They offer both vacuuming and mopping abilities for houses big and small. That means enjoying the benefits of kicking back and relaxing while these hands-off cordless vacuums do the hard work for you. Some are ranked among the best vacuums for pet hair and the most impressive vacuum-mop combos. Some of the higher-end Roombas also include intelligent features that allow the vacuum to “talk” to the robot mop, allowing a tag-team approach to cleaning.
Hands-off cleaning can create problems when a Roomba encounters something it shouldn’t roll over, like cords or animal waste. In addition, besides the initial cost, some Roombas require ongoing cost in the form of cleaning pads and fluid for the mops and dustbin evacuation bags for the + models. The maximum height of a threshold that all Roomba models can transition over while cleaning is ⅝-inch or 1.6 centimeters. Higher thresholds may create unpredictable routes and could upset robot operation reliability if the machine is stuck. A Roomba, however, won’t match the power of or replace a standard vacuum.
Keep a can of compressed air handy in case you need to blow dust out of gears or other hard-to-reach nooks in the bot. Wipe the sensors clean as needed, according to the manufacturer’s guidelines—usually with a microfiber cloth or cotton swab with a little water or rubbing alcohol. If you understand that you’ll probably be disappointed but want to try an AI bot anyway, consider the iRobot Roomba j7 (or j7+), which is a higher-end version of our top shark cordless picks and costs a little extra. Once we whittle down each test group to arrive at our picks, we keep running those bots, and we examine how loud each one is , what replacement parts are available, and what warranties are offered. If a robot runs across anything smearable, get ready to do some nasty cleanup. Senior staff writer Rachel Cericola first started testing smart-home devices more than 20 years ago, when the only smart-home devices were X10.
The result is that although Roombas are effective at cleaning rooms, they take several times longer to do the job than a human would. The Roomba may cover some areas many times, other areas only once or twice, and may miss some areas. However, the random algorithm has been shown to bissell crosswave cordless effectively cover rooms of various sizes and configurations, particularly when used repeatedly for maintenance cleaning. The i3+ EVO offers 10 times the suction power of the entry-level Roomba 600 series, and in testing did a good job of removing dirt from hard floors and carpet.
However, unlike the Neato D7, our previous midrange robot vacuum pick, the Roborock S7 was much more effective at pulling sand away from both medium-pile (50.4%) and low-pile carpets (64.2%). On hardwood floors this Roomba picked up an average of 93% of our test sand, the second-highest amount in our test group. With 95% sand removal, the Neato Botvac D7 still reigns supreme on that test. In an open area, some models travel in a grid-like pattern in the area until they encounter obstacles.
Other RoboVac variants, including the 30C, 35C, and 15C Max, do have WiFi connectivity, which allows you to use a companion app to turn the appliance on or off, steer it, and set a cleaning schedule. Aided by multiple sensors and lasers, efficient navigation is the S7’s strong suit. The vacuum dyson robot vacuum cleaner covered the entire floor of our test room in an average of just 16 minutes. CarpetShows how much surface litter and embedded dust the vacuum picked up from a medium-pile carpet. Shows how much surface litter and embedded dust the vacuum picked up from a medium-pile carpet.
There are some bonus features to consider when selecting the model best suited to your cleaning needs. A tangle-free roller is especially handy for those with pets, as its extractors lift pet hair and other debris without it getting caught in the Roomba’s brushes. Another beneficial extra for families with pets or those sensitive to allergens is a high-efficiency filter that can capture dander, pollen, dust bunnies, and other tiny particles. Most robot vacuums are made to suit certain surfaces better than others. Overall, however, Roomba vacuums tend to be most effective in uncluttered areas on solid surfacing or on low- to medium-pile carpeting. To create additional metrics, we tested each against simulated “dust” in the form of sprinkled flour and “crumbs” by way of uncooked rice on hard floors.