The best self-emptying robot vacuums have one huge perk past the obvious act of vacuuming the floor for you. (Hint: It's in the name.)
When you outsource vacuuming to a robot, your floors get cleaned way more often. The only downside of this extra attention? More debris off the floor means a dust bin that fills up faster, and emptying a vacuum's dust bin by hand is arguably the worst part of the chore.
Enter self-emptying robot vacuums. These vacs do your vacuuming and emptying for you for a few weeks at a time, storing the debris the robot vacuum collects on each trip in a larger compartment that's located in the charging dock.
Are self-emptying robot vacuums worth it?
Not having to lift a finger when it comes to floor maintenance is well worth it for anyone who just doesn’t have the time — or the interest — in wrestling an upright vacuum out of the closet every few days. The next question is whether you want the true set-it-and-forget solution that only automatic emptying can provide, and if you're willing to pay more for it.
Automatic emptying quickly proves its worth in households where the layer of pet fur would otherwise have you dumping the vacuum's tiny dust bin after just a few rooms. The best self-emptying robot vacuum cleaners let you off the hook for months at a time. (Many brands claim to have capacities averaging between six to eight weeks, but almost every self-emptying dock I've experienced lasted much longer.) And when it actually is time to empty the bigger dust bin, most self-empty docks trap dust inside a disposable bag, meaning you won't have to see or touch the nasty stuff at all.
For people with allergies, auto-emptying also spares you from inhaling the inevitable puff of dust that emerges when dumping a dustbin into the trash.
Speaking of avoiding the grosser parts of the job, if you want a robot vacuum that mops, many self-emptying docks also take it upon themselves to deal with dirty mopping pads after the job is done. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024 ushered in a new wave of flagship robot vacuums that self-wash and self-dry the soggy mopping pads in the same dock where debris is held. Looking ahead into 2025 and beyond, we expect to see more models with self-dispensing detergent and front-loading water tanks, which free up the dock's surface to be used like a side table. Only a few currently have these features.
Is Black Friday a good time to buy a robot vacuum?
Yep, it is. Not only does every top robot vacuum go on sale for Black Friday, but those robot vacuums are incredibly likely to drop to new record-low pricing throughout November. The opportunity to shave a few hundred dollars off of a robot vacuum comes in particularly handy if you're set on a robot vacuum with a self-emptying dock, which are naturally more expensive than their standalone counterparts.
Black Friday robot vacuum sales also widen your options to score a nicer self-emptying robot vacuum without maxing out your budget. For example, if you've known for months that you didn't want to stray far from the $500 point, you'll have many more self-emptying options (maybe even with self-washing and drying mopping pads) near that price during Black Friday season than non-Black Friday season.
It's also worth noting that Black Friday falls less than two months before CES, where many robot vacuum brands debut their new flagship models for the year. Black Friday could be a brand's last big chance to get rid of some older models.
I've been testing the latest and greatest self-emptying robot vacuums released in 2024 against my old favorites from 2023 and 2022. Here are the best self-emptiers to consider for your home.
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