irobot for pets Vacuum and Mop Combo Review

iRobot's new Combo J7+ is the first combination vacuum and mop robot. It's similar to the Roomba, and has similar rug-avoiding intelligence. However, the mops can be used with a wider variety of cleaning products and can self-fill.

If you request it to mop using the iRobot Home voice assistant or app, a tiny robot arm will emerge of the base. The robot only deploys mop arms when it senses an un-porous surface. They are not able to drag over carpets and rugs.

Features

A robot vacuum mop combination is a great device to keep floors clean without having to rely on a broom or a Swiffer. It removes sticky messes and helps keep grime at bay, so you don't have to worry about the mess that builds up in high-traffic areas like kitchens or mudrooms. It can also do better job of cleaning hard floors with the use of a vacuum on its own.

Most irobot vacuum/mop combos can be used on carpets and hard floors, which is why they're a great option if your home has various flooring types. The best models have features that let you regulate how often and powerfully the robot cleans. Some models also have automatic emptying and can be controlled by voice commands.

iRobot's most popular mop and robot vacuum combo is the J7 Combo+, which can be transformed into a fully-featured robot cleaner with just the press of a button. Its features include the same advanced obstacle avoidance as the j7 plus new onboard acoustic sensors that assist in determining the floor type. When in mop mode, the mop will only be activated when it detects hard flooring such as tile or wood It does not go over carpeting or area rugs. I tried to trick the j7 Combo+ several times to go over a carpet but it always went back to where it had left off.

It's not as fast at picking dust particles that a vacuum might miss, but it is great at removing dried milk stains. It comes with mopping pads that are easy to refill.

The J7 Combo+ is less expensive than some other robot vacuum and mop combos, however it's expensive for a basic device. It's limited in battery capacity and battery life, so it must return to the dock to recharge between cleaning sessions. You'll also need to manually move the machine to a different room each time you clean. Its small size and lacks the ability to schedule cleaning sessions means that it can only clean 200 square feet.

Design

The app allows you to schedule and track cleaning tasks as well as to create "clean zones" and "keep out zones". You can control robots through the app, or through voice activation with the Smart mapping vacuum speaker of choice. Many offer multiple power modes and can detect obstacles to aid in navigation.

The Combo J9+ is a fantastic mop and vacuum. It does an excellent job in both. It can remove dirt, crumbs and fur. It also uses SmartScrub, which scrubs floors with constant pressure and back and forth motions in order to eliminate difficult messes such as coffee and grime. Dirt Detective, which learns from previous cleaning mission it prioritizes rooms that have more dirt so that they get a thorough cleaning.

The Combo J7+ comes with a mopping mechanism that lifts the pad once it comes into contact with carpet or area rugs. This prevents the rugs from getting wet and makes cleanup easier. It is the first robot combination that can be used for mopping and vacuuming all kinds of flooring which makes it a great option for those with an assortment of hard and soft floors.

The Combo J7+ appears similar to the standard Roomba j7 robot vacuum with a sleek black plastic body and brushed aluminum circular top piece bearing the irobot black friday logo. The water reservoir is in the rear, and the mop pad attached to the bottom. The app allows you to see when the tank is empty or has to be filled.

The Combo J9+ is compatible with your WiFi network in your home. It also comes with sensors to aid in navigation and obstacles avoidance. It gathers usage data, such as how often the Combo j9+ moves around your home, as well as the location and image data. However, it does not sell or share this data with third parties without consent. 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 reasonably clean state most of the time. It's still necessary to use a mop to remove tough stains and extra-dirty areas, but it will be less frequent than using a vacuum with a bucket of water with a brush. It's an excellent solution for areas that are prone to traffic or have a lot of mess like kitchens, bathrooms, and mudrooms.

If you require more advanced cleaning performance look into a dedicated mopping irobot robot. They typically make use of an ultra-fine microfiber pad with a reservoir of water filled with only clean water and a scrub-like movement to wipe away dirt and dust, making your floors cleaner than a regular vacuum does. Some of them, such as our upgrade pick, Braava Jet M6, even sprays detergent into the pad to provide a deeper cleaning.

The main drawback of mop-only machines is that it's unable to do anything with carpets or area rug. If a bot encounters these surfaces while in vacuum and mop mode, it will lower the pad to prevent getting them wet. This also means that it cannot navigate around them, except if you have set up 'clean zones and 'keep-out zones' in the application.

Combination robots are superior at this. Our top pick is the iRobot j7+ combo. It is similar to a regular j7, but has a wet mop built in that it uses when it senses hard floors. It's a little more aggressive than other combo robots at crossing rugs and thresholds, however, it will still back up when it encounters them instead of trying to mop them.

If you really want to be hands-free with your cleaning, you'll require an automated vacuum that can understand the layout of your floors and move between rooms without assistance (our upgrade option, the iRobot Braava Jet M6) or a combination model that incorporates the lidar navigation system (like the Roborock S5 Max). You may 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 is also a mop does a good job of cleaning your floors. It is more expensive than a stand-alone robot vacuum or a dedicated mop. The cost will vary based on whether you want a top-quality model that incorporates mapping technology that allows it to discover the layout of your home and then clean the space without running out of battery power. This feature is essential when you have carpets or rugs in your home. The newer Ecovacs Roborock S8 Pro Ultra or Deebots X2 Omni are the best models that offer this capability.

You should also think about the dimensions of your floor and how many rooms need to be vacuumed and mopped. Smaller rooms will require a more compact robot, and you might be able to do with a robot that only mop or vacuums but doesn't have the two capabilities. iRobot Combo j7+, for instance is a great option that comes with a dedicated mop for robots with its most praised Roomba and is priced at less than the price a standalone mop like the Braava jet M6 would cost.

The Combo j7 Plus includes iRobot’s Clean Station which automatically empties the mop-water that is dirty from the cleaning tank once it's full. The base isn't included in the standard j7 model, and must be purchased separately, which is the reason for the combo robot's price of $1,099.

The j7+'s design is sleek and modern-looking and is almost identical to the popular Roomba i7 vacuum. This is what makes it an appealing choice for vacuum and mop hybrids. However, it does not have the features other mop-only robots are equipped with. It doesn't offer the same powerful suction as iRobot vacuums. It doesn't have the automatic mop pad washing feature which is becoming more commonplace in high-end mop robots. You can buy an add-on to wash your mop pad when not in use. This will stop the pads from drying and becoming messy. The j7+ is excellent value and is among our top robots for cleaning your floors.