3 recommended floor cleaning robots.Carefully selected by actually using it from dedicated to wiping with water to combo type with a robot vacuum cleaner

I can't live without you anymore.

It's been 20 years since the cleaning robot "Roomba" was born like a glittering star. I still remember the excitement when I got it for the first time. And now is the time to leave wiping and cleaning to robots. The "floor cleaning robot" that cleans with a mop while spraying water or detergent is ideal for washrooms and kitchens where water stains and oil splashes are a concern. Therefore, this time, the editorial department of the product review site Wirecutter will introduce "3 recommended models that I actually used and selected"!

A "floor cleaning robot" is a fully automatic mop. The floor is shining brightly ... but it's an excellent home appliance that can get rid of water and stains without bothering people. Wirecutter compares 10 types of floor-wiping robots and strictly checks usability and cleaning performance. As a result, the iRobot Braava Jet 240 has been selected as the simplest, most compact, and smartest recommended number one product!

Recommended number one necessary and sufficient "floor cleaning robot": iRobot Braava Jet 240

Ideal for kitchens and baths. Compact and quiet design, no hassle. One cleaning will wipe one or two rooms clean. Although it is relatively inexpensive, it has excellent durability. If you add it to your daily chores, it will keep your room clean and dirty.

The iRobot Braava Jet 240 is perfect for ease of use and cleaning performance. Just attach a special cleaning pad (disposable type or washable type) and put water (plus special detergent) in a small tank and you're ready to go. Just place it in the corner of the room and press the start button, and the robot will do the rest for you. A small body of only 18 x 17 cm silently moves back and forth between the rooms to clean the floor.

Made for the purpose of wiping one or two rooms, this product has average speed, smartness, and control functions. You also cannot program the navigation. However, not many people want to wipe and clean the whole house every day, and I think that it is a necessary and sufficient robot that automatically wipes and cleans.

iRobot's products are highly regarded for their durability, repairability and long-term handling of replaceable parts. Like other robots, it can be used for all kinds of hard flooring.

High-end version with high-performance navigation system: iRobot Braava Jet m6

Clean multiple rooms smarter. A large battery and water tank are added to the Blur Budget 240. Equipped with an advanced navigation system, it is possible to clean a larger area or a specific room with a command. However, I am not good at the edges and thresholds of carpets.

The upgraded version of iRobot Braava Jet m6 is recommended for those who want to specify the time and place to clean via the smart home app, or who want to mop multiple rooms at once. In a word, this is a big and smart Blur Budget 240.

The main upgrade element is the navigation system. The m6 equipped with a camera will remember the layout of that level after a few trial runs. Of course, multiple layers can be input. Once the "training" is complete, you will be able to give instructions such as "skip this room and clean only the kitchen" via the app. Compared to other models equipped with a navigation system, the m6 is a high-performance model that is worth the extra budget.

However, the m6 isn't a magic item either, so it can't be cleaned without any hands. It is necessary to change the pad and fill the tank with water every time it is cleaned. Pads must be washed and cleaned (reusable type) and additional consumables must be purchased. You may even rescue the m6, which has stumbled on a carpet or threshold and is stuck. By the way, it is easy to trip because the pad has a strong floor adsorption force.

It may be disappointing to imagine a magic mop, but if you are in an environment where you can make the most of the functions of this machine, it will be more powerful as an excellent robot mop equipped with high-performance smart navigation. Will do it.

Clean your room with a hybrid of vacuum cleaner and water wipe: Robolock S5 Max

Vacuum cleaner and mop combo. Robolock S5 Max is an excellent cleaning robot equipped with both a vacuum cleaner and a mop. It is especially recommended for those who want to vacuum every day, but only occasionally wipe it.

There are many vacuum cleaner and mop combo types and hybrid types, but few can remove water splashes and oil stains. Another factor is that many robots that specialize in wiping and cleaning do not perform actions such as "downward pressure" and "rubbing" and cannot use detergent.

However, if you have a household where the floor is not so dirty, if you want to use it as a sub for a regular rag, or if you just want a robot vacuum cleaner, consider the combo type. In that case, if you choose a model equipped with LIDAR navigation, it will move smoothly throughout the house, so it is recommended.

The Robolock S5 Max is a remarkable hybrid robot with the latest smart navigation from a brand that provides solid customer support and outstanding controllability. However, there are other similar products, so please check them out.

This time, Wirecutter has tried many products and selected 3 recommended products based on the following criteria.

Let's take a closer look at the recommended points and precautions for carefully selected products!

Recommended number one necessary and sufficient "floor cleaning robot": iRobot Braava Jet 240

iRobot's Blur Budget 240 is an easy-to-use, cheaper robot that's perfect for kitchens, bathrooms, and other rooms that you want to wipe and clean frequently. Looking up, there are smarter and faster cleaning robots, but in many cases this is enough.

After testing 10 robots, we found that the Blur Budget 240 outperforms any other product in cleaning performance. Combining a water-absorbent pad with water, detergent, and scrubbing (downward pressure, vibration, reciprocating motion), it literally works as an automatic mopping robot.

It is not possible to suck up solids or puddles, but this test showed that it removes food, splashes of animals including humans, and sticky stains. In our tests, we have set it to a wet type blue pad and the strongest cleaning mode. Details of the pads and modes will be described later.

Looking at user reviews, there are positive ratings for cleaning performance. Everyone, it seems that the Blur Budget is not for removing persistent dirt, but for daily cleaning.

The Blur Budget 240 is the easiest floor-wiping robot to use, and I think it will be used by many people. It works well in the kitchen, bathroom, and entrance without bothering people, so it is ideal for daily cleaning. You can always keep a certain "clean".

Very easy to set up. You can buy accessories online or at mass retailers, so you can easily buy more. When Wirecutter's tests and customer reviews are combined, compared to similar products, it is less likely to get caught in so-called "mop traps (thresholds or carpet edges)" and get lost, and it will clean your room well.

I think the ideal frequency of use will vary from home to home, but for my home, it was enough to have a kitchen and entrance a couple of times a week and a bathroom once a week. By the way, it is better to pick up or vacuum large garbage such as cat litter and bread crumbs in advance.

The Blur Budget 240 is simple anyway. After all, there is only one operation button, the "clean button". Attach the pad, fill the tank with water, install it in the room you want to clean (preferably on the wall side, and point it toward the center of the room) and you're ready to go. All you have to do is push a button and the robot will do it for you. Also, if you press and hold the start button, the convenient function "Virtual Wall" will be activated. You can instruct "Don't go backwards from where you are".

The Blur Budget 240 has multiple "modes" that are automatically determined by the type of cleaning pad. It is an elegant system that reads a simple code written in advance on the back of the pad and automatically adjusts the operation accordingly. The blue pad is for wet mop mode. Scrub while reciprocating by spraying a large amount of water. Amazon has made this pad a bestseller, so it can be inferred that this mode is the most used. The orange pad moves faster with less water. It seems that he is not good at removing the sticky water stains. The white pad is in "dust mop mode", which quickly catches sticky debris in the dry state.

There are two types of these three types, a disposable type (the pad contains a dry detergent) and a type that can be washed in a washing machine and used repeatedly. Disposable 10 sheets are a little less than 1,000 yen, which is reasonably expensive. It depends on the size of the room, but one sheet is about two cleanings. Considering running costs (and garbage reduction), it would be better to reuse them. If you use a detergent, you can expect the same detergency as disposable items.

The Blur Budget 240 moves back and forth between rooms based on advance predictions, catching dirt without overlooking the gaps in the flooring. It doesn't make sense to go back and forth to the same place over and over again. Sensors avoid obstacles such as furniture legs and clean the area while also locating the wall. As the cleaning progresses, the movements of the tires and water jets settle down to a constant rhythm, and the running noise is quiet.

The navigation system is not the highest rank among domestic robots. There are some things you can't do (more on that later). Even so, it is far more reliable than the navigation systems used in low-priced products, and I think that many households say that "this level of performance is sufficient."

A little worrisome point

iRobot's Blur Budget 240 is so sophisticated and self-driving that you might not expect it to be a 2022 robot vacuum!

The charging dock is not included, so you will need to remove the battery and connect it to the charger after cleaning. Also, since I don't learn the layout of my house, I start from a blank slate every time I clean it, and every time I take it to the room I want to clean, I press the clean button. The battery and water tank are not so big, and the range that can be cleaned at one time is about 14 to 19 square meters, so one room is OK, but two rooms may be a little impossible. There is no schedule function or smart home function, and if there is no door etc., you may leave the kitchen and go to a completely different room (the first room will be cleaned properly).

But again, the Blur Budget 240 is a robot that's needed and sufficient for working in kitchens, bathrooms, front doors, and other spaces you want to wipe with water. If you want a robot that can clean a wider area more automatically, you can definitely upgrade to a higher-end model such as the Blur Budget m6, but I think that many people will be satisfied with the functions of the Blur Budget 240.

Navigation is the most dissatisfied user evaluation. After AI analysis of about 1,500 latest reviews, the most common complaints are:

Still, he is less dissatisfied than other floor-wiping robots. For example, in the Bissell Spin Wave review, a high percentage of complaints such as "There is a place to get stuck (18%)" and "Get lost (13%)" appeared. With the iLife Shinebot W450, 15% commented that it "doesn't work as expected," and even with other models of the same iRobot (including the higher-end model m6), there are far higher percentages of navigation-related complaints.

Also, there are complaints that the groove of the tile is not clean, it is not good to clean the edges along the legs of furniture such as walls and cabinets, and the small opening of the water tank makes it easy to spill when pouring cleaning liquid. However, none of them are limited to this product.

High-end version with high-performance navigation system: iRobot Braava Jet m6

The iRobot Braava Jet m6 feels like a "big, smart" version of the Blur Budget 240. The cleaning performance remains the same, and the navigation system and interface are basically the same. However, it has a wider coverage than 240 and is good at automatic driving, so it can be quite useful depending on the situation at home. That doesn't solve all the problems that 240 had, and you may be disappointed in a home with a lot of thresholds and area lags, saying "It's not what you expected ...".

However, if you want to wipe a large area frequently, the m6 will be a valuable upgrade. A large cleaning pad, a large capacity water tank, and a long-life battery make it possible to clean a large room more quickly. According to iRobot, the m6 cleans up about five times the area of ​​the Blur Budget 240 with a single cleaning. Therefore, it is ideal for those who want to wipe the room where their children play several times a week, not to mention the kitchen and dining room.

Of course, it will be an overkill function for those who do not need to mop so much, but I would like you to include it in the options if you need it.

The navigation system uses the camera to learn the layout of your home and transform it into an interactive "smart map" with the iRobot app. If you instruct the m6 to clean only a specific room and skip other rooms, it will automatically handle the navigation, so you don't have to carry it to the room you want to clean like the Blur Budget 240. This handy system has been well received in Wirecutter tests and customer reviews. It is a system that is also installed in iRobot's high-end model of Roomba, and has a track record of several years, and is generally highly evaluated.

You can train multiple floors by training the m6, and you don't have to buy multiple docks (but you can't go up and down stairs yet). You can also set cleaning settings such as "amount of water sprayed at one time" through the app.

However, if there is a threshold between the rooms or if there is a carpet, it may be difficult to move. Basically, I'm not good at steps. That's because it sticks to the floor and cleans it. It seems better to keep the room you want to wipe as flat as possible. When it comes to a model that is strong against steps, it will be a hybrid type like the Robolock S5 Max, but the cleaning ability will decrease by that amount, so it feels like which one to take. The dedicated app has a tool to follow the shortcomings to some extent, but even so, when analyzing user reviews with AI, 15% (out of 1,000) of Amazon reviewers in the United States said, "Crossing the threshold. I'm not good at it. "

Even if you can run smoothly on the floor, it still takes some time to replace the cleaning pad and fill the water tank every time. Even the advanced mapping system does not automate the maintenance of the robot (because the fully automatic washing machine does not do the folding work ...).

I'm also a little worried that this product has many negative reviews. Analyzing the latest 1,000 reviews from Amazon, the one-star rating (up to five stars) was 34%, and the two- or three-star rating was 21%. If you take a closer look, dissatisfaction with the navigation system in general is still noticeable, with 13% of all reviews commenting that "it often gets stuck" and 9% "not filling the area you want to clean". This is 3 times and 2 times that of Blur Budget 240, respectively. iRobot says that m6 "realizes seamless navigation in most homes," but it seems to be quite difficult in reality.

However, it can be said that it is a very excellent floor cleaning robot because it can be used in a house suitable for m6 without excessive expectations. Like the other products we recommend this time, it comes with a one-year warranty.

Hybrid model with LIDAR: Robolock S5 Max

If you want both cleaning and floor cleaning, why not consider the combo (or hybrid) type? In a nutshell, it feels like the robot vacuum comes with an optional mop and water storage tank. These models have a style of vacuuming and wiping the floor with a microfiber cloth. Instead of spraying water on the floor, drip water directly from the tank onto the pad to wipe it clean.

It is suitable for removing splashes of drinks and slightly layered dust that cannot be removed by simply vacuuming, and is not good at cleaning dirty floors. It is not suitable for homes with small children and pets, and many food spills and sticky stains.

There are many combo types, but the one we recommend is the model with LIDAR-based navigation (the circular bulge at the top is a proof of LIDAR installation). This is a speedy and accurate system based on an invisible laser. An excellent item that efficiently navigates the house in a lean pattern and cleans well while avoiding obstacles. In the AI-assisted analysis by Wirecutter, customer reviews for models equipped with the LIDAR navigation system are overwhelmingly high, and the satisfaction level is extremely high compared to other types.

Robolock S5 Max is also one of the combo types. To be honest, this product is overwhelmingly more powerful than other similar products! It does not mean that. It seems that many hybrid types use common software and parts regardless of the manufacturer. However, S5 Max has a good reputation for customer service among LIDAR-equipped models, so I will introduce it here. Of course, the performance of the robot vacuum cleaner is also above average. The type of mop that can be attached to a robot vacuum cleaner as an option is also said to be competitive with other companies' products. Of course, if you can get a LIDAR-equipped combo robot vacuum cleaner at a cheaper price, it should work fine.

This time, let's take a look at Robolock S5 Max as a typical combo product. This unit can adjust the water content of the mop for each room from the smartphone app. For example, "Kitchen is at the highest level, off in rooms with strong rugs" can be set. Even if you turn it off, the floor will get a little damp because it will drag the wet cloth, but if you walk barefoot immediately after the robot passes, you will feel "a little damp?" And it will dry quickly. Without the moisture control function, the rug may become jerky.

The major drawback of the combo type is that the essential cleaning function is inferior to that of the dedicated floor cleaning machine. First of all, it is because we do not use detergent, and we do not apply back-and-forth movement or downward force. It wipes off coffee splashes and dirty footprints, but is not good at oil stains and sticky stains. These stains require a slightly stronger mop. In the customer reviews, there isn't much content about the mop function, and it remains a neutral opinion that "it works fine, but it is not as good as a real mop."

Some products aim to be an all-round cleaning robot with a vibrating pad or a pad that floats away from the rug, but it's not as effective as adding a budget. If you have such a hard time, whether it's a normal mop or a floor-wiping robot, it's better to use a special tool to clean it without any hassle.

For example, the top-of-the-line Robolock S7 has a function that automatically raises the mop by a few millimeters when it detects that it is on the carpet. I think it's a very effective technique, but I was worried that the edge of the carpet was a little wet like other models.

Some high-end combo models use vibration pads, intentional wiping patterns, and special detergents to enhance scrubbing, but they are not as powerful as high-performance floor-wiping robots. The one with the best performance I tested this time was the Shark AI Robot Vacmop, which also removed sticky stains. However, I was worried that there were some leftovers even according to the recommended amount of detergent. Perhaps I couldn't scrub it downwards, and I think I wasn't strong enough. By the way, the product will not cross the rug if you leave the mop on, so you may have a hard time depending on the room.

By the way, the question is whether detergent can be used with "washing" models, but I don't know at this stage.

So, even if you are interested in the hybrid type of vacuum cleaner and wiping mop, it is "not the best choice" while you are worried about "I wonder if it can be used at home ...". You might be better off buying both a robot vacuum and a floor-wiping robot than buying an expensive combo.

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