iRobot Roomba S9+

The iRobot Roomba S9+ has smart mapping technology that allows it to learn, map and adapt to the areas to be cleaned. We allowed it to perform a few training sessions prior to our test runs and it was met with much success as the vacuum aced navigating our lab in a grid-like pattern. The Robot automatically added room dividers on the map in the app when asked us to name each room so that it can clean or be scheduled to clean a specifically named room. It was also able to recharge and resume cleaning where it left off. It was also able to navigate over black matte carpet in the lab and bumped and moved some of the lighter furniture in the lab. It also aced most other tests because the brushroll has counter rotating rubber scrapers that help clean various types of debris from different surfaces. It was excellent at cleaning bare floor and carpeted corners and edges. The squared front edge, different from its circular Roomba predecessors, helped it hug the corners of the room. It left no pet hair in its path and the two rubber brushrolls were successful at keeping hair out of them - most of the pet hair was in the bin which was a feat most other vacs could not accomplish. A lot of human hair was stuck on the brushroll and didn't make it to the bin (if it weren't for this the carpet score would have been excellent) but the hair just slid off of the brushrolls making them easy to clean. This vac was strong enough to successfuly suck up fine grains of embedded flour from the carpet. Its brushroll cage and track type wheels have suspension that allow it to automatically adjust to different floor types and transition over a .5 inch threshold. The one side brush scattered some debris. Like other Roombas, the S9+ doesn't have a remote, you must use an app to control it remotely however, you can start the vac without the app. The stand out feature on this vacuuming system, like the Roomba i7+, is that it comes with a "Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal": once the robot is docked, a vacuum in the docking station automatically sucks the contents from the robot's bin into an enclosed, disposable bag that is attached to the base. We tested the Automatic Dirt Disposal and it sucked most of the debris from the robot's bin, aside from a few grains of rice and sand. The product claims to hold up to 30 cleaning cycle's worth of debris but the results will vary based on floor surfaces and debris. Once the bag is full, the iRobot HOME App can notify you that the bag is full. The downside of the system is that you have to purchase replacement bags. Features: Auto, spot cleaning modes and a find mode for when the robot is lost. App: iRobot Home version 5.0.1: allows you to schedule cleaning and view the status of the vac and the cleaning job as well as map where the vacuum has cleaned. The vacuum can also be controlled with Alexa, Amazon, Echo. You can also label rooms and tell the vacuum to clean particular rooms by name (not tested). Keep Out Zones allow you to ensure the vacuum will not clean areas that you tell it not to go. Battery: Li-Ion (20 V, 2 A) Includes: 1 Clean Base™ Automatic Dirt Disposal, 2 Dirt Disposal Bags, Dual Mode Virtual Wall Barrier, Extra Filter, Extra Side Brush. 1 year warranty.

The iRobot Roomba S9+ is part of the Vacuum Cleaners test program at Consumer Reports. In our lab tests, Robotic Vacuums models like the Roomba S9+ are rated on multiple criteria, such as those listed below.

Carpet: Shows how much surface litter (cereal, rice, and peas) and embedded dust the vacuum picked up from a medium-pile carpet.

Bare floors: Indicates the vacuum's ability to remove surface debris from a bare laminate floor.

Navigation: A composite score that includes combined coverage over multiple runs, clearance under furniture and obstacle and entrapment avoidance.