I Tested And Ranked The Best Robotic Pool Cleaners In 2023
Keeping your pool crystal clear and free of debris is actually easy with the right robotic pool cleaner. It will regularly take care of your pool maintenance, while saving you time and money.
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. Dolphin Premier - Most Powerful Robotic Pool Cleaner
Top-rated: 2,509 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Powerful, dual scrubbing brushes forcefully attack tough dirt and debris to leave your pool floor, walls and waterline exceptionally clean in just 3 hours.
Helpful review: "I researched all of the robotic pool cleaners available on Amazon and You Tube for two weeks before I decided on the Premier cleaner. One of the reasons I spent the extra dollars for the Premier was the 3-year warranty. Another plus is the wall cleaning capability. And I also liked the fact that this product is made in Israel. Israeli companies are innovative and build products with very good integrity.
After using the Premier for three months, I am very happy with its performance. I have a 16x32 vinyl liner pool with a 9' deep end. The deep end has a 3" safety ledge along three sides. I have put my cleaning hose and wand/pole into storage and hope to never use them again. I use the premier 2-3 times a week as needed, and my pool has never been cleaner or clearer. Here are the pros and cons of the Premier, in my opinion.
PROS:
The choice of three filter elements is a plus. I use the ultra fine filters during the summer months. I have trees in my yard, so I'm sure I'll be switching to the bag in September. The ultra fine filter collects everything, down to the fine dirt particles in my pool.
The unit is easy to set up and the two hour standard run time is all I need for a totally clean pool. Cleaning the filters is easy as I spray them down with my hose.
The Premier climbs walls and really does clean the water line. I notice that it sometimes has trouble getting over the ledge in my deep end, but it keeps trying until it can climb the wall. My walls were never dirty or algae coated. Most of the dirt in my pool goes to the bottom of the deep end and the Premier seems to collect everything. However, the wall cleaning ability is remarkable. Reviews of cheaper units seemed to hint at trouble climbing walls. This capability is why I bought the Premier!
CONS:
The unit does get stuck on my deep-end drain but it eventually works itself off. This happens when the center of the Premier is over the drain and the treads have trouble reaching the pool floor for traction. The unit also drives up to the bottom of my pool ladder and sometimes stays there for too long of a time. And the yellow light on the controller to indicate that the unit is full of debris seems to come on too often and doesn't really serve a purpose, IMO. These little problems are minor to me and they do not make much of a difference.
I strongly recommend that you buy the caddy for your pool cleaner. The Dolphin caddy is well-built but I believe it's over priced. However, you cannot get by without it. The cleaner is somewhat heavy, the control cable is long and can get tangled if it's not stored properly on the caddy. It would be nice if Dolphin included the caddy with the cleaner, like other manufacturers do. I use a Velcro wrap to hold the control cable together while stored on the caddy. Overall, I'm glad I bought the Premier and I look forward to many years of a clean pool." — Gregory Mark
Get it from Amazon now: $1,499.00 & FREE Returns
2. AIPER Seagull Pro - Best Cordless Pool Cleaner
Top-rated: 8,080 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: No hose, no clutter cord, no hassle!
Helpful review: "We have an above ground vinyl pool that is constantly in need of leaf and debris removal from the bottom. Before we got this cleaner, we would have to actually get in and kick all the gross debris up with our feet and then scoop it out with the pool net, NOT ANYMORE! This cordless pool vacuum is AWESOME:
- It took less than 3 hours for the 1st initial charge.
- There is a convenient charging LED indicator light on the AC plug that stays red while charging and turns green when done.
- The soft silicone debris "scrappers" were super easy to click into place on the underside of the vacuum along with the plastic handle on top.
- You do need a screwdriver to attach the top handle, but the two screws were provided.
- The power button on the bottom of the vacuum is easy to push on and off.
- I submerged the unit, depressed the power button with one click, and then let go of the vacuum unit. It drifted to the bottom of the pool and stayed upright. Once it hit the bottom it took about 3 to 5 seconds and started up and went to work!
- The vacuum has surprisingly powerful suction! I can't believe how well it sucked up all the dead insects and leaves along with the dirt and grime!!
Now, of your pool was like mine and way overdue for a proper cleaning, be prepared to empty the debris collection chamber every 5 minutes. I used the provided hook on the end of my pool attachment pole and was able to fish the little robot vacuum out of the pool fairly easily. Make sure you lift it out of the pool, reach in, and turn it off before you bring it up out of the water, otherwise it shoots water all over you hahaha. Haha... I learned that lesson real quick. Lift it up out of the water as straight and level as possible to prevent any of the debris coming out of the suction ports. The 4 snap closures on the top of the unit take some finger strength but not too much, it has a sturdy feel to the plastic components, and was super easy to clean.
The micro mesh filter on top of the debris collection chamber is really fine and captures and traps all the dirt and grime. I was beyond impressed! It was powerful yet gentle, there was no snagging on the vinyl of the pool, and it didn't try and climb the sides of the pool more than just an inch or two before redirecting itself! Amazing little unit! I couldn't be happier!! We got all the major debris cleaned up and swept out with this vacuum, and it did an amazing job of keeping it clean!
Once we removed the larger stuff from the bottom of the pool and started using it for maintenance cleaning every other day or so, we only had to empty it when the vacuum went through a whole battery cycle, which was about an hour, more than enough time to clean the whole pool!" — Ardena Kirk
Get it from Amazon now: $999.99 & FREE Returns
3. Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus - Efficient 2-Hour Cycle
Top-rated: 13,637 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Easy to use and ideal for in-ground swimming pools up to 50 feet, this cleaner will leave your pool sparkling clean in just 2 hours.
Helpful review: "First of all, I read several negative reviews about this model, and was slightly deterred, but thankfully the overwhelming positive response steered me in the right direction. Given that many of the negative reviews are several years old, I assume there may have been production issues, or potentially user errors. Either way, here is my review.
I live in Arizona, like many of the other reviewers, and I regularly have an overwhelming amount of rocks, dirt, sand and tree/plant detritus that settles at the bottom of the pool. After spending an inordinate amount of time brushing the pool, and only seeing a minor reduction in debris, I quickly decided this was not worth my time, which is very valuable, just like everyone else's. Also, I'm not a huge fan of excessive sun exposure leading to skin cancer, so that's another positive.
Additionally, I was paying a pool cleaning service and they were doing a terrible job at managing the water chemistry and keeping things clean. After firing them, I took up managing the pool to save some money. This made me quickly realize that certain tasks in the realm of pool maintenance are best automated in the interest of saving time and overall efficiency. Scrubbing the bottom of the pool is one of those things, hands-down.
In its debut run, totaling two hours, this handy little robot did what I was unable to do in two weeks, and about 1000% better. After only running for one cycle, I retrieved the unit and took out the filters to examine what was captured. I was frankly amazed with what was inside; probably a solid few pounds of sand, dirt and other types of debris that had settled at the bottom of the pool, most of which I have not even seen. I was beyond pleased.
One of the other concerns prior to its initial cycle was whether or not the stock filters would be capable of gathering the fine dust particles that exist out here in the desert. From my experience, the stock filters do a phenomenal job, and I have yet to find a reason to get the fine filters. That's just my experience.
Removing and cleaning the filters is a breeze. You pop them out, detach the filter panels, spray them down in an area where you don't mind some water and dirt getting, and you're done.
Like any other appliance you would like to have last for a while, you should take care of it, and leave it in a place where it is unlikely to be harmed by the elements. That means not leaving it in direct sunlight, or in areas where nature will be able to take advantage of it. If you have a shed or a garage, that will work just fine.
Lastly, I have a free-form pool with some interesting twists and turns in the design with several variable depths and steps. This unit did happen to struggle at random locations, but it was nothing serious to note, and it was able to correct itself without stalling at any one location. This will get nicks and scrapes as it attempts to navigate your pool, so I wouldn't get too hung up on it looking perfect.
It's not a Maserati that you're driving to a dinner party. It's a robot designed to suck debris off the bottom of your pool. Set your expectations accordingly. Overall, though, I'm extremely pleased, as the unit has paid for itself in its first run. I am excited to bust this out in the future and watch it do all the hard work while I sit back in the shade and sip on a beer." — Steven Smith
Get it from Amazon now: $899.00 & FREE Returns
4. Polaris Vac-Sweep 280 - Best All Purpose Debris Bag
Top-rated: 8,171 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Equipped with a single chamber filter bag where it captures large debris, such as leaves, acorns and pebbles.
Helpful review: "It does a fantastic job, even if you need to repair pieces every couple of years.
I've had this pressure-side pool cleaner since 2019, and I'm constantly impressed by how well it does. I was nervous to spend so much money for it 4 years ago, but it has proven itself to be worth every penny. The setup wasn't too difficult, although I remember having to monitor it a lot the first few days to make sure it was working appropriately. Nowadays, I leave it in the pool 99% of the time (I take it out when we have people over to swim), and I empty the bag once every 1-2 weeks in the summer (sometimes multiple times a day in the fall).
I have needed to replace pieces from time to time, which hasn't been too bad (and most of the pieces can be found for cheap on Amazon).
In the time I've owned it, I've had to replace the black mesh tail scrubber every few months (which is expected), the zipper bag once because it had a hole in it (I'm about due for another one probably by the end of this year), the backup valve on the line once, the connector assembly once (I pulled too hard on the line and it broke off from the wall), and the swing axle once when I noticed a piece had broken off inside the zipper bag.
I don't blame the engineering or fabrication of this cleaner for needing to replace these pieces-- I feel like leaving a cleaner in chlorinated water for months at a time is bound to have some pieces stop functioning properly from time to time.
With all that being said, my pool is always clean (no leaves or other muck on the bottom). This cleaner has saved me many thousands of dollars that I would have otherwise spent on having a pool cleaning company clean the pool every 2 weeks." — Eric Howard
Get it from Amazon now: $599.00 & FREE Returns
5. AIPER Seagull SE - Best For The Money
Top-rated: 11,327 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Say goodbye to wires thanks to the Aiper Pool Vacuum's 100% cord-free design.
Helpful review: "To start with, this is a fantastic pool cleaner. I bought a house last year that came with an above ground pool that I immediately disliked. Everyone said it would be a nightmare to maintain. but I decided to keep the pool this summer, and if it was in any way too much of a hassle, it would be gone by the next year. Turns out - pools are not that complicated! I got and kept the salt water clear and sparkling all summer with little to no work.
The only thing was the dirt and leaves at the bottom. It was a pain to clean that up ALL THE TIME!! And almost impossible to get dirt and sand. I had some other things that I could have used, but they were big and clumsy and took way too much time and didn't do a good job anyway. I found this little guy on Amazon, the price was not bad at all (considering everything for pools is an arm and a leg), so I gave it a shot. And we had a great summer. We swam together, we cleaned together, we basked in the sun together. It was all love and romance...until the end.
First, it does what it says it does, and it filled my little anxious heart with joy when I would look at my pool and there was no dirt or leaves skulking at the bottom.
I would check chemical levels, then plop it into the pool, and when family came for a visit they thought I'd hired a pro to keep my pool looking so amazing. This thing picked up leaves, it picked up just general dirt that got in, it picked up bugs that for some reason thought it was a good idea to drink salt water. If I'd had to treat for algae, I have no doubt he would have picked up the dead stuff. He got pollen, he got sand, he got small twigs... OK, bigger twigs were not his thing, but that's not his fault... My little friend was amazing and rarely complained about anything. I honestly was a care-free pool owner all summer, in part due to this little guy.
BUT, unfortunately, there is a but. Because it is made entirely of very plasticky pieces, I spent a lot of the summer worrying about breaking those pieces. The ones that clamp the bottom of the machine to the top part were really hard to open and close. I broke most of my nails trying to pry them open until I got a spoon from the kitchen and wedged it in the gap to pop those clamps open.
There were times I was trying to close them, though, where I was simultaneously pushing as hard as possible and trying to be gentle - because, as afore mentioned, these are plasticky pieces. I was terrified I would break those clips, the machine would not seal, and then it would all be over. But that didn't happen. Those dang tougher than my nails clips lasted all summer without popping off or cracking or anything. They were total champs, those clamps! No, I didn't even see the disaster coming.
One sad day, the machine was sitting out to dry and I gently scooched it over so I could place something where he was sunbathing. I didn't even lift or drop him, or kick him (I would NEVER). I was always really careful with him. But the nudge over did it. In that one terrible, heartbreaking moment, the plastic clips that hold the wheels in place - on three of the four wheels - SNAPPED. Little tiny pieces of plastic went raining down all over the place and when I picked the machine up, the wheels immediately made a run for it. No amount of searching would bring the teensy tiny little pieces back for gluing or any other options. I'd like to be dramatic and say my world collapsed, but to be honest, I was just really sad.
There were only a few weeks left to the pool season, so I ended a glistening summer without a proper pool vacuuming. The thing is, it's not parts that can be replaced, it's the actual plastic that holds parts in, and it's all one big piece underneath. So other than gluing them back on (which, quite frankly, I doubt would ever work), there's no way to fix them, or get new parts to replace them.
My guess is that the scooching was not the entire issue, they were likely getting more and more brittle or slightly banged up over the summer, without me realizing it. I was really careful to never bang it too harshly or be rough with it because - again - these are plasticky pieces. Plus, with a salt water pool, I expect there can be a little more wear and tear (though chlorine pools have a lot of harsh chemicals as well, so...who knows?). It was probably something coming that I just didn't see and had I been just a little more careful, wouldn't have happened.
So here I am, with a perfectly functioning machine that can't go anywhere. I'm not sure what the answer to this issue is, yet. I've had it for something like 8 months and it's been the light of my life... Well, I'm exaggerating, but it's certainly made my pool life better. However, with no way of using it again, I don't know what to do about it.
I think, generally speaking, it's pretty tough, but caution must be taken in his care. If you DON'T have one of these delightful orbs and are considering getting one - I say do it! It's worth every penny. BUT, and I think I've said this enough times now, because of those very plasticky pieces, be very, very careful and gentle with it.
Maybe find a nice soft bed type thing to place it on where it can dry out and not get banged about with other equipment and whatnot. I did let it dry in the sun for an hour or so before plugging it in to charge (always indoors). Maybe the sun was a bad idea? I don't know. It probably could have dried just as well in the shade.
As a first time pool owner, I was really muddling through it all. I have to say that the amount of money spent on chemicals and other cleaners was, quite frankly, mostly unnecessary. This was BY FAR the best purchase I didn't even think to make, until it popped up and there I was, totally in love with this little robot. I may upgrade to a "real" pool in the next few years, but I'm actually surprisingly content with this one." — Martha S. Raven
Get it from Amazon now: $299.99 & FREE Return
6. Dolphin Nautilus CC - 3 Scheduling Options
Top-rated: 8,120 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Schedule the Nautilus CC to automatically clean your swimming pool each week using 3 settings (every day, every other day, or every 3rd day).
Helpful review: "I've owned an inground pool for the past 10+ years. Over time, I've tried many different pool cleaning products. Suction side cleaners, Kreepy krawly, battery powered vacuums, etc. Each of them had their own limitations and caused more frustration than they were worth. Over the past few years, I've been manually cleaning with a battery powered vacuum. And this meant the pool was never 100% clean. My neighbor had a robotic pool cleaner about 8 years ago, but I was skeptical about buying one because his machine kept getting tangled in its own cord.
After reading some reviews, I thought I'd give the Dolphin Nautilus a try. It was simply a miracle. After dropping it in the pool, you just walk away, and it does its job with no fuss. I leave mine in the pool all the time (except when shocking). The timer is set to run every day for a 2 hour cycle. The pool is crystal clean all the time. No more nagging from the wife to clean the pool. The nautilus has a cool buoy holding the cord upright, so it NEVER tangles.
I dropped the Nautilus in the pool right after opening, and it cleaned up everything like a champ. The filter bucket is easy to clean. The only (small) gripe I have is that the cycle time is preset (about 2 hours). For pool openings, the robot needs to run for longer. So I had to go outside every few hours and reset it. But now after opening, the 2 hour cycle is perfect for daily maintenance.
I would suggest to also buy a small pool box to cover the voltage converter, controller and extension cord. The instructions say to not use an extension cord. I bought a heavy gauge outdoor extension cord from Home Depot and it works fine. Mine is connected to an outdoor rated electrical junction box all the time.
The robot stays in the pool and is set for a daily cycle. This can be adjusted to every 2 days or every 3 days depending on need.
I also bought the ultrafine filter set, but I didn't really need it. Most of the debris that I get is larger, and gets picked up fine from the normal filter. I also have a DE filter which captures more fine particulate. So you might consider trying out the normal filter before shelling out the extra money for an ultrafine filter.
The more expensive versions of this robot have other features: caddy, longer cord, Bluetooth, etc. I thought about all of this and decided against. Those other features are nice, but I really didn't need them. Turns out the Dolphin nautilus is perfect for my needs. Don't be like me and wait 10 years to buy something like this. It was worth every penny, and more than paid for itself. I bought this with my own money and received no incentives from the manufacturer to write this review.
UPDATE:
Nearing the end of my second season with this robotic pool cleaner. It still works great. The color on the plastic has faded due to sun/chlorine exposure, but the rubber tracks are still good. This morning I noticed that the nautilus had problems moving, and would get stuck. After watching some youtube videos, I realized that something might have jammed the ball bearings or the impeller. It was easy to take apart. I found a wad of hair in the impeller blade. After removing it, everything worked wonderfully again. Apart from this, no major problems with this robotic cleaner. Would still definitely recommend." — Sarah Hatch
Get it from Amazon now: $649.00 & FREE Returns
7. Dolphin E10 - Best For Leaves And Pine Needles
Top-rated: 5,244 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Super energy-efficient with an average operating cost of 5 cents per hour.
Helpful review: "I live in a "cottage community" named Kingwood, TX, just outside of Houston. I don't expect that to mean much to the average shopper, but it's important to note that Kingwood is marketed as "The Livable Forest". When it was being developed in the 60's, 70's, and 80's, great care was taken to preserve the trees in what had once been timberland owned by paper and wood companies. The foliage is very dense. There is no place in my yard or time of year when pine needles and leaves aren't constantly falling. We even have a sweetgum tree that drops little gumball-sized pinecones that are worse to step on than lego, especially barefoot, like you would be while swimming. Our pool is under constant assault. Raking every day was a hopeless exercise in futility. We bought a battery-operated "leaf blaster" that attaches to the end of a pole and vacuums the leaves into a net bag. When gumballs weren't jamming the impeller, it was such a huge job to vacuum, that the kids and I would take turns working and still be too tired to play in the pool when we finished the endeavor.
Worse, if the pool started to get algae, we couldn't see the bottom to clean out the debris. We would treat/shock/filter out the algae and discover a layer of leaves at the bottom, still covered in algae that would re-infest the pool as soon as they were stirred up by a rake or the leaf blaster, leaving us blind to continue removing them, and the maddening vicious cycle would continue. It's a 27' pool with two pump inlets, so adding skimmers to those helped catch a LOT of the leaves and debris before it sank to the bottom, but the skimmers can't catch everything and the cycle continued.
I asked a few neighbors, did a lot of online research, and sifted through hundreds of pool cleaning options (just watch what happens to your facebook timeline after you've googled it a few times). A highly-trusted colleague and friend bragged on and on about her Dolphin robot and the reviews were good, so I got hung up between the E10 and the more expensive Escape. The Escape purports to be able to climb walls and have better mapping of the pool surface (plus wifi/app controls, IIRC). I decided to save myself $200 and go with the cheaper E10.
NO REGRETS! It doesn't matter if the water is clear or not. Just drop it in, turn it on, and walk away. Come back in an hour, empty the basket, and start it again. Lather, rinse, repeat until the basket comes out clean. It picks up leaves, pine needles, GUMBALLS, and even small sticks! If algae rears its ugly head, we can be confident that there is no debris left on the floor of the pool before kicking it with only one treatment and shock.
It's not supposed to be able to climb walls, but it does occasionally go up the wall to the water line before backing back down. Reviewers complaining about it doing wheelies don't seem to understand how it works. This is how it reorients itself to change directions.
An external bag instead of a filter basket would be nice so that I could add a bigger one, but then the filtration might not be as good. This isn't much of a shortcoming, because the basket is extremely easy to remove and hose out. The screens can even be popped out of it for more thorough cleaning.
The power supply did fail on ours less than a year after we bought it but Maytronics, for their part, was great. They had me email some photos of the failing unit's behavior, asked a few simple questions, then sent me a new one without even asking that I return the old one (I'm a pretty technical guy, so I may try to fix it as a spare, should the new one die after the warranty expires).
I REALLY wish the wire had a swivel joint on the robot (it does swivel at the power supply, sort of). After a couple of cycles, the wire will be hopelessly wound up and tangled. It's not too much of a hassle to disconnect it from the power supply and untangle it, but it shouldn't be necessary. Some users have reported good results by putting foam pool noodles over the wire to prevent it from tangling. I may try that.
All in all, we have a huge above-ground pool in a notoriously hot environment with lots of trees. It's a perfect storm of conditions that can turn pool ownership into a nightmare. This robot changed our lives and was worth the expense." — Jay Finley
Get it from Amazon now: $568.47 & FREE Returns
8. AIPER Seagull 1000 - Upgraded Suction Capability
Top-rated: 3,043 ratings | 163 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Easily remove the pool vacuum from the pool with the included floating rope. No need to get into the water.
Helpful review: "I purchased an Aiper Smart robot to clean the bottom of my inground pool. My pool maintainer was brushing the walls and adjusting chemicals. However, leaves and dust were accumulating on the bottom of the pool. I started searching for a traditional hose-connected water pressure powered cleaner. These types of cleaners are priced in the range of several hundred dollars to over $1,000. Therefore, I kept looking for an alternative.
During my search process, I noticed the existence of hose-less robot cleaners. This appealed to me because of a lower price range and the no-hose design. I selected the Aiper Smart cleaner largely based on some very positive reviews. Be aware that some video "product reviews" you may find on YouTube are nothing more than feeble attempts by shameless competitors to slam the Aiper product in favor of theirs. After using this product, I wrote this review.
Why I purchased this product
1. Reasonable price
2. No-hose design
3. Preponderance of highly favorable customer reviews
PROS:
1. No-hose design. This means that you won’t have daily problems with a hose getting hung-up or tangled. You also won’t need to maintain a second pressure assist pump in your filtration system. That’s one less thing to worry about when it breaks/fails.
2. Autonomous design. This robot is self-powered with a rechargeable battery. Charge battery, drop in the water, 90-minute clean period, remove from pool, clean collected debris, repeat.
3. It is easy to open the debris collector and clean it with a simple garden hose.
4. The suction capability seems to be quite good. The robot was able to collect all leaves, sticks and other debris of reasonable size.
5. Dust. The robot has a broom (bristles) across its bottom. The combination of the brush and strong suction results in exceptionally effective cleaning of the dust at the bottom of my pool.
6. Coverage. I have what I would call a mid-size pool in somewhat of an ‘L’ shape. The robot uses a random back-and-forth technique that achieved full coverage of the bottom on both sides of the ‘L’. The steering nozzles can be adjusted to experiment with different patterns to get full coverage in your pool shape. I’m not sure if the robot uses an algorithm to get full coverage, but it sure does get full coverage in my case.
CONS:
1. 6-hour recharge. This seems to be a long time to recharge the battery. However, you can recharge it overnight and won’t care how long it takes. The problem is when you want to get two full passes in one day. You’ll have to wait 6 hours for the charge in between passes. That’s just the way it is. You need to plan around these recharge periods.
2. Battery life. At this point, I have no idea how long the battery will operate until it will no longer take or hold a charge. I plan to use this robot hundreds of times in its life, and I would prefer the battery still work through all those charge cycles. I cannot find a product specification for this.
3. Replacement Parts. There are several parts of the robot I fear may fail over time. I have searched around on the company website and Amazon to see if replacement parts are available to replace failed ones. Nothing found. I prefer directions for replacement parts be prominently posted. Therefore, I have no confidence I will be able to get the parts when I need them. The user guide provides an email address for product support. I hope this will lead me to what I need at that time. But I believe the product comes with a two-year warranty.
4. Fragility. I am quite sure the robot would not survive undamaged from a drop at waist height or higher onto a hard ground like my cement pool patio. I expect lots of cracked body and wheel damage if this were to occur, unfortunately.
5. No walls. This robot will not clean vertical walls. I find this OK. The robot keeps the bottom so clean, all I have to do is brush the walls as an easy chore once a week.
OVERALL:
I have been using my Aiper Smart Pool Cleaner for a full week now. I am very happy with my purchase and am very impressed with the cleaning results. I have discovered some concerns and limitations as enumerated above. For months, I have been struggling with dust, leaves and acorns at the bottom of my pool while relying on an incompetent pool maintainer. Now, my efforts have been reduced to keeping the robot running and lightly brushing the sides of the pool.
The pool looks spectacular now. Beautiful clear water is satisfyingly sowing off the blue colors of the pool. I spend hours staring at it. Overall, I recommend this product as per my experience above. By the way, I named the robot after my previous pool maintainer (Eduardo Jr.)." — Steve Schultz
Get it from Amazon now: $349.99 & FREE Returns
9. DOLPHIN Proteus DX3 - Huge Filter Basket
Top-rated: 3,265 ratings
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: The Proteus DX3 will clean your pool in just 2 hours.
Helpful review: "I had the Dolphin Nautilus before purchasing this Proteus and it was terrible. It left black marks all over my plaster from the black plastic body on it, and it didn't pick up everything. I watched it roll right over leaves and not pick them up, and the filter was thin, didn't hold a lot, and didn't hold fine particles like sand. I went through the return process mainly because of the black marks it left in the pool. Maytronix did refund me entirely, thank goodness. I decided to try the Proteus out and I'm so happy I did!
It has a white body, so no black marks at all. If you have plaster, don't get the Nautilus. It's a common complaint that they haven't addressed for some reason.
The filter basket is huge. It holds leaves, and the squiggly fuzzy things from oak trees. The mesh is so fine, it even holds sand and fine dirt. It's easy enough to clean. I usually clean the bigger debris out and then put it in the sink to get the smaller/finer things out.
The suction is great! I watched it approach a leaf and you could see it sucking it up before ever rolling over it. I never saw that with the Nautilus.
It still climbs the walls of my pool like the Nautilus and cleans them wonderfully. And it's great because brushing is hard for me sometimes. It doesn't go on my stairs, but it does go on the bench seat. I just brush my stairs when I brush the pool, no big deal, I'm brushing anyway.
My only complaint is it pops a lot of wheelies and does a lot of stopping and reversing which makes you think it's not efficient or doing the job. However, it does still clean the pool in one cycle and that's all that matters to me. It can pop wheelies all it wants as long as it still cleans in one cycle.
Overall, I'm very impressed with the Proteus and even happier because it's hundreds less than the Nautilus, but better in my humble opinion." — Mary Lou Lohrentz
Get it from Amazon now: $649.00 & FREE Returns
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