Best Robot Vacuums for Pet Hair: Here are Our Ratings & Reviews!
If you’re looking for the best robot vacuum for pet hair because you have a dog or cat, you’ve come to the right place! Robot vacuums for pets make it so much easier to keep your home clean.
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Each year, individuals all over the planet spend millions of dollars and lots of time trying to get rid of the mountains of hair shed by our furry friends. While you undoubtedly have lots of love in your heart for your animal companions, it can be a colossal pain in the butt to constantly remove all the fuzz they leave everywhere.
Let’s say you’re a pet owner who desperately wants to keep pet hair and dander at a minimum but doesn’t have time to clean your floors manually every day. In that case, consider investing in a robotic vacuum cleaner.
Once upon a time, robotic vacuum cleaners were horrible at sucking up pet hair. However, all that has dramatically changed in the last couple of years because technological advances have boosted their capabilities to the point where they’re an indispensable part of every pet owner’s cleaning arsenal. Even better, all this innovation has caused the prices of robotic vacuum cleaners to drop significantly.
Features To Look for in Robotic Vacuums for Pet Hair
All Rubber Brushes
If you want your robotic vacuum to continue to work, you’ll need to clean the pet hair from the brushes periodically. That’s why you should consider getting a model with easily removable rubber brushes. Pet hair doesn’t get stuck as often and is simpler to clean with 100% rubber brushes instead of brushes with bristles or nylon fibers.
Three-Layer Filtration Systems
If you own pets, you’ll want a robotic vacuum cleaner that’s not only exceptional at sucking up pet hair but also a model that’s superb at removing allergens, including pet dander.
The best robotic vacuum cleaners have three-layer HEPA filters to carry out this mission. That way, all the nasty particles embedded in your carpets and hard floors are separated from the air before it’s returned to your home’s ecosystem. This helps keep allergy sufferers symptom free, which is a fantastic side benefit of having a robotic vacuum cleaner.
Low-Profile Design
If you’re a pet owner, you know that their fur has an uncanny ability to accumulate in every conceivable crook, cranny, and crevice of your home, including underneath furniture. With a robotic vacuum cleaner that’s low enough to easily slide into the tight spaces under beds, bookcases, and bureaus, you’ll be able to remove all the hidden dust bunnies you can’t get to with your old-fashioned stick vacuum.
Self-Emptying
Because pet hair and other debris can quickly fill the onboard dirt canisters of robotic vacuums, having a self-emptying robotic vacuum cleaner drastically reduces the number of times you need to do this unpleasant task yourself.
A self-emptying robot is fantastic if you have allergy sufferers living with you. That’s because whenever you empty an onboard debris collector into your kitchen trash, some dust captured by the unit invariably gets re-released back into your household air.
Self-emptying robovacs take all the pet hair and other stuff they collect and deposit it into a large bin attached to the charging station. Most models can seal this bag so tight that there’s zero chance of dust re-entering your home. Usually, these bags take 60 days or more to fill, so it might be months before needing to empty your vacuum cleaner.
If you need recommendations on which robot vacuum to buy, check out our guide. If you need a robot vacuum and mop, read which ones we consider the best.
The Best Robot Vacuums for Cat and Dog Hair for 2023
The GoodThe unique D-shape and corner brushes allow the s9+ to clean corners better than any Roomba before it. A HEPA-style filter and fully sealed dustbin keep allergens safely contained. Unlike previous models, the s9+ doesn’t avoid dark flooring or rugs. Improved suction power and better brush rollers helps it deep clean almost anything, even thick carpeting.
The s9 is also compatible with iRobot’s Braava Jet m6 robotic mop. The robot can be controlled through the iHOME app, or by using voice commands through Alexa or Google Assistant.
The Not-So-GoodIt’s one of the more costly options on our list, so it won’t fit the average homeowner’s budget. There’s no carry handle for easy transporting between rooms or floor levels. Given its advanced nature, it may not be the best option for those who aren’t tech-savvy or who have poor WiFi.
The corner brushes tend to wear out quickly, especially on thicker carpeting. It’s also fairly loud, especially when emptying at it’s Clean Base. Maps can also not be shared between older models or with the Braava Jet m6 mop.
What Customers SayCustomers absolutely love the self-emptying bin and the extra degree of autonomy it provides. They also love the improved suction and better carpet cleaning capability. Pet owners were impressed with this machine for how much hair it picked up without getting clogged, and without them having to empty the bin themselves.
Early adopters who purchased the first round of s9 robots have had some issues with software bugs. Several complained that the corner brushes wore out quickly. Many felt it took a bit too long for the s9 to autonomously learn floor plans.
The GoodFor starters, it can empty its own dustbin, wash its own pad after mopping, and refill its water tank when it runs out. Your trusty bot carries out all these actions with minimal intervention from you.
An added bonus is you don’t need to do any prep beforehand—unlike many other robotic cleaning machines. This means you won’t have to pick up objects the unit might see as obstacles, such as kids’ toys or socks.
That’s because the S7 MaxV Ultra has one of the best obstacle avoidance systems ever devised.
The Not-So-GoodSome users have had the curious experience of the unit thinking that shadows are actual objects that must be avoided at all costs. This might be due to an algorithm that needs a little tweaking.
Nonreusable bags collect dirt and debris instead of a reusable dustbin. In future iterations of this model, that should be changed. That would make owning the unit a little more cost-effective with less environmental impact.
What Customers SayLots of users are impressed with how intelligent the Roborock S7 MaxV is compared to other robotic cleaning machines. The unit creates a granular map of every level of your home in both 3D and 2D. You can access this data to clean a specific area instead of an entire floor and to create no-go zones, among other things.
Other customers love that the unit has plenty of power to take care of all their vacuuming and mopping needs. With 5100 Pas of suction and the innovative use of sonic vibration technology, your floors will never look cleaner!
Roborock S7 MaxV PlusPrice: HighThe Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra comes with the empty wash fill dock, while the Plus only has the more basic auto-empty dock. The auto-empty dock doesn’t wash the mop pads, whereas the empty wash fill dock does. The auto-empty dock doesn’t have the ability to clean itself. On the other hand, the empty wash fill dock does. Lastly, unlike the empty wash fill dock, the auto-empty dock doesn’t have a reservoir that automatically fills the onboard water tank.
- Roborock S7 MaxVPrice: Average
The only difference between the Roborock S7 MaxV and the Ultra is that the latter comes with the empty wash fill dock. This means that you’ll have to empty the onboard dustbin and dirty water tank and wash the mopping cloth yourself instead of having the dock do it for you. If you’d rather things be more autonomous, consider getting the Ultra. The time and energy you save will more than make up for the added cost.
The GoodNobody wants to do more house cleaning than they need to. When you buy this affordable yet highly effective robotic cleaner, you’ll enjoy the exquisite freedom of doing things a little more meaningful than housework.
Pet owners will particularly love the yeedi Vac X. That’s because with 300 Pa of suction, your home will no longer be so plagued with so much pet hair that it looks like a huge doggie stuffed animal exploded.
The Not-So-Goodyeedi’s voice is a bit too loud, even when you have it on the lowest setting. If this is potentially a deal breaker for you, you’ll be ecstatic to find out that there’s a way to switch it off. The dustbin could probably be a tad bigger. If it was, you wouldn’t have to empty it so much.
What Customers SayParents of infants love how effectively the yeedi Vac X sucks up all the snack crumbs their babies invariably drop all over the place. Because parenting is a thankless job that’s a lot of work, these individuals are beyond grateful that there’s a way to cut down their workload—even if it’s only a little bit.
Other users like how the unit can be upgraded by adding a mopping module or a self-emptying dock. These two features make an already superb unit even better.
More Features to Look for In A Robot Vacuum for Pet Hair
Powerful Suction
While all vacuum cleaners should have powerful suction, this is particularly true if you’re looking to buy a robot vacuum for pet hair. To know how powerful a robotic vacuum cleaner is, look at the number of Pas (Pascals) it generates, which indicates pressure difference.
Automatic vacuums create negative pressure to suck up dirt, dust, and debris. The higher the Pas, the greater the negative pressure and the more powerful the suction. Some robotic vacuums can automatically boost suction when detecting carpets, thus doing a better job of getting rid of pet fur in your residence.
Intelligent Mapping
By getting an auto vacuum cleaner that intelligently maps your home, you’ll ensure that it spends more time cleaning and less time bumping into objects. This maximizes the amount of pet hair it can pick up in a single day.
The best robot vacuums for pets use advanced navigational algorithms and technologically sophisticated sensors to steer clear of all the hurdles standing in the way of their mission to always keep a home’s floors clean. Some units are so adept at obstacle avoidance that they can even steer clear of canine feces.
With a bot vacuum that has intelligent mapping functionality, you have the option to set up no-go zones—areas you don’t want your cleaning droid going into. This could help it to avoid children or pets that might get too curious with the seemingly sentient bot that looks like a toy. Some robotic vacuums support geofenced vacuuming, which means they start operating the minute you leave your residence.
If you live in a house with more than one story, get a robotic vacuum able to store multiple maps in its memory. That way, you’re not starting from scratch whenever you want your droid to clean a different level of your home.
The Ability to Create Schedules
If you want your robot sweeper to run automatically at pre-set times, get a unit that can create schedules. That way, you can let your cleaning droid do its thing without needing to lift a finger.
During seasonal shedding, when your pets lose so much hair that your home is in danger of looking like a gigantic furry ball, program your robotic vacuum to clean several times a day. By doing this, you’ll come home to floors blessedly free from pet hair.
How To Clean a Robot Vacuum
Your sweeper vacuum is your tireless servant, cleaning up pet hair and other debris from morning to night. However, it will need a little TLC in the form of regular cleaning to continue delivering years of exceptional service.
Start by thoroughly wiping down the outside of your bot with a microfiber cloth, including the sensors. Because dusty sensors can impair the obstacle avoidance abilities of robotic vacs, make sure you periodically give them a good cleaning. Pay particular attention to the bottom sensors because they get dirtier than the others.
After emptying your unit’s onboard dustbin, you might want to run a cloth through it to remove any residual dust. Because a clogged filter can significantly reduce your bot’s suction ability, regularly check its condition. Then, either clean or replace it.
Remove the brush roll to remove tangled-up pet hair and other stuff. Cut hair away rather than pulling at the brush bar, so you don’t damage it. Replace frayed side brushes.
Final Thoughts
Purchasing a cleaning robot allows you to keep your home free from the canine and feline fur that not only looks unsightly but also exacerbates allergy symptoms. Which robotic vacuum cleaner you buy depends not only on its ability to suck up pet hair but also on your circumstances.
For example, if you have carpeting in your home, you’ll want a unit with robust suction. If you live in a big house, get a model with long battery life. Buy a quieter robotic vacuum if you have dogs or cats easily spooked by loud noises. If you’re looking for a model that not only vacuums up dirt and debris but swabs your hard floors so they’re radiantly clean, invest in the best robot vacuum and mop.
Whichever one you buy, know that you’ve made an investment that’ll save you time because you won’t have to do as much manual cleaning. In a hectic era when you’re pulled in a zillion different directions by ever-increasing work and family expectations, having more time to do the things you love is something to be cherished.
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