iRobot Combo Essential Cleaner Review

The iRobot Combo Essential is its first robot that focuses on the basics of cleaning. It features a sleek, intelligent design and a mop that works well.

iRobot OS lets you start and stop cleanings directly from the app, plus gives you personalized suggestions and obstacles and map avoidance images (opt-in). The Clean Base auto-fill dock charges the battery, automatically emptying the trash bin, and refills the water tank.

What is the Roomba Combo Essential?

This robot mop that doubles as a vacuum is powered by iRobot OS and comes with several cleaning products. It lets users accomplish two tasks on one device. It features smart navigation, 3 levels of powerful suction and up to 120 minutes of battery life. With its sleek, low-profile design and Edge-Sweeping Brush design, dirt is not able to hide in corners or underneath furniture.

The 4-Stage System uses an all-surface V-shaped brush, a microfiber pad fed by a pump, and adjustable liquid settings to clean multiple floors in one pass. It also has 18x more suction power2 and a smart Edge-Sweeping Brush that helps eliminate dirt and dust around the edges of rooms and beneath furniture. It also comes with iRobot Home App control, cleaning schedules, and detailed Clean Map reports.

Using the iRobot free app, users can choose from a range of cleaning modes, such as spot-cleaning, automatic, or mop-only. You can also set the timers for start and stop and put off cleaning. The Combo Essential also supports voice control integration with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, so you can initiate cleaning sessions with a simple voice command.

Once the Combo Essential has finished its cleaning task, it will automatically return to its docking station and empty the dustbin into the dirt bin. Depending on how much dust the Combo has picked up it will require regular emptying. The app also allows users to monitor and manage the cleaner's battery status, a mop pad change reminder, and other information.

GearBrain will be testing the new Roomba Essential combo in the coming weeks, but we can already say it's an amazing update to the 600 Series that is budget-friendly. We're impressed that it's loaded with features that are smart and provides a clean and powerful performance even with a lower cost.

Combo Essential is available for purchase for $275. Visit the iRobot website for more information and a complete list of specifications.

What is the Roomba Combo j9+?

iRobot has established itself as a leader in the smart vacuum/mopping space and its most recent model, the Combo J9+, builds on the foundation of that model. It is rated as having the best dirt and dust collection performance and comes with an intelligent mopping tool that's powered by the new iRobot OS. This latest software gives the robot "smart cleaning preferences" and allows it to automatically clean your rooms according to their requirements. For example it might give your kitchen floors more attention, apply more pressure to the floor scrubber in entranceways or increase suction power in carpeted areas.

The j9+ is also an excellent choice for homes with floors that are mixed because it provides a high level of dirt and debris removal on both unfinished and carpeted floors. Its navigation system is solid and did a great job avoiding obstacles in our tests. It also comes with a feature that allows you to see pictures of objects it encounters during the course, which can help it to better map out routes and avoid hazards in the future.

Its mops are easy to replace and comes with an enormous water tank that can last for about one month between refills. The dust bin on the board is large and it has a swinging door that makes it easy to empty. Although it self-empties well, you'll still need to manually remove the filter at times in order to prevent the clogging.

The Clean Base Auto Fill dock is an additional nice feature. It can automatically empty and fill the tank of water that the robot has. It's something that many of its competitors do not have, and it's a fantastic feature that can reduce the number of hands-on maintenance tasks you need to do.

The iRobot application is easy to use and intuitive, but it has some flaws. It's frustrating to use because it doesn't include a live coverage view map or remote control features. It's also prone to dropping connections and frequently signs you out. This is not the best experience. It also doesn't allow you to set a time for the robot to finish an assignment.

What is the Roomba Combo j7+?

The Combo J7+ robot mop and vacuum is a 2-in-1 device. It has a 3.8-star rating on Amazon and is one of the most intelligent mopping robots available (though it's not the only one, as competitors such as the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni and the Roborock Q5+ are more effective in cleaning up mess). Its strengths lie in its solid obstacle avoidance and home navigation which let it keep an exemplary level of cleanliness between more thorough cleaning sessions.

It also does a good job of keeping floors clean, even in carpets with high pile. The robot's PrecisionVision Navigation system is able to steer clear of obstacles, such as shoes, cords as well as pet waste and toys. Dirt Detect Technology also identifies areas that are dirty and starts to clean them more thoroughly. If you wish to mop an area, simply place the pad on top of the mops compartment and your robot will start cleaning.

The Combo J7+ offers the option of cleaning the floor by itself, without the mops. You can also schedule a cleaning session in advance, however we found it best to use the default auto-Revolutionize Cleaning with iRobot Roomba I3+ settings.

Another great feature is the automatic updates that allow you to keep your Roomba running smoothly. It can be manually updated also, provided you're willing to go through the hassle of connecting it to the internet and downloading the most recent software, which can take up to only a couple of minutes.

As with other iRobot robots, the Combo j7+ needs some maintenance. The dust bin of the Combo j7+ is required to be cleaned at least every two weeks. Its liquid chamber can be filled with cleaning solutions. It comes with a small bottle of irobot roomba vacuum mop cleaning solution. However, iRobot suggests that Bona Hardwood/Hard Surface Cleaner won't damage the device. The front caster wheel can be removed for cleaning and its socket must be cleared of hair and other debris every week.

The Combo J7+ can be used to clean up to 60 floors. However the amount of floors you can clean on a single charge will depend on the type of floor you have and cleaning frequency. The battery life lasts up to 90 minutes on a charge and it can be recharged via the included AC adapter. The docking base's sensors and charging contacts must be cleaned clean of dust and debris every two weeks.

What is the Roomba Combo J6+?

The Combo j9+ is the newest combination cleaner for robots from iRobot. It may not have all the bells and whistles as iRobot's latest (and more expensive -- they begin at $1,800) models. robot floor cleaners, it still gives a thorough, hands-free clean for carpets and hard floors. Its main strengths are its reliable obstacle avoidance and navigation system, as well as impressive mopsweeping and vacuuming efficiency.

The j9+ mops feature self-retracting technology that helps to prevent messes from developing on your carpets and rugs. SmartScrub Mops are employed in its cleaning system. They move back and forth using constant pressure to thoroughly scrub even on stains that are difficult to remove like coffee. It has a powerful suction system which can be used to clean dirt from carpets and rug.

The navigation system of the j9+ comes with two high-quality cameras to assist you in navigating your home without getting snagged or bumping into things as can sometimes be the case with other Roomba model. These cameras utilize iRobot's PrecisionVision technology which helps your j9+ recognize and avoid objects like cords. It can also remember certain rooms and carpeted areas so that it will be able to tell you not to clean those areas. This feature, known as Imprint smart mapping, is only available to the j9+ model and other Roomba i7 series models.

This robot also has a huge debris capacity, which is crucial because it can perform both jobs at the at the same time. Its external dirt bin can hold 2.4L of debris, which is a bit less than the capacity of the top-rated iRobot robot, the Roomba i8+, however it's plenty for the majority of homes.

The mops are also simple to empty and recharge, which means that's one less thing you need to worry about when it comes time to refill or change them. This model comes with a useful dock that is both visually pleasing and functional. It has indicators that let you know whether the Combo J9+ requires to be recharged, charged or cleaned. It also has plenty of easily accessible storage space for dust bags and additional mops. This is a major upgrade from the previous version of the j9+, which had an ugly and outdated design.