As with the low-pile tests, note that most of the cleaners in the top half of the graph are all relatively close to one another — it isn’t until you get to the bottom of the pack that those bars really start to shrink. That’s good for you as a consumer, because it means that you’ve got a good variety of robot vacuums to choose from that all offer comparable cleaning capabilities across various price points. Because robot vacuums are typically under four inches tall, their onboard dust bins are also small — which means they frequently require emptying. (Dustbins fill up particularly quickly in homes with pets.) A self-emptying vacuum takes that job out of your hands, emptying itself into a larger dustbin in its charging dock. These larger bins can typically hold weeks of dirt without needing to be cleaned or dumped out. Consider the Neato D8 if you’re looking for a budget-friendly robot vacuum that’s effective on carpets.
Ultimately, this robot vacuum comes at a steep price, but it leaves little room for improvement. The best models to choose are ones that have rubber brushes that are free from bristles, so the pet hair doesn’t get trapped around them. Although that’s not to say robot vacuums with bristled brush bars aren’t as effective at collecting the hair. If you choose one of these, look for a design with a tool to help remove pet hair that’s got tangled to make your life easier. During testing, we found it was best suited to quick daily cleans but struggled to remove the level of larger debris and ground-in dirt the S9 could.
In my view, this is one the best value robots currently on the market. Its performance in our cleaning tests was identical to what we saw on the S9+, i7+, and i3+. You miss out on digital mapping and a self-emptying dust bin, but in terms of cleaning performance you are covered.
You still have to toss the bag or empty the bin regularly, and the charging stations are big, noisy, and kind of ugly, but the system saves you from having to empty the dustbin on the robot every time you vacuum. As for cleaning, we’ve found over and over again that basic Eufy bots are capable of picking up all the most common types of debris off bare floors and low-pile rugs. It’s actually kind of surprising how effective they are, since the advertised suction is so modest, and the single brush roll is small. If you have plush carpets and a lot of hair to deal with, though, you’re likely to prefer a robot with better brush action and possibly stronger suction. Every bot we’ve tested—even the latest models with sophisticated navigation and smart-home integration—has gotten trapped or tangled at least occasionally.
Although this does mean it will likely require more clearance space and will protrude further out from the wall as well. Make sure you have a space in mind for your robot vacuum’s dock before you make a purchase, otherwise you might have to move some furniture around. First and foremost, you should follow the directions in your instruction manual for where to place the robot vacuum. While most will offer similar shark pet hair vacuum guidance, the measurements required can vary, and some designs may prefer a greater clearance. Generally speaking though, your robot vacuum should be placed against a flat and straight wall on a level surface, with around 3 ft of clearance on each side, and at least 4 ft in front. This is so that it has adequate space to start cleaning and dock on re-entry, without any furniture getting in the way.
The Roomba 694, like most affordable robots, is what we call a bump-and-run navigator. Basically, it bloops around semi-randomly until its battery runs low, and then it tries to get back to its dock before it completely runs out of juice (and doesn’t always succeed). It looks silly, but it’s basically effective, especially in smaller spaces. The dust- and crumb-pickup stress tests are meant only to give us an idea of each bot’s cleaning power—they don’t tell the whole story.
There are robot vacuums to honor every price, budget and style preference. Whether you have less than $200 to spend or up to $1,000, these smart investments can free up your personal time and offer a hygienic home environment. Some robot vacuum deals barely slash their original prices, but that’s not the case with Woot’s offer for the Shark AV2001 AI robot vacuum. It’s available for just $180, which is less than half its sticker price of $430 following a 58% discount. You’ll be pocketing savings of $250 while getting a feature-packed cleaning machine that won’t let you down. We expect stocks to run out before the deal expires in two days, so don’t waste any time in securing your own Shark AV2001 AI robot vacuum.