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Best robot vacuums for pet hair in 2024, according to pet owners
Roomba via Amazon
Let’s face it: You love your pets, but not the fur they shed or the dirt they bring inside. Dogs and cats can’t mop up. But a robot vacuum can — especially a robot vacuum that’s designed for the tough challenge of pet hair.
We found robot vacuums that specialize in tackling the hair your pets shed all over your carpet and floors. But that’s not all. The experts at CBS Essentials have found robot vacuums that can suck up allergy-inducing dust, pet dander and outdoor dirt. We even found a robot vacuum smart enough to dodge dog poop.
Pet owners should never settle on a subpar robot vacuum. Entry-level robot vacuums lack features needed by pet households, such as high-efficiency filters that trap dog and cat allergens. If your pet is prone to accidents, consider a vacuum with object detection that can avoid pet messes. You’ll also want a robot vacuum with a cleaning base, if you can afford the upgrade. Unlike older robot vacuums that need to be emptied once every couple of days, a robot vacuum with a cleaning base can go for months before being emptied.
If you’re in a hurry and you already know you need the best of the best, let’s save you some time. Our top pick, the iRobot Roomba j7+ robot vacuum, is buyable below.
Best robot vacuums for pet hair in 2024
If you’re looking for a robot vacuum to suck up pet hair, dander and dirt, then check out these highly-rated options.
Best overall: iRobot Roomba j7+ robot vacuum
Amazon
The iRobot Roomba j7+ is designed with dog poop in mind. This smart vacuum includes iRobot’s P.O.O.P., or “Pet Owner Official Promise,” guarantee. Your Roomba j7+ is guaranteed to avoid pet waste, or iRobot will replace your vacuum for free.
The vacuum features a powerful three-stage cleaning system with iRobot’s most powerful suction. It uses an edge-sweeping brush to get into corners. The Roomba j7+ also features dual multi-surface rubber brushes that flex to adjust to different floor types. Best of all, they don’t get tangled with pet hair.
When it’s finished cleaning, the device automatically empties into an included base for easy dirt disposal with enclosed bags. Just empty the cleaning station once every 60 days.
Pros: The robot vacuum actively avoids pet messes and obstacles such as water bowls. Reviewers say that it does a great job picking up pet hair. The vacuum’s self-emptying capabilities mean you don’t need to constantly empty a dustbin. The three-stage cleaning system provides a thorough clean of floors and carpets.
Con: This robot vacuum isn’t necessarily budget-friendly. This is one of the more expensive iRobot Roomba models.
Set it and forget it: Samsung Jet Bot robot vacuum
Samsung
Control this affordable and Wi-Fi-enabled Samsung Jet Bot via your smartphone. It uses sensors to map cleaning zones and automatically distinguishes hard floors from carpets in order to use the proper suction, up to five watts.
One reviewer called this robot vacuum a must-have for pet owners. The reviewer shares: “I’ve used the Samsung Jet Bot+ robot vacuum for about a month now and it has freed up so much of my time. I have an Australian Shepherd that constantly sheds his undercoat. If I go three days without vacuuming, I would have little tumbleweeds of his fur rolling around the house.
“This robot vacuum has eliminated my need to do touch up vacuuming sessions,” the reviewer continues. “Now I set the robot to vacuum whenever I’m not home, and I come home to clean floors each and every time.”
Pros: This robot vacuum features a brush roll designed to pick up pet hair without getting tangled. It offers targeted cleaning — users can even select which areas of the home it should focus on.
Con: The vacuum has mixed reviews regarding its battery life.
Best for smaller spaces: iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO robot vacuum
Amazon
The iRobot Roomba i3+ EVO uses “Imprint Smart Mapping” technology to map your home. Use your connected phone to direct the Wi-Fi-enabled robot vacuum to clean any room you want. You can even schedule a future clean. This Roomba is compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
The smart appliance learns your cleaning habits and can suggest extra cleanings during peak pollen and pet-shedding seasons. And don’t worry about dumping out your dustbin; the Roomba i3+ EVO features iRobot’s “Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal” system and empties your accumulated dirt into an enclosed bag with a high-efficiency filter.
Pros: It includes dirt detection for a more thorough cleaning. We love this device for pet owners who want a clean base but are looking for a less bulky disposal option.
Con: Reviewers have reported issues with the mapping feature.
Best budget Roomba: iRobot Roomba 694 robot vacuum
Amazon
The Roomba 694 is Wi-Fi-enabled. Control the vaccum with your connected smartphone or device via the iRobot Home app. The Roomba 694 has a 90-minute run time before it automatically docks and recharges.
On Amazon, one reviewer praised the iRobot device’s ability to keep a pet-friendly household clean. “We have two dogs, one that sheds moderately,” the customer writes. “I purchased in hopes that it at least would help between regular vacuuming. I vacuumed first with my Dyson then set it free. When it was done with the job, I didn’t expect much in the dust trap… I was wrong! It was full! Super impressed.”
Pros: The iRobot Roomba 694 is a great budget-friendly option. The device provides 90 minutes of run time on a single charge. The dual multi-surface brush is designed to clean different floor types, which is great if you have both carpet and hardwood or laminate. It can be controlled directly from your smartphone.
Con: It lacks the self-emptying capabilities of other iRobot Roomba models.
Best on a budget: Lefant M210 robot vacuum cleaner
Amazon
Lefant’s M210 robot vac features built-in, anti-collision infrared sensors, so it won’t bang into its surroundings or knock over your pet’s water bowl. The robot vacuum features strong suction power to easily pick up pet hair. It also detects “stuck areas,” and adjusts its cleaning path automatically. Download the Lefant app to pair the Wi-Fi-enabled vaccum with your smartphone or device to control the appliance remotely.
Pet owners, including this verified purchaser, love the Lefant robot vacuum: “I got this for my upstairs to help keep up with the cat litter and pet hair,” the reviewer says. “I come home every day to a nice clean floor. It is so quiet and works perfectly for what I need it for.”
Right now, this robot vacuum can be purchased for 56% off, giving shoppers a savings of $111 of their order.
Pros: Reviewers report that it’s easy to set up. It’s an affordable robot vacuum option for pet households.
Cons: Lacks advanced features such as mapping, self-emptying and object avoidance that many pet owners prefer to have.
NEW YORK — Drones have been banned from flying over several New Jersey towns, the Federal Aviation Administration confirms to CBS News.
The FAA order covers nearly two dozen towns, including Jersey City, Harrison, Edison, Bayonne and Camden. It will be in effect until Jan. 17.
The order says no unmanned aircraft can operate below 400 feet within one nautical mile of the airspace specified in each area. Additionally, it allows the government to use “deadly force” against the drones if they pose an “imminent security threat.”
“Pilots of aircraft that do not adhere to the procedures in the national security requirements for aircraft operations contained in this section may be intercepted, and/or detained and interviewed by federal, state, or local law enforcement or other government personnel,” the order reads in part.
Several of the zones are centered around infrastructure, like power substations. Others cover areas like the Kearny, New Jersey port and airspace around military installations like Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in South Jersey, or airports such as Newark-Liberty International Airport.
Earlier this month, the Florham Park, New Jersey police chief told residents drone sightings had been reported above “water reservoirs, electric transmission lines, rail stations, police departments, and military installations.”
Where are drones banned in New Jersey?
North Jersey:
- Cedar Grove
- Bridgewater
- North Brunswick
- Metuchen
- South Brunswick
- Edison
- Branchburg
- Sewaren
- Jersey City
- Harrison, Essex County
- Elizabeth
- Bayonne
- Clifton
- Kearny
Central Jersey:
South Jersey:
- Burlington
- Evesham
- Camden
- Gloucester City
- Westampton
- Winslow
- Hancocks Bridge, Salem County
See the full order from the FAA here.
Mysterious drones over New Jersey and beyond
Drones sightings have been reported all month long, first over Morris County, New Jersey and then over several other East Coast states.
Federal, state and local officials have been demanding more information about where they are coming from and what’s being done to stop them. The FBI is leading the investigation and tells CBS News it has received thousands of tips.
While the White House says there is no known threat, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking for more federal resources.
On Wednesday, a push from Sen. Chuck Schumer to give local law enforcement more ways to track drones was blocked in the Senate.
Check back soon for the latest updates on this developing story.
contributed to this report.
Two highway crashes in southeastern Afghanistan killed a combined total of 50 people and injured 76, a government spokesman said Thursday.
One was a collision between a bus and an oil tanker on the Kabul-Kandahar highway late Wednesday, said Hafiz Omar, a spokesman for the governor of Ghazni province.
The other, also late Wednesday and in the same province, was in a different area of the same highway, which connects the Afghan capital with the south.
MOHAMMAD FAISAL NAWEED / AFP via Getty Images
Hamidullah Nisar, the provincial head of the Taliban-run Information and Culture Department, told the Reuters news agency the other accident involved a cargo truck, adding that some of those injured in both collisions were in critical condition.
Omar said many of the injured were taken to hospitals in Ghazni and patients in more serious condition were transferred to Kabul. Women and children were among the casualties, he said.
Authorities were in the process of handing over the bodies to families, Omar said.
MOHAMMAD FAISAL NAWEED / AFP via Getty Images
Crash survivor Abdullah Khan, who was being treated in a Ghazni hospital, said he didn’t know how many people had either died or were injured.
“I got out from the bus myself and heard the sound of moaning. There was blood everywhere. Some people had head injuries and others had hurt their legs.”
MOHAMMAD FAISAL NAWEED / AFP via Getty Images
Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan, mainly due to poor road conditions and driver carelessness.
MOHAMMAD FAISAL NAWEED / AFP via Getty Images
CBS News
France’s President Emmanuel Macron tours cyclone-battered Mayotte, meets survivors pleading for help
Mamoudzou, Mayotte — France’s President Emmanuel Macron traveled Thursday to the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte to survey the devastation that Cyclone Chido wrought across the French territory as thousands of people tried to cope without bare essentials such as water or electricity.
“Mayotte is demolished,” an airport security agent told Macron as soon as he stepped off the plane.
The security agent, Assane Haloi, said her family members, including small children, are without water or electricity and have nowhere to go after the strongest cyclone in nearly a century ripped through the French territory of Mayotte off the coast of Africa on Saturday.
KWEZI/AFP/Getty
“There’s no roof, there’s nothing. No water, no food, no electricity. We can’t even shelter, we are all wet with our children covering ourselves with whatever we have so that we can sleep,” she said, asking for emergency aid.
Macron got a helicopter tour of the damage and was to spend Thursday night on the far-flung French territory. After flying over the destruction, he headed to the hospital in Mamoudzou, Mayotte’s capital, to meet medical staff and patients.
Wearing a traditional Mayotte scarf on his white shirt and tie, sleeves rolled to the elbows, the French president listened to people asking for help. A member of the medical staff told him some people hadn’t had a drink of water for 48 hours.
Some residents also expressed agony at not knowing about those who have died or are still missing, partly because of the Muslim practice of burying the dead within 24 hours.
LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP/Getty
“We’re dealing with open-air mass graves,” Mayotte lawmaker Estelle Youssoufa told reporters. “There are no rescuers, no one has come to recover the buried bodies.”
Some survivors and aid groups have described hasty burials and the stench of bodies.
Macron acknowledged that many who died hadn’t been reported. He said phone services will be repaired “in the coming days” so that people can report their missing loved ones.
French authorities have said at least 31 people died and more than 1,500 people were injured, more than 200 critically. But it’s feared hundreds or even thousands of people have died in total.
Abdou Houmadou, 27, said emergency aid was needed immediately, not Macron’s presence.
“Mr. President, what I’d like to tell you… is I think the spending you made from Paris to Mayotte would have been better spent to help the people,” he said.
Another resident, Ahamadi Mohammed, said Macron’s visit “is a good thing because he’ll be able to see by himself the damage.”
“I think that we’ll then get significant aid to try and get the island back on its feet,” the 58-year-old said.
LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP/Getty
Macron’s office said four tons of food and medical aid, as well as additional rescuers, were aboard the president’s flight. A navy ship was due to arrive in Mayotte on Thursday with another 180 tons of aid and equipment, according to the French military.
People living in a large slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou were some of the hardest hit by the cyclone. Many lost their houses, some lost friends.
Nassirou Hamidouni sheltered in his house when the cyclone hit.
His neighbor was killed when his house collapsed on him and his six children. Hamidouni and others dug through the rubble to reach them.
The 28-year-old father of five is now trying to rebuild his own house, which was also destroyed.
He believes the death toll is much higher than what’s officially being reported, given the severity of what he lived through.
“It was very hard,” he said.
Mayotte, located in the Indian Ocean between mainland Africa’s east coast and northern Madagascar, is France’s poorest territory.
The cyclone devastated entire neighborhoods and many people ignored the warnings, thinking the storm wouldn’t be so extreme.
Mayotte has more than 320,000 residents according to the French government. Most are Muslim and French authorities have estimated another 100,000 migrants live there.
Mayotte is the only part of the Comoros archipelago that voted to remain a part of France in a 1974 referendum.
Over the last decade, the French territory has seen a massive influx of migrants from the neighboring islands – the independent nation of Comoros, which is one of the world’s poorest countries.
