Understanding Pa ratings, brush systems, and what actually matters for vacuuming performance.
Let's clear up the biggest marketing myth in robot vacuums: Pa (Pascal) ratings.
Pa measures air pressure. Higher number = more suction, right? Technically yes. Practically? It's just one piece of the puzzle.
Manufacturers measure Pa at the motor - before air travels through the dustbin, filters, and cleaning head. By the time suction reaches the floor, it's lost 30%+ of that power.
The bigger picture: Brush design, airflow efficiency, and overall engineering matter just as much as raw Pa. A well-designed 5,000 Pa unit can out-clean a poorly engineered 10,000 Pa model.
That said, Pa ratings can be a useful high-level guide. Here's what different ranges typically mean:
| Pa Range | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Under 3,000 Pa | Entry-level suction. Fine for hard floors and light carpet maintenance. |
| 3,000-8,000 Pa | Mid-range sweet spot. Handles most homes with mixed flooring well. |
| 8,000-15,000 Pa | High-powered cleaning. Better for thick carpets, heavy pet hair, or larger debris. |
| 15,000+ Pa | Premium models with top-tier suction. Most useful for deep carpets or extreme pet situations, can be overkill for typical homes. |
Bottom line: Use Pa as a general guide, but don't obsess over it. Brush design and user reviews about actual cleaning performance matter just as much, if not more.
Here's what actually gets dirt off your floor:
Different brushes for different jobs:
Rubber fins that scrape and lift dirt. They're fantastic for hard floors and better at resisting hair tangles than bristles. Easy to clean—just wipe them down.
Tries to get the best of both worlds. Works well on mixed flooring. Can still tangle with hair but less than pure bristles.
Two counter-rotating rollers with better coverage and cleaning power. Sometimes found on mid to high-end models. Genuinely better performance, but you're paying for it.
If you've got long hair or pets, pay attention to anti-tangle features:
Hair slides to the ends instead of wrapping around the middle. Helps, but doesn't eliminate tangles.
Built into the brush housing. They physically prevent hair from wrapping as the brush spins by guiding it away. Think of them as preventative, they stop tangles before they form. More effective than V-shaped brushes.
Instead of bristles. Hair slides off rubber more easily. Best for hard floors, okay for low carpet.
How they work: Unlike detangling combs that prevent tangles, hair cutters are reactive - they deal with hair after it wraps around the roller. A small blade sits in the brush housing. As hair wraps around the roller, it passes by the blade and gets cut into short pieces that get sucked up.
Effectiveness: Reduces manual maintenance by ~70% according to users. If you're dealing with daily shedding, this is worth seeking out specifically.
