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As a cat platform on wheels, robot vacuums are worthy as meme fodder. But after the 15th attempt at forcing your cat on one, you might find another use for it.
So, what does a robot vacuum cleaner do?
A robot vacuum cleans floors automatically when you aren’t there. It uses an optical sensor to avoid bumping into walls and falling off the floor.
Robot vacuums were once a worthless fad, but they have become far more helpful recently. Below, we will go through some of the major vacuum brands and their features.
Looking at The Major Robot Vacuum Brands and Their Features
The iRobot Roomba i3
- Forget about vacuuming for months at a time with the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal that allows the i3 to empty itself for up to 60 days.
- Pulls in stubborn dirt and messes with a Premium 3-Stage Cleaning System and 10X the Power-Lifting Suction. Control how you clean with the iRobot HOME app or your voice assistant.
- The i3 navigates and maps your home in neat rows using state-of-the-art floor tracking sensors to vacuum hardwood and carpet.
Roomba is easily the most well-known vacuum brand on the market. This robot vacuum uses integrated technology and a connected app to understand how to clean your home and its square feet.
it has visual sensors (sometimes called cliff sensors) that prevent it from becoming a paperweight. It doesn’t have edge cleaning, but that comes with the s9.
The i3 claims to be good for pet hair, but it pales in comparison to standard vacuums. The Dyson Animal destroys any pet hair vacuums, and stick vacuums typically outperform robot vacuums.
Thankfully, among robot vacuum cleaning options, this one is pretty high on the list. While it won’t outrank a traditional vacuum, it is suitable for light-duty work on medium-pile carpets.
The iRobot Roomba s9+
- Forget about vacuuming for months at a time with the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal that allows the s9 to empty itself for up to 60 days.
- You—and your home—deserve the best. With groundbreaking technology and a sophisticated design, the s9 is our smartest, most powerful robot vacuum yet.
- With 40x the suction power, the superior 3-Stage Cleaning System lifts, loosens, then eliminates debris and pet hair from deep within your carpets. Automatically increases suction to clean even deeper with power boost technology.
The iRobot Roomba s9 claims to be the best robot vacuum ever. A big bonus comes from the side brush that fits in corners. Other robot vacuums have characteristically struggled with this.
The battery life behind this Roomba is typically between two and three hours, standard for robotic vacuums. It also has floor mapping, which enables it to spit out a readout of your room.
From the companion app, you can use this readout to tell the Roomba to avoid specific rooms. For example, high traffic areas might be too difficult for a robot vacuum.
It does a comparatively deep clean compared to other robotic vacuums, but it still cannot handle high-pile carpets.
For Wi-Fi-connected devices in your smart home, Roomba offers a great overall option.
The Roborock S6 MaxV
- Using twin cameras and proprietary ReactiveAI obstacle recognition, S6 MaxV accurately avoids everyday objects and unknown obstacles, making automatic cleaning more worry-free than ever.
- Equipped with Precision LiDAR navigation, onboard maps can be made accurately, which means more efficient cleaning and more cleaning customization options.
- App controlled mopping is ultra customizable, from scheduling to room-specific mopping to tailored water flow and even No-Mop Zones.
Roborock is one of Roomba’s competitors. If you ask if it will clean your room with the same effectiveness, we can say yes.
The floor types it can handle are comparable to all Roomba models.
While this model doesn’t have the potent side brush, it still has the programmable smart room features.
It has multi-level mapping features so that it might understand the room it is entering.
This model also comes with mopping features, enabling you to mop hardwood floors while vacuuming up. This feature makes it generally more helpful than some Roomba models with multiple cleaning cycles.
Thankfully, you can set no-mop zones to tell the robotic vacuum not to mop your carpet. This is not a shampooer; it will just soak your carpet.
The Roborock also enables you to use a remote viewing feature, providing a camera to see through. That way, you can check on the Roborock to be sure it isn’t vacuuming the cat.
How Can I Be Sure A Robot Vacuum is Right For Me?
Before you outright buy a robot vacuum, here is what you should do:
- Please take a trial run of it throughout your house to see how it does.
- Use all available features if possible.
- If you have high-pile carpets, you might want to avoid these anyway.
- A regular vacuum will still need to be part of your list for high-traffic areas.
Robot vacuums, despite how far they have come, are not suitable for heavy-duty work. So thick pet hair, rugs, and carpets are where they struggle.
While mapping out your home for this unique appliance is one way to reduce your clean load, you cannot expect it to take over all of your cleaning duties.
Tips For Ensuring Your Robot Vacuum Can Work
Here are some tips to ensure your robot vacuum is given the best chance:
- Keep your lights on to be sure the visual sensors work
- Empty the bin between each use (unless it has a self-unloading bin)
- Please put it in a spot where there aren’t any significant level changes
- Choose a vacuum based on the features that appeal to you
Final Thoughts
When selecting the best robot vacuums for your home, they must fit what you have to work. Through this article, we hope you better understand how robotic vacuums work.
Check out our sister article on the best smart vacuums to clean your home. Thank you for reading!
