8 best robot vacuums to tackle dust and mop floors

It was more than a decade ago when an early version of the iRobot Roomba was donated to my studio, and while it had done the rounds, handed from one tech reviewer to the next, it was still working. To say it was a little battered would be an understatement, but in the confines of that space everyone in the office became rather attached to that small machine. Rather than saving time, it was a bit of a novelty with daily misadventures that would see it tangled in wires or needing coaxing out from under the sofa.

While the machine was at the time far from perfect, its little-and-often approach was enough to keep on top of the day-to-day grub and dog hair that would quickly build up in the space.

I was so impressed with the Roomba that I bought a more advanced model for the home, this one able to redock properly between runs and slightly better at not tangling itself in wires or wedging itself under the sofa.

Since my first encounter with robot vacuums, they have come a long way, and the latest models feature a huge variety of additions, most notably in my latest selection, the ability to mop, empty their own waste in between cleaning missions and watch your pet for you whilst you’re out.

All the vacuums that I’ve selected in this test come with a docking station, meaning they can recharge after working and, in many cases, empty themselves and self-clean,, although manual emptying of the dock is required at least once a week. With plenty of space to test and two venues, the home and office, it’s time to set each to task to see how they fare.