The Best Robot Vacuum For Carpet
There's a robot to suit any carpet type, whether it's low-pile or high-pile. These smart appliances automatically navigate through your home, pick up debris and even clean under furniture.
They come with advanced features like mapping that help you navigate around your home and remember where furniture is located. They can also boost suction power to clean up areas.
iRobot Roomba 694
The Roomba 694 from iRobot is a robot vacuum for entry-level use that performs well on both carpets with low pile and bare floors. It has good suction and cleans most debris, however it isn't able to handle larger particles such as rice or sand. It does a good job cleaning pet hair but is not as resistant to knots as premium Roomba models like the I6 and j7.
The Roomba 694 is simple to use. It has a trio of buttons on its top cover: 'Clean' initiates an entire cleaning cycle and 'Dock' places it back in its charging station and 'Spot Clean' activates a targeted clean. You can control it via an app on your smartphone that lets you to schedule cycles, stop and start them and adjust settings. It can also be paired with smart home devices such as Alexa or Google Assistant for voice-controlled operation.
This vacuum cleaner is slower than some others, but can still be able to reach the majority of corners and crevices. It comes with a large bin which makes it much easier to empty. It's compatible with virtual barriers and digital mapping which let you make it impossible to clean certain areas or to stop completely cleaning in order to prevent it from getting stuck on something.
While it's not the best model for its price but it's far superior to other alternatives. The Roborock E4 has a better cleaning efficiency than the Roomba 694, and it's able to clean carpets with low pile as well as 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, costs less over its lifetime and charges faster than 694.
It's also worth looking at other, more premium models in 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 efficiency on both low- and bare floors, use the most efficient cleaning method and have a larger dirt compartment, are faster to charge, maneuver themselves more easily, and are more easy to connect with smart home devices.
Shark RV1001AE IQ
This self-emptying robotic vacuum cleaner does an excellent job on low-pile carpet and hard flooring. The combo brush can reach into corners and edges, and it automatically boosts suction when it senses carpet. It is also effective at cleaning dirt that is embedded in carpets that are mid-pile. The IQ's compact footprint for docks and the self-emptying feature are nice touches. However, if you wish 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 an inconvenience.
The IQ's app comes with advanced mapping and automation features however, it's not able to access no-go zones, which are available on iRobot models. Its intelligent-pathing navigational system gives you greater maneuverability, and its high-pile carpet mode is clean well, although it tends to get caught up in rug tassels, and its iHome speaker allows you to control the robot with voice commands.
In our tests in our tests, the IQ was capable of handling pet hair well, clearing huge amounts of hair from bare floors and fair amounts on medium-pile carpet. It was less effective with shag carpets. It had a hard time reaching dirt and dust buried within the fibers. It was capable of maneuvering the legs of chairs and tight spaces as well as the base of a wooden IKEA step stool. It was a bit slower on floors with no flooring however it soon recovered speed and performed more thoroughly than the other robots we tried.
The IQ is a better option over the iRobot Roomba 694 for most applications. It has a bigger dustbin, a longer battery life, and is better at navigating around obstacles. It also comes with a mopping attachment that can handle sticky messes. The iRobot, however, feels better constructed, has fewer components that require replacement or maintenance and incurs fewer recurring costs, can create virtual no go zones using its companion application. It can even resume the cleaning process from where it left off if it has run out of battery before having completed the task. The iRobot can also be controlled using voice, which is a huge benefit for many users.
Eufy 11S
The eufy RoboVac 11S isn't the most feature-rich robot vacuum around, but it does offer excellent cleaning power at a low 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. The robot is able to last for more than an hour. It includes a remote control, cleaning tool, and AC power adapter.
The 11S is slim and sleek with an upper deck of tempered glass that is covered with plastic, which is finished to appear like brushed aluminum. It's a nice contrast to Roomba, Samsung, and Neato designs that are more practical and industrial.
In our tests, the eufy11S was extremely effective at removing large particles and fine dust on hard flooring. However, it struggled to give high and medium pile carpets a thorough clean. The device is capable to bump into furniture and people in its route. However, it is able to detect obstacles using sensors. If it encounters them it stops and lets out a loud beep so you can manually steer it through the obstacle before getting back to work.
The BoostIQ mode is a great feature of the Eufy11S. It lets you set up the robot to automatically adjust suction force based on the floor type and the level of dirt. The remote control makes it simple to guide the 11S to the desired area.
If you don't have a lot of furniture in the room you're looking to vacuum, Single Room Mode is an excellent alternative. The eufy can spend 30 minutes intensely cleaning the area that it's assigned to.
Edge Cleaning is another option that can limit the time spent on each surface to just 20 minutes. This will maximize battery life. By selecting this option the eufy can move in a spiral pattern taking care of edges and corners for an efficient clean.
Miele Complete C1
The Miele Complete C1 canister robot is a top mid-priced vacuum cleaner that excels on carpet. Its performance on bare floors is also outstanding. It can pick up small particles like rice easily, and it doesn't lose suction efficiency even as its dirt bin gets full. Its air-sealed, allergy-friendly design capture allergens and keep your family healthy. It uses an onboard HEPA filter and self-emptying dustbin, so you won't need to purchase additional filters or a separate here bag for your vacuum.
It's not as powerful as pricier models, but it's still ideal for fighting staining and deep cleaning. It comes with two cameras in front that provide live feeds to your smartphone. It also comes with one of the most advanced obstacle avoidance systems. It has a huge bin, an extended runtime and the ability to clean up quickly and without bumps.
The Complete C1 is unlike most robots in that it can switch between the standard head and turbo for different kinds of flooring. The turbo head is ideal for low-pile and high-pile carpeting, while the standard powerhead can be used on bare floors and lightweight rugs. It also comes with an automatic height adjustment system that enables it to adapt to different types of flooring without manual adjustments.
This model is included with the SBD 285-3 Classic Combination Floorhead, which can be used on carpets with a hard surface and carpets with a medium pile. The powerhead is also easy to move and can reach tough spots. It has five levels of surface adjustment as well as a switch that lets you turn off the brushroll to prevent hairs from getting tangled.
The Classic C1 has a self cleaning brush roll as well as it has a UtraClean Mode that cleans the same area up to three times, and a self-emptying bin that can be emptied by pressing a single button. Its sound level is slightly higher than some other models however, its powerful 1,200-watt motor and sturdy build make it worth the extra expense.
If you're willing more then the Miele Complete C3 is an excellent all-round robot vacuum that is more effective on carpet than the Classic C1. It is more effective on any type of flooring and is more robustly built, and comes with an HEPA filter.