iRobot Vacuum and Mop Combo Review

IRobot's latest Combo J7+ is the company's first combination vacuum and mop robot. It's similar to the Roomba and has similar rug-avoiding smarts, but the mop's self-filling feature makes it compatible with more cleaning solutions.

A small robot arm pops out of the base when you tell it to mop via the iRobot Robot Vacuums: Effortless Cleaning for Any Home (just click the following page) Home app or voice assistant. The mops only deploy when the robot senses it's on a floor that's hard and are able to avoid dragging across rugs and carpet.

Features

A robot vacuum and mop is a handy device to keep floors tidy without relying on a broom or a Swiffer. It removes sticky messes and keeps dust at bay, so you don't need to worry about the mess that builds up in high-traffic areas like kitchens or mudrooms. It also does a better job cleaning hard floors with a vacuum than a vacuum alone.

The majority of irobot vacuum/mop combinations can be used on carpet and hard floors, which is why they're a great option for homes with multiple flooring types. The best models include features that let you control how often the robot cleans and the power it uses. Some models also have automatic emptying and can be controlled via voice control.

The most well-known iRobot robot vacuum and mop combo is the J7 Combo+, which converts into a fully-featured robot cleaner with just the press of one button. It has the same advanced obstacle-avoidance technology as the j7, and a brand an acoustic sensor on board to help determine the type of flooring. In mop mode the mop only activates when it senses hard flooring like tile or wood and never over area rugs or carpeting. I've tried numerous times to trick the j7 Combo+ into crossing the rug but it would always back up before returning to where it left off.

It's not as fast at picking up fine particles of dust that a vacuum could be unable to, but it's great at taking off dried milk staining. It has mopping pads that are easy to refill.

The J7 Combo+ may be less expensive than other robot vacuums and mop combos however it is a fairly expensive appliance for a basic model. It's limited in battery life and water capacity and must be returned to the dock to recharge between cleaning sessions. It is also necessary to manually move the machine to a different room each time you clean. Its small size and lacks a scheduling feature means it is able to only clean 200 square feet.

Design

The app lets you schedule and track cleaning chores, as well as create "clean zones" and "keep out zones". You can control robots through the app, or through voice control using the smart speaker of choice. Many offer multiple options for power and can detect obstacles to help with navigation.

Unlike some vacuum and mop combinations that aren't able to do both tasks effectively, the Combo J9+ does an excellent job at both, removing the crumbs, fur and dirt. It also makes use of SmartScrub, which scrubs the floor with constant pressure and back and forth motions in order to eliminate stubborn messes like coffee and dirt. Dirt Detective, which is a feature that learns from past cleaningthat are particularly dirty, but this is less frequently than you would otherwise need to do with a standalone vacuum cleaner or a basic bucket of water and a brush. It's an excellent solution for areas with a lot of traffic like kitchens, bathrooms, and bathrooms and mudrooms.

You should consider a mopping machine If you're looking to get the most advanced cleaning. They typically make use of a microfiber pad and a reservoir of water filled with only clean water and a scrub-like motion to wipe away dirt and dust, making your floors cleaner than a regular vacuum does. Some of them, such as our upgrade pick, the Braava Jet m6, also inject detergent into the pad to give it a deeper clean.

The biggest drawback to a mop-only robot is that it's not able to perform any work on carpet or area rugs. If a robot comes across these surfaces while in mop or vacuum modes it will lower its pad to prevent getting the surface wet. Unfortunately, this also means that it isn't able to navigate around them unless you have set up special 'clean zones' and "keep out zones" in the app.

Combination robots are more adept at this. Our top pick is the iRobot j7+ combo. It operates similarly to a regular j7 vacuum, but it also comes with a wet mop which it deploys when it senses hard flooring. It's a little more aggressive than other combo robots at crossing rugs and thresholds, but it still backs up when it encounters them, rather than trying to mop over them.

If you're really looking to be hands-free with your cleaning, you'll need a robotic vacuum that can learn your floor layout and navigate between rooms without assistance (our upgrade choice is the iRobot braava jet M6) or a combination model that incorporates 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 the furniture is.

Cost

A robot vacuum that doubles as a mop is great way to clean your floors. It is more expensive than a standalone robot vacuum or a dedicated mop. The cost depends on whether you'd like an expensive model that comes that incorporates mapping technology which lets it learn your home's layout and keep the room clean without running out of battery power. This feature is essential when you have rugs or carpets in your home and the more recent Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni or Roborock S8 Pro Ultra are the best models that come with this feature.

Another thing to take into consideration is the size of your floors and the number of rooms you will need to vacuum and mop. Smaller rooms will require a more compact robot, and you might be able to do with a robot that just mops or vacuums, but doesn't have both capabilities. For instance, iRobot's Combo J7+ is an upgrade option which bundles a mop robot along with its highest-rated Roomba vacuum, and is priced at a fraction of the cost of a standalone mop bot like the Braava Jet M6.

The Combo j7 Plus includes iRobot’s Clean Station which automatically empties the dirty mop-water from the tank for cleaning once it's filled. The base isn't included in the standard model of the j7 and has to be purchased separately. This is one reason why the combo robot is priced at $1,099 since it's not included in the standard model.

The j7+'s design is modern and sleek and looks nearly like the popular Roomba i7 vacuum, which is what makes it an appealing option for vacuum-mop hybrids. However, it is missing a few key features that other mop-only bots do. For instance, it does not have the same suction of 8,300Pa that iRobot's vacuums provide. It doesn't have the automatic mop pad cleaning feature, which is increasingly common in top mop robots. You can purchase an add-on that will wash your mop pad even when it's not in use. This will stop the pads from drying out and getting messy. The J7+ is a good value and one of our top robots for Revolutionize Cleaning with iRobot Roomba j7+ your floors.