A robot vacuum cleaner is one of the best investments you can make in a smart home to delegate cleaning tasks. Like Rosie, the Jetsons’ robot, these devices need to be cared for to extend their lifespan and increase their efficiency, so you should protect their batteries and cultivate good maintenance habits.

Also: The best robot vacuum cleaners for 2024: tested and rated by experts

First, you need to understand the underlying technology: lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which are widely used in consumer electronics, including smartphones, laptops and, you guessed it, robot vacuum cleaners. These rechargeable batteries have a long lifespan, making them ideal for devices that need to be charged frequently. Relative to their size and weight, they can store a significant amount of energy, making them perfect for portable devices.

To ensure lithium-ion batteries perform at their best, proper care is essential. Factors such as charging and discharging habits, storage environment, handling and temperature can affect the performance and lifespan of a lithium-ion battery. Here are some tips to keep your robot vacuum’s battery in top shape.

1. Maintain your robot vacuum properly

Regular cleaning and maintenance have a major impact on the performance of a robot vacuum cleaner and the wear and tear on its battery. Before each cleaning session, make sure the brush roller, spin brush, filter, wheels and sensors are clean and free of debris.

Also: Forget Dyson: I tested Roborock’s wet-dry handheld vacuum and it left my floors spotless

A clogged filter will restrict airflow during operation, while dirty brushes and wheels can encounter resistance when turning. Dirt and debris can also interfere with the function of sensors and affect navigation, forcing the motor to work harder at its cleaning task and requiring more power to achieve the intended performance level.

There is also a small risk of overheating and thermal stress on the robot vacuum’s battery. Higher power consumption puts strain on the motor and causes it to generate more heat. This can lead to overheating of the motor and battery and, as a result, a shortened lifespan.

2. Optimize your charging habits to extend battery life

As with other devices with lithium-ion batteries, you should fully charge and discharge your robot vacuum regularly to maintain battery performance. Also, let your robot dock itself regularly and avoid manual docking.

Robot vacuums are designed to return to their charging station and align themselves properly for optimal charging. This is part of their balanced charging and discharging cycles. Manually pushing your robot to the charging station can cause misalignment, resulting in inefficient charging due to poor contact.

Also: The best robot vacuum cleaners for pet hair 2024: tested and rated by experts

As a robot vacuum tester with 15 robots in my household, I learned this the hard way. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve picked up all the toys scattered on the floor and then tried to run a robot vacuum, only to find that the battery is completely dead because I misaligned the robot when manually placing it in the charging dock. Your robot was built to clean, but also to dock itself, so let it do its job.

3. Keep your robot vacuum cleaner map up to date

Robot vacuum cleaners are designed to clean your home while efficiently protecting their battery life. When you first use them, robot vacuum cleaners create a map of your home and then use AI algorithms to plan the most efficient route while cleaning.

Unless you’re using the robot for spot cleaning, let it follow the map it’s created. Have your robot vacuum recreate its map when you redecorate and move furniture around so it can find new, efficient cleaning routes.

4. Remove clutter and obstacles from the floor

Remove clutter and obstacles that the robot vacuum’s brush roll may get stuck on. This includes charging cables and loose objects on the floor such as paper, socks, toys, etc. If the robot’s brush roll gets stuck, the cleaning task will be aborted and someone will have to rescue it. If you often leave your robot running while you are away, you will find that the task is not completed and the robot’s battery will be drained from not using it.

Also: This ionizing air purifier kept my home free of smoke and odors (and it’s not a Levoit)

By removing obstacles that could clog your robot vacuum’s brush, you reduce the chance of the cleaning task being interrupted and the battery will charge as intended once it returns to the docking station.

5. Clean high traffic areas more frequently

Cleaning frequently used areas more frequently than the rest of your home can help conserve your robot’s battery life. If you run your robot every day, you can have it clean certain frequently used areas once and the rest of your home less often, for example the utility room and kitchen daily and the whole house every other day.

Also: Echo Pop vs. Echo Dot: Which Alexa smart speaker should you choose?

This strategy reduces unnecessary battery consumption and keeps your home clean. Depending on which robot you have, you may be able to make these or other adjustments in the robot vacuum’s app.

6. Manage suction power settings

The longer the charging and discharging cycles of your robot vacuum, the faster the performance of the lithium-ion battery will decrease. Therefore, it is important that you use your robot vacuum efficiently and prevent the battery from becoming completely discharged and failing.

Many robot vacuums have smart features that, for example, pay special attention to high-traffic areas and slightly reduce suction or mopping power when they detect low levels of dirt. These features can optimize cleaning efficiency and reduce unnecessary battery usage, so check your app settings to see if you can set this up automatically or manually.

Also: The best vacuum-mopping robots 2024: tested and rated by experts

By being able to customize cleaning on a room-by-room basis through your robot vacuum’s app, you can set up high-traffic areas—like the kitchen, dining room, and entryway—to receive stronger suction and higher water levels when cleaning.

Check if your app has an “eco” or power saving mode to conserve battery life during regular cleaning tasks.

7. Store your robot properly

In addition to charging and discharging cycles that shorten the battery life of your robot vacuum cleaner, extreme temperatures and the way you store your device also play an important role.

Also: I test robot vacuums for a living – the Narwal Freo X Plus is the best you can get for $400

If you don’t plan on using your device for several weeks or more, charge it to about 50%, turn it off, and store it in a cool, dry place. To turn it off, toggle the robot’s switch under the cover if there is one, rather than just pressing the power button. This will prevent it from accidentally turning back on if someone presses the button.

8. Avoid extreme temperatures

Store your robot vacuum cleaner at room temperature. These devices are not very demanding and therefore do not tend to heat up or be exposed to high external temperatures. It is optimal and easy to ensure that your robot vacuum cleaner is in a cool place.

Also: The square robot vacuum that kept my floor free of muddy paw prints this summer

9. Stay up to date with firmware updates

Smart devices like robot vacuums often have regular firmware updates to optimize performance, including improvements in battery optimization. Make sure your firmware is up to date by regularly checking your robot vacuum’s app and installing new updates promptly.

10. Watch for signs of battery degradation

Many robot vacuums have battery-saving features, such as automatically stopping charging when the battery is full to prevent overcharging. You can also take steps to prevent battery deterioration and watch for signs of when you need to replace the battery.

Also: The best robot mops 2024: tested and rated by experts

Signs of battery performance deterioration include reduced run times, more frequent returns to the docking station to charge, longer charging times before returning to the cleaning task, sudden, unexpected shutdowns, inaccurate battery readings and battery warnings in the app, overheating, and reduced performance.

If your battery needs replacing, check with the manufacturer to see if the device is still under warranty. If you have an older model, you may be able to find a replacement battery on the manufacturer’s website.