Some brands will address this by tapering their brushrolls or breaking them in the middle, with the aim of quickly directing hair towards the bin inlet. Dreame even has an alternative brushroll attachment that has little blades to chop up hair so it can be more easily managed.

Our reviews are underpinned by specific, standardized tests. Here's a rundown of our review process.

Vacuum cleaners can be pricey, so it's best to do some research on high-quality models and consider what will work best for you, your home and your floor types. I've tested dozens of vacuums while working in the Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab, so I know which brands and models are best for each individual.

Great at cleaning a whole room, improving with each of its three runs as it learned more about where to go and what obstacles it faced

This mopping, self-emptying robot vacuum comes from networking giant TP-Link – probably best known for its Net routers rather than its home appliances. The Tapo RV30 plus has the clean and fussless appearance of a wifi hub, but the performance and features of a top-end robot vacuum.

Lastly, we test associated apps and try out voice control, to make sure it will integrate perfectly into your home.

(If you want even more impressive mopping, check out the Eureka J20 at #seis, which has a roller mop that supplies continuous fresh water, and siphons off the dirty stuff as it cleans.)

In our Lab tests: Robot vacuums are getting better, smarter and more self-sufficient all the time, and iRobot's Roomba remains one of the top performers in our GH Cleaning Lab tests. This Roomba S9+ picked up 99% of the dry oatmeal, sand, small screws and other debris we spread on hard floors.

Megan is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s homes writer. She loves diving into the latest product releases to find the very best buys on the market.  When she’s not writing about the newest gadgets and gizmos for your home and garden, you’ll find her cooking, running and exploring London’s foodie hotspots – or trying to make friends with every dog she passes.

It's realistically far more often than I would drag a manual vac out of the Top 3 Automatic Vacuum Cleaners cupboard, so my apartment is cleaner than usual, and my dust allergy symptoms have calmed down too.

Robot vacuum cleaners are more advanced and more affordable than ever. Once a novelty gadget, these household helpers are now an essential piece of kit for busy homes and pet owners, ensuring your floors stay dust and dirt-free without you having to lift a finger.

In our Lab tests: Dyson stick vacuums are always among the best in our tests for both excellent performance and incredible features, and this V15 Detect is no exception.

As for its cleaning, it's great on larger debris like Rice Krispies and can give a large room a good clean, but it fell down on finer dust and debris on carpet, so it's probably best for keeping on top of mess, rather than as your sole cleaner.

In fact, it lifted over 90 per cent of the dirt in both tests, something we don’t often see with robot vacuums.