Have you ever wished you could get someone (or something) to clean for you?
That you could just forget about your cleaning jobs, especially cleaning up after your pets?
Do you get sick and tired of vacuum cleaning up all the pet hair scattered around the home by your dogs?
Well, today is your lucky day because we have an amazing robot vacuum solution that will reduce the amount of time you spend using a vacuum and cleaning your house.
In this Roomba review of the best robot vacuums for your home, we are going to help you save a ton of time and energy.
Best Roomba for Pet Hair – Quick Summary
Best Overall Value – iRobot Roomba j7+
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Best Budget Model – iRobot Roomba i3 EVO
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Does an automatic method for getting rid of all the pet hair in your home sound like a great idea?
I don’t know about you, but I hate seeing those annoying little clumps of pet hair under the coffee table and close to the baseboards of every room in my home.
It seems like I am always on my hands and knees pulling up these clumps of dog hairs even when it isn’t shedding season.
To be honest, I don’t even really know when that is, and it feels to me like it is all year round!
My dog has a major shed now and then, but most days, I see dog hairs flying about regardless of the time of year.
I have to admit I dream about the best Roomba for dog hair. It would be my new best friend. Next to my dog, of course!
The Best Recommendations and Reviews
If you aren’t sure what a Roomba® is, let me give you a quick explanation. And no, it is not a dance! It is a robotic disk that moves around your home, vacuuming up things on the floor. It is made by a company called iRobot, and the first model was released to the public in 2002, although the company was founded in 1990.
The unit was developed by a team of Artificial Intelligence experts at MIT. It is actually quite smart, as it can learn your floor plan, meaning that it will eventually figure out how not to bang into obstacles and will not fall down the stairs. It can be a real time saver for large homes and living areas, making the investment pay for itself in short order.
What I find truly amazing about the Roomba is that it can effectively sweep dirt from a square corner even though the unit is round. It can also detect dirty areas on the floor, which means it knows its job.
As the years passed and the units progressed, they became even smarter to the point where they could find their own charging bases. If stuck or in a jam, the newer units will let you know they need help by a loud signal.
What Is The Best Roomba For Cleaning Up Pet Hair
As you may be aware, there are many models of this robotic vacuum cleaner.
But some are better for pet hairs than others. In fact, the company realizes that dog hairs are a major dilemma in millions of homes around the world.
As a result, they have focused their efforts and technology on that problem alone.
The Pupster Passion Team has looked at the units and deemed the following five to be our top picks.
The yellow stars are the grades we have given to the models, with five being the highest.
They are not part of the Amazon buyer satisfaction rating system. These are our own opinions and scores.
iRobot Roomba i7+
Pupster Passion Rating:
5.0 Stars
The Best Roomba by iRobot B07GNPDMRP
Pros:
- One of the main reasons we chose this model as the best Roomba to eliminate pet hair is the fact that it has its own AllergenLock™ bag. For those of you who suffer from allergies, this feature will be a huge relief in maintaining your living space from hairs and dander. I was reading some discussions on a housekeeping tips website. Users have indicated that the bags lasted for months, even with large amounts of dog hair and scheduled vacuuming every day. The company makes it easy to purchase more sets of bags and sells them in packages of three.
- True, set it, and forget it experience. Schedule the Roomba to do regular sweeping, let it recharge itself, and have it empty its own debris. In several weeks, or two months or so, you can get rid of the disposable bag. Unfortunately, the machine can’t take the garbage out to the curb for you!
- Can vacuum and mop, saving you lots of time, and it will get those nasty spills or dirt bunnies right away.
- The three-stage filtration system, including a HEPA filter.
- The unit comes with a virtual barrier. It is a small light type device that lets the Roomba know an area is off-limits. This would be particularly useful, for example, if you didn’t want the machine to go into a small space or even the dog’s area. Some dogs will be afraid of the unit and can be territorial regarding their food or bed. Plus, you don’t want the sweeper knocking over the dog’s water dish. In order to keep peace and not agitate the dog, using the barrier will help.
- The company has even improved cleaning corners and tight spots by adding a spinning brush for better coverage.
- Remembers the floor plan and knows where to sweep in what order.
- Rubber brushes that prevent tangling of hairs.
- Designed and created with pets in mind.
Cons:
- Admittedly, this unit is not cheap. It is a major buying decision. But if you think about how much a regular vacuum costs and how often you have to replace it, the price doesn’t seem that bad. I know we have had vacuums that cost hundreds of dollars, and they were junk. Plus, I couldn’t stand the dust being blown all around every time they were being used. The Roomba® is so much cleaner and, in my opinion, well worth every penny.
iRobot Roomba 981
Pupster Passion Rating:
4.7 Stars
Roomba For Pet Hair by iRobot B085D3PR64
Pros:
- Excellent on carpets and hardwood floors, meaning that more of your housework gets done automatically, and you have less pet hair in your home.
- A suction system called Power Boost Technology for increased carpets’ capacity to extract dirt, dust, and hairs.
- Long-running time. Can work for three hours before needing charging. It will also charge itself and return to sweeping if the job has not yet been completed.
- Android and iOS capabilities. WiFI connectivity. Both perfect for managing your Roomba with cell phone apps. You can even watch videos of what the machine has done.
- Efficiency filtration for capturing 99% of the allergens from pets. Dog hairs and dander were specifically tested.
- Want to talk to your Roomba to give it instructions? It works with Amazon Tap, Echo Speaker, and Echo Dot.
- Has the proprietary tangle-free brushes to prevent the unit from bogging down. Keeps moving forward and sweeping or vacuuming.
- Lots of positive online comments about the efficacy of the unit in terms of not only dog hairs but also the debris they track into the house. Pet owners were pleasantly surprised with everything it grabbed from the floors.
Cons:
- Pricing is a little steep, again making this unit a significant buying decision. But as I have said a couple of times, it is most likely worth the cost over the long term.
- Users have complained that their robot can’t find its way back to the docking station to be recharged. It seems the unit needs to be reset, and in some cases, customers have had to call iRobot directly to have them try to figure out the problem.
- Apparently, Roomba cannot vacuum on black colored carpeting. Users are suggesting that the sensors be disabled or taped over. Considering the price of the unit and the warranty instructions, I would not suggest this is the right way to handle the problem. It’s unfortunate with all the team’s expertise that a proper development solution has not been found.
iRobot Roomba 960
Pupster Passion Rating:
4.5 Stars
Another great Roomba For Pet Hair by iRobot B01ID8H6NO
Pros:
- Mid-range pricing.
- Has the capability of working with Alexa to provide voice directions.
- A three-stage filtering system means the unit can collect dog hairs, dust, and dirt that the human eye can’t see.
- Excellent at catching dander, which is the root of most allergies for people that own dogs.
- Knows to go back to the charging station when the battery is low. Once charged, it will continue to clean if the job is not done.
- Works with the iRobot Home App. Allows you to schedule, monitor, and view the machine in use.
- Virtual barriers allow you to program a space up to ten feet wide to keep the unit going into. This is handy for areas that are too small to vacuum or for sensitive areas like the dog’s feeding station that you don’t want the Roomba messing with. It will also be invaluable if you have expensive items on the floor, such as a vase, and you don’t want to take the chance of them getting broken or knocked over.
- Energy saver when placed on Standby if not in use.
Cons:
- The filter should be cleaned twice per week, especially if it collects dog hairs.
- The bin should be emptied daily or at every use.
- Seems to be two sides to the pet hair issues. Either families rave about how great the vacuuming robot is, while others say they have to go behind and pick up the left behind piles. I guess this all depends on how bad the situation was before getting the Roomba. Plus, I would think that maybe it would depend on the total number of pets in the house and how often the unit cleans.
iRobot Roomba 614
Pupster Passion Rating:
4.2 Stars
The 614 Roomba For Pet Hair by iRobot B00IPEZKBW
Pros:
- Proprietary sensors tell the unit to work extra hard in dirtier areas or have more dog hairs.
- Affordable price point for a robotic vacuum.
- Designed to handle rugs and floors. It also has side sweepers for collecting dirt, dust, and pet hair from the corners of the room.
- Many families have stated that this model has helped them with their dog and cat hairs.
Cons:
- It only runs for an hour and a half, then needs charging.
- It is not programmable. No Smart connections.
- The pattern of cleaning is a bit erratic.
- Heads back to the docking station for no apparent reason.
iRobot Roomba 675
Pupster Passion Rating:
4.0 Stars
The 675 Roomba for Getting Rid of Pet Hair by iRobot B07DL4QY5V
Pros:
- All the regular features of this robot vacuum brand include adapting to sweep carpets and floors, learning patterns and mapping out jobs, taking voice direction from Alexa and Google Assistant, and scheduling through the Home App.
- Very affordable if you want to have a Roomba and have never tried one.
- Can do manual cleans or scheduled.
- Does spot cleaning when you use the button to tell it to focus on something specific.
- It can create wall barriers to prevent cleaning in restricted areas. They are called virtual because only the unit sees them with its sensors.
Cons:
- By the company’s own admission and comparison chart of different models, this unit may not be the best if you have more than one shedding dog. Its efficiency will depend on how often the dog sheds hair and how long the actual hairs are.
- Cleaning is in random patterns, not back and forth, meaning that many spots get missed.
- It is less powerful, but the company states that in the specs, plus it is much cheaper, so one outweighs the other.
How Well Does a Roomba® Work On Pet Hair on Hardwood Floors or Carpets?
Obviously, if you are going to all the trouble and expense of purchasing a robotic vacuum, you want to know that it will do the job you expect.
You will want to feel confident that it will do a good job of cleaning up dog hair with as little fuss and hassle as possible.
You’ll probably ask yourself what the best robot vacuum is for pet hair?
Indeed, there are plenty of reasons why you would prefer a Roomba® specifically, and not any other brand. Most notably, you want to rid your home of messy dog hairs, allergens from the dander, and dust mites that are in all homes, especially pillows, cushions, and mattresses.
If you have a dog that has environmental allergies, as mine does, keeping the dust, hairs, and dander down to manageable amounts is going to be important. Otherwise, your poor pup is going to go crazy scratching and biting his or her skin.
Since your pet is home all day, she is continually exposed to the contaminants. But with an autonomous vacuum cleaner, you can rest assured that the area is being kept up with consistent sweeping. Ideally, your family, including your dog, will breathe easier.
Therefore, the short answer is absolutely yes if you wonder whether Roomba is good at dealing with dog hairs. But why is that so? Let’s look at a few points to ease your mind.
- Brushes are designed for dog hairs. They are not bristles like other machines, which means the hairs do not get all tangled up inside, preventing them from working properly.
- Product testing done by individuals and other third parties has shown the Roomba’s efficacy when dust, dirt, and dog hairs are thrown all around. In many instances, the tests had real dogs in the room or house to see the vacuum in operation with live subjects.
- Dogs are notorious for tracking stuff through the house. I know when mine comes in from outdoors, he often has leaves and small twigs attached to his paws. Plus, when he kicks his feet on the lawn, there are clumps of mud and grass stuck in his claws. Everything ends up in the house. But Roomba robot is clever enough to track this dirt down and clean it up.
- Onboard filtration system stops dander, hairs, mites, pollen, and mold spores in their tracks.
- Some models have HEPA filters, which are real pet hair busters.
- If you choose a model that is designed for pet hairs, you’ll find the added luxury of the machine emptying the debris into a sealable bag. You never have to touch any of the allergens, nor will they end up back in your air or on the floor.
Ten Benefits of a Roomba®
- Because pet hair likes to collect in the corners, robot vacuums are perfect for getting them out of there simply because they can manage to clean in square corners even though the devices are round.
- For families with pets, and in particular dogs, Roomba makes a unit with a larger debris capacity to hold all those pesky pet hairs collecting in every room of the house. Independent trials have shown the Roomba to collect more dog hairs than any other unit tested. Other brands and models have been known to tangle up with hairs.
- The development team is the cream of the crop, so always improving something that was already excellent. Quite simply, iRobot is a leader in innovation and development. Robotics are their specialty.
- It is autonomous. Patterns are learned, and unless it has serious trouble, it finds its way around unaided. It is even smart enough to recognize steep inclines so that it doesn’t fall down the stairs. And its intelligence doesn’t stop there. The Roomba can make its way back to the charging base when the battery is low or has finished its vacuuming and cleaning. Finally, if it manages to bury itself in some narrow area where it absolutely cannot get out of, then it will sound off an alarm for a human to help it.
- iRobot Roomba® is the original. It is not a knockoff or copycat.
- Huge time saver. Housework is the bane of many’s existence. We would rather be out playing with our pets and family than sweeping hardwood floors or vacuuming carpets.
- Programmable so you can set it and leave it.
- It appears to be expensive when first starting out, but it is well worth the investment in the long run. And to be honest, traditional vacuum cleaners can be quite costly and need to be replaced frequently, so you really aren’t spending that much more.
- Advanced technology to deal with pet hair and carpeting. Previously, the rug’s fibers would get stuck, but now some models can handle vacuuming the carpets, too. A floor washer is also available.
- Winner of several awards for design and use-ability.
Video – Roomba j7+ Avoids Poop!
BEFORE YOU GO! Still, want to know robotic vacuum cleaners? Find pricing and more information about the best Roomba for pet hair here...