A few weeks ago I bought iRobot’s Braava jet m6 robotic mopper. This is the company’s top-of-the-line model available for US$449.99. Here’s how it fared in my apartment.
What’s in the Box
- iRobot Braava jet m6 Robot Mop – weighs 4.85 lbs and is 10.6 inches width x 3.5 inches high
- 1 Charging Dock
- 1 Dock Tray
- 1 North American Line Cord
- 2 Single-Use Wet Mopping Pad
- 2 Single-Use Dry Sweeping Pad
- 1 Washable Wet Mopping Pad
- 4oz of Sample Cleaning Solution
Features include vSLAM navigation that lets the m6 learn the layout of your home and build personal Smart Maps to improve its navigation over time. Using Keep Out Zones, it can avoid certain areas like pet bowls or play areas.
Thoughts
I’ve been enjoying my Roborock S6 MaxV robot vacuum ever since I received it. It does have a mopping attachment, but as I wrote in my review I wasn’t happy with it. I needed a dedicated mop with scrubbing power. The m6 has a Wet Sweeping mode and Dry Sweeping mode, depending on which mop attachment you’re using (they’re labeled). In dry sweeping mode, the dry sweeping pad uses electrostatic force to capture dirt, dust and (pet) hair. It knows which mode to enter depending on the pad attachment.
The m6 is a thorough cleaner, mopping your home until it runs out of battery or cleaning fluid. If it runs out of battery before cleaning it will go to its charging station, fill up, and resume where it left off. It goes over your entire home three times.
I wouldn’t say it “scrubs” per se. It has a jet in the front that sprays water, mops over the water, and backs up to jet again, making sure it overlaps. So it may not get tough stains out but with the three-pass system it will mop up just about everything else.
I like it. It’s okay at navigation despite the “vSLAM” technology, whatever that is. My Roborock is more nimble and it uses LiDAR to get around. But so far the m6 hasn’t gotten stuck.
iRobot is stingy with the cleaning fluid; the bottle is small and the directions tell you to dump half of it in. I haven’t done that and only put a couple of capfuls in, but it still seems to work fine. In the future I’ll experiment with using vinegar as a cleaner or a few drops of Lysol. Of course though, the directions say not to use any cleaner other than iRobot’s own fluid.
The robot can connect to Wi-Fi, and using the companion app you can set schedules, create custom routines and maps, and find personalized cleaning suggestions. It works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa. You can also set up automation with IFTTT to have it start cleaning when you leave. It does not support Shortcuts.
I rated it “It’s okay, get it if you need it.” It’s good at its job, and if you’ve been thinking of getting a robot mop, check this one out.