Reviewing the best robot vacuums in the UK: our winners

Automatic hoovers are becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason. Because consumers can no longer deny the wealth of advantages they bring.

Below, we’ve summarised the most important advantages for you.

Time saving and convenience

Who doesn't dream of having a hard-working robot to do all the household cleaning for you? Thoroughly, reliably and without any need for you to pitch in?

The vacuum robots can't do everything yet, but they can do a lot. 💪

You come home from work, et voilà, the entire flat is vacuumed.

No need to worry about your floors any more. You can devote your valuable time to the finer things in life.

And let's face it, vacuuming floors is not one of those things.

So with the help of these little robots, housework doesn’t have to be such a drag any more!

Give your back a break

Vacuuming is not exactly good for your back and joints. Dragging a heavy hoover across your home or crawling under beds on your hands and knees can put extreme strain on your back and joints.

You can avoid all that as the proud owner of a robot vacuum cleaner. These little household helpers do their job reliably and without any need for you to take part.

These hard-working household helpers provide enormous relief for elderly people or people with limited mobility in particular.

Cleaning in your absence

The absolute genius of a robot vacuum cleaner is that it does the floor cleaning even when you’re not around!

You no longer have to be bothered by the annoying hoover humming noise:

• Simply open the smartphone app,
• And let the robot do the work in your absence.

Or even more practical: Create a weekly cleaning schedule:

Then your home will be cleaned at fixed times (e.g. while you are at work).

Come home from a hard day's work and enjoy your freshly vacuumed (and mopped) home. 🙌

Great results on hard floors and short-pile carpets

The robot vacuum cleaner market has developed rapidly in recent years. Most of today's good models have one thing in common: all in all, they do their job excellently.

The days of these little household helpers wandering disoriented around your home and bumping into all your furniture are well and truly gone.

Whatever your floor type: A good robot hoover is a true all-rounder. You’ll be surprised how powerful the current top models have become.

And one thing is for sure: your home will be vacuumed much more often than if you had to do it yourself.

This automatically ensures a cleaner home. 👏

Mopping ability, self-emptying station, air freshener - these household helpers are true "all-rounders"

Modern robot vacuums are constantly evolving to become true all-rounders (in addition to doing the vacuuming):

• Mopping capabilities 🧺
• Self-emptying stations
• Air fresheners 🌺

These are just a few of the extra functions you’ll find in the best robot vacuums that make household management even easier.

Affordable options: robot vacuums for every budget

If you can live without the high-tech features, then there’s no need to spend a lot of money on a decent robot vacuum cleaner.

High-performing models are now available at reasonable prices.

A small household helper will save you a lot of work and, above all, time. So these devices are truly a worthwhile investment.

The concept behind robot vacuums with mopping capabilities is so simple... yet so ingenious at the same time.

In addition to dust boxes, they also come equipped with water tanks. This way, your floors can be both vacuumed and also mopped with a damp cloth. 🧺

The good news is that the built-in mops have now become established as the "standard".

Now for the big question: How effective is the mopping ability of robot vacuum-mops? 🧐

Our experiences have made one thing clear: robot vacuum-mops can not (yet) entirely replace manually mopping.

But the results are still impressive. Mopping floors removes additional light dirt, dust residues and light stains.

Your home feels a little bit cleaner and fresher.

But still: The focus of 2-in-1 devices is clearly still on the vacuuming ability. Mopping is a nice bonus feature that we’re happy to benefit from.

And let's not forget: The latest robot vacuum-mops use innovative new features that significantly improve the mopping performance. These include:

• Vibrating mop heads that replicate "scrubbing" action
• Special mopping modes: The robot mop will move slower and provide a deep clean
• Different water flow levels
• Heavier weight and special pressure mechanisms to provide more contact pressure between the mop and the floor

And if you're looking for more tips and tricks to improve the mopping performance of your combo robot, check out the Tips and Tricks chapter in our review of robot vacuum-mop combos.

Below you will find the best robot vacuum-mop hybrids. 👇

Many robotic vacuum cleaners have difficulties with hair. Hairs get tangled around the main brush and have to be removed manually.

That’s why many brands include a small cleaning tool as part of your order. This tool can help remove tangled hairs in no time at all.

Other models include special nozzles specifically for tackling hair (e.g. Ecovacs Deebot OZMO 950). This attachment does not have a brush. This means that hair won’t have anything to wrap around and will be guided directly towards the suction opening.

Alternatively, some models feature a rubber brush (e.g. Roborock S7 or iRobot Roomba i7). The big advantage here is that hair won’t get tangled in the bristles of a rubber brush, meaning maintenance is reduced enormously.

We have dedicated an entire article to the topic of robot vacuum cleaners for pet hair (and human hair 👩). You’ll find everything you need to know there.

We’ve rounded-up a number of robot vacuums that are best suited for households with pets:

First of all, there’s no need to panic: Most robot vacuum cleaners can overcome obstacles of 1.8 to 2 cm without any problems.

So ordinary doorsteps are not a major challenge for a modern robot vacuum cleaner.

But what do you do if you live in an older house with higher thresholds?

Special doorstep ramps or transition strips are a great solution. These can also be used to help robots cross higher thresholds.

You can find more about the topic here: "The best robot vacuum cleaners for high thresholds."

Hardwood floors are no great obstacle for the most powerful robot vacuum cleaners.

The cleaning performances in our tests have been impressive.

Carpets, on the other hand, are more of a challenge for the little household helpers.

On both short and long-pile carpets, many robot hoovers are capable of delivering excellent results.

When it comes to super shaggy carpets, however, even the best robot hoovers won’t do. In this case, we recommend a powerful cordless hoover.

We’ve tested the best cordless vacuum cleaners and laid out the best options for you in our review. This will give you some inspiration! 💡

Is it true that robots with higher suction power (or higher Pa. readings) are always better than ones with low suction power?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

Robot hoovers with greater pick-up power do not necessarily achieve the best cleaning results.

Muscles alone are just not enough. 💪

The vacuuming performance depends on many other factors outside of powerful suction alone. The following questions are important here:

• How well is the main brush incorporated?
• What’s the quality of the main brush like?
• Where is the suction opening located? How well does the side brush do its job?
• How does the robot perform on hard floors (laminate, parquet, tiles)?
• What's the suction performance like on short/long-pile carpets?
• How good is the cleaning performance for light, heavy, coarse and fine dirt?
• Does the vacuum cleaner perform well in corners and along edges?
• What is the capacity of the mobile dust bin?
• Does the robot vacuum cleaner have a HEPA filter (highly recommended, especially for allergy sufferers)?

We look at all these points in detail when carrying out our reviews. Cleaning performance is a decisive factor in our evaluation of robot vacuum cleaners.

Let’s not kid ourselves, the humming of a hoover isn’t quite as pleasant as the sound of birds chirping in the morning. 🐤

But there’s also a lot of variance in the volume of different robot vacuum cleaners.

Many models allow you to select different suction levels. Everything from "quiet mode" to "maximum suction power" is available.

But let's be honest: the purpose of a robot vacuum cleaner is to keep your home tidy when you’re not around. Right?

So although the volume is a relevant factor to consider, it’s less weighted in our tests for this reason.

Which robot vacuum cleaners are particularly quiet?

In general, Ecovacs models are particularly quiet robot vacuums. So we recommend these models if you’re looking for some quieter options:

Will your chosen robot vacuum actually fit under your bed?

The dimensions of a robot vacuum cleaner (height, length, width) are very important.

How annoying would it be if the robot vacuum cleaner couldn't get under your bed because of a few measly centimetres? As you know, there’s normally a lot of dirt hiding under there.

A robot vacuum cleaner should be made with high quality workmanship. Nothing should rattle or break easily.

And of course, the aesthetic of the little household helper should simply match your taste (shape, design, colour).

Many of the current top models on the market are produced by Chinese manufacturers (e.g. Roborock or Ecovacs).

We’ve found this to be a good thing. Chinese models have an extremely high level of quality. It’s no coincidence that our top models are predominantly made by Chinese manufacturers.

With all this said, we’re not the only ones who are constantly reviewing the performance of robot vacuum cleaners. Independent UK consumer organisation Which? also keep us up to date on their opinions.

Coming in at first place in their robot vacuum reviews is the Dyson 360 Heurist with a score of 77%.

This robot passed all of Which?’s test parameters with flying colours, including cleaning performance, navigation, ease of use and range of features.

Where it fell in the consumer organisation’s eyes was the capacity of its dust bin.

Personally, we weren’t all that impressed with this product’s performance in our testing. There are other models we have found to perform much better. 🤷‍♀️

Which? then awards second and third place to the iRobot Roomba 980 and the Neato Botvac D8 respectively.

Some robots have also been marked as “Great Value” options, such as the Roborock S5 max, which came in at a score of 65%. You can read our review of this little robot here.

Many of our favourite options, such as the Roborock S7 and the Ecovacs X1 OMNI haven’t been reviewed by the organisation.

For this reason, we recommend not blindly following the scores awarded by Which?, as they haven’t always checked out the latest products.

Something we can agree on, however, is that robot vacuum cleaners have come a long way since they first stepped onto the scene, and automation of floor cleaning is really a dream come true.

Your new robot vacuum cleaner does all the floor cleaning for you: reliably, thoroughly and with no complaints. 👏

To keep it that way, you need to perform some maintenance tasks at regular intervals.

On the bright side, the app will send you alerts about upcoming tasks.

Emptying the mobile dust container

This is the most common of all maintenance tasks.

You must regularly empty the mobile dust container by hand.

Depending on how dirty your flat is (or how often the robot vacuum cleans the flat), this must be done 1-2 times a week.

The emptying process itself works quite simply and takes no longer than a minute:

• Remove the dust box.
• Empty the contents of the box into your bin.
• Reattach the dust box.
• And that’s it!

P.S.: If you have a robot vacuum cleaner with a self-emptying station, this step is completely unnecessary. The mobile dust container is emptied automatically with every battery charge.

The only task that remains: Replacing the large dust bag in the extraction station every 2-3 months.

Are you looking for a good robot vacuum cleaner with a self-emptying station? Then take a look at our detailed experience report now.

Removing hair from brushes

Do you have pets? 🐩

Or does someone in your household have long hair? 👩

Then get ready for hair to annoyingly wrap around the brushes of your robot vacuum cleaner.

This is nothing unusual and does not pose a major problem for industrious little robots.

However, you should ensure to remove the tangled hairs regularly. Otherwise, the cleaning performance may suffer.

To make things easier, a special cleaning tool is usually included in the package contents. This makes removing the hair much easier and faster.

Alternatively, you can use scissors or a knife.

The process itself takes no longer than 3 minutes. Depending on your living situation, you should do this once or twice a month.

P.S.: Is your floor covered with hair? There are special vacuum robots with rubber brushes to make tackling hair easier (e.g. Roborock S7 or iRobot Roomba i7+).

The hairs won’t get stuck in these kinds of brushes. This means that maintenance will be much easier for you:

• Remove the brush.
• Simply pull out the hair (no need for tools or scissors).
• And you’re ready to go!

Cleaning the filter

You will be amazed at how much dirt the robot vacuum picks up.

A lot of dirt means hard work for the HEPA filter.

Therefore, it must be cleaned regularly.

The cleaning steps are as follows:

• Remove the HEPA filter.
• Tap out the filter vigorously over a dustbin (preferably outdoors).
• Brush the HEPA filter with the cleaning tool supplied.
• Optional: Wash the filter under running water. (This is not recommended with every HEPA filter. Please refer to the manufacturer's instructions for use.)
• Allow the filter to dry for 24 hours.
• Replace the filter.

HEPA filter cleaning usually takes no more than 5 minutes and should be carried out once a month.

Even if you clean a HEPA filter thoroughly, it is still necessary to replace it from time to time.

The filter should be changed every 6-12 months. The replacement period depends on how dirty it has become and is different for each household.

Suitable HEPA filters for your robot can easily be reordered from Amazon*.

Washing out the mobile dust box

Every few months it is worth washing out the mobile dust container.

To do this, rinse it thoroughly under running water. You can then wipe out the inside of the container with a dry cloth.

Now the dust bin must dry. The windowsill is a good spot for this.

After approx. 24 hours, the dust bin will be 100% dry and can be used again.

Cleaning the crash sensors

Crash sensors are located on the underside of your robot hoover.

These ensure that your faithful household helper does not fall down any cliffs (e.g. stairs).

And to keep it that way, you should wipe the sensors with a dry cloth from time to time.

This maintenance step is particularly important, especially if you live in a multi-storey house with "real" cliffs. Make sure you do this at least once a month.

Replacing the side brush / main brush

The side brush or main brush is usually made of bristle hair.

The brushes work quite hard during the daily cleaning.

So, of course, these will have to be replaced at some point.

The app gives you a heads-up to suggest when parts may need to be replaced.

We recommend treating this suggestion as a guideline. When in doubt, taking a closer look will help you decide if the brushes need to be replaced.

As a rule, replacement must be carried out once every 2 years under "normal" conditions.

Spare parts can be easily reordered via Amazon*.

Dusting your robot vacuum

Surely the simplest of all maintenance tasks.

Robot hoovers collect a serious amount of dust (especially if it's a black model).

Therefore, we advise you to dust your robot vacuum cleaner once a week with a slightly damp cloth.

How long do robotic hoovers last?

If you treat your robot vacuum cleaner well (and maintain it regularly as described above), then nothing will stand in the way of a long service life. 🙌

Models from top manufacturers in particular (Roborock, Ecovacs and iRobot) produce very high quality products.

Our team has been using some of the models from these brands almost daily for several years. And apart from the replacement of a few wearing parts (HEPA filter, brush), the devices run as they did on day one. 🎉

We are always thoroughly inspecting new robot vacuum cleaners. 🧐 And to make sure our tests are comparable, we follow a standardised procedure:

• Firstly, we research the best / most relevant robotic vacuum cleaners.
• We then get our hands on the products.
• Our teams carry out extensive tests ("lab tests" and real "practical tests")
• We then write our reviews and publish them for our readership free of charge on our Smart Home Fox UK website.

What does the actual robot vacuum cleaner test look like?

We always test robotic vacuums in the same way. This ensures comparability and objectivity.

We carry out the following tests:

Cleaning test on hard floors and carpets

Then, we look at how cleaning is done in a "real home" over a longer period of time.

Mopping test

If the device is a robot vacuum-mop, we also test and evaluate the mopping performance.

Cleaning test with hair

We distribute human and pet hair and let the robot vacuum clean the area.

Then we see how much of the dispersed hair ends up in the dust bin.

Cleaning test along corners and skirting boards

A lot of dirt tends to accumulate in corners and along skirting boards in particular.

That’s why we closely examine how robot vacuums clean these hard-to-reach places.

Control and operation

This is where we evaluate how the robot vacuum cleaner is operated.

The most common and most important control method for modern, Wifi-enabled robot vacuum cleaners is the mobile phone app. 📱

We have a good look at this feature. The most important assessment criteria are:

• User-friendliness,
• and functional diversity.

Navigation & Driving

The navigation of a robot hoover is one of the most important criteria for cleaning success.

After all, what good is the best cleaning performance if the robot vacuum cleaner takes hours to clean your home? Or even completely leaves out areas or rooms?

Right, not much.

So, make sure to inspect the navigation of a robot vacuum cleaner:

• What navigation technology does it use?
• Is a map of the home created and stored?
• Is the navigation fast, precise and seamless?
• How does it handle flat / tall obstacles?
• How does it manoeuvre furniture (e.g. table and chair legs)?

A robot vacuum cleaner’s navigation ability has quite a high weight in our overall evaluation.

Dealing with doorsteps

We take a look at the "climbing performance" of a robot vacuum cleaner.

Most models can handle lower door thresholds with no problems.

But if you live in an older house, this aspect is worth paying special attention to.

Volume Test

We measure the noise produced by a robot vacuum cleaner in our volume test.

Other criteria we look at in our tests:

• Size and design
• Package contents
• And finally, price

The conclusion

In our conclusion, we briefly summarise the results and give our verdict of whether the model is worth buying.