Need help with ZHA routing tables: Other bulbs lagging after removing problematic router bulbs

Configuration Zigbee
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My Setup

​Coordinator: Sonoff Dongle Max
​Routers: 62 mains-powered devices
​End-devices: 94 battery-powered devices

​Context & Recent Changes

Recently, I removed an IKEA Tradfri bulb that had dropped off the network. This actually improved my network stability—fewer end devices dropped off, and the ones that did were just the known sleepy devices (Tradfri remotes, Xiaomi door sensors).

​To fix the remaining instability, I did some digging and identified my Samsung SmartThings LDS Zigbee bulbs as another potential culprit. I removed three of them. (Two were actually broken, but I had been keeping them plugged in simply to act as routers, thinking it would help the mesh).

​The Current Problem

While the overall network still seems stable with good LQI and no increase in battery devices dropping, some of my other bulbs have now become laggy, unresponsive, or have dropped off entirely.
​If I remove and re-add these lagging bulbs, it fixes the issue temporarily, but they inevitably become laggy and unresponsive again shortly after.

My Question

I suspect the mesh is still trying to route through the 4 bulbs I removed (1 IKEA, 3 Samsung). Is there a specific way to force ZHA to flush the routing tables so the network recognizes that these 4 routers are gone? Any other suggestions on how to stabilize these remaining bulbs?

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Most of what I am about to say is based on a little bit of my own reading and a bunch of previous posts on this forum - take it with a pinch of salt…

It should happen automatically given enough time - specifically routers should rebuild the network.

Theoretically if you factory reset devices then re-pair them they should renegotiate links, but the route is maintained on a per device basis, so you may have to re-pair multiple devices.

One post noted that older Aqara devices refuse to change their parent by themselves - they must be manually re-paired - I can neither confirm nor deny that.

Get a high quality coordinator / better placement - it’s an RF network - although longer distances may require a mesh (repeating the message) the more devices that can directly “hear” the broadcast from the coordinator the less times the message will have to be repeated.

I don’t have a very big apartment, the coordinator is in the middle and when I first was setting up my Zigbee network I ran a few tests - most of the apartment is reachable directly from the coordinator (meaning I tested with only the coordinator and 1 device).