irobot robots Vacuum and Mop Combo Review

IRobot's latest Combo j7+ is the company's first combination vacuum and mop robot. It looks like the Roomba and comes with similar rug-avoiding smarts, but the mop is self-filling and compatible with a variety of cleaning products.

When you ask it to mop using the iRobot Home voice assistant or app, a tiny robot arm will pop out from the base. The mops only deploy when the robot is aware that it's on a floor that's hard and are able to avoid dragging across rugs and carpet.

Features

A robot vacuum and mop combo is a great tool for keeping floors clean without the need for the use of a broom or a Swiffer. It can remove the sticky mess and keep dirt out. This means you don't need to worry about a mess accumulating in areas that see a lot of traffic, such as kitchens or mudrooms. It can also do better job of cleaning hard floors with the use of a vacuum by itself.

Most irobot vacuum and mop combos are designed to work on both hard floors and carpet, making them a good choice if you have a variety of flooring types in your home. The most effective models come with features that let you determine how often and how powerfully the robot cleans. Some models also include automatic emptying and can be controlled by voice.

IRobot's most adored robot vacuum and mop combo is the J7 Combo+, which can be transformed into a fully-featured robot vacuum by pressing a button. It comes with the same sophisticated obstacle-avoidance technology that is used in the j7, and a brand the latest onboard acoustic sensors to help determine the type of flooring. When it is in mop mode, the mop only activates when it senses hard flooring such as wood or tile; it never goes over carpeting or area rugs. I tried to trick the J7 Combo+ several times into going over carpets but it always went back and started where it left off.

Like most combo robots, it's slow to remove fine dust that a vacuum might miss however it's a master of getting rid of dried milk staining. It also comes with a handy mopping pad that's easy to refill.

The J7 Combo+ might be slightly cheaper than other robot vacuum and mop combos, but is still an expensive machine for a basic one. It's limited in battery life and water capacity which means it has to return to the dock to recharge between cleaning sessions. You'll also have to manually transfer it to a different room each time you clean and its small size and absence of a scheduling function mean it can only clean up to 200 square feet at a time.

Design

The app lets you plan and track cleaning tasks and also create "clean zones" and "keep out zones". You can control robots through the app, or through voice activation with the Smart sensor Vacuum speaker of choice. They have a variety of options for power and can detect obstacles to aid in navigation.

The Combo J9+ is a fantastic mop and vacuum combination. It does a fantastic job in both. It is able to remove dirt, crumbs and fur. It also utilizes SmartScrub to scrub the floor back and forth with consistent pressure for deeper cleaning of stubborn messes such as coffee and grime. Dirt Detective is an application that learns from past cleaning tasks and prioritizes rooms with more dirt to make sure they are cleaned thoroughly.

In addition to the features found on the regular iRobot robotic vacuum that include a telescopic extension and dual rubber brushes, the Combo j7+ also has an intelligent mopping system that lifts the pad when it encounters carpet or area rugs. This prevents getting the rug wet and facilitates faster cleanup. It's the first robot that has the ability to mop and vacuum any type of floor, making it a great option for those with floors that are a mix of soft and hard floors.

The Combo j7+ looks similar to the regular Roomba J7 robot vacuum. It has a sleek black plastic body and a brushed aluminum top piece with a circular design bearing the iRobot logo. Its water reservoir is located at the back, while the mop pad is tacked to the bottom of the unit. The app allows you to see when the tank is empty or has to be refilled.

The Combo J9+ is compatible with your WiFi network at home. It also comes with sensors to aid in navigation and obstacles avoidance. It also collects usage data like how often the Combo j9+ travels around your home, as well as the location and image data. However it does not sell or share the data with third parties without consent. The company's Privacy Principles are available on its website.

Cleaning Performance

A robot vacuum and mop combination can help you save time by keeping your floors clean most of the time. It is still essential to use a mop in order to remove tough stains and extra-dirty areas however it's less frequent than using a vacuum with a bucket of water with a brush. It's an excellent solution for areas with high traffic or that are extra dirty, like kitchens, bathrooms and the mudrooms.

Think about a robot for mopping for the most advanced cleaning. They typically employ a microfiber pad and a reservoir of water filled with only clean water and a scrub-like movement to remove dirt and dirt, making your floors look cleaner than a regular vacuum. Some of them models, like our top model, Braava Jet M6, even sprays detergent onto the pad to give it a more thorough clean.

The biggest disadvantage of a machine that only mops is that it cannot perform any work on carpets or area rugs. If a bot encounters these surfaces while in vacuum or mop mode it will lower the pad to prevent getting the surfaces wet. This also means that it is unable to navigate around them unless you have set up 'clean zones and zones to keep out of the application.

Combination robots can do better in this regard, and we particularly recommend our top pick, the iRobot Braava j7+ Combo. It functions like the regular j7 vacuum but it has a built-in wet mop which it deploys when it senses hard flooring. It is more aggressive than other robots in crossing thresholds and rugs. However, it still backs off when it encounters these obstacles instead of attempting to mop them.

If you're really looking to take your hands off of cleaning, you'll require a vacuum cleaner that can learn the layout of your floors and move between rooms without assistance (our upgrade option is the iRobot braava jet m6) or a combination model that has the lidar navigation system (like the Roborock S5 Max). It is possible to create a clean zone' and a 'keep out zone' in the app so that it knows where your furniture is.

Cost

A robot vacuum that also acts as a mop can be a excellent way to keep your floors. It is more expensive than a stand-alone robot vacuum or a dedicated mop. The cost will depend on whether or not you're looking for a top-of-the-line model with mapping technology that allows it to discover the layout of your home and clean each room without running out battery power. This feature is essential if you have rugs and carpets in your home, and the more recent Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni or Roborock S8 Pro Ultra are the best models with this capability.

It is also important to consider the size of your floor and how many rooms must be mopped and vacuumed. Smaller rooms will require a more compact robot, and you might be able to do with a less expensive robot that mops or vacuums, but doesn't have both capabilities. For example, iRobot's Combo J7+ is an upgrade pick that comes with a mop machine with its top-rated Roomba vacuum, and costs a fraction of the cost of a standalone mop robot like the Braava Jet M6.

The Combo j7 Plus also includes the iRobot Clean Station, which auto-empties the dirty mop water from the tank that is full. The base isn't part of the standard j7 model and has to be purchased separately, which partly is the reason for the combo robot's eye-watering $1,099 price tag.

The J7+ is a stylish modern-looking hybrid vacuum and mop. It's almost identical to Roomba's i7 vacuum. However, it lacks a few key features that other mop-only bots have. It does not have the same powerful 8,300Pa suction that iRobot's vacuums offer. It also doesn't have an automatic washing feature for its mop pads, which is becoming more prevalent on premium mop robots. You can buy an add-on to wash your mop pad even when it's not in use. This will prevent the pads from drying out and becoming messy. Aside from that, the j7+ is an excellent value and is among the top robots for cleaning your floors.