Configuration Guide Cleaning Your Home with a Tapo Robot Vacuum - Mapping and Clean Settings
Getting Started with Your Robot Vacuum (RV20 and 30 Series)
Overview and Setup
To ensure reliable and consistent navigation throughout your home, the vacuum's dock must be placed according to these recommendations:
- Open Space (23ft) on Each Side of the Vacuum and ~5ft in the Front of the Vacuum
- Centrally Located in Your Home to Minimize Travel Time
- Against a Stationary Surface or Wall
If you have difficulties with your vacuum, please see FAQ 280 for All Your Robot Vacuum Questions
Prepare Your Home for an Initial Mapping
Your vacuum must first create a floor plan for your home. Depending on the model, your robot will either quickly navigate through your home to make an initial map (RV30Max) or start a quick cleaning run to map the edges of each room. We have a few recommendations/tips to give you the best experience with the most accurate map.
- Pick Up Any Carpets, Toys, Wires and Loose Items
- These may be added and cleaned later; however, a clear pathway is needed to generate the initial maps. For now, ensuring that the vacuum does not get stuck is a priority.
- Ensure At Least One Complete Clean is Done Before Locking Your Map
- Open the Interior Doors Throughout Your Home to Ensure a Complete Map
- Have Glass Doors or Sliders?
- Closing Your Curtains or Blocking the Bottom of the Glass Will Help Prevent Reflections from Being Mapped
Stuck During Initial Mapping? Don’t Stress!
- If your vacuum gets stuck, do not stress! Simply unstick the vacuum and either resume the mapping from the app or send the robot vacuum home and start again – and don’t worry, the importance of a ‘clean run’ while mapping is not nearly the same for normal operation.
Learn More About the Options Available to Customize Your Home Map
Adjustable Cleaning Settings
While editing your map, customizing cleans, or while using the fast clean feature, there are two core settings that you will see which directly affect the performance of the vacuum.
While vacuuming, you will have two core settings that affect the overall clean quality:
Vacuum Power (Suction)
5 Levels Available (Quiet, Standard, Turbo, Max, Ultra (Temporary Per Clean)
Cleaning Times (Number of Passes)
Number of Passes: While the Vacuum does a great job of maintaining a clean environment with one pass, if there is a known mess or if you are looking for 100% pickup, we recommend 2 passes – especially as this means it will clean it both directions.
Pattern – Configured for Your Map, You Can Choose the Cleaning Direction of Your Vacuum, It is recommended to path your vacuum parallel to the gaps in your flooring. Without configuring this, your vacuum will choose the most efficient path for the first pass and will then change directions for the second pass to create a grid.
With the mopping pad attached to the vacuum, you will also be able to select an appropriate water level for your floor type
Cleaning Modes
There are 3 types of standard cleaning patterns provided: Whole House Cleaning, Room Cleaning, and Zone Cleaning.
Furniture-Focused Cleaning, Point-and-Go Cleaning, and Remote-Control Cleaning are available to meet more specific cleaning needs or immediate messes.
Whole-House for Quick Cleaning: Automatically clean each room of your house using the default settings.
Room Cleaning for Detailed Control: Choose either fast cleaning or a custom clean preset to clean the selected rooms.
Zone Cleaning for Large Rooms and Messy Areas: Create a custom preset zone for your vacuum to clean.
— Alternate Cleaning Methods —
Point-and-Go for Spot Cleaning: Similar to Zone Cleaning, however, the vacuum will go to the location and begin cleaning a small area around the indicated location.
Remote Control for Problematic Areas– Take manual control of your robot vacuum and drive your vacuum over a messy area.
Furniture Cleaning for Specific Messes—After placing furniture on your Robot Vacuum’s Map, selecting a piece of furniture will prompt the vacuum to clean under and around it.
Related Articles:
Welcome and General Tips for the Latest Robot Vacuums
Getting Started with Your Robot Vacuum – See What Our Team Recommends When Getting Started
Customizing Your Home’s Map – Setting Cleaning Directions, Carpets, Suction Levels and More!
Automate Your Robot Vacuum and Mop – Smart Actions and Geofencing for an Always-Clean Home
Clean with Your Voice – Starting Cleaning Routines for Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, and Google Home