacs Deebot Q30S Combo, has a battery capable of lasting up to 180 minutes (3,230 square feet) of cleaning robots for home time on a single charge. That amount of runtime is more than enough time to clean smaller homes with the combination of hard floors and low-pile carpets, or a larger home where the rooms are roughly the same size.
A longer battery life means the robot will be able to spend less time charging and more time cleaning. It's worth opting for an auto-emptying dust bin, since they are more efficient in picking up debris and returning to the dock to recharge. It is important to clean or replace filters and wipe down the sensors and cameras regularly so they can see clearly.
Smart mapping technology is a useful feature to be looking for since it permits you to program your robot to clear certain rooms or areas that it's likely to hit furniture or other obstacles. It's also helpful for ensuring your robot is able to get under and around beds, sofas and other furniture with a high height. Some robovacs that are inexpensive have boundary strips you can place on the floor to block off areas, while other high-end models utilize sensors and cameras for this purpose.
Even the most powerful robot vacuums aren't able to substitute a traditional vac when it comes heavy-duty dirt and debris. It's advisable to keep a traditional power vac in reserve for these tasks and to schedule robot vacs regularly for cleaning up light chores throughout the week.
Navigation
A robot should be able of moving around your home without getting caught or running into things such as metal screws, pet hair or sand. In our tests the tracking device is used to follow the robot around an entire lab. It then analyzes its surroundings. We also check how well the robot avoids obstacles such as power cords, furniture leg, and pet waste.
The best robots can map out multiple floors and identify landmarks, like windows and doors. The most advanced robots, such as the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra have a dual sensor navigation system which utilizes the LIDAR to create a floor plan and a structured-light camera at the front to identify objects in real-time. The S8 can avoid obstacles like power cords and legs of furniture. It also has the ability to store up to four floor maps.
The more affordable models don't have this type of object detection and rely on bump sensors which aren't as accurate. In my tests they were able detect dog poop through cords as well as a pair shoes placed in the middle. The most affordable choice Dreametech D10+, is an exception to this. It is a great carpet and hard robotic floor vacuums, tangle and hair pickup. It also has a near-perfect auto empty score.
Another feature that is important is a large dust bin which doesn't have to be manually empty. It also has, for models that mop, a water tank that can last for weeks of mopping. Karcher's RCV 5 is a great illustration of this. It has a big enough footprint to fit under furniture but not too big that it is unable to fit into the space between your bathtub and toilet.
Apps
Robot vacuums are a lot like upright vacuums and require a lot of tech to get them up and running at speed. There are a lot of alternatives available in a marketplace that is maturing. Even the most advanced models require interaction from their customers, especially when it comes time to schedule cleaning, make a an outline of your home and set up virtual barriers.
To lessen the chance of this kind of interaction, look for a model that has its own app to identify the design of your home and save the settings for future use. This will let the robot vacuum start where it left off on subsequent runs, rather than having to start the mapping process each time.
It's important to look out for a vacuum that comes with spot or zone cleaning modes. You can instruct the vacuum cleaner to focus on a specific area, for example, under the table after a large family meal. You can usually choose to do this via the app or by voice commands.
Avoidance of objects is a different option that is available on several models. It allows the robot to observe something in its path, for instance the shoe box or a crate filled with dog toys, and guide itself around it. This will prevent it from hitting objects that could harm its sensors or cause jams.
This feature is offered on some of the more expensive models we test. They rely on bump sensor technology to do this, but they didn't always keep things out of my test home.
Pet Hair
Choose an upright vacuum cleaner specifically designed to collect pet hair. The top models feature high suction power and a brush that is free of tangling, and an emptying mechanism that will automatically empty hair into the trash bin when it is needed. Some are also able to detect dirt levels and adjust cleaning intensity accordingly. They can also detect objects that aren't a part of your home's flooring like furniture and toys, food bowls cords, and so on.
Some robot vacuums come with additional pet-friendly features. These include a water dispenser that is used to mop floors and a HEPA filtering system that helps to reduce allergens like pet dander. They might also have a quieter mode of operation to minimize the amount of noise generated during cleaning sessions.
Robot vacuums that have the ability to map are a great option for pet owners. They're designed to assess your home, and create an attack plan based upon the arrangement of each room and obstacles. For example, the Shark Matrix Plus 2-in-1 Robot Vacuum is a smart vacuum bot that has an amazing ability to map the room and navigate around furniture and other obstructions with accelerometer and gyroscope sensors that work together to learn the layout of your room.
Other advanced models let you define no-go zones that are areas that the robot vacuum cleaner on sale is supposed to avoid--like fragile items or pet feeding spots. You can adjust these settings via an app. This feature is especially useful for a busy household as it permits you to schedule cleaning sessions and adjust settings without having to be in the same room as the vacuum. Another great feature is spot cleaning, which allows you to control the vacuum to clean a particular area that is particularly filthy or full of pet hair.
Dust Bin
If you don't want anything small, consider a robot with a large bin or even a self-emptying dustbin. We recommend going for a model that has a large bin or even a self-emptying dustbin. The former will allow you to keep track of emptying the bin often enough to ensure you are on top of its performance and the latter will help you save time and hassle by automatically emptying its contents into an internal bin every few cleans.
Find models that have smart mapping capabilities that enable them to "learn" the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes. They also detect and avoid objects that may hinder their travel (like shoelaces or tangled charging cables). Find models with intelligent mapping capabilities. This allows them to "learn the layout of your house and plan more efficient routes.
Some models also offer spot cleaning, which allows you to choose specific areas of your house for intensive cleaning. In our tests, we discovered that the best models can remove fine particles such as baking soda, sand, orzo, screws made of metal and pet hair, as well as heavier debris like oatmeal orzo, and metal screws.
The brand you choose will determine the longevity of the robot. most robots will last for a long time and continue to perform well in the event that you are on top of maintenance tasks, such as cleaning hair that has become tangled from brushes, emptying the dust bin after each use and cleaning cameras and sensors whenever required. The best-performing robots also tend to be more modular and therefore easier and less expensive to repair or replace parts such as wheels and batteries as they wear out.