The Best Robot Vacuum For Carpet
There's a robot to suit every carpet type, whether it's low-pile or high-pile. These intelligent appliances can navigate your home automatically and pick up dirt and clean under furniture.
They are equipped with advanced features, like mapping that help you navigate around your home and keep track of where furniture is. They can also increase suction power to tackle dirtier areas.
iRobot Roomba 694
The Roomba from iRobot is a budget-friendly robot vacuum that performs well on both bare flooring and low-pile floor carpet. It has a good suction and is able to clean up most debris, though it has trouble with larger debris like rice or sand. It also does a decent job of removing pet hair, but it's not impervious to tangling as top Roomba models, such as the I6 or j7.
The Roomba is easy to operate. It has a trio of buttons on its cover: 'Clean' initiates the cleaning process, 'Dock' puts it back in its charging station and 'Spot Clean' triggers a targeted clean. It can be controlled via a smartphone app that lets you schedule and stop/start cycles, and also adjust settings. It is also possible to pair the device with smart home devices such as Alexa or Google Assistant to control it by voice commands.
This vacuum cleaner is slower than some other models, but it can be able to reach the majority of corners and crevices. It has a large dustbin that is ideal to reduce the frequency at the frequency you have to empty it. It is compatible with digital mapping and virtual barriers which allow you to set the robot to avoid certain areas or to stop cleaning completely to stop it from becoming stuck.
While it's not the best model in its price range but it's far superior to other options. The Roborock E4 is more advanced than the Roomba 694 with superior cleaning efficiency on carpets that are low and bare. It also follows a more efficient cleaning path and has a longer battery life. It also feels better-made, has fewer parts 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 considering other models that are more expensive within the iRobot line, like the 981 or the v7. The v7 and 981 are more expensive, but they offer significant improvement in cleaning efficiency, both on low and bare pile floors. They also have a bigger dirt compartment they charge faster, can move more easily and are easier to pair up 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 combination brush reaches corners and edges, and automatically increases suction as soon as it spots carpet. It also does an excellent job of cleaning embedded dirt off mid-pile carpet. The IQ has a tiny footprint and has a self-emptying feature. If you want to change the floor's levels or define no-go areas, you'll need to manually reset the map.
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 smart-pathing system allows for greater maneuverability and the high-pile feature of its carpet cleaning mode is efficient, although it can get stuck on the tassels of the rug.
In our tests, the IQ was able to handle pet hair effectively, clearing huge amounts of debris from floors with no flooring 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 was capable of maneuvering around chair legs, tight spaces, and the bottom of an wooden IKEA step stool. We did notice it was a little slower on floors with no flooring, but it regained speed and performed more thoroughly than the other robots we tried.
The IQ is a more suitable option for the majority of users than the iRobot Roomba. It has a larger dustbin and lasts longer on charge, and does a better job of getting over obstacles. It comes with mopping tools that are able to clean up sticky messes. The iRobot is, on the other hand feels better built, has fewer components that require replacement or maintenance, incurs less ongoing costs, and can even create virtual no go zones using its companion app. It can even resume cleaning from where it left off if it has run out of battery before it has completed the task. The iRobot can also be controlled via voice commands, which is an enormous benefit for many users.
Eufy 11S
The eufy RoboVac 11S robot vacuum isn't one of the most advanced models, but it offers powerful cleaning power at a low cost. This vacuum was designed for budget-conscious consumers who don't require a complicated mapping system, or an app to control it. The robot can run for more than an hour and comes with an remote, 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 look like brushed aluminum. It's a nice departure from the industrial and utilitarian designs of Roomba, Samsung and Neato.
In our tests, the eufy 11S was excellent at picking up large particles and fine dust on hard flooring. It was unable to thoroughly clean carpets with high and medium piles. The device also has a tendency to hit furniture and people in its path, but it's able to detect obstacles with sensors. It ceases and emits a loud ring when it comes across an obstruction. Then, you can manually guide the device around it and restart it.
The BoostIQ mode is another great feature of the eufy11S. It lets you set up the robot to automatically adjust the suction strength based on the floor type and the level of dirt. It's also easy to use the remote to direct the 11S in the direction you'd like it to go.
If you don't have much furniture in the room you'd like to vacuum Single Room Mode is an excellent option. The eufy is capable of spending up to 30 minutes cleaning the space 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 maximize the battery's life. By selecting this option the eufy moves in a spiral fashion taking care of 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 on floors that are not bare is also outstanding. It can remove rice and other fine particles with ease. The suction power doesn't diminish as the dirt bin gets full. Its allergy-friendly design and air-sealed body will trap allergens to keep your family healthy. It has an onboard HEPA and self-emptying bin so you don't need additional filters or vacuum bags.
It's not as powerful as pricier models, but it's ideal for fighting stains and deep cleaning. The two cameras on the front of the unit provide live feeds of images on your smartphone, and it comes with one of the most effective obstacles-avoiding systems we've seen. It has a large 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 two heads, a standard and a turbo to suit different kinds of flooring. The turbo head is great for carpeting that is high-pile and low-pile, while the standard powerhead is great on floors that are unfinished and light rug. It also has an automated height adjustment system, which lets it easily adapt to different 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 powerhead can be easily maneuvered and reach difficult spots. It has five levels of surface adjustment as well as a brushroll off switch to help prevent tangled hairs.
The Classic C1 also has a self-cleaning brush roll as well as an UtraClean mode more info that cycles around the same area three times to ensure the most thorough cleaning and a self-emptying bin which can be filled with the press of one button. The noise level is slightly higher than other models, but its powerful 1,200-watt motor as well as sturdy build make it worth the extra expense.
If you're willing to pay some extra money, the Miele Complete C3 canister robot vacuum is a great all-around robot vacuum. It is more effective on carpets than the Classic C1. It is more effective on all kinds of floors and is more robustly built and comes with a HEPA filter.