Robot vacuums are fantastic for general, automated cleaning. However, they aren’t able to reach every nook and cranny. Bagless self-emptying bases eliminate this issue.
These intelligent base stations contain weeks worth of dirt and other debris, so you can forget about emptying your robot. They can warn you when they are full.
The Eureka E10S
The E10S is an excellent option for homeowners looking to reduce time while still managing the daily accumulations of dirt, pet hair and other debris. The robot vacuums as well as mop. The owners can set up cleaning schedules, map out levels, and define certain rooms and zones. It also has a powerful vacuum and mop motor with 4,000Pa. This ensures a thorough cleaning even on the most difficult flooring types. It is bagless robot vacuum, which eliminates the need for bags to be replaced while promoting easier maintenance, with a clear trash container that lets users see when it is full and needs emptying.
The base station of the E10S is another nice feature. It is equipped with advanced multi-cyclonic technology, which lets you efficiently remove debris and avoids premature filter blocking. This makes it more durable than conventional robot vacuums that rely on disposable dust bags, and can leave behind a messy visual regardless of where the base station is located. This unique feature, coupled with the E10S’s 1.5L transparent debris bin allows users to effortlessly clear the cleaner and keep the system running smoothly.
The E10S, in contrast to less efficient models that employ random bounce and turn methods for navigation, to map your surroundings in real-time, makes use of LiDAR. This allows it to understand the obstacles, like walls and furniture, and create a smart self-navigating route which results in a more efficient cleaning. This is especially important for homes with multiple rooms as the E10S will stay clear of areas that it has already cleaned.
The Eureka application offers a high level of functionality and an easy user interface. It lets you create and save maps, name rooms, and designate no-go zones and no-mop areas to ensure that the cleaner doesn’t wandering upstairs or into the kitchen area. A manual control mode allows you to directly drive the robot around, and you can also create cleaning schedules.
The E10S is a breeze to set up. It requires only just a few steps to set it up and running. It comes with a charging dock and a tutorial to help new users. Although there are a few minor issues the E10S is an excellent addition to any home. It will save time and effort while keeping floors clean.
The SwitchBot Mini K10+
The SwitchBot Mini K10+ packs a lot of functionality inside its compact frame making it a great choice for small homes and apartments. Its impressive cleaning performance won it high marks for our tests on debris removal as well as edge cleaning and crevice cleaning. Its navigation and mapping capabilities were also exceptional as the robot was able to navigate around obstacles while moving furniture.
This robot vacuum and mop is among the few in its class to utilize LiDAR SLAM technology. This allows it to create precise maps of your home’s rooms. It also has 10 sensors that are flagship-level which allow it to maneuver through even the most difficult of spaces. It’s extremely efficient and consumes very less energy, despite its intelligent capabilities.
The app that controls this robot is well-designed and easy to use, with simple interface. The main screen displays basic information such as the status of the dust bin, mop and filter pad plate. You can also set cleaning mode and create highly customized schedules and create reports within the app.
You can also set up no-go zones to prevent the robot from entering certain areas of your home. This is a great option for those who want to keep your robot away from areas that aren’t safe for it, like the kitchen or pet area. The app also allows you to monitor the battery and make sure it is charged for optimal performance.
Once the robot has finished cleaning, it automatically returns to its Station for charging. The station can be moved from room to room when needed, but it’s a bit loud when sucking up what was collected and returning to the charging dock.
There’s some physical set-up required when you first take the K10+ out of its box and remove any foam padding that is left in crevices and gaps. It’s also a good idea to position the machine near an electrical outlet, and you’ll need decent WiFi coverage to connect to the app. Accessories include a spare mop pad, side brush, and filter spare. These accessories are a great addition to the robot since they add convenience and reduce time spent changing out the items.
The Shark IQ XL
The Shark IQ XL offers an impressive amount of intelligent features and is built for less than $400. It’s a better robot than the eufy RoboVac G30. It feels more comfortable to use and works better on carpets with low or high pile carpet. It’s also more adept at maneuvering around obstacles like electrical cables.
Its battery life is exceptional it can run in high-suction “Max” mode for more than an hour. The large bagless modern vacuum base station is also easy to clean. You just remove the side bin and empty it into a trash can – no need for special cleaning bags or extra hassle. The IQ’s companion application lets you send it to specific rooms, restart the session from where it started in the event that it has to charge a portion of the way through, and plan multiple cleaning sessions over the course of a day if you need to.
The IQ XL did an excellent job on hard flooring, but it struggled with carpets with a medium pile. It was unable to catch larger crumbs, and occasionally it pushed debris into corners it shouldn’t have. This is due in part to the side brushes of the robot, which sometimes flick dirt away or fail to bring it into the proper direction, and partly because it navigates in straight lines rather than zipping around like more advanced robots.
You can create no-go zones on the map of the IQ XL app by dragging boundary rectangles. These boxes can be a challenge to draw and fine-tune. We prefer virtual walls.
Another feature we really appreciated on the IQ XL is the ability to choose an Ultra-Clean mode, which increases the suction power of the robot and runs its brushes across floors in a crosshatch pattern. This feature is particularly beneficial in high-traffic areas. However, we are dissatisfied that it’s not available on the current models. However, you can set a timer to automatically trigger a single Ultra Clean cycle in any room of the home.
The Shark Matrix
Shark’s ION series robot vacuums are one step over the competition thanks to their LIDAR mapping capabilities and self-emptying bases. The Matrix, however, takes things a step further by offering two-in-one vacuuming and mopping.
As with most robotic vacuums the Matrix can be used as an upright cleaner or it can be set to agitate and scrub your floors using a powered pad for a deeper clean. It can also be used in vacuum/mop modes, which use the same cleaning pad to both cleaning your floors and removing any stubborn dirt or stains. The powerful cleaning mode of the matrix is particularly impressive for carpets, where it uses a matrix grid to take multiple passes over dirt and debris to provide 30% more effective stain removal compared to Roomba robot vacuums.
The Matrix is also much simpler to operate than the modern Roomba. Setting a spot cleaning zone is as simple as dragging a square in the designated tab in the Shark app, while Roomba owners have to manually create and name a specific cleaning area on their map. The Matrix also has an actual button to begin a clean, without opening the app.
Other quality-of-life features are also included with the Matrix, including three suction power modes (normal, Eco, and high-power ‘Max’) and a recharge/resume feature that lets it pick up where it left off when it has to return to its dock. Its battery life was higher than the AI Ultra’s and its overall performance in removing debris across a variety of surfaces was outstanding.
The only drawbacks to the Matrix is that it drains its battery faster than other models, and that its cleaning of pet hair is somewhat inconsistent. The Matrix is still a good option for most homes, and it improves on the AI Ultra in a few key ways. It is built better, has a faster recharge and is able to pick up more debris on low-pile flooring. Additionally, the ‘Eco-‘ and Max modes provide a significant improvement over the AI Ultra’s “Normal” mode.