I’ve tested robot vacuums of all shapes, sizes and price-points, and with all kinds of specs. But how much suction do you really need in a robot vacuum, and what kind of specs should you look for?
Robot vacuum suction is measured in Pascals (Pa). The cheapest robot vacuums on the market might have in the region of 3,000Pa of suction. In the mid-range, you’re looking at around 5,000-9,000Pa. Until recently, the absolute highest suction spec you’d find anywhere was 10,000Pa.
1. Quoted specs are for the top-powered mode
As with all vacuums the suction specs quoted will be for the highest powered mode. Now, if you’ve got a basic robot vacuum that only has three or four suction levels, you might err towards the higher options, but generally speaking the top mode isn’t the one that most people will be using most of the time. That’s especially true if your vacuum has numerous options and the highest is something like ‘Super Max Ultra TURBO+’, and clearly designed only for use in extreme cases.
Now, this isn’t such an issue with robotic options as it is with cordless vacuums, where a key reason for avoiding the suckiest settings is that they tend to drain battery fast. If a robovac is about to run out of juice, it’ll trundle back to its dock to recharge, then resume its task. There will be minimal disruption to you… unless you’re in a time crunch, of course.
Note however that a general rule for cordless vacuums is that the top, top suction modes are designed to be used sparingly rather than as a default. Overuse could lead to the battery aging more quickly.
2. Higher specs don’t always mean better cleaning
In my experience, it’s not always the case that robot vacuums with the highest Pascals of suction are the best cleaners. And it’s certainly not true that a bot with, say, 16,000Pa will clean twice as well as one with 8,000Pa. Based on my experiences, the difference in cleaning clout is especially marginal as you get into the really high suction specs (10,000Pa or more).
The Roborock Q5 Pro+ has only 5,000Pa of suction but it sailed through our TechRadar cleaning tests, garnering high praise from my reviewer (who has tested some of the highest-specced bots on the market). It’s one of the best cheap robot vacuums around. The Roborock Saros Z70 has 22,000Pa of suction and also did great in our suction tests, but it still didn’t manage to pick everything up.
There are multiple other factors that play into how well a robovac cleans. The design and width of the roller / suction intake is a key element, but aspects like accurate navigation and a great side-sweeper are also vital. It’s no good dishing out epic levels of suction but only on half the floor space.
3. Robovacs just aren’t built for deep cleans
My take is that regardless of how much suction power you pack into a robot vacuum, it’s still just not the tool to pick for a truly deep clean. For that, you need one of the best cordless vacuums – or if you really want to bring out the big guns, a corded upright.
Robovacs are best suited to little-and-often cleans. They can trundle out multiple times a week – or daily, if you prefer – and help you stay on top of your cleaning so the dust never gets a chance to build up. And all that is with next-to-no time or effort required from you. This is where robot vacuums shine. And based on that, I’m not sure the current obsession with suction specs is where robovac makers should be focusing their efforts.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.
The best robot vacuums
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cTGJfsd7d5pDfAJiR8FQPN-1920-80.jpg
Source link
