Whether you love having the latest tech, hate cleaning or you’re not as mobile as you once were, robot vacuum cleaners are a fun way to get a rather boring household chore done. And they certainly look impressive but with the most expensive one we tested costing eight hundred quid, it’s worth knowing exactly what you’re getting for your money before you invest.
Different robot vacs have different approaches to cleaning; some take a methodical approach while others may look like they’re moving randomly around your home but are still mapping out the room with in-built cameras or other smart sensor technology. Here are Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner For 2022.
You know with Dyson you’re going to get something impressive, and this small robot vac didn’t disappoint. Although this one has the largest price tag, it’s the smallest and most compact, taking up minimal space in the cupboard or at its charging dock. It’s simple to use – you leave it to charge and then press the button to get it going. It works its way methodically around your home and if it gets stuck on rugs or shoes, it turns off, navigates its way back to safety and starts again. There’s an app too, so you can schedule when you want your robot to start cleaning and the instruction manual is clear to follow (unlike others we read).
Its simple, elegant design means it doesn't look out of place in a modern home and it’s easy to set up and use. Attach the sweeper brushes underneath the machine and charge using the docking station. Then switch on and use the remote to set up the cleaning mode you desire – pick from auto, scheduled, spot clean, edge clean (for skirting boards) , maximum clean (similar to turbo) or single room clean. But the most impressive part is that it barely makes a sound - you can easily watch the TV or chat while it gets to work.
The sleek and compact white design would fit perfectly in modern homes and shouldn’t take up a lot of space either. It comes with sweeping brushes that stick out the side to sweep in and suck up dirt in corners, which is fairly effective. And it’s very quiet, so won’t disturb you if you’re watching TV. It also comes with a virtual wall, so you can block off areas you don’t want cleaning and a remote control. Read more
This is the most advanced machine from the robot vacuum specialist, utilising the same navigation technology Google puts into its self-driving cars. It uses lasers to scan the room it’s cleaning, noting any obstacles and then returning to the same spot from which it started, which can be useful for storage. It didn’t get stuck on the large rug in the middle of our testing room, which was a problem for some.
iRobot’s Roomba is probably the best known name in the robot vacuum cleaner market. It methodically navigates multiple rooms, increasing or decreasing suction power depending on which surface it’s cleaning – we found it picked up large pieces of fluff as easily as it did embedded dust. If the machine runs out of battery mid-clean, it will return to the docking station and then complete the cycle. It also works with Google Home so you can now tell your Google Assistant when to start, stop or dock the robot.
This is the cheapest machine we tested by some way, which naturally means it isn’t as jam-packed with features as its pricier counterparts. But that simplicity does sometimes often work in its favour. Three buttons on the top of the machine – S, M and L – correspond to whether you want it to clean a small, medium or large room, so you don’t have to worry about too much programming. It will do well on hard floors and short-pile carpet, but we found it struggled to manoeuvre over a large rug, left behind some embedded dust and was among the noisiest.
Hoover knows a thing or two about vacuum cleaners, and it has transferred that knowledge into the robotic world. This machine is small and quiet, but still manages to provide a great clean thanks to its effective sweeper brushes and powerful suction, picking up embedded dust as well as larger items. The cleaning pattern is comprehensive, but you can steer the machine to a particular area using arrow buttons on the accompanying remote. The app, available for iOS on Android, also allows you to control the machine, as well as set up cleaning schedules.
It’s robust, so will bounce off walls with no damage done to itself (or the wall) and is good at navigating around furniture. There are an impressive six cleaning modes to pick from – auto, manual, spot, point cleaning, turbo and dust sensor – and a remote so you can steer it to a particularly dirty spot. There’s an app too, so you can control it even when you’re not in your home.
See also
Different robot vacs have different approaches to cleaning; some take a methodical approach while others may look like they’re moving randomly around your home but are still mapping out the room with in-built cameras or other smart sensor technology. Here are Best Robot Vacuum Cleaner For 2022.
1. Dyson 360 Eye
You know with Dyson you’re going to get something impressive, and this small robot vac didn’t disappoint. Although this one has the largest price tag, it’s the smallest and most compact, taking up minimal space in the cupboard or at its charging dock. It’s simple to use – you leave it to charge and then press the button to get it going. It works its way methodically around your home and if it gets stuck on rugs or shoes, it turns off, navigates its way back to safety and starts again. There’s an app too, so you can schedule when you want your robot to start cleaning and the instruction manual is clear to follow (unlike others we read).
2. Eufy Robot Vacuum RoboVac
Its simple, elegant design means it doesn't look out of place in a modern home and it’s easy to set up and use. Attach the sweeper brushes underneath the machine and charge using the docking station. Then switch on and use the remote to set up the cleaning mode you desire – pick from auto, scheduled, spot clean, edge clean (for skirting boards) , maximum clean (similar to turbo) or single room clean. But the most impressive part is that it barely makes a sound - you can easily watch the TV or chat while it gets to work.
3. AirCraft Vacuums Pilot Max Robotic Vacuum Cleaner
The sleek and compact white design would fit perfectly in modern homes and shouldn’t take up a lot of space either. It comes with sweeping brushes that stick out the side to sweep in and suck up dirt in corners, which is fairly effective. And it’s very quiet, so won’t disturb you if you’re watching TV. It also comes with a virtual wall, so you can block off areas you don’t want cleaning and a remote control. Read more
4. Neato Botvac Connected
This is the most advanced machine from the robot vacuum specialist, utilising the same navigation technology Google puts into its self-driving cars. It uses lasers to scan the room it’s cleaning, noting any obstacles and then returning to the same spot from which it started, which can be useful for storage. It didn’t get stuck on the large rug in the middle of our testing room, which was a problem for some.
5. iRobot Roomba 980
iRobot’s Roomba is probably the best known name in the robot vacuum cleaner market. It methodically navigates multiple rooms, increasing or decreasing suction power depending on which surface it’s cleaning – we found it picked up large pieces of fluff as easily as it did embedded dust. If the machine runs out of battery mid-clean, it will return to the docking station and then complete the cycle. It also works with Google Home so you can now tell your Google Assistant when to start, stop or dock the robot.
6. Vileda Cleaning Robot
This is the cheapest machine we tested by some way, which naturally means it isn’t as jam-packed with features as its pricier counterparts. But that simplicity does sometimes often work in its favour. Three buttons on the top of the machine – S, M and L – correspond to whether you want it to clean a small, medium or large room, so you don’t have to worry about too much programming. It will do well on hard floors and short-pile carpet, but we found it struggled to manoeuvre over a large rug, left behind some embedded dust and was among the noisiest.
7. Hoover Robo com
Hoover knows a thing or two about vacuum cleaners, and it has transferred that knowledge into the robotic world. This machine is small and quiet, but still manages to provide a great clean thanks to its effective sweeper brushes and powerful suction, picking up embedded dust as well as larger items. The cleaning pattern is comprehensive, but you can steer the machine to a particular area using arrow buttons on the accompanying remote. The app, available for iOS on Android, also allows you to control the machine, as well as set up cleaning schedules.
8. Samsung VR9300K Connected Robot Vacuum
It’s robust, so will bounce off walls with no damage done to itself (or the wall) and is good at navigating around furniture. There are an impressive six cleaning modes to pick from – auto, manual, spot, point cleaning, turbo and dust sensor – and a remote so you can steer it to a particularly dirty spot. There’s an app too, so you can control it even when you’re not in your home.
See also
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Robot Vacuum Cleaner