Several robot vacuums are on sale ahead of Prime Day, including most of Roborock's newest models

The control of an upright vacuum comes with its own type of satisfaction. But if you're not one to classify cleaning as cathartic, a robot vacuum could erase that huge, agonizing task from of your chore list. (And did we mention the joy of having "first day clean" floors all the time?)

But whether robot vacuums are worth it or not comes with a caveat: It can't be just any robot vacuum. A cheap robovac that doesn't do the job right — scattering dust, bumping into walls, getting stuck on area rugs — might actually create more work for you.

You're all but guaranteed to be able to find a few robot vacuums on sale at any given point in the year. When you would want to wait for shopping event like Prime Day or Black Friday, however, is if you're eyeing a flagship model from a big brand like iRobot, Shark, or Roborock. These brands are more likely to showcase a never-before-seen discount on their biggest and baddest vacuums during a major deals event rather than quietly drop prices during a random week.

• Suction power: A vacuum is the one purchase that you hope sucks a lot. Suction power is typically measured in Pascals (Pa), with most current vacs ranging between 2,000 Pa and 4,000 Pa. Stronger sucking will be needed to pick up heavier pieces of debris (be sure to set a no-go zone around Legos) and to pull matted-down pet hair from rugs.

• Floor type: Carpeting and high pile rugs will probably require stronger suction than hard floors, as well as special features like an extra-wide or self-cleaning brush roll to prevent hair from wrapping and clogging. Folks in homes with multiple floor types might consider a bigger, sturdier robot vacuum that can hurl itself and its wheels over mats, rugs, and transitions from carpet to hard floors.

• Automatic emptying: Because robot vacuums are typically under four inches tall, their onboard dust bins are also small — which means they frequently require emptying. (Dustbins fill up particularly quickly in homes with pets.) A self-emptying vacuum takes that job out of your hands, emptying itself into a larger dustbin in its charging dock. These larger bins can typically hold weeks of dirt without needing to be cleaned or dumped out.

• Smart mapping and obstacle avoidance: Every robot vacuum is equipped with sensors and drop detection. But if your home has lots of rooms, lots of turns, or lots of close-together furniture, you'll have fewer navigation issues with LiDAR or vSLAM-powered smart mapping to remember exactly how your home is laid out, including labeling of specific rooms, mental notes of staircases, and ability to deploy zone cleaning. Particularly advanced models also bring a camera that perceives small objects on the floor ahead — small ones that would be blind spots for a robot vacuum without said camera, like phone chargers or pet waste. If you want to be able to spontaneously start a cleaning session without partaking in a pre-cleaning pickup session, look for terms like "3D obstacle detection" or "obstacle avoidance."

• Low-profile furniture: No one should have to be scared about what's accumulated under their couch over the past year. A robot vacuum measuring three inches or less in height should be able to scoot under most low-hanging couches and beds.

• Battery life and square footage: One of the main complaints people have about their robot vacuum is that it craps out in the middle of the floor. Larger spaces require more time to clean, and it all depends on how annoyed you'll be if it only finishes a few rooms at a time. Average run times for the list below range between 90 and 200 minutes, which translate to about 500 and 2,800 square feet covered on one charge.

In an unspoken sort of way, Roomba has been crowned as "the best" on the sole basis that it’s the most established brand in the robot vacuum market. But Roombas are hardly the only players to consider.

Though iRobot, Shark, and Roborock routinely top our list, whether or not any one brand or model is the best at actual cleaning is pretty subjective. "Best" to someone with four dogs and lots of carpet may not mean "best" to someone with a huge house with stairs and 100% hardwood. At any rate, patience is required. Even the best robot vacuum can still be a bumbling idiot on occasion, especially when they’re still learning the blueprint of your home.