The Best Robot Vacuum For Carpet
No matter if you have a low or high-pile carpet there's a robotic vacuum for you. These smart appliances will navigate your home in a way that is automated clean up debris and clean under furniture.
They come with advanced features like mapping that help you navigate around your home and remember the location of furniture. They can also increase the suction power in order to take on dirtier surfaces.
iRobot Roomba 694
The Roomba from iRobot is a budget-friendly robot vacuum that is effective on both floors that are unfinished and carpets with low pile. It is able to suction well, but struggles with larger debris like sand or grains of rice. It also does a good job at cleaning pet hair, but it's not immune to tangling like premium Roomba models such as the j7 or I6.
The Roomba is easy to operate. It has three buttons on the top cover. 'Clean,' which launches a cleaning session and 'Dock', which puts it in its charging station, and 'Spot,' which activates the targeted cleaning. It can be controlled with an app on your smartphone that lets you program or stop/start cycles as well as alter settings. It is also possible to pair the device with smart home devices like Alexa or Google Assistant to control it by voice commands.
This vacuum cleaner is slower than some other models, but it can reach most corners and crevices. It has a huge dust bin which is ideal to reduce the frequency at which you need to empty it. It is compatible with digital mapping and virtual barriers, which lets you program the robot to stay out of certain areas or to stop cleaning altogether to avoid it from getting stuck.
Although it's not the top model in its price range however, it's superior to many other alternatives. The Roborock E4 has a better cleaning capability 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 more efficient route. It is also more robust, has fewer components that require regular maintenance, is priced less over its life and charges faster than 694.
It's also worth looking at other models that are more expensive within the iRobot line, such as the 981 or the v7. They're more expensive but they provide significant improvements over the 694 in terms of cleaning efficiency on both low- and bare floors, use an efficient cleaning path and come with a larger dirt compartment, are more efficient to charge, maneuver themselves more easily, and are more easy to pair with smart home devices.
Shark RV1001AE IQ
This self-emptying robot that is budget-friendly does a decent job on hard floors as well as carpets with low pile. Its combinator brush gets to the edges and corners, and then automatically increases suction as soon as it senses carpet. It also excels at cleaning dirt and debris that are embedded in carpets that are mid-pile. The IQ has a tiny footprint and has a self-emptying feature. However, if you want to change floor levels on the map or set no-go zones, you'll need manually reset it to do this, which can be somewhat of an inconvenience.
The IQ's application has advanced mapping and automation capabilities but it's missing no-go zones that are available on iRobot models. The smart-pathing system of the app allows for superior maneuverability and the high-pile feature of its carpet cleaning mode is efficient however it can be caught on the tassels of the rug.
In our tests, the IQ was able to handle pet hair with ease, removing an impressive amount of debris from floors with no flooring and fair amounts of medium-pile carpet. It was less efficient with shag carpets. It had a hard time reaching dirt and dust embedded within the fibers. It was able to navigate the legs of chairs, small spaces and even the base of an IKEA wooden step stool. It was a little slower on floors that were not paved but it quickly recovered and performed more thoroughly than the other robots we tried.
The IQ is a more suitable option for most users than the iRobot Roomba. It has a larger dustbin, lasts longer on a charge and does a better job of moving itself around obstacles. It also comes with mopping attachments that are able to deal with sticky mess. On the other side the iRobot is more durable and has fewer components that require maintenance or replacement and has lower recurring costs and creates virtual no-go zones using its companion app. It can continue cleaning from where it left off even if the battery runs out before it's finished. neato robot vacuum can be controlled by voice, which is a huge benefit for many users.
Eufy 11S
The RoboVac 11S from Eufy isn't the most feature-rich robot vacuum on the market but it does provide powerful cleaning capabilities at the price of. This vacuum was designed for consumers with a tight budget who don't require a complicated mapping system, or an application to control it. This robot will last for up to an hour. It comes with an remote control, a cleaning tool, and AC power adapter.
The 11S is slim and sleek and has a tempered-glass upper deck that looks like brushed aluminum. It's a nice aesthetic different from Roomba, Samsung, and Neato designs that are more utilitarian and industrial.
In our tests, the eufy 11S was excellent at picking up larger particles and fine dust on hard flooring. However, it struggled to give high and medium pile carpets a thorough clean. The device has a tendency to hit people and furniture in its path. However, it can detect obstacles with sensors. When it comes across them, it ceases to move and emits a loud beep so you can manually steer it around the obstacle and then get it back to work.
Another fantastic aspect of the eufy 11S is its BoostIQ mode that allows you to set the robot to automatically adjust its suction strength to match the type of floor and the level of the mess. It's also simple to use the remote to direct the 11S to where you want it to move.
If you don't have a lot of furniture in the space where you want to vacuum, Single Room Mode is an excellent option. The eufy will take 30 minutes intensely cleaning the space it is assigned to.
You can also select Edge Cleaning which reduces the time spent in each location to 20 minutes for optimal battery life. This feature allows the eufy to move in a spiraling manner by cleaning edges and corners.
Miele Complete C1
The Miele Complete C1 canister robot is a fantastic mid-range vacuum cleaner that excels on carpet. Its performance is also excellent on bare floors. It can remove rice and other fine particles easily. The suction power doesn't decrease as the dirt bin fills. Its design that is allergy-friendly and sealed with air will trap allergens to keep 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 more expensive models, but is still great for deep cleaning and taking on staining. It has two front cameras that provide live feeds to your smartphone. It also has one of the most advanced obstacle avoidance systems. It comes with a large bin, a long running time and the ability to clean up quickly and without bumps.
Contrary to other robots unlike most other robots, Complete C1 can switch between a standard powerhead and a turbo head to suit different flooring types. The turbo head works best with high-pile or low-pile carpeting while the standard powerhead is ideal for bare floors and light carpets. It also features an automatic height adjustment system that allows it to adapt to various types of flooring without manual adjustments.
This model comes with a SBD 285-3 Classic Combination Floorhead that can handle both hard floors and carpeting of medium-pile. The powerhead is also easy to move and can get into difficult spots. It comes with five levels of surface adjustments and a brushroll off switch to avoid hairs getting caught in tangles.
The Classic C1 has a self cleaning brush roll and a UtraClean Mode that cleans the same area up to three times, and a self-emptying bin that you can empty by pressing a button. Its noise level is slightly higher than some other models, but its powerful 1,200-watt motor as well as solid construction make it well worth the extra cost.
If you're willing to spend a bit more it's worth it. Miele Complete C3 is an excellent all-around canister robot vacuum that is more effective on carpet than the Classic C1. It performs better on all floors, feels more solidly built and comes with an HEPA filter.