When sci-fi films of the 1980s dreamt of helpful robots in the home, they probably didn’t envisage small, hubcap-shaped machines bumping against walls. While they can’t get up on two legs and start dusting the house, the best robot vacuum cleaners can still help keep your home spick and span.
Although they won’t beat a good zip around with a traditional cordless vacuum, what these little robo-helpers excel at is maintaining a baseline level of tidiness between more-thorough cleans, meaning you can enjoy dirt-free carpets and hair-free floors for longer.
More-advanced models come with a mopping attachment, which lets the robot tackle kitchen and bathroom floors more effectively. Depending on the robot vacuum you choose, you might have to swap the mop attachment in and out, or it could be fully autonomous, switching modes on the fly as it detects the floor type it’s on.
Pretty much every robot vacuum will connect to Google, Alexa or Apple’s smart-home platforms, so, you can build a cleaning schedule or trigger the vacuum from your phone while you’re out and about.
Many can also “learn” the layout of your home and plan more efficient routes. Some can avoid obstacles, others wander aimlessly, a few can even empty their own bins, and some are able to detect and navigate around hazards such as loose charging cables, shoe laces and dog poop (you can imagine the mess that would make).
We tested each robot vacuum cleaner over many months and in different homes (some with pets), paying close attention to how each robot performed in new surroundings. As well as allowing the robots to clean routinely, we subjected them to some more rigorous tests, too: spilling cornflour and rice in their path to measure their effectiveness at dealing with different types of mess.
As well as testing their hoovering skills, we rated each robot’s app and how easy they were to set up and maintain. We also considered the costs of any replacement parts – all robot vacuums wear out over time and require fresh filters, brushes, dust bags and rollers.
