The right pool cleaner should suit your pool type, shape and size, but there's so much more to choosing the perfect model. And with so many to choose from, it can be hard to know what to buy.
Our experts put a selection of robotic and suction pool cleaners to the test to find out which ones can keep your pool sparkling clean.
Here's how we do it.
On this page:
Our expert testers
Our expert testers have years of testing experience and know how to find out which pool cleaners are worth buying.
When testing performance and ease of use, we use pool cleaners in real-life situations to see how they compare when it comes to cleaning leaves, twigs, pebbles and sand from the bottom of a pool.
How we choose what we test
With so many to choose from, what makes us choose one pool cleaner to test over another? As with most of our product testing, our aim is to test the most popular models on the market and what you're most likely to see in stores.
We survey manufacturers to find out about their range of models and check market sales information, as well as any member requests to test specific models.
From this information, we put together a final list that goes to our buyers. They then head out to the retailers and buy each product, just as a normal consumer would. We do this so we can be sure they're the exact same product a regular consumer would take home and haven't been 'tweaked' in any way.
How we test pool cleaners
We use a pebblecrete pool with curves and steps for our pool cleaner test. The pool and filter are cleaned prior to each test, before we dirty the pool with a set amount of leaves, twigs, pebbles and sand (spread around as evenly as possible).
Each cleaner is set up and placed in the water according to the manufacturer's instructions and given 2.5 hours of cleaning time in the pool. Battery-powered cleaners are recharged after 2 hours and then tested for a final half hour.
Performance
The two main performance assessments are cleaning and stoppages.
Cleaning: We measure how much debris is removed from the pool at the end of the cleaning cycle. All cleaners are stopped every hour and the contents of the filter basket is recorded and removed.
Stoppages: If a cleaner stops, it's fixed and restarted. The number of blockages, time out of service, the cause of the stoppage and any debris removed is recorded. Cleaners are penalised for each stoppage.
Ease of use
To assess ease of use, we look at:
- the quality of the instructions
- ease of assembly
- ease of clearing blockages
- ease of adjusting the pool cleaner if required.
Test criteria explained
The CHOICE Expert Rating is made up of:
- performance (60%)
- ease of use (40%).
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
