 | Hand Held Pool Cleaners - These cleaners require some degree of manual labor to varying extents. Some have electric suction, and some require the pool owner to create suction by pumping the handle. These are typically best suited for small pools, cleaning just the steps, or cleaning spas. |
 | Pressure Side Cleaners - These pool cleaners hook up to a dedicated pressure line in the pool. They often require a special booster pump to give them the power they need to clean properly. They use jets for propulsion and to blow debris off of the pool bottom to be collected in a filter bag on the unit. The most popular pressure side cleaners are the Polaris cleaners. |
 | Suction Side Cleaners - These pool cleaners are hooked up to the pool's filtration system and use the existing suction of the filtration system to essentially vacuum the pool. They usually have a variation of a suction-cup style face which sucks the pool walls and floor as it hops around the pool, cleaning as it goes. The benefits of this style of cleaner are that they are less expensive to purchase and do not require a booster pump; however, as all of the debris they pick up is then sucked into your filtration system, they can cause more strain on the system and make filter media become dirtier faster, requiring more regular cleaning and maintenance. The most popular suction side cleaner is the Kreepy Krauly. |
 | Robotic Pool Cleaners - These cleaners operate independently of the pool system. The plug into an outlet and have their own on board filtration. They use their own motors to drive around the pool scrubbing with brushes and filtering the water as they go. Debris is collected in an on-board filter bag that must be emptied after use, but no hoses are required which is one of the benefits of a robotic cleaner. Units are available that can climb walls and clean the water line. Many are available with remote controls so that you can direct them, in the same fashion as one would direct a remote controlled car, to dirty areas of the pool for spot cleaning. They are often sold with a caddy for transporting them to and from the pool, as they typically weigh between 20-35 lbs. The most popular brands of Robotic Pool Cleaners are Maytronics Dolphin and AquaBot. |
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| Aboveground pools typically use suction side cleaners, but there are pressure side and robotic pool cleaners available that are designed specifically for aboveground pools. |
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| Commercial installations use specially designed commercial robotic pool cleaners, which are just like the residential models but with more power, wider cleaning paths, and durable construction to stand up to more challenging pool situations. |
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