The Best Robot Vacuum For Carpet
If you have low or high-pile carpet there's a robotic vacuum for you. These smart devices navigate your home automatically, pick up debris and clean under furniture.
They have advanced features like mapping that help them navigate through your home and keep track of where furniture is. They can also boost suction power to tackle dirtier surfaces.
iRobot Roomba 694
The iRobot Roomba is an entry level robot vacuum that performs well on both bare flooring and carpets with low pile. It has a good suction however, it struggles with larger particles such as grains of rice or sand. It is capable of cleaning pet hair, but isn't as strong against tangling as premium Roomba models such as the I6 and j7.
The Roomba 694 is easy to use. It features three buttons on the top cover. 'Clean,' which triggers a cleaning process and 'Dock' that places it in its charging station, and "Spot," which initiates a targeted cleaning. You can control it via an app for smartphones that lets you schedule cycles, stop/start them, and alter settings. You can also connect it with smart home devices such as Alexa or Google Assistant for voice-controlled operation.
This vacuum is slower than others, but it's still able to get into the most crevices and corners. It comes with a large dust bin that is ideal for reducing the frequency with which you must empty it. It is compatible with digital maps and virtual barriers that let you make it impossible to clean certain areas or even stop cleaning completely when you want to stop it from getting stuck on something.
Although it's not the most efficient model in its price range however, it's superior to many other alternatives. The Roborock E4 has a better cleaning efficiency than the Roomba 694, and it's able to clean carpets with a low pile and bare. It also has a longer-lasting battery and a better route. It is also more comfortable to use and has fewer parts that need regular maintenance, costs less to own over its lifetime and charges faster than the 694.
It's also worth considering other models that are more expensive in the iRobot line, like the 981 or the v7. The 981 and v7 are more expensive but provide significant improvement in cleaning efficiency, both on bare and low pile floors. They also have a bigger dirt compartment they charge faster, can move more easily, and are more a breeze to pair with smart home devices.
Shark RV1001AE IQ
This self-emptying robotic vacuum cleaner does an excellent job on carpets with low piles and hard flooring. Its combination brush gets into corners and edges, and it automatically increases suction when it spots carpet. It also excels at cleaning dirt embedded in carpets that are mid-pile. The IQ's compact footprint for docks and the self-emptying feature are both nice features. However, if you want to change floor levels on the map, or set no-go zones you'll have manually reset it to do so, which is a bit of an inconvenience.
The IQ's app has some advanced mapping and automation features but it's missing no-go zones, which are available on iRobot models. Its smart-pathing system allows for superior maneuverability and the high-pile mode of its carpet cleaning mode is effective, although it can get caught in rug tassels.
During our tests in our tests, the IQ was able to handle pet hair well, clearing huge amounts of debris from bare floors and fair amounts on medium-pile carpet. It was a little less efficient on shag carpets, which was a struggle to reach dirt and dust embedded in the fibers. It was able navigate the legs of a chair, tiny spaces as well as the base of an IKEA wooden step stool. We did notice it was a little slower on bare floors, but it regained speed and performed more thoroughly than the read more other robots we tried.
The IQ is a better option over the iRobot Roomba 694 for most uses. It has a bigger dustbin and a longer battery lifespan and is more adept in navigating around obstacles. It comes with mopping tools that can clean up sticky mess. The iRobot, on the other hand feels better built and has fewer parts that require maintenance or replacement and has lower cost per year, and can create virtual no go zones using its companion app. It can even resume a cleaning session from where it left off in case it runs out of battery before it has completed the task. The iRobot can also be controlled with voice commands, which is a big plus for many users.
Eufy 11S
The RoboVac 11S eufy robot vacuum isn't one of the most features-rich models, but it offers powerful cleaning power at a low cost. This robot vacuum is designed for budget-conscious consumers who do not require a complicated mapping system, or an app, to control it. The robot can run for up to an hour and comes with an remote, cleaning tool, AC power adapter, charging base and extra filters.
The 11S is slim, sleek and has a tempered-glass upper deck that looks like the brushed appearance of aluminum. It's a nice change from the industrial and utilitarian designs of Roomba, Samsung and Neato.
The eufy11S was successful in our tests to remove larger debris and fine dust from hard flooring. However, it was unable to provide medium and high pile carpeting an effective deep clean. The device is capable to bump into people and furniture in its path. However, it is able detect obstacles with sensors. If it encounters them it halts and emits a loud sound so you can manually guide it through the obstacle before getting it back to work.
Another excellent aspect of the eufy 11S is its BoostIQ mode that lets you set the robot to automatically adjust its suction power to match floor type and the level of dirt. It's also easy to use the remote to direct the 11S where you'd like it to go.
Single Room Mode is a great option for those with small furniture in the space you'd like to vacuum. The eufy will spend up to 30 minutes cleaning the area it is assigned.
Edge Cleaning is another option that limits the time spent on each area to just 20 minutes. This will extend the battery's life. This feature allows the eufy to move in a spiraling pattern by cleaning edges and corners.
Miele Complete C1
The Miele Complete C1 is an excellent mid-range canister robot vacuum that is a top performer on carpet. Its performance is also great on bare floors. It is able to remove small particles such as rice with ease and doesn't lose suction efficiency even as its dirt bin gets full. Its design that is allergy-friendly and sealed with air traps allergens and keeps your family healthy. It has an onboard HEPA and self-emptying bin so you don't need any additional filters or a vacuum bag.
It's not as powerful as other models, but is still great for deep cleaning and tackling staining. Two front cameras provide a live image feed on your smartphone, and it has one of the best obstacles-avoiding systems we've seen. It also comes with a huge dustbin, a long runtime and a quick clean-up that is free of bumps.
The Complete C1 is unlike most robots in that it can switch between the standard head and turbo to suit different types of flooring. The turbo head works best with high-pile or low-pile carpeting while the standard powerhead is suitable for floors with no flooring and light rugs. It also features an automatic height adjustment system, which allows it to easily adapt to various kinds of flooring, without manual adjustments.
The model comes with a SBD 285-3 Classic Combination Floorhead that can handle both hard floors and carpeting of medium-pile. The powerhead can also be easily moved around and get into difficult areas. It has five levels of surface adjustment and a brushroll off switch to avoid hairs getting caught in tangles.
The Classic C1 also has a self-cleaning brush roll as well as an UtraClean mode that moves back and forth over the same area three times to give the best possible clean, and a self-emptying dustbin that can be empty at the push of one button. Its sound level is a little higher than other models however its powerful 1,200-watt motor and sturdy build make it worth the extra expense.
If you're willing to pay a little more, the Miele Complete C3 is an excellent all-round robot vacuum that performs better on carpet than the Classic C1. It has a better performance on all floors, feels more solidly built, and includes an HEPA filter.