Selecting the best robot vacuum for your thick carpets is a diligent process that requires you to understand what features you need to efficiently clean your high-pile carpets at home.
While thick carpets look beautiful and provide a cozy comfort, they are difficult to clean. Dirt and debris get stuck in the fibers which require more suction power and strong cleaning.
Getting the best robot vacuum to clean your thick carpet will make your life easier by automating the cleaning process.
Robot vacuums will clean and pick up all the routine messes like dust, pet hair, cat litter, and food crumbs with minimum human intervention. Some smart robots only require scheduling, and the cleaning and emptying are done autonomously.
Related: Best vacuum cleaner for carpets
The following list of the best robot vacuums for thick carpets is curated after carefully testing and reviewing some of the best options available in the market. These are selected based on suction power, type of brush, ability to detect carpets and to agitate the deeply embedded mess, dirt bin size, ability to self-empty, battery power, and smart functionality.
- Shark RV1001AE IQ (Best Value For Money)
- Roomba 692 (Best Budget Robot Vacuum)
- Yeedi Vac Station (Best Robot Vacuum With High Suction Power)
- Roomba i7+ (Best Robot Vacuum With Self-Empty)
- Roborock G30 (Best Slim Robot Vacuum)
- Coredy R750 (Best Quiet Robot Vacuum)
- Roborock E55 (Best Robot Vacuum With Carpet Boost)
Specifications
- Weight: 5.8 pounds
- Dimensions: 12.6 x 12.6 x 3.5 inches
- Battery runtime: 60 mins
- Dirt bin capacity: 0.16 L
- Suction power: 2000 pa
When it comes to getting the most out of your hard-earned money, the Shark RV1001AE IQ robot vacuum is the best choice for thick carpets. This is a mid-range robot vacuum cleaner that comes with most of the features that only high-end expensive models offer.
One of the rare features in this price range is the self-emptying dust bin. Shark IQ can self-empty its dust bin into the home base for up to 45 days which means hassle-free cleaning.
It has a bagless dirt disposal chamber. This reduces the cost of buying the dirtbags every time it fills. One issue with the bagless feature is that some fine dust particles might escape back into the air. This might cause problems for asthma patients or people suffering from allergies.
Shark IQ has a multi-surface, self-cleaning, combo brush roll that is as effective on high-pile carpets as it is on hard floors.
The two sweeping side brushes and the combo brush make a killer combination to pick up all the dust, pet hair, and other debris from any type of surface.
It uses a camera to navigate and create smart maps of your house. With these smart maps, you can select room-specific cleaning as well.
Shark IQ robot vacuum also has all the smart features including wi-fi connectivity, a smartphone app, a voice assistant, and smart home integration.
Replacement parts of the Shark RV1001AE IQ robot vacuum are easily available on Amazon.
What Is Included In The Box?
- Shark IQ robot vacuum cleaner
- HEPA filter
- 2 x side brushes
- Docking station
- Magnetic boundary tape
Pros
- Best value for money
- Self-emptying dirt bin
- Self-cleaning brush roll
- Best for pet hair on thick carpets
Cons
- Large debris might clog the dirt bin and stop the auto disposal function
- Smaller dirt bin
Specifications
- Weight: 5 pounds
- Dimensions: 13.4 x 13.4 x 3.54 inches
- Battery runtime: 90 minutes
If you want the best Roomba robot vacuum for thick carpets that doesn’t break the bank, the iRobot Roomba 692 is your rescuer. This is the latest model in the 600 series of Roomba vacuum cleaners.
What makes Roomba 692 one of the best robot vacuum cleaners for thick carpets is that it uses a bristle brush and a rubber extractor for 3-stage cleaning.
The bristle brush goes deep down and agitates the thick and high fibers and loosens all the dirt, dust, fluff, and food crumbs from deep down while the rubber extractor lifts and sucks up all the debris.
It has iRobot’s patent Dirt Detect Technology. This dirt detection sensor allows it to detect the dirtier areas on the floors and then it focuses on those areas until they are cleaned properly.
It comes with an Adaptive Navigation system that makes it move in a random pattern. This type of navigation is common in robot vacuums of this price range. More higher-priced robot vacuum cleaners move in straight lines.
One downside of this random navigation is that it requires more battery power to complete the cleaning, especially if you have a larger area to be cleaned. If you live in a medium to small house or apartment, Roomba 692 is the best robot vacuum under budget.
It offers 90 minutes of runtime which is more than enough for a small to medium house.
The main purpose of buying a robot vacuum is to have automatic cleaning. Despite the low price, Roomba 692 doesn’t lack smart functionalities. It is a Wi-Fi-enabled smart cleaner that you can control through the smartphone iRobot Home App.
Besides starting and stopping Roomba 692 from anywhere, you can also schedule it for cleaning. And if you are away from home – at your workplace or off to meet someone – it will clean your carpets and hard floors equally and you will find a nice and clean home on your return.
With iGenius technology, the Roomba 692 robot vacuum learns your cleaning habits and schedules. And if it finds any pattern in your cleaning habits, it will suggest personalized cleaning schedules like which area to be cleaned, when to be cleaned, and how often to be cleaned.
Replacement parts of Roomba 692 are easily available on Amazon.
What Is Included In The Box?
- Roomba 692 robot vacuum
- Charging Base
- Power Cable
Pros
- Budget-friendly
- 3-stage cleaning system
- Great for thick carpets
- Dirt detect technology
Cons
- Low battery runtime
- Random pattern navigation
Specifications
- Weight: 13 pounds
- Dimensions: 13.7 x 13.7 x 3.03 inches
- Battery runtime: 200 minutes
- Dirt bin capacity: 420 ml
- Suction power: 3000 pa
Yeedi Vac Station robot vacuum is probably one of the most high-powered robot vacuums on the market. Since deep cleaning high pile and thick carpets require high suction power, the Yeedi Vac Station is the best robot vacuum for this purpose.
It offers 3000 PA of suction power on Max mode. This ensures that no debris is left on your thick carpets and shag rugs.
Yeedi Vac Station has inbuilt ultrasonic carpet detection sensors. This enables it to detect when it moves from a hard floor to carpets and adjusts the suction power accordingly.
It is a vacuum mop but it stops mopping automatically when it detects carpets. This makes it one of the best robot vacuums for complete house cleaning.
Yeedi Vac Station is a self-emptying robot vacuum. It can clean your house and self-empty itself for up to 30 days. When the dirt bin is filled, it returns to the charging dock and the dock sucks up all the debris from the robot vacuum dirt bin into a 1.5-liter dirt bag mounted on the charging base.
It navigates in straight lines and creates editable smart maps of your house. With the use of a smartphone app, you can draw virtual boundaries on the map along with all the other features like cleaning, scheduling, etc.
It uses a multi-surface combo brush that has bristles on it. These bristles dive deep into the thick carpet to get the deeply embedded debris out.
It has a maximum runtime of 200 minutes. But cleaning thick carpets will require more suction power thus consuming more battery power. The recharge and resume feature allows it to finish the deep cleaning chore even if the battery runs out in the middle of the cleaning.
Replacement parts for Yeedi Vac Station are easily available on Amazon.
What Is Included In The Box?
- Yeedi Vac Station Robotic Vacuum Cleaner
- Self-Empty Station
- Charging cable
- 1x Main Brush
- 1x Side Brush
- 1x HEPA Filter
Pros
- High suction power
- Ultrasonic carpet detection sensors
- Auto suction adjustment
- Self-Emptying dirt bin
- Great battery runtime
Cons
- Sometimes debris gets stuck during self-emptying
- Cannot work in complete darkness
Specifications
- Weight: 7.44 pounds
- Dimensions: 13.34*13.34*3.63 inches
- Battery Runtime: 90 mins
- Bin Capacity: 0.1 gal
The iRobot Roomba i7+ is the best robot vacuum for thick carpets that has a self-emptying feature. iRobot is a pioneer in the robot vacuum market. The Roomba robots are always great in build quality, cleaning performance, and customer service.
With the Roomba i7+, you can just set it and forget it. It truly serves the purpose of a robot vacuum cleaner. You can just schedule it via smartphone app or command through the voice assistant, and it will do the cleaning and auto-dirt disposal for as long as 60 days.
The Roomba i7+, when its dirt bin gets full, goes to its Home Base and empties itself into the dirt bag placed on top of the Home Base. So you don’t have to worry about cleaning your area rugs and carpets anymore.
It uses one sweeping side brush and two rubber extractors that not only pick up debris from the hard floors but can also deep clean your carpets and rugs as well.
With 10x the suction power as compared to the Roomba 600 series, cleaning carpets is a no one’s business for Roomba.
Roomba i7+ uses vSLAM camera to navigate around your house and creates interactive smart maps. You can draw keep-out zones or cleaning zones on these maps. It will stay away from the keep-out zones and can directly go to clean the Cleaning zones once commanded.
What Is Included In The Box?
- Roomba® i7+ Robot Vacuum
- Extra High-Efficiency Filter
- North American Line Cord
- Clean Base™ Automatic Dirt Disposal
- 2 x Dirt Disposal Bags
- Extra Side Brush
Pros
- Self-emptying
- Smart features
- Keep out and Cleaning zones
- Great suction power
Cons
- Cannot work in complete darkness
- Loud when self-emptying
Specifications
- Weight: 5.3 pounds
- Dimensions: 12.8 x 12.8 x 2.85 inches
- Battery runtime: 110 mins
- Dirt bin capacity: 600 ml
- Suction power: 2000 pa
The Eufy RoboVac G30 is the best slim robot vacuum cleaner for thick carpets. With a height of just 2.85 inches, it can easily clean your carpets and rugs even under furniture without getting stuck.
It comes with BoostIQ technology that enables it to detect different floor surfaces while cleaning. This enables it to adjust suction power automatically, during the carpet cleaning test, when it transitioned from hard floors to carpets. This makes it use only as much suction power as required and saves battery runtime.
It has a suction power of 2,000 pa. While running on Max mode and utilizing the full suction power, it performed exceptionally well during our carpet cleaning test.
It has a multi-surface combo brush. This brush also helps in agitating the carpet pile and in loosening up the dust and debris.
Talking about battery runtime, RoboVac G30 offers 100 minutes of maximum battery runtime in low-power mode. Even if its battery runs out in the middle of a cleaning chore, it will go back to its charging base, recharge itself, and will return to where it left cleaning.
We were amazed at how perfectly it navigated during our Navigation test. It runs in close straight lines. It not only covers your room vertically but also goes in horizontal lines as well ensuring every nook and corner of your room is covered.
This navigation is enabled by Smart Dynamic Navigation 2.0 which uses path-tracking sensors. This allows it to navigate in tight straight lines.
With the help of infrared sensors, it creates a smart map of your house and remembers all the obstacles and positions of different furniture.
One major issue with RoboVac G30 is that it doesn’t have any boundary markers or No-Go lines. To avail this feature, you will have to buy RoboVac G30 Edge which comes with magnetic boundary tape for physical boundary markers.
Replacement parts of Roborock G30 are easily available on Amazon.
What Is Included In The Box?
- RoboVac G30
- Charging Base
- AC Power Adapter
- 2 x Side Brushes
- Additional Unibody Filter
- Cleaning Tool
- 5 x Cable Ties
Pros
- Great suction power
- Compact low-profile design
- BoostIQ technology
Cons
- No boundary markers
- Small brush
Specifications
- Weight: 10.58 pounds
- Dimensions: 12.8 x 12.7 x 2.7 inches
- Battery runtime: 120 minutes
- Dirt bin capacity: 500 ml
- Suction power: 2200 pa
No more waking up your children or disturbing your leisure time during cleaning. Coredy R750 is the best robot vacuum that has the quietest operation even in Max mode. The noise level of 45-65 dB is well below any other robot vacuum cleaner.
With an impressive suction power of 2200 PA, Coredy R750 is a debris eater when it comes to cleaning your carpets.
Coredy R750 comes with Boost-Intellect technology that enables it to detect the surface type and it adjusts its suction power and cleaning accordingly.
It has two sweeping side brushes that make it good for edge and baseboard cleaning. The main brush is a multi-surface combo brush roll that picks up debris from all surfaces including carpets and rugs.
One major plus point of this robot vac is that it uses a washable HEPA filter that traps all the dust and fine debris. The filter is washable which means you can reuse the filter and reduce the recurring cost of buying new filters.
It also comes with all the smart features including Wi-Fi connectivity, a smartphone app, and voice control.
It is also compatible with boundary strips. It has specialized sensors that detect the magnetic boundary tape and avoids going into that area. The boundary tape is sold separately and is not included in the box.
It offers 120 minutes of maximum battery runtime and a recharge-and-resume feature as well.
Replacement parts for Coredy R750 are easily available on Amazon.
What Is Included In The Box?
- Coredy R750 robotic vacuum cleaner
- Water tank with a mop cloth
- 4 x side brushes
- 1 x extra HEPA filter
- 1 x remote control
- 1 x charging dock
- 1 x AC power adapter
- 1 x cleaning tool
Pros
- High suction power
- Boost-Intellect technology
- Washable HEPA filter
- Quiet cleaning
- Extra attachments included in the box
Cons
- Boundary tape is not included in the box
- No mapping
Specifications
- Weight: 7.9 pounds
- Dimensions: 13.7 x 13.8 x 3.6 inches
- Battery runtime: 200 minutes
- Dirt bin capacity: 640 ml
- Suction power: 2500 pa
Roborock E55 has a Carpet Boost functionality. With this technology, the moment Roborock E55 steps on the carpets it turns its turbo power on and goes on to high power mode. This makes it easier to deep clean the carpets and pick up all the deep-embedded dust and debris.
It has an impressive suction power of 2500 pa which makes it one of the best robot vacuums for high-pile carpets and rugs.
It comes with an enormous 5200 mAh battery that gives a maximum runtime of 180 minutes. It also has the recharge and resume feature.
It uses one sweeping side brush and one main combo brush. This multi-surface brush roll digs deep into the pile of carpets to pick up all the debris from within.
Roborock E55 uses a washable HEPA filter which reduces the recurring cost of buying the filter for a long time.
It has a larger dirt bin of 640 ml which means less emptying the dirt bin during one run.
It moves in straight lines using the OpticEye motion tracking system. This enables logical navigation and thorough cleaning.
This robot vacuum cleaner can be connected to wi-fi and smart home devices. It can be controlled using the smartphone app, remote control, or voice commands.
It doesn’t support the mapping feature. This is not an issue if you live in a small apartment.
Replacement parts of Roborock E55 are easily available on Amazon.
What Is Included In The Box?
- Roborock E55 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
- 1 x Charging Dock
- 1 x Power Cable
Pros
- Great battery runtime
- Carpet Boost
- Strong suction power
Cons
- No mapping
- Gets stuck in tight spaces more often
Robot Vacuum For Thick Carpets vs Traditional Upright Carpet Cleaners
When you are looking to buy the best robot vacuum for thick carpets, you are looking to get an automatic cleaning machine.
But one thing should be kept in mind. The robot vacuum cleaners cannot substitute the cleaning performance of a traditional upright carpet cleaner.
Robot vacuums have less suction power and deep cleaning ability when compared to upright carpet cleaners and shampooers. Robot vacuums should be used for smaller pick-ups and in between more thorough carpet cleaning and shampooing sessions with traditional upright carpet cleaners and shampooers.
You can also hire professional carpet cleaning services once or twice a year, depending on the traffic your carpets bear, and use the robot vacuum cleaners for routine cleaning.
Factors To Consider While Buying The Best Robot Vacuum For Thick Carpets
There are certain key features that one must look for when buying the best robot vacuum for thick carpets.
Suction power
One key factor a robot vacuum cleaner must have is suction power. Most robots have an average suction power of around 1000 PA. This suction power is not enough to clean thick carpets and shag rugs that require high suction power so that the deeply embedded debris is properly lifted and cleaned.
A robot vacuum must have at least 2000 pa of suction power to work best on thick carpets.
Carpet Detection Sensors
Robot vacuums are mostly recommended for multiple surfaces. They can clean both hard floors and carpets as well. One key feature a robot vacuum must have to be effective on thick carpets is the Carpet Detection Sensors.
With this feature, Robot vacuums detect carpets while cleaning and adjust their cleaning head and suction power accordingly.
This feature is especially helpful for robot vacuum mops. Some robot vacmops are best for thick carpets due to their suction power and ability to lift debris. With the carpet detection feature, these robot vacuum mops will automatically stop mopping as they detect carpets underneath them.
Brush Type
The ability of a robot vacuum to clean a thick carpet thoroughly depends on the type of brush it has. The most effective type of brush for this purpose is a bristle brush. Most robot vacuums these days use a multi-surface combo brush roll that contains both the bristles and the rubber extractor.
Newer models of Roomba include dual rubber extractors that are best for both hard floors and carpets as well.
Battery Runtime
Robot vacuum cleaners are cordless devices that run on batteries. Cleaning thick carpets and shag rugs requires high suction power and extra work by the cleaning head. So, it consumes more battery power as compared to cleaning hard floors.
Therefore, you must choose a robot vacuum that has a battery runtime of at least two hours to effectively clean your thick carpets.
Another feature to look for is the ability to recharge and resume. Even if the battery runs out during a cleaning session, this feature allows the robot vacuum to return to the charging base, recharge itself and then resume cleaning from where it left off.
Dirt Bin Size and Self-Empty
Once I ran a robot vacuum on my thick carpet the first time, and the dirt bin got filled up with mess even before one-third of the cleaning. And the mess it gathered in the dirt bin was as if the robot vacuum ran over a junkyard.
Thick carpets are debris magnets. They absorb dust, dirt, and fluff. As you walk on the carpets, the debris embeds deep into the thick fibers if not cleaned properly. And if you have pets in your house, the pet hair will get seeded into the pile.
This is the reason that you should buy a robot vacuum that either has a larger dirt bin or a self-emptying feature. The self-emptying robot vacuums, like Roomba i7+ or the Shark IQ, empty their dirt bin into their Home Base for several days.
This relieves you from emptying the dirt bin during for a longer period of time.
Smart Features
People buy robot vacuum cleaners for the purpose of automatic cleaning chores and relieving themselves from picking up traditional vacuum cleaners or brooms and doing the cleaning manually.
But what if the robot vacuum cleaners lack the real essence of autonomous cleaning, that is the smart features? It kills the core purpose.
It doesn’t look fancy or futuristic if you always have to press the “Start” or the “Clean” button on top of the robot vacuum cleaner. Therefore, it must have all the smart features to enable fully autonomous cleaning.
These smart features include Wi-Fi connectivity, a smartphone app, smart home integration, voice control, smart interactive mapping, and keep-out and cleaning zones.
Types Of Debris
Robot vacuum cleaners are best suited to pick up dry debris like dust, dirt, fluff, food crumbs, small grains, pet hair, etc. If your thick carpets mostly taste these dry debris, Robot vacuum cleaners are best suited for you.
But if your carpets also get to taste wet spills like juice, wine, or other wet mess, you must look to buy an upright carpet cleaner or shampooer that will remove the wet stains and do the deep cleaning and shampooing as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes robot vacuum cleaners suitable for thick carpets?
Most robot vacuum cleaners are recommended for multiple surfaces like hard floors and carpets. Some of these are suitable for low to medium-pile carpets while some can also be used on high-pile, thick carpets and shag rugs.
But what makes a robot vacuum suitable for thick carpets and shag rugs? The ability of a robot vacuum to pick up deeply buried debris is the key.
Having enough suction power and a cleaning brush roll suitable for properly combing the carpet’s high pile make a robot vacuum perfect for cleaning thick carpets.
Will a Roomba ruin your carpet?
A Roomba or any other robot vacuum will not ruin your carpet as long as your carpet doesn’t have long tassels or fringes on its corners.
Some robots that have high suction power will try to engulf the long tassels and fringes of the carpet. These tassels get stuck into the brush roll and will damage the motor.
To avoid this, you should get a robot vacuum that has keep-out zones or no-go lines, and mark long tassel carpets as a no-go zone and the robot vacuum will avoid that area.
Another way of keeping your robot vacuum from getting stuck on carpets with long fringes is to remove such carpets while the robot vacuum is cleaning.
What is considered a high pile carpet?
Pile is referred to the loops or strands on the surface of the carpets. A high-pile carpet has longer and more loose-ended strands on it. This high pile provides a cozy, lavish, and warm feeling in your house.
A low pile carpet, on the other hand, has small and more closely tied strands on the carpets.
Both types of carpets serve different purposes and you should look for the one that suits your needs.
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