Robotic vacuum cleaners are the perfect helpers for homeowners with pets; they can perform everyday cleaning autonomously and take away all annoying hair, residues of food, and plays of your beloved pets. The robots can work while you are away or at night, scheduled for specific home areas, and reach tight spaces. This review will help you find the best models for homeowners on the market. Also you can read our AMAZON Listing "Best Roomba for Pet Hair 2024"
Our Top 3 Picks
Here are the top 3 recommended products with more information to help you find the right product for you
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10.01iRobot
Why we love it
The Roomba S9+ boasts 40x the suction power of previous models, making it incredibly effective at lifting pet hair from carpets and hard floors.The Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal allows the S9+ to empty its dustbin into an enclosed bag.The S9+ comes with a high-efficiency filter that captures 99% of mold, pollen, and pet dander. -
9.52iRobot
Why we love it
The Roomba j9+ seamlessly integrates with smart home systems like Amazon Alexa and Google AssistantDesigned to handle the rigors of daily cleaning in homes with petsThe Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal feature allows the j9+ to empty its dustbin automatically into a larger, enclosed bag -
8.53iRobot
Why we love it
The Roomba j7+ is equipped with advanced PrecisionVision Navigation.The j7+ offers Imprint Smart Mapping, allowing you to customize cleaning schedules, target specific rooms or areas.The j7+ operates relatively quietly, making it less disruptive to pets and people
Robotic Vacuums for Pet’s Buyer's Guide
Pet owners have to clean the floor much more often than most homeowners. Also, their robotic vacuum cleaners preferable should obtain the following features for more effective cleaning:
Anti-tangling multi-surface brush.
Most pets have long hair that winds on the brush, preventing it from spinning. Because of that, the robot collects dust and dirt worse, as it can’t pick it up and direct it to the suction port; in some cases, the robot can accidentally stop.
Definitely, you agree that cleaning the brush takes time and is a very pleasant task. Anti-tangling brushes are designed with special bristles or rubber pads to decrease hair tangling to a minimum. Some robots are equipped with dual rubber brushes that spin in different directions to minimize tangling.
Roomba Combo models
A combination of dry and wet cleaning (simultaneous or mopping after vacuuming) is better for cleaning pet waste. You can not only collect hair, dust, dirt, and food but also clean paw marks and other spills. Unfortunately, none of the vacuum cleaners perform wet cleaning of carpets and upholstery; you need to buy a canister or handheld vacuum.
Advances obstacle identification
Advanced vacuum cleaners can detect accidental pet objects and avoid them in a timely manner. Socks, charging cords, toys, and other small items will also be detected. Such a feature helps to avoid accidental stops happening because brushes can’t spin and protect your robots and belongings.
The setting of keep-out zones
If your robot can’t detect pet messes, you can set keep-out (or no-go zones) around pet bowls or the area where most accidents happen. This feature is available for most robots compatible with smartphone apps. For old models, no-go zones were set with virtual barriers (two physical devices created the line that the robot couldn’t cross). No-go or keep-out zones can also protect sensitive objects and accessories.
Self-emptying dust bin
For pet owners with several pets or large dogs preferring long walks, frequent (once or more per day) cleaning of the floor is required.
To avoid a dust bin cleaning after each cleaning because it is full, the self-emptying feature while the robot is charging is the best solution. All dust and dirt are sucked into a dust bin where they can be kept for up to 60 days thanks to compression. The dirty dustbin and filter prevent the robot from cleaning effectively.
Dirt detection sensors
Enhanced dirt detection with sensors and cameras allows for the automatic detection of areas requiring more intense scrubbing and more powerful suction (up to 10x).
The robot can also increase the repeat passing of the area automatically. Such a feature eliminates manual control of the robot for cleaning this area and optimizes the robot cleaning paths. You do not need to set on all cleaning areas two or three times; it will automatically determine areas that require special attention.
Live-time monitoring
Some cameras in robots can be used for live-time monitoring, not only for obstacles at home and changing the location of furniture but also to help watch and talk with pets while you are not at home.
If your robot detects uncommon activity, you will receive a notification. You can check whether you are robbed and call the police, or if your pet is sad, you can cheer him up.
Advanced docking stations with washing pads and dustbin cleaning and drying
Considering frequent cleaning cycles and the requirement of cleaning the dust bin and washing pads after each cycle, you might spend significant time every day cleaning the robot. New models offer docking stations with multiple features: auto-emptying with 60 days’ storage, automatic mopping pads, washing and drying, and auto-refilling of water tanks.
Targeted cleaning
In all homes, some areas are dirtier than others, normally the kitchen, the area near the entrance door, and the playing area. Robots with mapping features create a map of your home (some even in 3D), where you can set special zones or rooms for additional cleaning.
You can schedule regular cleaning of these areas. The zones also can be narrowed to a dog bed or a litter box. With smartphone app compatibility, you may use a manual control or spot-cleaning function on the robot or a remote control, but it cleans only the area around the robot (a circle or a square).
This list can be prolonged, but we focused on the most essential features of the robots that can help you clean every day if you have pets. These features are also helpful for families with kids and other homeowners.
Our ranking system
After you have read all our suggestions about robot features required for pet owners, you need to be sure that we provide reliable recommendations based on well-performed vacuum cleaner tests.
We use only proven methods designed for testing vacuum cleaners in different conditions similar to your standard homes (also with pets). Each test is performed several times on different floor surfaces (carpets, tiles, sealed floor, laminate, wood, hard floor, etc.) to avoid accidental malfunctions, and the average result is provided.
A short description of our tests is provided, but we always improve it and add new tests if a new feature appears.
Suction test
This test is performed with a digital gauge to evaluate suction performance. We check the suction in all cleaning modes (max, eco, carpet boost, etc.) and compare our results with manufacturer data.
Some manufacturers do not provide exact suction power numbers, so our data is essential. We may also be interested in air flow moving through the vacuum cleaner, which we measure using a digital anemometer.
Navigation test
Modern robot vacuum cleaners show their cleaning paths in smartphone apps. We ask robots to clean floors with different floor types in different cleaning modes.
We compare the cleaning paths to find the most efficient and optimized. For our readers, we especially highlight models that miss spots, have maximum coverage, and can reach tight areas.
Obstacle avoidance test
We perform this test after the robot has performed mapping of the cleaning area. We add objects of different sizes on the cleaning path and check if the robot can detect them and avoid them.
The good results are when the robot avoids obstacles but cleans closely without touching them.
Battery test
During the navigation test, we simultaneously estimate how the robot’s battery works. We compare our data with the robot’s data sheet for all cleaning modes on all surfaces.
Cleaning efficiency for dry and wet cleaning
We prepare areas of different sizes of various floor surfaces and put on them sand, pebbles, jam, honey, oil, dust, small and large debris, pet hair, and other stuff on them. During this test, we added some more dirt in specific areas to check if the robot could detect them and change the cleaning pattern. If the robot performs wet and dry cleaning, it will be tested for all modes separately and simultaneously. We also check different cleaning modes, scrubbing intensity, and suction power.
We can combine several tests to estimate several parameters during one cleaning process. All results are compared in the same category with other models. Our verdicts are based on these data.
Richard Harrison
Hello, Rochelle! Thank you very much for your comment! This info will be of great use for our readers!