Do Robot Vacuums work on Carpet?

Sure, having a wise robotic vacuum cleaner with multiple functionalities, such as voice commands and scheduled cleaning can help you by a mile in terms of cleaning and flexing. However the question of interest is do robot vacuums work on carpet? Lets find out.

While on a hunt for buying robot vacuum you probably need to take care of the surfaces of house floors.  Carpets are the one of those household things that plays an important role in deciding which robot vacuum to buy. Since ground clearance of the robot vacuum is a vital factor and you need to know whether your favorite vacuum go with the rug on your house floor.  

With a robotic vacuum cleaner, the user usually has to take care of the appliances with the cords as they could become an obstacle during the cleaning. You don’t want to see an unpleasant incident due to this automated help. So always make room for the robot vacuum free of hinderances. 

My research on this subject concludes that experts and users have had mixed opinions on this topic; however, lightweight carpets can be cleaned effectively by your robot vacuum cleaner, but there are certain conditions to that too.

Robot vacuum cleaners come in all budgets. However, there may be better matches for your carpets than a low-budget robot vacuum cleaner. There’s no denying that standard upright vacuum cleaners that cost you $80 will probably do a better job clearing out the dust particles, pet hairs, crumbs, and other microparticles from your carpets.

Boost Mode Suction Power in iRobots

However, robot vacuums that contain up to 2,000 Pa suction power will do a decent job on your carpets. Newer versions of robot vacuum cleaners these days are also equipped with a “boost mode” that can effectively increase the suction power of your vacuum cleaner while cleaning a carpet.

An excellent example of such a robot vacuum cleaner is the Roomba 980, which comes with an option (carpet boost) that can increase its suction power by up to 10 times on carpets.

But what if you don’t have the budget spend on such vacuum cleaners, are mid-ranged vacuum cleaners still worth it? The rugs or carpets in your house are the ones that help you decide this. If we are talking about low-pile carpets with the lesser length of threads then probably the mid-range vacuums are good to go, with the decent suction power. And if we are talking about high-pile carpet the you should be looking for the hi-end machines offering great suction and good ground clearance and possibly with the carpet boost mode. 

Robot vacuum cleaners, by their unmistakable look, are low to the ground, having small-sized brush roles present on their base. So, if they encounter a high-piled carpet or a rug with tassels in their household, these vacuums would find it hard to maneuver and clean the area effectively. In the latest models of robots vacuums you can select the area of your floor where you don’t want your vacuum machine to go (via app). 

Can Thickness of Rug Impact Cleaning Efficiency of Roomba?

Thickness of rug matters a lot for the vacuum cleaner in terms of amount of time needed to clear the debris. Needless to mention, thick rug with tassels around is going to take a lot more time than a simple carpet with normal thickness.  

But then again, since carpets are one of the most hectic things during cleaning, and the robotic vacuum cleaners aren’t effective there, the need to have such vacuums slowly drifts away. The latest models of robot vacuums are designed in a way that they are capable of doing cleaning on a rug as well. 

And robot vacuum cleaners are designed in such a way as to go back to their docking station whenever the battery health reaches a ‘critically low level. You can  extend your battery life by following few tips. 

Therefore, a task that would’ve taken an hour or two with a standard upright vacuum cleaner will now take more time with an autonomous robot vacuum cleaner.

However, this is okay. Let’s say you had to attend a function or meeting or just felt like going out. In that case, you can leave your robotic vacuum cleaner on and have fun while away.

Another minor issue with these vacuum cleaners is their ‘weird’ cleaning pattern. You might see a low-budget vacuum cleaner going around the same place repeatedly,  even avoiding a pile of dirt or trying to clean an already-cleaned surface for an hour. 

However, this issue is fixed with the technological advancements of robot vacuums. 

How Well do Robot Vacuums Work on Carpet?

You’ve bought the tiny robotic dude to do all your cleaning job for you, and it is working fine on floors, but it makes you wonder whether it does the job as well on a carpet.

Generally, your robot vacuum cleaner will efficiently go over from hardwood floors to carpets. However, carpets that are high-pile, shaggy, or have tarsels attached to them can get stuck with your little vacuum cleaner’s brush roles.

Robot vacuums are also compact, small-sized machines that face a problem when cleaner carpets, and rugs. 

Limitations in Carpet Cleaning Using Robot Vacuums

These vacuum cleaners also possess lower suction than a standard upright vacuum cleaner. You might think that you’re vacuum is one of the good guys; however, that might not be the case.

Low or even mid-ranged robot vacuum cleaners don’t possess enough suction power to clear out the microparticles inside carpets.

Low Suction & Small Brushes

Along with low-suction, the tiny brush roles also contribute their half. The minor brush roles on your vacuum cleaner aren’t designed to allow them to perform a deep cleaning. Getting into the carpet’s fibers and clearing out the micro dust particles needs heavy machine. 

You can’t, however, blame these tiny vacuum cleaners for their inefficiency at cleaning. Particularly when it comes to carpets since the engineering team responsible for the design and mechanics. These devices hasn’t found a permanent solution to this issue.

The engineering team behind these devices has to design them uniquely to adjust a certain amount of pressure. High the suction power of the vacuum helps in increasing the vacuum’s deep clean capabilities.

How Roomba Outsmarts the Suction Issue?

However, robot vacuums such as iRobot’s Roomba, have tackled this issue cleverly. Roomba comes with a set of two brush role combinations to improve the vacuum’s performance during the deep cleaning.

They’re also equipped with a ‘carpet boost’ mode. It significantly increases the vacuum’s suction power, as much as ten times. These features in Roomba mainly exist since they depend on mechanics. Unlike other robot vacuum cleaners in the market.

Another issue that arises due to the relatively small size of such vacuum cleaners is the battery. Robot vacuums don’t have efficient battery health as upright or other types of vacuum cleaners do. This means that your little vacuum cleaner would need a charge after 1-3 hours of use.

But the battery isn’t the only thing. 

Along with low-suction, the tiny brush roles also contribute their half. The minor brush roles on your vacuum cleaner is a hinderance in deep cleaning. Small brushes can’t reach into the carpet’s fibers. It is tough for robot vacuums to clear out the micro dust particles present in thick rugs.

Looks-wise, it may seem that the tiny fellow has cleaned out the hairs, dust, and other particles. Well, these particles are still present on a deeper level. After few weeks, when your carpet hasn’t got the cleaning it deserves, these particles will start to come above. Ultimately you will feel them touching your feet.

However, if you’ve got the money, you could opt for a high-budget vacuum cleaner that can contain up to 5,000 Pa, such as Ecovac’s Deebot X1, which includes strong suction power and intelligent features.

Conclusion

Robotic vacuum cleaners are an excellent helping hand when cleaning certain surfaces. However, many users ponder whether robot vacuum cleaners work on carpets? That’s where the vacuum’s efficiency is a first thing that comes in mind.

Generally, robot vacuum cleaners are effective in cleaning low-pile carpets. Still, if you have high-pile, shaggy carpets or rugs that contain tarsels, then it’s likely that your vacuum cleaner will fail to do the job or, in most cases, get stuck in doing so.