I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to review some of the best robot vacuums here at TechRadar, and honestly no two are the same. Every vacuum that comes through my door to review in my three-bed home brings something different to the floors, which is refreshing and keeps me on the lookout for these amazing cleaning machines.
It wouldn’t be surprising to learn what a robot vacuum is supposed to do; They do automated vacuuming of the floors in the house, which is set to order. This means you no longer have to pull out a larger vacuum and charge it before or after use. Some robot vacuums even vacuum and clean themselves, so you don’t need to do anything — except make way for them because they can’t tidy up for you (yet).
Some are more complex than others; From setup to maintenance. Sometimes it’s worth it, sometimes it’s not. You also often get what you pay for. Cheaper vacuums tend to have a harder time moving through carpets and hard floors, so they prefer the one-story-only type and are more likely to get lost in the home because their maps aren’t well suited to scratching.
However, the most premium robotic vacuums don’t always have maps from the start. Some will just dock without mapping, but that’s because they’re smart.
The big giveaway about what a robotic vacuum cleaner is capable of is having a look at the specs. I’m kind of afraid of a robot vacuum that won’t empty itself, clean itself, and clean the area. The imagination runs wild if it can’t do any of this, even though I have high standards. But this comes at a price.
for example; I’ve been reviewing the Dreametech L10s Ultra. On first impression, the large docking station and large integrated water tanks were hard to see. Dream is known for making large, heavy vacuum cleaners, which struggle a bit to lift and enter the home. Setting up our “Kevin” was easy with filling the water tank, positioning the cleaning solution, fully charging and downloading the app.
Using it is really a dream. She didn’t need a first trip like this to plan our home outside – her first was vacuuming and mopping. While there is a ‘Fast Map’ option, this is not necessary as the robot vacuum is smart enough to know the area of the Earth, and return to base without getting lost. Having a map is also useful for designating the area to clean separately using the different cleaning modes.
Priced at $999.99 on Amazon US (Opens in a new tab) / £1,099 on Amazon UK (Opens in a new tab) This is definitely an expensive robotic vacuum cleaner. A good criteria for a good robotic vacuum is to spend $400 / £500 and up, to ensure the features that make a robot vacuum worthwhile.
Things to look for as a minimum include a fit on carpet and hard floors with enough suction to boot, automatic return to base after cleaning, and accurate mapping. If your robot vacuum has all of this: it does So Deserves all the effort.