irobot mapping Vacuum and Mop Combo Review

iRobot's newest Combo j7+ is the company's first mop and vacuum robot. It's akin to a Roomba and has similar rug-avoiding capabilities, but the mop's self-filling feature makes it compatible with more cleaning solutions.

If you request it to mop using the iRobot Home voice assistant or app, a tiny robot arm will rise out of the base. The robot only deploys mop arms when it senses the presence of a hard surface. They avoid dragging over carpets and rugs.

The following are some examples of

A robot vacuum and mop is a great tool for keeping floors clean without relying on the Swiffer or broom. It can remove the sticky mess and keep grime at bay. This means that you do not have to worry about mess accumulating in areas that see a lot of traffic such as mudrooms or kitchens. It also does a much better job of cleaning hard floors than vacuums alone and can do so completely automatically.

The majority of Irobot vacuum and mop combos are designed to be used on hard flooring and carpet, so they're the best choice if have a variety of flooring types in your home. The best models have features that allow you to determine how often and how powerfully the robot cleans. Some models also include automatic emptying and can be controlled by voice control.

The j7 Combo+ is iRobot's most popular robot mop and vacuum combo. It can be converted into a fully-featured robot cleaner by pressing only one button. It features the same advanced obstacle-avoidance system as the j7 and also a an acoustic sensor on board to help determine the type of flooring. The mop can only go over solid flooring such as tile or wood when it is in mop mode. It will not go over carpeting. I've tried a few times to trick the j7 Combo+ into deploying over the rug however it always backed up and then returned to where it was.

It's slow to pick up fine particles of dust that a vacuum may miss, but it is excellent at taking off dried milk stains. It comes with a mopping pad which is easy to refill.

The j7 Combo+ is a little cheaper than other robot vacuum and mop combos, but is still a fairly expensive appliance for a basic one. It's got a limited battery life and water tank, which means it has to return to its dock and recharge it between the majority of cleaning sessions. It is also necessary to manually move it to a new room for every cleaning session, and its small size and absence of a scheduling feature mean it can only clean up to 200 square feet at the same time.

Design

irobot has created an app for its robots. It lets you organize and track cleaning chores and set up "clean zones" or "keep out zones." The robots can be controlled using the app or via voice activation using the smart speaker of your choice. They have a variety of 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 impressive job of both, picking up the crumbs, fur and dirt. It also makes use of SmartScrub which scrubs the floor using constant pressure and back and forth motions to get rid of stubborn messes such as coffee and dirt. Dirt Detective is which is a feature that learns from past cleaning missions will prioritize rooms with the most dirt to make sure they get a thorough clean.

The Combo J7+ is equipped with a mopping irobot mechanism that lifts the pad as soon as it comes into contact with carpet or area rugs. This helps to avoid getting the carpets wet and speeds up cleanup. It is the first robot combination that is capable of both vacuuming and mopping all types of floors, making it an excellent choice for those with an assortment of soft and hard floors.

The Combo j7+ looks similar to the regular Roomba J7 robot vacuum. It has a a sleek black plastic body and brushed aluminum top piece with a circular design bearing the irobot that vacuums and mops logo. Its water reservoir is located in the back, and the mop pad is attached to the bottom of the unit. The app shows you when the tank has to be filled or emptied.

The Combo J9+ is compatible with your home's WiFi network. It also comes with sensors to aid in navigation and obstacles to avoid. It collects usage data, such as the frequency it moves around the house, as well as mapping and image data, but it does not use this information to sell or share it with third-party companies without your permission. On its website the company's Privacy Principles can be found.

Cleaning Performance

A good robot vacuum and mop will save you a lot of time and keep your floors in a relatively clean state most of the time. You'll still need to take out a traditional mop for tough stains or extra-dirty spots but it's less frequently than you would otherwise need to do with a single vacuum cleaner or a standard bucket of water and brush. It's a great solution for areas with high traffic or that are extra filthy, such as kitchens, bathrooms and mudrooms.

If you need more advanced cleaning capabilities look into a dedicated mopping robot. These typically use an ultra-fine microfiber pad and a reservoir of water that is filled with clean water and a scrub-like motion to remove dirt and dirt, making your floors look cleaner than a regular vacuum. Some of these, like our top pick for upgrades, the Braava Jet m6, can squirt detergent into the pad for a more thorough clean.

The main drawback of a robot that only mops is that it can't perform any work on carpets or area rug. If a robot is in contact with these surfaces when it is in mop and vacuum modes it will lower its pad in order to keep the surface wet. However, this also means it can't navigate around them unless you set up special 'clean zones' and 'keep out zones' in the app.

Combination robots are better at this. Our top pick is the iRobot J7+ combo. It operates similarly to a normal j7 vacuum but it also comes with a wet mop that it uses when it spots hard flooring. It's a bit more aggressive than other combo robots in crossing rugs and thresholds, but it still backs up when it encounters them instead of trying to mop over them.

If you're looking to go hands-off with your cleaning, you'll need a robotic irobot roomba vacuum that can understand your floor layout and navigate between rooms without assistance (our upgrade choice is the iRobot braava jet m6) or a combination model that uses the lidar navigation system (like the Roborock S5 Max). You might need to set up a 'clean zone' and a 'keep out zone within the app to ensure that it can determine where the furniture is.

Cost

A robot vacuum that doubles as a mop is a great way to clean your floors. However it's more expensive a standalone vacuum cleaner or a dedicated mop robot. Costs vary based on whether or not you're looking for a premium model that has mapping technology that allows it to learn the structure of your home and clean every room without running out of battery power. This feature is essential for those who have rugs and carpets in your home and the latest Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni or Roborock S8 Pro Ultra are the Best Irobot Vacuum And Mop models with this feature.

Another thing to think about is the dimensions of your floors and the amount of rooms you'll have to mop and vacuum. Smaller rooms will require a more compact robot, and you may be able to make do with a less expensive robot that mops or vacuums, but does not have both capabilities. For example, iRobot's Combo j7+ is an upgrade choice that bundles a dedicated mop robot along with its top-rated Roomba vacuum cleaner, and it costs a fraction of the price of a standalone mop like the Braava Jet M6.

The Combo j7 Plus also includes the iRobot Clean Station, which auto-empties the soiled mop water out of the cleaning tank when it's full. The base isn't part of the standard j7 model, and must be purchased separately, which partly explains the combo robot's price of $1,099.

The j7+'s design is sleek and modern and looks nearly like the fad Roomba i7 vacuum, which is what makes it such an attractive choice for vacuum-mop hybrids. It does not have some of the key features other mop only bots come with. It doesn't have the same powerful suction as iRobot vacuums. It does not have the automatic mop pad washing feature that is becoming more commonplace on top mop robots. However, you can purchase an add-on for the j7+ that will wash the mop pad if you're not using it. This will keep the pads from drying and becoming messy. The J7+ is a great value and one of our top robots for cleaning your floors.