The Best Robot Vacuum For Carpet
There's a robot that can be found for any carpet type, whether it's low-pile or high-pile. These smart appliances automatically navigate around your home, and can scoop up debris and even clean under furniture.
Many have advanced features like mapping, which can help you navigate around your home and keep track of furniture place. They can also increase suction power to tackle dirtier areas.
iRobot Roomba 694
The Roomba from iRobot is an entry level robot vacuum that works well on both floors that are unfinished and carpets with low pile. It has a decent suction and can clean up most debris, though it isn't able to handle larger debris like sand or rice. It also does a good job of cleaning pet hair, but it's not impervious to tangling as premium Roomba models, such as the I6 or j7.
The Roomba is easy to use. It has a trio of buttons on its top cover: 'Clean' initiates a cleaning cycle and 'Dock' places it back into its charging station, and 'Spot Clean' initiates an targeted clean. It can be controlled with an app on your smartphone which lets you schedule or stop/start cycles, as well as alter settings. You can also connect it with smart home devices such as Alexa or Google Assistant for voice-controlled operation.
This vacuum cleaner is slower than others, but can still get into the most crevices and corners. It has a big bin which makes it much easier to empty. It's compatible with virtual barriers and digital mapping that let you restrict it to certain areas or to stop completely cleaning if you want to keep it from getting stuck on something.
While it's not the best model for its price however, it's superior to many other options. The Roborock E4 is more advanced than the Roomba 694 with a much better cleaning performance on both bare and low-pile carpets. It also has a more durable battery and a more efficient route. It also feels more durable and has fewer components that require regular maintenance, is less expensive to own over the course of its life, and charges faster than the 694.
It's also worth taking a look at other, more premium models from the iRobot line, such as the 981 or the v7. They're more expensive but they offer significant improvements over the 694 in terms of cleaning performance on both low- and bare floors. They also follow an efficient cleaning path, have a bigger dirt compartment, are quicker to charge, maneuver themselves more easily, and are much easier to pair with smart home devices.
Shark RV1001AE IQ
This budget self-emptying robotic vacuum cleaner does a great job on carpets with low piles and hard floors. Its combination brush gets into corners and edges, and it automatically increases suction when it detects carpet. It is also effective at cleaning dirt embedded in mid-pile carpet. The IQ has a tiny footprint and has a self-emptying feature. If you want to change the floor level or set no-go areas, you'll need to manually reset the map.
The IQ app offers some advanced mapping and automated features, however it does not have no-go zones. These are available only on iRobot robots. Its intelligent-pathing navigational system gives you greater maneuverability, and its high-pile carpet mode cleans well, but it is prone to get caught up in rug tassels. Additionally, its iHome speaker allows you to control the robot using voice commands.
During our tests during our tests, the IQ was able to handle pet hair well, clearing huge amounts of debris from floors that were not bare and fair amounts on medium-pile carpet. It was less effective on shag carpets. It struggled to get at 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 was able to recover speed and did better than other robots we have evaluated.
The IQ is a more suitable option for the majority of users than the iRobot Roomba. It has a bigger dust bin and lasts longer on charge, and is capable of moving itself over obstacles. It has mopping tools that can clean up sticky debris. On the other hand the iRobot feels better-built, has fewer parts that require replacement or maintenance and incurs lower costs for recurring maintenance and can even create virtual no-go zones through its companion app. It can even resume the cleaning process from the point it started if it runs out of battery before finishing the job. The iRobot can be controlled by voice commands, which is a huge plus for many users.
Eufy 11S
The eufy RoboVac 11S isn't the most feature-rich robot vacuum available but it does provide great cleaning power for an affordable price. The RoboVac 11S is designed for consumers with a tight budget who don't need a complex mapping system, or even an application to control it. This robot can last for over an hour. It comes with an remote control, a cleaning tool, and AC power adapter.
The 11S is slim and sleek, and features a tempered-glass upper deck that looks like the brushed appearance of aluminum. It's a nice aesthetic contrast to Roomba, Samsung, and Neato designs that are more utilitarian and industrial.
The eufy11S was successful in our tests to remove larger debris and fine dust from flooring. It was unable to thoroughly clean high-pile and medium-pile carpets. The device has a tendency to bump into people and furniture in its path. However, it is able detect obstacles with sensors. When it comes across them, it ceases to move and emits an alarm so that you can manually steer it around the obstacle and get it back to work.
Another fantastic feature of the eufy 11S is its BoostIQ mode that lets you set more info the robot to automatically adjust its suction power to match floor type and level of the mess. The remote control makes it easy to direct the 11S to the desired location.
If you don't have much furniture in the room you want to vacuum Single Room Mode is an excellent alternative. The eufy will spend up to 30 minutes cleaning the area it is assigned.
Edge Cleaning is another option that can limit the time that is spent on each area to a maximum of 20 minutes. This will increase the battery's life. This option allows the eufy to move in a spiraling fashion by cleaning edges and corners.
Miele Complete C1
The Miele Complete C1 canister robot is a top mid-priced vacuum cleaner that is a winner on carpet. Its performance is also excellent on bare floors. It can pick up small particles like rice easily, and it doesn't lose suction efficiency even as its dirt bin fills. Its design is a breathable one and its air-sealed body captures allergens to keep your family healthy. It comes with an onboard HEPA and self-emptying bin which means you don't require additional filters or vacuum bags.
It's not as powerful as pricier models, but it's still ideal for fighting stains and deep cleaning. The two cameras on the front of the unit provide live images to your smartphone, and it has one of the most effective obstacles-avoiding systems we've seen. It has a large bin, an extended runtime and a quick, bump-free cleanup.
The Complete C1 is unlike most robots in that it can switch between two heads, a standard and a turbo to suit different types of flooring. The turbo head is best on low-pile or high-pile carpeting, while the standard powerhead is suitable for bare floors and light carpets. It also has an automatic height adjustment system that allows it to adapt to various kinds of flooring without manual adjustments.
This model comes bundled with a SBD 285-3 Classic Combination Floorhead that can handle both hard floors as well as medium-pile carpeting. The motor can also be easily maneuvered and reach difficult spots. It comes with five different surface adjustments and an off-brush switch to avoid hairs getting caught in knots.
The Classic C1 also has a self-cleaning brush roll, an UtraClean mode that cycles back and forth over the same area three times to ensure the best cleaning possible and a self-emptying bin that can be emptied with the touch of one button. The noise level is a little higher than some other models however its powerful 1,200-watt motor and solid construction make it well worth the extra expense.
If you're willing to pay some extra money it is the Miele Complete C3 canister robot vacuum is a great all-around robot vacuum. It performs better on carpets than the Classic C1. It performs better on all types of floors, is more solidly constructed, and comes with a HEPA filter.