Best Robot Vacuums and Mop Combos
The best way to keep your home clean is to use a robotic vacuum. It can remove pet hair, dust, and other particles on the surface.
Some robots are able to sync with smart assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant for a hands-free experience. Look for models that can be recharged and continue cleaning where they left off.
1. iRobot S8
This smart robot vacuum and mop combination is a great option for homes with a variety of. It vacuums and mops well and has a great navigation system that includes both GPS and laser sensors, and offers a broad range of controls and features available via the app. It also has a handy feature that allows you to add cleaning zones to certain areas that require more attention, and also to keep Out zones that you don't want it to go. As with all Roomba devices, it is updated with new software updates that make it more efficient over time.
It's costly, but it's is also one of the most sophisticated robot vacuums ZDNet has ever tested. It's got a huge battery that can vacuum all of your home in less than two hours. It can also switch between vacuuming and mopping at the push of a button. It will automatically empty the bin of dust above its charging station, unlike other self emptying robots which require you to empty the bin after every run.
It also comes with a variety of other options, like intelligent obstacle avoidance that uses cameras and processor-powered smarts to detect obstacles. It's not often damaged or stuck during a cleaning cycle and is the best at avoiding power cables and other objects I've tested. However, it's not as reliable at detecting pet waste or other dangers.
2. Eufy RoboVac X8 Hybrid
While the Anker-owned Eufy has earned a name for itself in low-cost robot vacuums it's never offered an all-in-one model that can also mop. This is changing with the X8 Hybrid, which has an impressive set of modern features and can compete well with more expensive models.
The most significant selling point for Eufy with this device is its laser navigation. The previous Eufy devices have created an outline of your home by using infrared sensors and bumping into objects, but the X8's laser mapping technology is far more precise. It takes less time to build an extensive map of your home. It can also store multiple maps. This is perfect for multi-floored homes.
The X8 is still a good vacuum on bare floors that can carry debris under its side brushes and into the 400ml dust bin with relative ease. The tyres are adept at securing edges and corners even though they're circular. Our tests showed that it could only remove 90% of the fur on hard floors.
The mopping mode that is the basic one uses the same water reservoir as the vacuuming mode. This is ideal for spills that aren't too serious, but you can't control the amount of water it uses. However, it does an excellent job of picking up pet hair, with a better percentage of hair removal than the Roborock S7.
3. Miele RX2
Known for quietly effective home appliances, Miele's RX2 robot vacuum is a great choice because of its cleaning power, beautiful design and great navigation. But it has some operational issues which prevent it from being considered as the top overall smart robot vacuum.
Like the latest models from iRobot, the RX2 comes with dual-sensor mapping technology which uses an LIDAR sensor to map out a room and a pair of 3D scanning cameras to detect and avoid obstacles (like furniture legs or pet waste) in real time. After the room has been identified, you can designate virtual no-go areas and sections that you would like to be the robot. You can also change the cleaning modes, initiate cleaning manually or watch live feeds from the onboard cameras from the main screen.
The sensors of the RX2 work well by registering furniture and obstructions in real-time. The suction and sweeping power are top-notch, picking up surface litter from medium-pile carpeting and embedded dust on floors that are unfinished. However, it's not the most agile robot on the market. It's not the most efficient climber and has issues with metal threshold transition strips.
Some people buy robot vacuums for the convenience of setting up a schedule in an app, only to forget about them for weeks. However, it's essential that a robot is able to accomplish the task that's the reason our ZDNet staff tested and reviewed several of the most popular models to help you find the right one for your home.
4. Shark ION
This round, budget robovac looks just like a typical robot, but it's an upgrade in performance and features. Its smart mapping system creates 2D and 3-D maps of your house and makes use of to navigate and avoid obstacles. It's also able to detect common obstructions such as furniture legs and power cords in real-time. This combination of sensors together with a bump sensor and an infrared sensor for dropping that keeps it from falling down stairs make it one of the fastest vacuums we've tried.
It was able to climb over the thick shag carpets and was not stuck (unlike the RoboVac 11s, or Roomba 690-). Its navigation skills were impressive as well as its score for composite tests on carpet and bare floors beat out the competition, and it picked up 98.5 percent of surface litter and embedded pet hair from our lab test samples.
The controls are simpler than those of the competition's. There's a clean button at the top and you can start it using the app or via voice commands with Alexa or Google Assistant. You can also schedule daily or weekly cleanings, create no-go zones and check its history of cleaning. In a smart dark gray plastics, Ion feels sturdy and looks stylish in your home. The dust bin on the rear is easily best robot vacuum and mop accessible for emptying, and taking out the filters is also easy.
5. Eufy 11S
If you're looking to buy a basic low-cost robot vacuum at a low cost, the Eufy 11S could be a good choice. It's not equipped with some advanced features such as Alexa integration and digital mapping found in more expensive models. If you do not need these features, you can save money.
This robot is easy to use and set up. It does not require a smartphone application or Wi-Fi pairing. However it does include an remote control that allows you to choose between different modes and alter the suction level. It also lets you manually send the robovac off for scheduled cleaning.
In our tests, the 11S was very effective at getting rid of pet hair and dirt on hard floors and in carpets with low pile. Its slim profile allowed it to get under furniture and other low objects that more bulkier robots couldn't reach. It was able to get effortlessly over door thresholds and switch from one type of floor to another.
The 11S, like other robots, can also eat some objects, such as cords and cat toys. The manufacturer suggests that you can prevent this by keeping these objects off the floor and using the possibility of a cord organizer. It also recommends cleaning the dustbin on a regular basis, replacing the filters and washing or changing the brushes as required.
Roomba 990 by iRobot
The Roomba is iRobot's flagship robot vacuum. It's pricey, but it's also the best robot vacuum you can buy. Its self navigation and environmental mapping are truly a marvel to behold. It also has more advanced automation features than its competitors, such as the ability to set virtual boundary lines using its mobile app. Although the app isn't the most responsive and the 980 can spin out a bit when crossing cables, it's still an extremely efficient robot vacuum.
One thing we love about the 980 is that it makes use of its iAdapt 2.0 navigation sensors as well as visual simultaneous mapping and localisation technology (or vSLAM) to store the floor plan of your home. It will use this information to create a consistent, efficient cleaning path through each cycle. The result is cleaner floors and a better robot vacuum than most high-end robots.
Other features of the 980 include dual multi-surface brushes that capture dirt from carpets and hard floors, as well as an ejector brush that spins to sweep debris into the robotic vacuum's bin. The sensors for floor tracking help it navigate around furniture and along edges, while Cliff Detect helps to prevent the Roomba from falling down the stairs. It can also return automatically to the base station for easy charging between sessions. While the 980's battery life and bin size isn't as efficient as other robot vacuums, it's a solid and reliable machine that can keep your floors spotless for hours and hours.