The iRobot Roomba 980 Robot mop vacuum Vacuum Cleaner

robot vacuum and mop combo vacuums eliminate pet hair, lint and dust from the floor before they can settle. They also can avoid stairs and other obstacles such as furniture that is tippy.

Most robotic vacuums require maintenance, such as emptying (and occasionally, rinsing) the bin, and wiping cameras and sensors. They also require to be connected. A lot of them have apps for smartphones to schedule, adjust settings and more.

Roomba 980 from iRobot

The iRobot Roomba 980, [Redirect Only] the latest in a series of top-of the-line robot vacuums, is an essential for every modern home. This model is incredibly powerful suction as well as it comes with a HEPA filter that'll assist anyone suffering from allergies. Additionally it comes with a powerful battery which can clean for up to two hours and it will return to its dock when its bin is full.

It also has an option called smart mapping, which makes use of multiple sensors to help suss out the areas of your home that require attention and create a cleaning route around them. This technology is very efficient at navigating around toys that are left on the floor or furniture legs that are sticking out from underneath things. Roomba also has a sensor that will snap Roomba to its real-world location if it begins to wander away from its original position.

iRobot has also included a set of rollers underneath the Roomba that do not have bristles and therefore are more likely to avoid tangles than previous models. They are also taller and can fit under low couches or beds. They're specifically designed to make this model more adaptable to different kinds of floors.

What sets the Roomba 980 apart from other high-end models however, is its integration of the new dirt detection feature, which uses cameras to detect bits of embedded dirt. This is an improvement over the previous version which relied on the use of a sensor-driven pseudorandom cover to bounce around the room, and then clean everything three times at different angles.

In our tests of its performance it was found that the Roomba 980 did well on carpets and hard flooring. It scored extremely well on carpets with low pile and on mid-pile. It did a good job collecting pet hair, but struggled with long and thick pet hair that was stuck together.

The Roomba 980 is still one of the best performing robots in our list despite the slight limitations. It's also not as expensive as top robot vacuum cleaner-of-the-line models. It's got plenty of features that we'd like to find in a flagship model however, it doesn't come with all the fancy app-enabled functions or smart home integration that you might find in other top contenders.

The iRobot Roomba is easy to set up and start working immediately. After taking off the pull tab for the battery and yellow bin insert from undercarriage, all you need to do is plug it into its Home Base docking station or a wall socket, hit its large "Clean" button, and let it go to work. It will return to its dock when the battery runs out or it's stuffed with debris. It also has indicators at the top for when its bin is full or it's time to recharge, or its Wi-Fi signal is not working.