This robot will mop your floors for you

Welcome to Would Repurchase, the content series that honestly reviews the products we've tried and tested. We’re lucky enough to try a lot of things at Yahoo Lifestyle Australia, and these are the products and experiences we'd be happy to spend our own hard-earned dollars on.

Mopping is up there as one of the most undesirable of household chores, and until recently, it hasn’t been on my radar at all.

Call me a grub, but as someone who lives in a two-adult unit, I’ve always felt that regular vacuuming and spot cleans for spills is enough to suffice – this way, I only have to go through the ordeal of hauling out the mop and wet rag once in a blue moon.

But now with a baby on the way, floor cleanliness has suddenly become a priority, and I’m pleased to say I’ve found a solution that’s as simple as hitting a button (or something like that).

A number of robot mops have hit the market recently and look and function much like the robot vacuums you may already be familiar with.

I had the opportunity to try iRobot’s new Braava Jet m6, which arrived on Aussie shores last month, and as someone who despises mopping, I really enjoyed the novelty and convenience of having a well-cleaned floor without actually doing any of the work myself.

My floorboards were literally sparkling, which was really refreshing.

So how does it work?

A significant technological upgrade from previous models, the Braava learns and adapts to its surroundings while cleaning. Its onboard camera has a really wide lens that allows it to gather over 230,000 data points per second, which it then uses to navigate the most efficient cleaning path through your house. Smart, I know.

There are a few things to bear in mind when using it, however. It doesn’t move quickly enough to be a major trip hazard, but just like traditional mopping, you want to keep people and pets off the floors while it’s working its magic, so I found it easiest to set it for when I was on my way to work or off to sleep for the night (as our bedroom is carpet).

It also links to an app on your phone, so you can remotely turn it on while you’re out of the house, and check in on its progress.

As expected, you need to keep the floor as clear of obstructions as possible, but the robot is good at navigating its way around couches and coffee tables (and in my case, house plants).

On its maiden voyage, it heads out to map the area, and from that point you can label sections – like the kitchen, living area or hallway – on the app for future cleaning. I found this very useful until I moved my rocking chair and threw off the map. The solution is easy however, just delete the old map and the Braava starts again without missing a beat.

While there are vacuuming and mopping hybrids that try to do both, this robot focuses on the latter. It has a dry sweep function you can use beforehand, but I found it easier to vacuum as I normally would, and then set the Braava loose to do the rest. I was quite surprised at how much dirt it picked up, even after a really thorough vacuum.

If you already have a Roomba i7+ robot vacuum then you’re in luck, as the two models are able to talk to each other so as soon as the Roomba is done vacuuming, it signals the Braava to take off and mop up.

Worth it?

At $1,150, this isn’t the cheapest way to mop your home, but it certainly is convenient and thorough – not to mention much more fun than traditional mopping.

I really enjoyed having it clean up my place, and you can see it in action in my living room (while I sit back on the couch) in the video above.

Pros:

• It’s a super easy to use, set and forget cleaning machine that does a really good job

• You can zone your house which is really handy if you often dump things in your hallway like I do and don’t want the robot running into them

• It can be controlled remotely from the app, just make sure it has enough water and charge before you leave home

• You can control how much water it releases and choose between single-use and reusable pads – I recommend the reusable one

• It can be set to dry sweep before it mops, you just have to change the pads over inbetween

Cons:

• At $1,149, the price tag is fairly steep

• It doesn’t also vacuum, but if you already have a Roomba i7+ vacuum, it can work in unison with that

• It won’t go up and downstairs

This author was sent a Braava jet m6 to trial at home.

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