The Best Robot Vacuum For Carpet
If you have low or high-pile carpet, there's a robot vacuum for you. These smart appliances automatically navigate your home, suck up dirt and clean under furniture.
They have advanced features like mapping, which help you navigate around your home and keep track of where furniture is. They can also increase suction power to clean up areas.
iRobot Roomba 694"
The Roomba from iRobot is a basic robot vacuum that performs well on both floors that are unfinished and low-pile floor carpet. It has good suction, but struggles with larger particles such as sand or grains of rice. It is effective in cleaning pet hair but isn't as strong against knots as premium Roomba models like the j7 and I6.
The Roomba 694 is easy to use. It has three buttons on its top cover: 'Clean' starts a cleaning cycle, 'Dock' puts it back into its charging station and 'Spot Clean' initiates a targeted clean. It can be controlled via an app for smartphones that lets you schedule cycles, stop/start the cycle and change settings. You can also pair the device with smart home devices like Alexa or Google Assistant to control it via voice commands.
This vacuum cleaner is slower than others, but can still be able to reach the majority of corners and crevices. It has a huge dust bin which is ideal for reducing the frequency which you must empty it. It is compatible with digital mapping and virtual barriers, which allows you to set the robot to avoid certain areas or to stop cleaning altogether to prevent it from getting stuck.
It's not the best in its price range however it's better than the majority of other options. The Roborock E4 is more advanced than the Roomba 694 with a much better cleaning performance for carpets that are low and bare. It also has a longer-lasting battery and a more efficient path. It is also more robust, has fewer components that require regular maintenance, is priced less over its life and charges faster than 694.
You should also consider other models within the iRobot range, like the v7 or 981. The v7 and 981 are more expensive, but have significant improvements in cleaning performance, both on bare and low pile floors. They also have a larger dirt compartment, charge faster, move more easily and are more a breeze 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 a low pile. The combo brush can reach into edges and corners, and it automatically increases suction when it spots carpet. It also excels at cleaning dirt that is embedded in the middle of the pile carpet. The IQ's small dock footprint and self-emptying feature are nice touches. However, if you want to change the floor levels on the map or create no-go zones, you'll need to manually reset it to do this, which is quite trouble.
The IQ's app comes with advanced mapping and automation features however it doesn't have no-go zones which are included on iRobot models. Its intelligent-pathing navigational system results in greater maneuverability, and its high-pile carpet cleaning mode cleans well, although it tends to get caught up on rug tassels, and its iHome speaker lets you control the robot with voice commands.
During our tests, the IQ was adept at handling pet hair effectively, clearing an impressive amount of debris from floors that were not bare and fair amounts on medium-pile carpet. It was less efficient on shag carpets, which was a struggle to reach dirt and dust that was embedded in the fibers. It did a decent job of maneuvering around chair legs, tight spaces, and the wooden base of an IKEA step stool. It was a bit slower on bare flooring however, it was able to recover speed and did better than other robots we have test.
The IQ is a better choice than the iRobot Roomba 694 for most uses. It has a bigger dust bin, lasts longer on a charge and is more capable of getting over obstacles. It also comes with mopping attachments that are able to tackle sticky debris. The iRobot on the other hand feels better constructed, has fewer components that need maintenance or replacement and has lower cost per year, and can create virtual no go zones using its companion application. It can even resume cleaning from the point it started if it runs out of battery before it has completed the task. The iRobot can also be controlled using voice commands, which is a huge plus for many users.
Eufy 11S
The RoboVac 11S eufy robot vacuum isn't one of the most advanced models, but it does offer great cleaning power at a low cost. It's a budget-friendly option for buyers who don't need a complicated mapping system or app to control the device. The robot can run for a long time and comes with the remote, a cleaning tool, AC power adapter, charging base, and additional filters.
The 11S is slim and sleek, with a tempered glass upper deck that covers plastic finished to appear like brushed aluminum. It's a nice departure from the utilitarian and industrial designs of Roomba, Samsung and Neato.
In our tests, the eufy11S was excellent at picking up larger particles and fine dust on hard flooring. However, it struggled to give medium and high pile carpeting an effective deep clean. The device is capable to hit furniture and people along its path. However, it is able to detect these obstacles using sensors. When it encounters them, it ceases to move and emits a loud sound so you can manually guide it around the obstacle and get it back to work.
Another great 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 the mess. The remote control makes it simple to guide the 11S to the desired area.
Single Room Mode is a great option if you have little furniture in the area you want to vacuum. The eufy will spend up to 30 minutes cleaning the space it is assigned.
You can also opt for Edge Cleaning, which limits the amount of time in each location to 20 minutes for optimal battery life. If you select this option the eufy moves in a spiral taking care of edges and corners to ensure a clean.
Miele Complete C1
The Miele Complete C1 canister robot is a great mid-range vacuum cleaner that is a winner on carpet. Its performance on floors that are not bare is also outstanding. It can pick up rice and other fine debris easily. The suction power doesn't drop as the dirt bin fills. Its air-sealed design and allergy-friendly design capture allergens and keep your family healthy. It has an onboard HEPA and self-emptying bin, so you don't need additional filters or a vacuum bag.
It's not as powerful as the more expensive models, but it's great for tackling staining and deep cleaning. Two front cameras provide live images to your smartphone, and it comes with one of the most effective obstacle avoidance systems we've seen. It has a huge bin, an extended runtime and an easy, bump-free clean-up.
The Complete C1 is unlike most robots in that it is able to switch between a standard head and a turbo to suit different types of flooring. The turbo head is best with high-pile or low-pile carpeting while the standard powerhead is good for bare floors and light rug. It also comes with an automatic height adjustment system that enables it to adapt to various types of flooring without manual adjustments.
This model is bundled vacuum robot with the SBD 285-3 Classic Combination Floorhead, which can be used on carpets and hard floors. medium pile. The powerhead can also be easily moved around and get into difficult areas. It comes with five levels of surface adjustment as well as a brushroll off switch to avoid hairs getting caught in tangles.
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 give the most thorough cleaning and a self-emptying trash bin that can be empty at the touch of the button. The sound level of this model is higher than other models. However its powerful motor with 1,200 watts and durable construction are worth the additional cost.
If you're willing more, the Miele Complete C3 is an excellent all-round canister robot vacuum that is more effective on carpet than the Classic C1. It is more effective on all kinds of floors and is more robustly built, and comes with a HEPA filter.