The iRobot j7+ is the best robot vacuum you can buy right now, with simpler mapping, more cleaning power and smarter features than anything else we tested. Robot vacuums are designed to make your life easier, cleaning the floors so you don’t have to. They’re particularly great for keeping up with pet hair but can also keep your house tidy when you’re just too busy (and they’ll do it better because they don’t mind vacuuming every day). One of the best robot vacuums to keep an eye on is the iRobot Roomba i3+.
But if a vacuum you like doesn’t come with one, it doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker, models without the label may be just as good. While not really a feature I consider essential for operation, the G20 has a remote control option in the Eufy Home app, which means it can also double as a fun cat toy. Despite being a budget bot, it doesn’t partake in the classic bump and roll navigation, Instead, it uses gyroscopic navigation to divide the space into individual areas and clean each one methodically. It’s quite soothing to watch it go to work as it moves up and down in neat, rectangular boxes. You can read my full review of the Roomba j7 Plus here, where I put it head-to-head with Samsung’s Jet Bot AI Plus robot vac, which shares similar features.
Read on for our top picks, as well as all the factors you should consider when buying a robot vacuum. You no longer have to suffer the indignity of dragging around an unwieldy plastic hose connected to a clumsy, wheeled canister the size of a Galapagos tortoise. Robot vacuums can help you dispose of dust, pet hair, and other debris in your home without requiring you to lift a finger. Robot vacuums are more capable and affordable than ever, and we’ve rounded up the best models we’ve tested to help you pick the perfect one for your home. With features such as in-app mapping, scheduling and no-go zones, the Neato BotVac D8 was promising.
Roombas use “dirt detect” technology to focus their cleaning efforts, so a unit may spend longer in one area until the sensors detect fewer particles. Models will have varying placement of the sensors and will therefore move differently. Robots that have the sensors in the rear will move back and forth when detecting dirt, while those with only front ones may move in a more circular pattern. You just need to set up your bissell crosswave cordless iRobot for the first time, and the Robot will automatically connect to the Robot Control app whenever you open it. Please make sure that the Robot is fully charged and is connected to the same WiFi as your smartphone. We updated this article in September 2022 to add more information about each featured product tested by the Good Housekeeping Institute, how to clean your robot vacuum and why you should trust us.
For instance, if there are crumbs under the kitchen table, users can tell their Roomba to “clean under the kitchen table.” Areas of the home where children or pets might be playing can be set as “off-limits” areas. The vacuum’s “clean map reports” allow the user to see where the Roomba cleaned and for how long. Since iRobot has several models, it can be difficult to choose the best Roomba to suit your needs. Sometimes a hands-on test is a helpful way to truly know what works in a home, so we tested some of the most popular models in a home environment to find out which ones are the best. Keep reading to learn about some of the key considerations when choosing a Roomba, and see our hands-on evaluation results later in this article. Carolyn Forté brings more than 40 years of experience as a consumer products expert to her role as executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Home Care and Cleaning Lab.