A Retrospective A Conversation With People About Robot Hoover 20 Years Ago
The Best Robot Hoover
The best robot hoover can vacuum and mop without needing your attention. It leaves your floors spotless. Its price is surprisingly low and high-end features (such as dirt detection) are great features.
Make robot vacuum cleaner cheap to check your robot's brushes frequently for tangled debris and hair. Wash them if needed. Some models will automatically empty their onboard dustbin into a larger one at the base, which reduces the amount of fine dust released into the air.
1. Roomba Q5 pro
The Q5 Pro, and its more expensive cousin the Q7 Max Series are among the most powerful robotic vacuums we have test. They have top-of-the-line motors that can generate up to 5,500 Pascals of suction force. Like other premium iRobots (including the most powerful model) they utilize smart mapping to create detailed floor plans and eliminate household obstacles like cords and furniture leg. They also have a feature called carpet boost which boosts the robot's power when it spots a lot of dirt on the carpet to get it cleaned up quickly.
The Q5 and Q7 Max Series both scored very well in our tests of floors with no carpet and are especially adept in removing dog hair. However, they have several flaws that prevent them from being our top pick. One of the flaws of the Q5 is its navigation system does not have AI-powered obstacles avoidance. It's thus susceptible to become stuck on shoes and socks and could not navigate through rooms with a lot of people well during our tests. It doesn't also have a camera that can see around corners.
It's still a good value particularly if your office or home has a lot of bare floors and you want to save some money. Plus, it's very quiet and you can use it while you're at work, or at school. The only thing it doesn't have that you won't find in the more expensive iRobot Roomba X30 is edge-to-edge vacuuming of floors with no floor. It's also less effective in mopping. It is dependent on disposable wet wipes that don't adhere well and isn't able to handle dried-on debris. The Q5 does come with self-emptying docks, however. If you need to mop, the mopping pad can be changed for a wet one in seconds.
2. IRobot Roomba X30
The iRobot Roomba X30 packs impressive mopping and vacuuming capabilities into a sleek, compact package. Its nimble navigation and intelligent cleaning maps make it simple to clean and effective at tackling larger particles like pet hair. It also comes with a self-emptying dustbin with powerful suction and support for virtual boundaries. It's the best robot hoover for carpets but it isn't as effective as some of its competitors in terms of deep cleaning.
This high-performing mop and vacuum combination utilizes advanced sensors to dodge obstacles and pet waste and it learns your home's layout over time to provide more efficient cleaning. The app lets you customize zones and change the cleaning schedule. Its battery life is average in comparison to other models.
When the X30 Ultra is in a carpeted area, you can tell it to remove and extend its mops. This will help prevent cross contamination. Its flex arm is perfect for getting under low-lying furniture and along baseboards. It's not as effective on the washboard as our other Editors' Choice Picks, the Ecovacs Ozmo N8Pro+ and the iRobot Combo j9+.
During tests, X30 Ultra was the most efficient robot vacuum/mop which could clean an entire home and had 66 percent of its battery remaining. It did a decent cleaning job on various flooring and rooms with different flooring types including certain area carpets. Its obstacle detection was top-notch and it swiftly eluded fake dog socks, turds, shoes, and bundles of cables.
It's a bit more expensive than the iRobot Combo v9+ and iRobot Roomba j9+, but it has superior suction, an onboard dustbin that automatically emptys into its base, and supports voice commands using Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. It even cleans the floor after it vacuums this feature, which we haven't seen in other robotic vacuum/mop combos.
3. iRobot Roomba X40
This mop and vacuum combination has a sleek, circular design that appears more like a regular Roomba model than the boxy models of the competitors. It's among our most appealing looking robot vacuums. The newest model from iRobot happens to be its smartest, with advanced features including Enhanced Dirt Detection Technology and future compatibility with Matter (another company's robot that can autonomously wash mop pads).
It's also the only robot vacuum/mop to score an absolute 10 out of 10 in our tests. This is thanks to a combination high-tech sensors including a structured light system, a camera and multiple lasers. The X40 Ultra was the only robot we tested that could refill and empty its basestation on its own. It also boasted an industry-leading suction of 12,000Pa as well as self-cleaning mop mops.
The X40, like other iRobot products, is simple to use. It comes with a simple mobile application interface and is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Apple HomeKit. The only issue is that the X40 is still a noisy unit. This can be a problem in mornings before work or during the night when you're trying to fall asleep.
It's also a bit expensive however, not as much as the Ecovacs S8 MaxV Ultra or Roborock S8 Omni, which are equally impressive and attractive. If you're willing to live with a little more noise and a little more cost, this is a very efficient two-in-one device that should satisfy most people.
iRobot L20 Ultra
The L20 Ultra is a top-of-the-range robot vacuum and mop with many advanced features that let you forget about your chores. Like Ecovacs' range-topping X2 Omni and Roborock's S8 Pro Ultra, the L20 is designed to be a hands-off cleaning machine that can take charge of both vacuuming and mopping, with a multifunction dock that automatically emptys the vacuum's dust bin, fills its water tank and cleans and dry its mop pads.
The smart robot employs a combination of LIDAR and structured light to create the floor plan and detect obstacles, making it more efficient than its more expensive rivals. It also has a front-mounted camera for real-time detection of hazards but this was not foolproof in our testing and was sometimes confused by power cords or other obstructions.
Its vacuum has a suction maximum of 7,000 Pascals which is more than enough to get the job done. It also features "Intelligent Dirt Detection", that regulates the amount of time the vacuum works and alters the frequency of cleaning for different areas of the home according to how dirty they tend to be.
For larger homes it's worth looking for a model with spot or zone cleaning modes that allow you to instruct the robot to clean one specific area of your home via the app or via voice commands. A stairway mode is beneficial if you have large furniture. Finally the recharge and resume feature that allows your robot vacuum to pick up right where it left off is ideal for busy families.
5. iRobot Roomba RX3
The RX3 is more intelligent than the price suggests. It has a great vacuuming performance, picking up 55% debris in our tests. (It was only second to the Roomba Q5 Pro). It also mopses with a single pad that uses a reciprocating motion that is cleaner than the other mop cleaners for robots we've tested. It's also self-sufficient, with a fully-featured app as well as a self-emptying, washable base.
The iRobot app is designed to guide you through a mapping run which collects information about your floorplan and any "no go" areas that you have marked on the map. It can be used to design cleaning schedules, or to create the spot-cleaning. It can also be used to it to rank your most filthy areas to improve performance. The app offers a variety of options, including seasonal suggestions, custom mapping and advanced cleaning settings.
Its shape is more rectangular than other robot vacuums, which means it can reach corners and underneath furniture more easily. It also has strong suction of 8,000 Pascal suction and combs that are intelligent for hair of pets. You can also set up a spot clean that intensely cleans a localized area.
The Miele Scout RX3 Home Vision HD is a more sleek more affordable alternative to iRobot Roomba. It has a more attractive, Dolce & Gabbana-esque design and its twin cameras look like cute eyes. It is great at vacuuming, however it is more likely to get caught in low thresholds. It is also louder than other top robot vacuums that we have examined. It also comes with an app that's less intuitive and a small base station that can't double as a bin for emptying.