The Best Robot Vacuum For Carpet
If you have low or high-pile carpet, there's a robot vacuum for you. These intelligent appliances can navigate through your home, pick up dirt and clean under furniture.
Many of them have advanced features, such as mapping, which helps them navigate around your home and keep track of furniture positioning. They can also increase suction power to clear dirtier areas.
iRobot Roomba 694"
The iRobot Roomba 694 is a basic robot vacuum that performs well on both bare floors and low-pile carpet. It has good suction and cleans all kinds of debris, but it isn't able to handle larger particles like rice or sand. It also does a good job at cleaning pet hair but it's not resistant to tangling like the top Roomba models, such as the I6 or j7.
The Roomba is simple to use. It has three buttons on its top cover. Clean, which initiates a cleaning session and 'Dock' that places it in its charging station, and 'Spot,' which activates a targeted cleaning. It can be controlled via a smartphone application that allows you to schedule cycles, stop/start them, and alter settings. It can also be paired with smart home devices like Alexa or Google Assistant for voice-controlled operation.
This vacuum cleaner is slower than others, but it is able to reach most corners and crevices. It has a large bin which makes it much easier to empty. It is compatible with virtual barriers and digital mapping that let you make it impossible to clean certain areas or even stop cleaning completely when you want to stop it from getting stuck on something.
Although it's not the top model in its price range but it's far superior to other options. The Roborock E4 is more advanced than the Roomba 694 with a much better cleaning performance for both bare and low-pile carpets. It also has the most efficient cleaning method and has a longer battery life. It is also more robust, has fewer parts that require regular maintenance, is priced less over its lifetime and charges faster than 694.
It's also worth looking at other models that are more expensive from the iRobot line, like the 981 or the v7. They're more expensive, however they offer significant improvements over the 694 in terms of cleaning efficiency on both low and bare floors, use a more efficient cleaning route, have a bigger dirt compartment, are more efficient to charge, maneuver themselves more easily, and are more easy to connect with smart home devices.
Shark RV1001AE IQ
This budget self-emptying robot 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 boosts suction once it senses carpet. It also is effective in cleaning dirt and debris that are embedded in the middle of the pile carpet. The IQ has a small 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 have to manually reset it to do so, which is somewhat of a hassle.
The IQ app offers some advanced mapping and automated features, but it does not have no-go zones. These are only available on iRobot robots. The smart-pathing technology allows for greater maneuverability and the high-pile feature of its carpet cleaning mode is effective however it can be caught in rug tassels.
In our tests, we found that the IQ handled pet hair well. It was able to remove the majority of hair on floors that were not bare and a decent amount of rug with a medium pile. It was less effective on shag carpets where it struggled to reach dirt and dust that was embedded in the fibers. It did a decent job of here navigating chair legs and tight spaces, as well as the wooden base of an IKEA step stool. It was a bit slower on flooring that was not fully covered but it was able to recover speed and performed better than other robots we have test.
The IQ is a better choice than the iRobot Roomba 694 for most applications. It has a bigger dust bin and lasts longer on a charge and is capable of getting around obstacles. It also comes with mopping attachments that can handle sticky mess. The iRobot, however, feels better built, has fewer components that require replacement or maintenance and has lower ongoing costs, and can even create virtual no-go zones using its companion app. It is able to continue cleaning the point it started, even if the battery runs out before it has finished. The iRobot can also be controlled via voice commands, which is a major benefit for many users.
Eufy 11S
The RoboVac 11S eufy robot vacuum isn't one of the most advanced models, but it offers great cleaning power at a low cost. This vacuum was designed for consumers with a tight budget who do not require a complicated mapping system, or even an application to control it. This robot can run for more than an hour 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 is covered with plastic, which is finished to appear like brushed aluminum. It's a nice aesthetic departure from Roomba, Samsung, and Neato designs that are more utilitarian and industrial.
The eufy11S was successful in our tests to remove larger particles and fine dust from flooring. However, it was unable to give high and medium pile carpets an effective deep clean. It is also prone to hit furniture and people that are in its path however, it is able to detect these obstacles using sensors. It ceases and emits a loud noise when it comes across an obstacle. You can then manually steer the device around it and get it to work again.
The BoostIQ mode is a great feature of the eufy11S. It lets you set the robot up to automatically adjust the suction strength based upon the type of floor and the level of mess. It's also easy to use the remote to direct the 11S to where you'd like it to move.
If you don't have many furniture in the room you'd like 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 reduces the time that is spent on each area to a maximum of 20 minutes. This will maximize battery life. With this option, the eufy will move in a spiral pattern to clean edges and corners for an efficient clean.
Miele Complete C1
The Miele Complete C1 is an excellent mid-range robot vacuum that is a top performer on carpet. Its performance is also great on floors that are not bare. It is able to remove fine debris like rice easily and it doesn't suffer from suction performance even as its dirt bin fills. Its air-sealed, allergy-friendly design snuff out allergens, keeping your family healthy. It comes with an onboard HEPA and self-emptying bin so you don't need additional filters or vacuum bags.
It's not as powerful as more expensive models, but it's still ideal for fighting staining and deep cleaning. It has two cameras on the front that provide live feeds to your smartphone. It also has one of the most advanced obstacle avoidance systems. It also has a big dustbin, a long running time, and a fast and smooth clean-up.
The Complete C1 is unlike most robots in that it is able to 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 ideal for bare floors and light rug. It also features an automatic height adjustment system that enables it to adapt to various types flooring without manual adjustments.
This model comes bundled with an SBD 285-3 Classic Combination Floorhead that can handle both hard floors as well as medium-pile carpeting. The motor can also be easily moved and reach difficult spots. It comes with five levels of surface adjustment and an off-brush switch to prevent hairs from getting tangled.
The Classic C1 also has a self-cleaning brush roll, an UtraClean mode that moves back and forth over the same area three times to give the best cleaning possible and a self-emptying trash bin that can be emptied with the press of a button. Its sound level is a little higher than that of other models however, its powerful 1,200-watt motor and robust construction make it worth the extra cost.
If you're willing to pay an extra amount 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 floor types and is more solidly constructed and comes with a HEPA filter.