Robot vacuums have been around since the mid-’90s, but robots that have built-in mopping capabilities are still fairly new. In many cases, you can even connect your robot vacuum to your smart assistant of choice and say things like, “Hey, Google, vacuum my living room,” and watch as your little droid rolls off its docking station and heads to start its job. More basic robot vacuums use an infrared sensor to identify obstacles and other objects to avoid, but fancier models take it a step further with a built-in camera you can use to pinpoint items that might only be there for one cleaning cycle, like a stray toy one of your kids left out. Robot vacuums accomplish this by creating a map of your home, complete with obstacle identification and no-go zones, so you can program it to only clean specific areas on a given day. “Anything you do takes energy, which comes down to battery size,” says Brent Hild, former director of product management for iRobot, “If you have a motor that’s running at absolute maximum, you’ll have great suction and deplete your battery, so it’s not as effective in the long run.” Meanwhile, a vacuum with a slightly weaker suction power but more effective brushes will clean up more debris and require fewer trips back to the charging station.Īldred says robot vacuum cleaners should be viewed as vacuum cleaners first and robots second: “Once you start compromising on the cleaning portion, have you actually replaced the cleaning system or are you imitating it?” Part of effectively replacing that cleaning system is being able to trust that your robot vacuum won’t miss any spots in its cleaning cycles, and that your floors will be at least as clean as if you’d done the job yourself. Many robot vacuum cleaners even have side brushes that can help clear up corners and other tough-to-reach spots.īetter brushes don’t just make it easier to clean the floors, either they make your vacuum last longer on each charge. Weak brushes will simply sweep over the top of your carpets and rugs, while a more thorough brush will dig deep into the fibers and kick up anything that’s stuck below the surface. The more powerful the brush(es), the more likely your vacuum is to clean up things like dried-up mud or anything that’s caked onto the floor. “All the suction in the world won’t pick up things deeply ingrained in your surface,” says Mike Aldred, senior principal engineer at Dyson.Ī good robot vacuum will have a powerful brush (or multiple brushes) to create enough agitation to break up particles that weaker vacuums might miss. To find the best robot vacuum for every type of home and lifestyle, we spoke with engineers and product managers at Dyson and iRobot, as well as tested several models to measure real-world performance.Īlthough suction power is one of the primary metrics flaunted by traditional vacuum manufacturers, things like the vacuum’s brushes are just as important when it comes to picking up debris. Fancier models can even have features like camera-based obstacle detection and smart room mapping and automation - and a few will mop your floors after vacuuming. Some use an array of lasers to navigate your home and avoid obstacles some have extra power to handle carpet in addition to hardwood floors and others have additional cleaning bases that can hold more dirt and debris. Not all robot vacuums share the same features, though. That’s where robot vacuum cleaners come in: Unlike their hand-operated counterparts, these puck-shaped robots can sweep up your house or apartment all with the press of a button, even when you’re not at home. For many of us, though, things like busy schedules, excessive foot traffic, and poor home filtration can make it difficult to keep our floors mess-free. Ideally, we’d never have to worry about dirty floors they’d remain perpetually clean and free of dirt, debris, pet hair, and anything else that gunks up our homes.
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