iRobot Roomba Combo Essential Robot Vacuum & Mop (Y0140) - Black

This one is extremely helpful. I have it on an automatic schedule 3 times a day and it makes my life so much easier. Extremely helpful if you have pets that stay indoors.

The iRobot Roomba essential combo is simply that, just the essentials when it comes to everything for an automated vacuum. The iRobot Roomba Essential combo does some things really well and falls short in a few areas, however I think it was made/designed this way for a reason. This is a product that is simple and easy to use and gets the job done. While being a smart vacuum it can be used without an app with the physical buttons Clean, Home and Spot clean. What the Roomba Essential does really well is clean, the vacuum picks up just about anything that comes in front of it on hard surfaces(on super furry rugs it doesn’t work at all) and I have had no issues with its suction power. The Essential Combo was even strong enough to push over smaller items when cleaning an area. It does well when transitioning from tiled floors to rug and almost seemed to have a hop to it so it could make the transition. What really got my attention was how long this vacuum worked without having to return to its power station (it easily went an hour and 15 min while still having 50% battery remaining). The mopping function works well also the only thing you need to do is make sure the pad it presoaked before adding the attachment. Cleaning the dustpan or adding/removing the mop attachment is easy. There is even a small brush that is attached to the dustpan to get any small items that don’t fall out. The app for the vacuum is easy to understand and gives you all of the essential information. I did notice that on the IOS app you get a bit more information than the android version, however both work just as well. While the iRobot does a really nice job cleaning/mopping it does fall short in certain areas. The application is very limited and is a hit and miss when it comes to mapping and has glitched on me a few times. There is no way to add areas to vacuum, all you can do is set how long you want the job to go for. This was one of the biggest short falls of the vacuum since you can’t send it to a particular room of your choice. Since the mapping is a hit and miss it does take a while to know where the home station is, thankfully the battery life is amazing so you don’t have to worry about the battery hitting 0% before it gets back to the home base. The obstacle avoidance isn’t the best and just like the mapping is a hit and miss. Overall the iRobot vacuum does a really good job when it comes to cleaning and most of the issues I had are with the software and the missing features are usually for the higher end products in the automatic vacuum cleaners. I was impressed with how well it cleaned and mopped it would be a great entry spot for anyone looking for a automated vacuum.

iRobot is iconic for its creation of what we now call "roombas". Those little helpers are a staple in many households, chipping away at some of the chores that we all pretty much hate, such a running the vacuum and mopping. Even if we have come a long way, these machines still aren't able to fully replace cleaning by hand, but they do help maintain the floors from dirt between two deep cleaning days. So let's have a look at the newest product from iRobot, the Roomba Essential 2 in 1. The unboxing was a positive experience, the Roomba is well designed and is sturdy, there are soft foam "pegs" on its sides to avoid damage to furniture and base boards (a great idea). Navigation is smarter than the average and the device seems to be able to manage more complicated surroundings better than my other two robots. The suction power is amongst the strongest I have ever seen and the motors driving the Roomba are VERY powerful (it's the first time I saw a Roomba pop a wheelie and I'm not even kidding). Now that we have seen the vacuum function, let's have a look at the mopping. Mopping is not great. In order to use it, you take the dust compartment out which features a soft plastic latch that pops open to add cleaning solution and water. Sadly the compartment is about the size of a shot glass and it's a bit hard to get the mixture right at first. Once that was done, I put the mop adapter plate and slightly wet the pad (of which there are 2 in the box). I pulled up the app and had it start the vaccum+mopping function. I let the Roomba do its thing while I watched a movie. I came back and it was parked and charging (good!). It wasn't until I went to empty the dust bin that I realized that the device had sucked up a small amount of mop water which turned everything in the tray into a wet mess. I think that the way the Roomba runs it's path, it sucks up parts of the previous track it was cleaning as those slightly overlap. I'm planning on trying this again but as of now, I am not a fan of the mopping (even though the floor was very clean without streaks on hardwood floors). The companion app is very well made, it doesn't have too many options in which you'd needlessly drown and the two main functions are right there on the first page, allowing you to essentially start the cleaning in two taps on your phone. The remaining of the app is just a intuitive and easy to navigate with notifications on the cleaning process. That's another clear win for iRobot. This new model comes with improvements and a competitive price point, ready to trade blows with other brands and it might very well come out on top. As I have mentioned above, the only big problem I have encountered was related to the mopping function, which needs some work. Aside from that, be it the suction power which is great, the simplicity of the app or the generally less erratic pathfinding (which plagues most low cost solutions) all offer overall better cleaning results. This is what happens when you care just as much about your hardware as you do your software. I would have given the Roomba Essential a better rating if the mopping function worked better as this is 50% of why you would purchase this device. Nevertheless, aside from that, there is hardly anything wrong with this Roomba and it does do a good job at maintaining your floors from dust and dirt.