The best household appliance is one that takes care of tedious household chores, like the robot vacuum cleaner. The small, maneuverable vacuum cleaners can independently clean the entire living space and for houses with pets, it is practically an essential device.
In this post, we have collected 5 robot vacuum cleaners that can help to keep your house free of pet hair, dust, etc.
iRobot Roomba i7+ (under $600)
The iRobot Romba i7+ vacuum cleaner robot is suitable for all floor types. Unlike similar devices, the model does not have bristles that can bend and miss a lot of dirt, rather, the device is equipped with two flexible rubber brushes. Whether it's wood, tile, or carpet, the robot vacuum cleaner adapts to the appropriate floor and gets the job done. The vacuum cleaner works with three cleaning levels.
Pet owners also get their money's worth. That's because the high-performance filter is made of a special material that captures 99 percent of all mold, pollen, dust mite, and cat and dog allergens, according to the manufacturer. The robot's Imprint feature ensures that users can clean rooms on schedule via intelligent mapping. This is because the Roomba i7+ robot learns about the user's home and can then distinguish the kitchen from the living room, for example. This makes it possible to determine exactly which rooms are cleaned and when.
In addition, the iRobot Roomba i7+ robot vacuum cleaner can be controlled by voice command. The device is compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
Pros:
- Lightweight;
- Comparatively short charging time;
- Anti-allergen bag;
- Needs bag cleaning only once every 2 months.
Cons:
- Comparatively short battery life;
- No wiping function.
Shark IQ (under $400)
The Shark IQ is suitable for cleaning carpets and hard floors. The robot uses Shark IQ navigation to find its way around the rooms. It reliably travels in parallel paths and then switches to the next room. When the battery is empty or the dust bin is full, the robot returns to the base and empties the dust bin or recharges the battery. After that, it resumes work where it left off.
The robot is equipped with numerous sensors that reliably detected obstacles, stairs, and landings in our test. According to the manufacturer, the robot vacuum cleaner lasts 90 minutes on one battery charge before it has to return to the charging station.
Pros:
- Thorough cleaning;
- High speed during cleaning;
- Easy control, via the app and by voice control;
- Self-cleaning brush roll;
- For carpets and hard floors;
- Long battery life;
- Intelligent navigation.
Cons:
- Loud during operation and when emptying the dirt container;
- Does not get under all furniture.
Yeedi Vac 2 Pro (under $450)
The Yeedi Vac 2 Pro is more than just a simple vacuum cleaner robot because it additionally has a mopping function. Thanks to app support, numerous sensors, and a powerful battery, the robot vacuum is prepared for all eventualities.
The manufacturer says that the suction power is 3,000 Pascal, which is a decent value. With its battery capacity of 5,200 milliampere hours, it is able to work for about 220 minutes at the lowest setting.
Pros:
- Very good mopping performance thanks to oscillating movements;
- Sensors for carpet detection, room recording, and fall protection;
- Great battery;
- The brush can be removed without tools.
Cons:
- Small water tank.
iRobot Roomba 692 (under $300)
The iRobot Roomba 692 robot features the special iAdapt navigation. According to the manufacturer, this means that the robot is equipped with numerous intelligent sensors and makes over 60 decisions per second to adapt to the different rooms of the home. Thanks to integrated sensors, the robot vacuum is able to detect stairs and edges, ideally even carpet edges.
The device comes with a corner and edge cleaning brush, two multi-floor brushes, and a vacuum suction system. It cleans by automatically adjusting the height of the cleaning head and is equally suitable for carpets and hard floors.
Thanks to the acoustic sensors of the Dirt Detect technology, the robot is said to be able to independently detect more heavily soiled areas and clean them more intensively. In doing so, it works with a three-stage cleaning system for pet hair, fine dust, and crumbs.
Pros:
- iAdapt navigation;
- AeroVacFilter.
Cons:
- No wipe function.
Eufy by Anker RoboVac 11S (under $200)
The eufy by Anker RoboVac 11S is a robot vacuum cleaner that has a suction power of 1,300 pascals. The low height is said to help the device get rid of dust and dirt under a sofa or a bed. The model has a powerful lithium-ion battery that provides capacity for up to 100 minutes of use. The robot has an anti-scratch tempered glass surface and an integrated infrared sensor. The latter is said to provide effective obstacle detection and good height estimation for avoiding falls, for example on stairs.
The eufy by Anker RoboVac 11S robot vacuum cleaner has an automatic charging function. If the vacuum cleaner runs out of battery capacity, the device automatically returns to the charging station. The "Boostiq" technology is said to increase the suction power in hard-to-clean and very dirty places.
Pros:
- Comes with plenty of accessories;
- Comparatively compact and lightweight;
- Comparatively quiet.
Cons:
- No wiping function.
How to choose robot vacuum cleaner?
The majority of household appliances differ in design and shape. Most robot vacuum cleaners have a round design, have a battery-powered motor, sensors, and sometimes a camera. The differences are usually seen in the equipment and in the type of navigation:
- Robots with simple navigation. Vacuum cleaning robots that have simple navigation travel the paths on the floor. This makes sense if there are only a few obstacles in the room. Large and medium-sized areas with little furniture are suitable for these simple navigation vacuum robots. The robot moves in paths while vacuuming. If it hits an obstacle, it turns around and vacuums the next lane. However, these models can not clean the entire area without leaving gaps.
- Robots with Virtual Walls. The vacuuming robots equipped with the "Virtual Wall" work with artificial walls and create a limited space, regardless of the floor plan of the apartment. As soon as the robot starts moving, it travels around a predefined area. Once the cleaning process is complete and the robot has covered the entire area, it automatically returns to the charging station.
- Robot vacuum cleaners with wiping function. These models not only suck up dirt and dust but also have an additional wiping function. Consumers need to distinguish between models with a replaceable water tank and a combination of a collection tank and water tank. With the latter variant, the user does not need to change the tank but has to empty it much more frequently. Robot vacuums with wiping functions usually have a higher price than comparable models without wiping functions.
The majority of robot vacuum cleaners work with simple navigation. This means that they travel a room according to set paths and do not leave out any part of the room. This type of cleaning is suitable for rooms that have few obstacles. If there is furniture, tables, or chairs in the room, this cleaning system is less thorough.
For rooms with a lot of furniture, vacuums with a Virtual Walls system are a better choice. If an obstacle gets in the way of the robot vacuum, it turns away, changes direction, and continues vacuuming. As a rule, all robot vacuums find their way back to the charging station before the battery dies.
