The Best Robot Vacuum For Carpet
There's a robot for all carpet types, regardless of whether it's low-pile or high-pile. These smart devices will navigate your home in a way that is automated, pick up debris and clean under furniture.
They are equipped with advanced features, such as mapping that helps them navigate through your home and keep track of where furniture is located. They can also increase the suction power to clean up surfaces that are dirtier.
iRobot Roomba 694
The Roomba 694 from iRobot is an entry-level robot vacuum that is able to work on carpets with low pile and bare floors. It has good suction however, it struggles with larger particles such as sand or grains of rice. It also does a good job at cleaning pet hair, but it's not impervious to tangling as top Roomba models, such as the I6 or j7.
The Roomba 694 is simple to use. It has three buttons on its cover: 'Clean' initiates a cleaning cycle and 'Dock' places it back in its charging station and 'Spot Clean' initiates a targeted clean. It is controlled by an app for smartphones that allows you to schedule and stop/start cycles, as well as 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 some others, but it is able to reach most corners and crevices. It has a huge dust bin, which is great to reduce the frequency at the frequency you have to 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 becoming stuck.
It's not the best in its price range but it's superior to other models. The Roborock E4 has a better cleaning efficiency than the Roomba 694 and it is able to clean both low-pile and bare carpets. It also has a more durable battery and a more efficient route. It is also more robust, has fewer components that require regular maintenance, and costs less over its life and charges faster than 694.
You may also want to consider other models within the iRobot range, including the v7 or 981. The 981 and v7 are both more expensive, but they have significant improvements in cleaning performance both on bare and low pile floors. They also have a bigger dirt compartment and charge faster, move more easily and are easier to pair with smart home devices.
Shark RV1001AE IQ
This budget self-emptying robot vacuum cleaner does an excellent job on carpets with a low pile and hard flooring. Its combination brush gets into edges and corners, and it automatically boosts suction when it senses carpet. It also does a great job of cleaning dirt from mid-pile carpet. The IQ has a small footprint and a self-emptying function. However, if you wish to change floor levels on the map or set no-go zones, you'll have manually reset it to do this, which can be somewhat of trouble.
The IQ's app has some advanced mapping and automation capabilities but it's missing no-go zones which are included on iRobot models. The smart-pathing navigational system results in greater maneuverability and its high-pile carpet cleaning mode cleans well, although it is prone to get caught up in rug tassels, and its iHome speaker allows you to control the robot with voice commands.
In our tests during our tests, the IQ was able to handle pet hair with ease, removing huge amounts of hair from floors with no flooring and fair amounts on medium-pile carpet. It was less effective on shag carpet, where it struggled to reach dirt and dust that was embedded in the fibers. It did a decent job of navigating chair legs, tight spaces, and the bottom of an wooden IKEA step stool. We did notice it was a bit slower on floors with no flooring but it quickly recovered and performed more thoroughly than the other robots we tried.
The IQ is a better option for the majority of users than the iRobot Roomba. It has a larger dustbin, a longer battery life and is more adept at navigating around obstacles. It comes with mopping tools that can remove sticky debris. On the other hand the iRobot feels better-built and has fewer parts that require replacement or maintenance and has lower recurring costs and can even create virtual no-go zones using its companion app. It can even resume cleaning from the point it started if it has run out of battery before having completed the task. The iRobot can also be controlled with voice commands, which is an enormous benefit for many users.
Eufy 11S
The eufy RoboVac 11S robot vacuum isn't among the most feature-rich models, but it does offer excellent cleaning power for affordable prices. This vacuum was designed for consumers with a tight budget who don't need a complex mapping system, or an app to control it. The robot is able to last for over an hour. It robot vacuum and mop includes an remote control, a cleaning tool, and AC power adapter.
The 11S is slim and sleek with an upper deck of tempered glass that covers plastic finished to look like brushed aluminum. It's a nice change from the utilitarian and industrial designs of Roomba, Samsung and Neato.
The eufy11S performed well in our tests at removing larger debris and fine dust from floors. It struggled to deep clean high-pile and medium-pile carpets. The device also has a tendency to smack into furniture and people that are in its path however, it is able to detect those obstacles using sensors. If it encounters them it ceases to move and emits an alarm so that you can manually guide it around the obstacle and then get it back to work.
The BoostIQ mode is a great feature of the eufy11S. It allows you to set the robot up to automatically adjust suction force based on the floor type and the amount of the mess. The remote control makes it simple to guide the 11S to the desired area.
Single Room Mode is a great alternative if you have a small amount of furniture in the room you'd like to vacuum. The eufy can spend up to 30 minutes cleaning the area it is assigned.
You can also choose Edge Cleaning, which reduces the amount of time in each location to 20 minutes for optimal battery life. This feature allows the eufy to move in a spiraling fashion cleaning edges and corners.
Miele Complete C1
The Miele Complete C1 canister robot is a top mid-priced vacuum cleaner that performs well on carpet. Its performance is also great on floors with no floor. It can pick up small particles like rice easily and it doesn't suffer from suction performance even as its dirt bin fills. Its allergy-friendly design and air-sealed body captures allergens to keep your family healthy. It has an onboard HEPA and self-emptying bin, which means you don't require additional filters or vacuum bags.
It's not quite as powerful as more expensive models, but is still excellent for deep cleaning and tackling staining. Two front cameras provide live images to your smartphone, and it has one of the top obstacles-avoiding systems we've seen. It has a huge bin, a long running time and an easy, bump-free clean-up.
The Complete C1 is unlike most robots in that it can switch between a standard head and a turbo head for various kinds of flooring. The turbo head is great for low-pile and high-pile carpeting, while the standard powerhead can be used on floors that are unfinished and light carpets. 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 a SBD 285-3 Classic Combination Floorhead that can handle both hard floors as well as carpeting with a medium pile. The powerhead can be easily maneuvered and reach difficult spots. It has five levels of surface adjustments and a switch that lets you turn off the brushroll to avoid hairs getting caught in tangles.
The Classic C1 has a self cleaning brush roll as well as the UtraClean Mode that will clean the same area up to three times and a self-emptying dustbin that you can empty by pressing a single button. The noise level of this model is higher than other models. However its powerful motor with 1,200 watts and sturdy construction justify the extra cost.
If you're willing to spend an extra amount, the Miele Complete C3 canister robot vacuum is an excellent all-around robot vacuum. It performs better on carpets than the Classic C1. It performs better on all floor types, feels more solidly built, and includes an HEPA filter.