Best Robot Vacuum for Hardwood and Carpet

So you’re considering buying a robot vacuum to help you around the house? Someone that will clean without you having to chase them around all day, right? No more bending down or cleaning hard to reach areas.

Now is absolutely the time to get one. Previously, these devices were out of reach for most people. Nowadays, affordable and quality brands have emerged, putting them in a price range that most people can buy.

The tech in these machines has improved also. They can recognize when people and pets are nearby and reroute themselves, and some even have the ability to integrate with your Alexa device.

Certainly, the suction power does not match that of a traditional upright vacuum, but these are great for getting in hard to reach spots, like under your bed. And they make a great helper in that you can set it to roam the house, cleaning up that small dirt everybody tracks around.

In this article, we are going to go over all the ins and outs of robot vacuums, and then show off three great Amazon picks for you to consider.

What to Look For / Consider

• What Are My Needs? Do you have a pet cat or dog? If so, you are probably looking for a vacuum that excels at pet hair pickup. On the other hand, if you have hardwood floors or vinyl ones at that, you should look for a vacuum that performs well on such surfaces.

• Do I Want Smartphone/Tablet capability? You can control some of these robot vacuums using an app installed on your device. These companion apps are a handy way to schedule the vacuum to clean, control the vacuum, and map where it has already cleaned up.

• Battery Life – If you have a large home, you might want a bigger battery, so it lasts longer. But if you have a smaller house, or just want to save some dollars, choose a model that can go back to its charge port and recharge its batteries if needed while cleaning.

• What’s My Budget? It is probably the most significant factor of all for most consumers. You can spend anywhere from $100 to up to $1000 on these robot vacuums. As always, you get what you pay for. You might miss out on some features like Wi-Fi connectivity if you go with a lower-end model. It’s all about what you personally need.

Do I Even Need One?

We think the answer is yes, especially if you have young children, pets, or just want a bit of help keeping your hardwood floors and carpets in good shape with some light cleaning.

We want to emphasize that this is not a substitute for a once or twice-weekly cleaning with your upright vacuum but can help keep things under control in between by picking up small crumbs, bits of tracked cat litter, and hair from pets and humans. Even thick carpets can be maintained with the right thick carpet robot vacuum.

They can even pick up dust bunnies that form or other small particles that come about from being in a high traffic house-glitter from craft projects, sprinkles from making Christmas cookies, and more.

Given that you can schedule them to run and that there are HEPA filter models available, everybody can benefit from using these vacuums.

Health Benefits of Vacuuming Your Home

The act of vacuuming your home has heaps of benefits – and some of these relate to your family’s good health. Here are some health reasons why regular vacuuming, with an upright vacuum and a robot vacuum, is good for you.

• Promotes Good Hygiene: Doing a quick once over with your vacuum can pick up allergens and dust. This way, they don’t build up in your home. The act of vacuuming helps keep dirt from becoming embedded in the carpet.

• Keeps Carpets Alive: Carpeting is expensive! Keep its life extended by vacuuming regularly. They look new, and they are safer for kids and pets to lay and play on when you vacuum them.

• Keeps Your Family in Good Health: Your carpet can carry health risks you might not even see. For instance, if you live in a place with high humidity, the carpet has a higher risk of growing mold if you don’t keep it maintained properly. Carpets are like a filter: They trap dust mites, dirt particles, and more, which can be a bother for people managing allergies or asthma.

• Mental Health: We, as parents and homeowners, are stressed enough. If you and your partner work full time, house cleaning can seem like an impossible task. Let a robot vacuum help you by handling the floor cleaning.

The amount of time you should spend vacuuming your home varies. It all depends on the kind of traffic you have. Do you have pets? Do people track in a lot of dirt? Is your house really busy?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, aim to vacuum about twice per week. You can handle some of this using your robot vacuum for help.

Aim for an upright vacuum, as well as a robot vacuum, that handles this sort of work.

If you answered no to the above questions, you can vacuum once a week. You can also have some leniency when it comes to choosing your robot vacuum, as you don’t need to look for one that specializes in pet hair or high traffic homes.

And, to be fair, you only have to vacuum the high-traffic areas often. If you close off certain rooms of the house so your pets cannot access them, or kids cannot enter them, you just need to vacuum the main areas where traffic happens; living rooms, hallways, dining areas, and the like.

After all, dirt particles are tricky: they don’t stay at the top of the carpet. Instead, they fall down into the bottom where we cannot see them.

Once you start seeing dirt and spots on your carpet, this is an indicator that the carpets are in rough shape. They should have been vacuumed a while ago. Stains may be already forming, and some damage may have occurred.

Does Vacuuming Hurt Carpets or Hardwood Floors?

Nope-just make sure you have the correct vacuum for the job. For instance, you would not use a commercial vacuum in a home setting, and a household-grade vacuum would not be able to handle the traffic of an office or public building.

A vacuum designed for wood floors should be free of beater brushes, and feature felt or rubber padding, so they don’t accidentally scratch up the floor.

Most carpets of today are designed to withstand vacuuming, so do it twice per week, once per week, or when you feel it is appropriate.

After all, when people and pets in your home step onto the dirt, it becomes crunched into the carpet, leading to embedded dirt and a not so clean surface on which to sit, stand or lay.

What’s more, you should vacuum for the sake of the pads underneath the carpet so that stains, smells, and grime do not build up.

Are They Bothersome?

Not at all! A loud vacuum can be scary for kids and pets. Children with autism especially may become upset when a loud vacuum is used. Dogs are known for having an aversion to vacuum cleaners.

A standard upright vacuum cleaner emits about 75 and 80 decibels. 85 decibels and lower are considered safe. Most robot vacuums emit 54 to 60 decibels.

Thankfully, the robotic vacuums of today are nice and quiet, and you can run them without fear of an infant or child waking up during nap time or crying when the device is used. Your pets will likely be curious about the vacuum or ignore it altogether.

So, for those moments when you would like to tidy up but don’t want to bother the family with your upright, these robot vacuums will help you greatly.

How Long Can You Run a Robot Vacuum?

That all depends upon the battery’s size. Some brands we looked at averaged two hours of runtime, while others just one hour. In the middle, we found some that lasted about 1.5 hours.

The next question we usually get about this is, “How do you charge a robot vacuum?” The answer is that the robot will return to its wall charge port all by itself and recharge there. With less advanced models, you can physically move it to the port and let it recharge that way.

Either way, you don’t have to worry about buying batteries for the device; it’s like a cell phone-you just recharge it until ready to use again.