20 Misconceptions About Robot Hoover: Busted

The Best Robot Hoover

The best robot hoover can vacuum and mop without needing your attention, and it leaves your floors spotless. Its affordable price and high-end features (such as dirt detectors) are a plus.

Check your robot's brushes regularly for tangled debris as well as hair. Wash them when necessary. Some models will also empty the onboard dust bin and place it in an additional bin at the bottom. This reduces the amount fine dust that gets released into the air.

1. Roomba Q5 Pro

The Q5 Pro, and its more expensive sibling, the Q7 Max Series are among the most powerful robotic hoovers vacuums we've examined. They are equipped with motors that are top of the line and can suction up to 5,500 Pascals. Like other premium iRobots (including the top model) they employ smart mapping to create detailed floorplans that avoid obstacles like cords and furniture leg. They also have carpet boost, a feature that increases the robot cleaner's power when it detects an abundance of dirt on the carpet in order to get it cleaned quickly.

Both the Q5 as well as the Q7 Max Series get very excellent scores in our tests on floors that are bare and are particularly effective in cleaning pet hair. They do have some flaws, however, that prevent them from being our first choice. For one, the Q5's navigation doesn't include AI-powered obstacle avoidance, so it's prone to get caught up in socks and shoes and couldn't navigate rooms with a lot of people well in our tests. It also doesn't come with a camera to look around corners.

However, it's a good choice for those who want to save money on an iRobot Roomba and you have a mostly unfinished home or office. Plus, it's very quiet and you can use it when you're at work or at school. The only thing it doesn't have that you don't get in the more expensive iRobot Roomba X30 is edge-to-edge vacuuming on bare floors. It's also less effective when it comes to mopping. It relies on disposable wet wipes that don't adhere well and aren't able to deal with dried-on debris. The Q5 is self-emptying cradle that can be emptied by itself. And, if you have to change the mopping pad for a dry one in seconds.

2. IRobot Roomba

The iRobot Roomba X30 is a compact sleek and stylish vacuum cleaner that can also sweep floors. Its quick navigation and smart cleaning maps make it simple to clean and efficient in tackling larger particles like pet hair. It also has a powerful suction and a self-emptying bin. It's the best robotic mop and vacuum robotic hoover for carpets, however it falls behind some competitors in terms of deep cleaning.

This highly efficient mop and vacuum combination makes use of advanced sensors to dodge obstacles and pet waste and it also learns your home's layout over time for more efficient cleaning. The app allows you to customize zones and change the cleaning schedule. Its battery life is average in comparison to similar models.

It is possible to instruct the X30 Ultra to remove its mops and to extend them when in a room with carpet, which helps prevent cross-contamination. Its flex arm is great to get under furniture with low levels and along baseboards. It's not as efficient on the washboard as our other Editors' Choice Picks, the Ecovacs Ozmo N8Pro+ and the iRobot Combo j9+.

During testing, X30 Ultra was the fastest robot vacuum/mop to sweep the entire house, with 66 per cent of its battery remaining. It also did an excellent job cleaning a range of floors and rooms that had mixed flooring types, including certain area carpets. Its obstacle detection was excellent and it was able to avoid fake dog turds, socks, shoes and bundles cables.

It's more expensive than iRobot Combo v9+ or iRobot Roomba j9+ but has superior suction and an onboard bin that automatically empties into the base. It also supports voice commands via Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. It can also clean the floor even after it vacuums. This is a feature that we haven't seen before on other robotic vacuum/mop combos.

3. iRobot Roomba X40

The robot vacuum and mop combination is sleek and has a circular design that appears more like the regular Roomba model than the bulky models of the competitors. It's among our most attractive looking robot vacuums. iRobot’s latest flagship model is also the most intelligent. It features advanced features, like enhanced dirt detection and future compatibility (another company's robot that is able to wash mop pads on its own).

It's also the only robot vacuum/mop to score the perfect 10/10 out of 10 in our tests. This is due to a combination high-tech sensors, including a structured lighting system, a camera and multiple lasers. The X40 Ultra is also the only robot in our tests that can fully self-refill and empty its base station, and boasts an its own self-cleaning mop pads.

As with other iRobot models, the X40 is user-friendly, with a simple mobile app interface, and integration with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit as well as Google Assistant. The only real drawback is that it's still quite an eerily noisy device that could be a problem if you run it in the morning prior to work or in the evening as you attempt to sleep.

It's also somewhat expensive, but it's not as expensive as the Ecovacs Omni or Roborock's S8 MaxV Ultra, both of which are equally powerful and more attractive. This is a dual-purpose vacuum that's extremely powerful however it will cost you more and produce more noise.

4. iRobot Roomba L20 Ultra

The L20 Ultra is the top-of-the best robot cleaner with mop mop and vacuum. It has a range of advanced features that make 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-free cleaning machine that can take charge of both vacuuming and mopping, with a multifunction dock that automatically empty the vacuum's dust bin, fills its water tank and washes and dry the mop pads.

The smart robot makes use of a combination of LIDAR and structured light to create the floor plan and detect obstacles, and navigates more effectively than its more expensive competitors. It also comes with a front-mounted camera for real-time hazards detection however this was not 100% reliable in our tests and could be confused with obstructions or power cords.

Its vacuum cleaner has an maximum suction of 7,000 Pascals which is more than sufficient to accomplish the task. It also comes with an option called "Intelligent Dirt Detection", that regulates the vacuum's power and adjusts cleaning frequency for different areas of the home based on how dirty the areas are.

If you have a larger home, it's worth choosing a model that has the option of cleaning zones or spots. This lets you instruct the robot on which part of your house needs to be cleaned using the app or voice control. If you have furniture, a stairway mode is also useful. For families with busy schedules, a recharge feature and resume feature that allows your robot vacuum to pick up where it left off can be very useful.

iRobot RX3

The RX3 is more intelligent than its price would suggest. It has a great vacuuming performance, picking up 55% debris in our tests. (It was second to the Roomba Q5 Pro). It also mops using one pad that has a reciprocating motion that cleans better than most of the other robot mop cleaners we've tried. It's also highly self-sufficient, with a fully-featured application, and a self emptying base that can be washed.

The well-designed iRobot app guides you through a mapping exercise that collects information about your floorplan and any "no-go" areas you mark on the map. It can be used to make cleaning schedules, plan an area for cleaning or to prioritise your dirtiest rooms for better performance. The app also grants access to a variety of features like seasonal suggestions, custom maps, and advanced settings for your cleaning.

Its shape is more rectangular than other robot vacuums, meaning it can reach corners and under furniture more easily. It also has a strong 8000 Pascal suction and combs with intelligent technology for hair of pets. And you can set up a spot clean that thoroughly cleans a particular area.

The Miele Scout RX3 Home Vision HD is a sleeker and more affordable alternative to the iRobot Roomba. It has a more attractive, Dolce & Gabbana-esque design and its twin cameras appear like cute eyes. It does a good job vacuuming, but it is more susceptible to be caught by low thresholds and is a bit more noisy than the other top robot vacuums we've tried. It also has a less user-friendly app and a tiny base station that isn't able to double as an emptying bin.