If you want to schedule cleaning and forget about it, go for a self-emptying or auto-empty robot vacuum. Most have a similar (small) dustbin capacity, which means you’ll need to remember to empty them regularly.

You’ll also want to look out for the size of the bin. A really good one will have a full-length rotating brush, making it ideal for picking up hair and fluff on carpets and from the edges of the room. The cheapest robot cleaners may not have a rotating brush, which means they won’t be brilliant at cleaning carpets but they’ll do a decent job on a hard floor. And it’ll be even worse if it can just make it under – but then gets stuck. If your robot vac can’t get under your sofa and bed, it can make a big difference to its overall usefulness in your life. Robot vacuums can vary in height between 7cm (very low profile), 10cm (medium profile) and 12cm (high – the Dyson machines tend to be the tallest). Profileīefore you invest in a robot vac, it’s a good idea to measure the distance from the floor to the underside of your sofa and other key pieces of furniture. The most powerful robot vacuums at this time can go up to 5,000Pa of suction – but this will likely be in boost or turbo mode and you won’t need anything like this much power to clean hard flooring. If you have hard flooring, a less expensive cleaner will do the job but if you have thicker carpets, it’s worth your while investing in something with very good cleaning power. Suction power (measured in Pascals – Pa) is getting better all the time. And if you use it in conjunction with your app’s remote control, you can drive your vac around to check up on your pets while you’re out. This means you can use your robot vac as an additional home security device. Some cleaners with cameras will also let you use them remotely, via your app. The best robot cleaners will also use cameras to help them identify and avoid obstacles such as shoes, cables and even pet waste. This gives you the option to request a clean where there’s been a spill or, for example, schedule a regular clean around the kitchen table after dinner. Finally, newer robot vacuums from iRobot ( the Roomba i7+) and Ecovacs ( X1 OMNI) will allow you to add pieces of furniture to maps, which you can then target for cleaning. Very advanced cleaners with mop capabilities will also let you zone areas for mopping as well.

You’ll be able to go into your app and add exclusion zones which they’ll then avoid. Many will have space for more than one map, so you can save maps of each floor. Less expensive or older cleaners may come with magnetic strips or battery-operated towers you can use to keep your robot vac away from the top of the stairs or block off a room you don’t want cleaned (for example, if you don’t have time to pick up your clothes from the bedroom floor but you’d still like to give the sitting room a once-over).īut most robots will create a very detailed and accurate map of your home which you can access in the app.

One of the most important features of a robot vacuum cleaner is the ability to map boundaries. The app is also where you’ll find the map of your home. Still, there’s a case to be made for the fact that, if you’re happy with a relatively simple robot vacuum, you can invest in this one and it will last you for years to come. We tested the flagship Home Vision HD model, which you can pilot remotely to check in on your home and your pets using its onboard camera.Īltogether, we felt that its feature set was too limited to justify its high price point. It has a simple app and is Alexa-compatible as well. It also lacks the in-depth mapping that rivals iRobot and Ecovacs have, which allows you to target cleaning to specific pieces of furniture in a room. However, we didn’t love the fact that it communicates via error message codes you need to decipher, when many rivals at a similar price point have a voice assistant that just lets you know what the problem is. Its hardware is beautifully designed and it’s intended to last for five years – a long time in robot vacuum terms. There’s a lot to like about the Miele Scout RX3.

Automatic vacuum cleaner