Looking to keep your home clean without having to vacuum and mop every day, pick up dirt, the dinner your child threw on the floor or your furry friend\u2019s endless pet hair? Join the club. Smart home gadgets<\/a> have come a long way over the years, and that includes robot vacuums. With newer technology including voice controls, object detection and more, investing in a robot vacuum cleaner makes more sense now than ever before. Some of the best robot vacuum cleaners even have mopping capabilities and self-emptying bases, too, and there are plenty that don’t cost a fortune<\/a> either. If you\u2019re ready to adopt a less hands-on approach and let a robot vacuum cleaner do the hard work for you, consider our recommendations below.<\/p>\n As we explained in our budget guide<\/a>, Wi-Fi connectivity is a key feature for most robot vacuums. Some of the affordable devices aren\u2019t Wi-Fi connected, though, so it\u2019s best to double check before you buy cheap. Wi-Fi lets a robot vacuum cleaner do things like communicate with a mobile app, which then allows you to control the device from your phone.<\/p>\n Suction power is another important factor to consider. Unfortunately, there isn\u2019t a standard power scale that all robo-vacs adhere to, so it\u2019s difficult to compare among a bunch of devices. Some companies provide Pascal (Pa) levels and generally the higher the Pa, the stronger the vacuum cleaner will be. But other companies don\u2019t rely on Pa and simply say their robots have X-times more suction than other robots.<\/p>\n Ultimately, we recommend thinking first about the floors in your home: Do you have carpet throughout, or tile and hardwood floors, or a mix? Robots with stronger suction power will do a better job cleaning carpets as they can get into the nooks and crannies more easily. Some machines have \u201cmax\u201d modes as well, which ups the suction power but also typically eats at battery life faster than the \u201cnormal\u201d cleaning mode.<\/p>\n Past a certain price threshold, you\u2019ll find advanced perks like home mapping features, improved object detection and automatic dustbin disposal. Home mapping is exactly what it sounds like: The vacuum uses sensors to map your home\u2019s layout as it cleans, allowing you to send it to particular rooms or areas. Most robo-vacs have object detection, but some will be better than others at actually avoiding things like chair legs and children\u2019s toys. Higher-end models like iRobot\u2019s j7 series<\/a> even go so far as to promise obstacle avoidance to steer clear of things like pet poop that can potentially ruin your machine.<\/p>\n We\u2019re also now starting to see more robot vacuums with mopping capabilities. Machines with this feature have a water reservoir either built into the robot\u2019s chassis or as a separate piece that you swap in for the dustbin when you want to mop your floors. It makes the robo-vac more useful if you have hard floors in your home that you like to keep squeaky clean, but it does require more work on your part. Filling and emptying the reservoir remains a human\u2019s job for the most part, as does adding cleaning solutions if the mopping robot comes with this feature.<\/p>\n Finally, for peak convenience, consider a robot vacuum that comes with a self-cleaning base station. These are basically garbage bins attached to the machine\u2019s docking station. At the end of each job, the robo-vac automatically empties its small dustbin into the large clean base \u2013 that means you won\u2019t have to empty the dustbin yourself and you\u2019ll only have to tend to the base once every few weeks. Just keep in mind that most self-emptying bins require proprietary garbage bags \u2013 another long-term expense you\u2019ll have to factor in. Also, any vac-and-mop robot with a water tank will not dump its dirty water into the clean base, so you\u2019ll still have to clean up that yourself.<\/p>\nWhat to look for in a robot vacuum<\/h2>\n
Wi-Fi connectivity<\/h3>\n
Vacuum suction<\/h3>\n
Floor type<\/h3>\n
Mapping features and object detection<\/h3>\n
Robot vacuums with mopping capabilities<\/h3>\n
Auto-empty station<\/h3>\n
Best robot vacuums 2024<\/h2>\n