As much as we love our pets, living in a home that feels like it’s moulting thanks to all the hair they shed is one thing we’d quite happily do without.
We know it’s natural that they shed their fur - especially when it’s hot out - but that doesn’t stop it being infuriating. When every possible surface is covered in hair, despite regular cleaning, what can you do?
The solution could be as simple as upgrading your vacuum cleaner to one that specialises in sucking up such matters. There are plenty of pet vacuums around but if you’d rather put your feet up or get on with other things (totally understandable), you should probably consider a robot vacuum that does the hard graft for you.
Robot vacuums are fast becoming a fixture in British homes. The attraction is clear; they get on with one of the most performed household chores for you, leaving your floors clear of dust and debris. Throw anti-hair wrap technology in the mix, and you can all but kiss goodbye to annoying and potentially health-hazardous pet hair.
How do robot vacuums work?
After you’ve charged up your vacuum, it will begin by exploring all the corners of your home or desired cleaning space, mapping furniture, corners and other obstacles so that it’s ready for its cleaning shift. Most e-vacs can handle a change of terrain - going from hard floors to carpet or rugs - so it will record this information too, all in the name of a thorough clean the next time you use it.
A single charge should give it enough juice to go over your floors all the way to the corners as well as under furniture to spots you may miss in regular cleaning.
Once the robot has finished its work or if it’s low on battery, it will take itself back to its base unit which should be left on and plugged into the wall with plenty of clearance space all around to allow your cleaner to return ‘home’.
Are robot vacuums compatible with pets and children?
Naturally, the floor sweeper will attract a lot of attention, especially in homes with pets and children. Allow them to follow the robot vacuum around but it’s wise to step in if you can see them obstructing the vacuum’s path or picking it up -from an efficiency rather than a safety standpoint.
What additional features do robot vacuums come with?
Wide sweeping brushes, mop attachments to use in the bathroom and kitchen, and self-emptying features are some of the extras that you can find in the robot vacuum market. Most can be programmed to clean on a schedule and some work with voice commands too, handy if you want some spontaneous or spot-cleaning done.
If you’re hoping to banish pet and human hair from your floors, look for vacuums that offer anti-wrap technology. This will save you from snipping tangled hair off the rollers and potentially making more mess than you started with.
Looking for a robot vacuum that can handle pet hair, but unsure where to start? We’ve found the best models that promise to give your household to-do list a helping hand - and keep your small creatures entertained while it’s at it.
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Best pet vacuum cleaners tried and tested for hair today, gone tomorrow
Proscenic 850T Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Not all robot vacuums are up to scratch when it comes to handling pet hair but this makes the grade. This had a hefty 3000pa of suction power so managed to suck up everything in its path, automatically increasing the suction to max mode as soon as a carpet was detected and pulling out even embedded hair.
It has a clever laser navigation system to plan the best cleaning path and can be controlled by remote control, app or Amazon Alexa. On the app, it’s possible to establish no-go areas, room-specific cleaning and schedule cleaning jobs so you can set it to work when you’re out walking the dog. The battery is excellent too and it was a good two hours before ours returned to the charging station, though we needed the most powerful mode to deal with the worst pet hair and this drains the power quicker.
Better still, the Proscenic mops too and we felt particularly smug seeing our clean kitchen floor once it had worked its magic. It only has a teeny 300ml water tank so sadly won’t replace a good mopping from a real human but is great for in-between cleans. Our only complaint is the automatic dust collector is sold separately, so you’ll need to empty it by hand after every clean unless you spend extra.
Buy now £159.00, Amazon
Roborock S8 Robot Vacuum Cleaner with Dual Brush
Strong suction is what you need when you're dealing with masses of pet hair. Roborock's cleaner has it in spades along with a newly developed double rubber brush to clean off the nitty gritty even more effectively. It's an improvement on its predecessor, lifting pet hairs by 30 per cent.
The gadget comes with reactive 3D obstacle avoidance, meaning it can identify common household objects, even in the dark if it's on a night shift. There is also multi-level mapping, which allows the vacuum to record and remember up to four levels of the home. Set custom routines or schedule cleaning for when is most convenient and add no-go zones if you're decorating or working on a project.
Buy now £499.00, Amazon
eufy Robovac G10 Hybrid Cordless Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Stick the kettle on and let eufy's RoboVac get on with the task of guzzling up dust, dirt and pet hair. The disc-shaped vacuum is perfect for hard floors and laminate flooring and offers a mop function in case your furry friend has an accident indoors.
The machine features a HEPA filter to collect tiny particles and has a power boost to use in those really stubborn spots. Taking five hours to charge will give you a run time of up to 80mins, which should be enough for most flats and small houses; it may need to recharge itself if your home is particularly large.
There's also a dustbag full indicator to alert you when the time comes to empty the 0.45L capacity.
Buy now £249.99, Argos
Bagotte Robot Vacuum Cleaner
With excellent suction across different types of floors, this robot vacuum cleaner is the home helper you'll wonder how you ever did without. While the first voyage involves mapping out the floors of your home using advanced gyro navigation technology, it will get on with cleaning tasks when you need it. A mop is included, but it doesn't run in tandem with vacuuming. It's a case of vacuuming first, mopping after.
That said, by concentrating on one job at a time, it performs both jobs very well, and ensures dust, dirt and hair won't get stuck to a damp floor. On a full charge, you can expect a 120min run-time, which should be enough to get most homes squeaky clean.
Buy now £159.99, Amazon
Anker RoboVac X8 Hybrid
Eufy by Anker’s X8 Hybrid RoboVac is great at getting under furniture and navigating various terrain as well as cleaning nooks and crannies. The mop is also helpful, giving my kitchen and bathroom a speedy wash.
Using the mop function is fairly simple. It’s just a case of wetting an included cloth and sliding it along the bracket on top of the water tank. Fill the tank with tap water and close it, then slide the unit into the RoboVac - it will click and the bot will announce that the tank is attached when fitted properly.
Then just turn it on and let it get to work. Rather than drenching your hard floors, it leaves behind a thin film which dries quickly. Once finished, empty the tank thoroughly to stop smells from developing.
It’s good for getting cooking or light shampoo spills off floors, but a deeper weekly clean will still be required for most homes.
Buy now £349.00, Amazon
Honiture Robot Vacuum Cleaner with Mop
Emptying the vacuum is one of the worst jobs on the cleaning rota with dust flying around everywhere and the messy job of snipping caught hair off the rollers. It's a job you'll have to do far less often with Honiture's robot vacuum cleaner, which comes with a 2.5L container that it will automatically tip debris into once it's finished its shift.
The smart vacuum comes with 24 sensors to detect obstacles and offers multi-floor mapping. It can also be controlled via the app or by voice commands, handy if a particular area of the house needs special attention.
The four-in-one system sweeps, rolls, vacuums and mops, making it a sound addition to your home appliance line-up. With a 250ml water tank, the mop feature is water and suction adjustable, allowing users to tailor cleaning for different rooms of the house.
Buy now £399.00, Amazon
iRobot Roomba s9+
In the world of domestic robots, iRobot reigns supreme - with a kingly price tag to match, although it is currently on sale at Amazon.
It’s not just a status buy though, the Roomba s9+ is packed with features that will leave you slack-jawed with wonder. As well as offering a thorough clean across hard floors, thick rugs and carpet, its biggest draw is that it empties itself in the clean base, trapping dirt, hair and bacteria into a closed system. You’ll still need to clear this out into your main bin, but it won’t be as often.
It can be voice controlled through Google or Alexa and the simple-to-use app allows you to create no-go zones or set the robot to clean certain rooms only.
It is quite a noisy little thing which could be annoying when you’re trying to unwind in front of the telly but not an issue if it’s cleaning while you’re working or at the office.
Buy now £729.00, Amazon
Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra Vacuum & Mopping Robot
This award-winning digital vacuum and mop picked up the top gong at the Reddot Design Awards 2022, so if it's reassurance you're looking for, this is it.
The robot offers superior levels of suction and can detect different types of terrain, moving from hard floors to rugs and carpets seamlessly. It's an excellent choice for homes with pets, able to collect dust, bacteria and hair without tangling thanks to a movable solid rubber brush.
Laser detection and cameras stop it from bumping into furniture, even if you schedule a clean in low light conditions. Like all robot vacuums, it can be controlled via an app but also by voice command too, offering the ultimate convenience. And it comes with a removable and washable mop too!
While the mop is removable, you don't need to manually insert the tank each time you want to mop. Leave it in the machine and it will automatically detect if the surface needs mopping (hard floors) and will hover if it finds carpet and rugs. You can leave it to get on with the task at hand without switching between the mop and vacuum functions.
Phew, consider that all bases well and truly covered.
Buy now £1124.89, Amazon
