Why pet hair is hard work for a robot vacuum
Pet hair and human hair are not powder like dust. As the brushes spin to sweep them in, long strands wrap around the main brush and the side brush. If they are left to build up, the robot cannot clean at its best.
- Long hair wraps around brushes: fur from long-haired pets and long hair from people at home tangle the most easily, so a home with both should look at the brushes first.
- Fine hair hides under furniture: light hairs drift under sofas and beds and along the walls, the places that are hardest to clean by hand.
- More than hair: homes with pets also have pet dander, soil carried in on paws and food crumbs around the bowls, so the bin and filter need care more often than in other homes.
What to look for in a vacuum for pets
A good robot vacuum or pet hair vacuum is about more than suction. Check these points.
Brushes that reduce tangling
Check whether the main brush and side brush are designed to reduce tangling. The Roomba® Plus 575 Combo robot has a main brush and side brush that reduce tangling, while the Roomba® Plus 675 Combo robot and Roomba® Max 875 Combo robot have a hair-cutting blade in the main brush that cuts and collects pet hair before it wraps around the brush, plus a side brush that reduces tangling. Every model still needs the hair tangled in its brushes removed from time to time.
Suction
Suction pulls hair out of floor grooves and carpet fibres, and the more carpet you have, the more suction you need. The 2026 Roomba® robots range from 15,000 Pa of maximum suction on the Roomba® 115 Combo robot to 35,000 Pa on the Roomba® Max 875 Combo robot, and the Plus 675 and Max 875 have SealForce™, which concentrates suction into carpet fibres.
A dock that empties the bin
Every time you open the bin, you handle the hair and dust the robot has collected. The models that come with the AutoWash™ dock, the Roomba® Plus 575, Plus 675 and Max 875, empty dust from the robot into a 2.5-litre bag in the dock for up to 90 days before you change the bag. In homes with a lot of shedding, the bag may fill sooner. The Roomba® 115 Combo robot uses a charging dock and has a 500 ml bin on the robot that you empty yourself.
Filter
The air the robot blows out passes through its filter before it returns to the room, and the filter keeps fine dust inside the robot. With pets at home the filter needs cleaning more often (see the care section below). Check each model's filter on the compare models page.
Robot height
Hair tends to collect under sofas and beds, where pets like to crawl in and sleep. Measure the gap under your furniture first, then compare it with the robot. The Roomba® 115 Combo robot is 7.89 cm tall and the Roomba® Plus 575 Combo robot is 8.35 cm, while the Plus 675 and Max 875 are 9.98 cm.
Zones around beds and bowls
In the Roomba® Home app you can set a Clean Zone to clean just the area around your pet's bed, and a Keep-out Zone to keep the robot away from water bowls or the litter box. Every 2026 model has both. The Plus 575, Plus 675 and Max 875 also have Dirt Detect, which finds areas that are dirtier than usual and cleans them again.
How often the robot should clean
Pets shed every day, so cleaning should happen every day too. Schedule the robot in the Roomba® Home app to clean once a day and hair will not have time to gather in the corners. When your pet sheds more than usual, add extra runs just for the rooms where it spends the most time, since every model can clean room by room.
Looking after your robot in a home with pets
With pets at home, your robot needs care more often than usual. The intervals below come from the owner's guides; the real interval depends on your model and how often you clean.
- Filter: clean it once a week, or twice a week if you have pets, and replace it every 3 to 6 months.
- Never wash the filter with water, and some bins must not be washed either. Follow the steps in your model's guide.
- Brushes: remove hair tangled around the main brush and side brush from time to time. The guides for the Roomba® 115, Plus 575 and Plus 675 recommend cleaning the main brush once a week.
- Wheels: the guides for the Roomba® Plus 675 and Max 875 recommend cleaning the caster wheel once a week if you have pets, instead of every 4 weeks.
- Bin and dust bag: empty the bin or change the dust bag next to a rubbish bin, and wash your hands afterwards.
See the care schedule for each model in the owner's guides. If someone at home is allergic to dust, read Allergic to house dust? How much a robot vacuum can help.
Which Roomba® robot suits a home with pets
If you are looking for a robot vacuum that picks up cat and dog hair every day, every 2026 Roomba® robot vacuums and mops in one machine and picks up dust, hair and pet hair. They differ in their brushes, suction and the dock that comes with them.
Roomba® 115 Combo robot for small homes with light shedding
15,000 Pa of maximum suction, one rubber and bristle brush and an extending edge-sweeping side brush. It is 7.89 cm tall and uses a charging dock, so you empty the bin and remove tangled hair from the brush yourself. It suits condos and small homes where you do not mind doing the upkeep. See the Roomba® 115 Combo robot
Roomba® Plus 575 Combo robot for homes with long-haired pets
25,000 Pa of maximum suction, with a main brush and side brush that reduce tangling. It comes with the AutoWash™ dock, which empties dust into the bag for you, washes the mop pad with hot water and dries it. It has Dirt Detect and is 8.35 cm tall. It suits medium to large homes that want the dock to do most of the work. See the Roomba® Plus 575 Combo robot
Roomba® Plus 675 Combo robot and Roomba® Max 875 Combo robot for homes with several long-haired pets
30,000 Pa and 35,000 Pa of maximum suction, a main brush with a hair-cutting blade and a side brush that reduces tangling, SealForce™ for more suction on carpets, and the AutoWash™ dock, which empties dust, washes the roller mop with hot water and dries it. Both are 9.98 cm tall. Both are new 2026 models: see availability and full specs on the Roomba® Plus 675 Combo robot and Roomba® Max 875 Combo robot pages.
Still deciding? Answer 4 questions on the help me choose page, which asks about pets and long hair directly, or compare every model on the compare models page.
