Robot vacuum cleaners have been given more and more sophisticated mopping functions over the years, just as robot floor scrubbers have benefited from improvements on the suction side. To reflect these changes, and because it has simply become difficult to rank certain devices in one comparison rather than the other, we have decided to keep only one: the comparison of robot vacuum cleaners. All robots intended for floor maintenance will henceforth be integrated into the latter. The comparison of robot-scrubbers will therefore no longer be updated, but will remain online as long as the models that make it up are marketed.
One more sub-note for robot vacuum cleaners
Of course, the idea is not to abandon the washing tests. Far from there. They now complete our test protocol for robot vacuum cleaners. As a reminder, washing performance is evaluated using four materials (soda, oil, carbon black and lipstick, as for manual floor scrubbers) which we spread on the floor and let dry before sending the robot on it. These stains are then observed after one, two or three passages depending on the options available in the application, and the robot is assigned a higher or lower index depending on whether it succeeded in removing them totally, partially or not at all.
It will also be recalled that many models have already rubbed shoulders with this test during news labs. Unsurprisingly, the most effective robots in this exercise are those equipped with a vibrating mop or rotating pads. Those with a simple mop are unable to remove encrusted stains, and we have decided to exempt them from the washing test. They will automatically be assigned a one-star sub-score, while robots without a mop will now be penalized with a zero sub-score.
Upheavals in the ranking
With a new sub-note, our comparison of robot vacuum cleaners has logically been turned upside down. The Dreame L10S Ultra certainly stayed ahead despite average wash performance, but the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra makes a nice comeback thanks to its deep wash mode. Behind, the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra, Deebot X1 Omni and Roborock S7 Pro Ultra complete the top 5.
Conversely, other models tumbled in the rankings. This is particularly the case with the Q7 Max, also at Roborock, since they are content to drag a mop behind them, but also with most Roomba which, for many, simply do not have a mop.
In order to make these changes more visible, our tests will be supplemented with a section dedicated to washing over the next few weeks. The work is therefore far from over, and we are exploring many other avenues to improve our comparison of robot vacuum cleaners, such as the autonomy of the water tank, the obstacle course or even the suction of parquet floors.