Customer Ratings & Reviews

I was looking for a budget friendly robot vacuum for our 2nd floor which is bedrooms and has mostly hardwood flooring with a few rugs. We’ve got a small maltipoo dog, who though doesn’t shed as much, manages to carry the outside in with him every walk. We’ve got a robot vacuum on our first floor that does an okay job at keeping the floors clean but have noticed the collecting dust bunnies on our 2nd floor and our lack of consistency in running the vacuum to banish them. Thus, the iRobot Roomba Combo Essential Robot Vacuum & Mop enters! We didn’t need anything too complicated with dozens of features but at least smart enough to not take a tumble down the stairs. Pros: - Easy to use and maintain. - Cleans the floor thoroughly! - Navigates around well. Cons: - Lack of clear pre-use instructions. - Could have improved route tracking. - Runs into walls and objects hard. Initially, I had high hopes that the setting up of the iRobot Roomba Combo Essential Robot Vacuum & Mop would be simple as the first thing you see when you open the box is a QR which leads to the iRobot App. But, after setting up an account, the App instructions skipped quite a few initial steps from setting up the charge station to attaching the sensor brush. I did find these steps outlined in the Owner’s Guide that can be downloaded from the App. The App completed the rest of the setup flawlessly, from pairing with the Roomba, connecting with the WiFi, and providing the Dustbin and Mop pad setup instructions. I didn’t find steps to be all that difficult to figure out, but this isn’t the first robot vacuum I’ve set up. Overall setup requires taking the iRobot Roomba out of the packaging, attaching the guide brush, and plugging the charging station. Then position the device on the charging station to begin charging. If you want to use the mopping functionality, you just attach the mop pad and fill up the water reserve. iRobot includes 2 mop pads, so you can have one on hand to replace the used one. The actual prep is very simple, but the provided directions are lacking in specific steps. The Roomba can be triggered through the iRobot app with a limited number of options, but I found just pressing the button on the robot more convenient. I’d usually check the dustbin from the last run, refill the water tank and swap out the mop pad then press the start button on top. This kept me in the habit of maintenance before each use such as emptying the dustbin, pulling off the collected hair from the moving parts, and checking the mop pad. When the mop pad was dirty, I’d mostly handwash with mild soap and air dry so it would be ready by the next use, but I also just as easily tossed it in a load of laundry depending on the day’s chores. Additionally, if you want to end the Roombas activity early, just tapping the little house icon, or home button, will stop its current activity and send it home. There is a spot clean button, which will have the Roomba spiral out in 3 feet and clean the area to end in the same spot it started, but I didn’t find that as useful as just running it once per day. The iRobot Roomba Combo Essential Robot Vacuum & Mop cleans efficiently on both hard flooring and carpeting. After the first use, I noticed a major difference on the rug in the hallway. While running, the iRobot Roomba follows a pattern of cleaning that is very efficient, covering all the floor while navigating around objects and obstacles mostly without issue. The only issue I found was with the bathroom mats or any cloth that could bunch up, the iRobot Roomba tended to get stuck on these items if they were initially flat but as it rolled over would bunch up. This is more of a User Error issue than iRobot fault, one of the pre-steps is to pick up loose items or block off rooms you do not want the robot to go into. Closing a door or putting something in the way to block off an area was effective enough to stop the issue from happening again. One of the bigger issues I had was that the iRobot Roomba got stuck under a bed, multiple times, and in the same spots. Might be more User Error, but in both cases the Robot was unstuck/de-clogged and moved to a different part of the room, only to start up again and head right back towards the obstacle it had just been defeated by. It would be convenient if the iRobot App had some kind of mapping or learning feature where the Roomba would learn the routines that worked and avoid obstacles or objects that would cause it to encounter an error. Maybe it does in fact have this but needs more time to learn the route. The only other issue I noticed was just how hard the iRobot Roomba would bump into the wall and objects such as tables or bedframes. At times it would surprise me from the other room as it rammed into a wall with an audible thud through the wall. Only time will tell, but at least I can say there are a few rooms I will be leaving closed for the time being to avoid issues or surprises. The iRobot Roomba Combo Essential Robot Vacuum & Mop is a great choice if you’ve got a combination of carpet and hardfloors that you want to have cleaned on the regular by robot that will have a high rate of successful navigations without your intervention. The initial setup process could use a little more polishing but it’s not too complicated and there is additional documentation available. Additionally, with the MSRP around $275, this robot is on the more affordable end of options with plenty of features that work as advertised. This is a solid choice to make your home feel more comfortable and cleaner, while saving you the time and effort of manually cleaning!

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.

I recently got the iRobot Roomba Combo Essential Robot Vacuum & Mop for my home, and have used it for about a week now and have had a mostly positive experience, along with some little annoyances. The convenience of the Roomba is a nice addition to the home. With just the push of a button, a simple voice command to my smart assistant or scheduling it to run in the iRobot app the Roomba will vacuum and mop throughout my home, picking up dirt, dust, and debris on both hard floors and carpets. The intelligent navigation system allows the Roomba to map out my home's layout, though it did have some issues with running over a random foam block causing it to get stuck, getting caught under an awkward piece of furniture, getting tangled up on the cable cord and dragging a shag rug. So, I do recommend monitoring it the first couple of runs throughout your home. What sets the Roomba Combo Essential apart from other robot vacuums at this price point is its dual-functionality as both a vacuum and a mop. The vacuuming performance is decent, with strong suction power that lifts and removes dirt and pet hair from the floors. The mop attachment provides a nice thorough clean, leaving my hardwood floors clean and streak-free. The mop attachment comes with two mop pads that are velcroed to a plastic bracket and if you don't want the Roomba to mop, just remove the attachment and it will only vacuum. I found the best aspect of the Roomba is its ability to get under those hard to reach places that you can’t get at with a standard vacuum. The iRobot app is where you control and set up the Roomba. Setup is super easy, just follow the step-by-step guide and connect it to your WiFi and you’re good to go. The app is very user-friendly when it comes to the features and customization options that the Roomba Combo Essential offers. The iRobot Home app allows me to schedule cleaning sessions and has a feature that will only run when I’m not at home. You can set cleaning preferences if you want to use the mop or just vacuum, which allows me to keep my place clean even when I'm not around. I do wish I was able to see a real time heat map of where the roomba is currently in the house, but you can only see the heat map after it has completed its job. In terms of maintenance and upkeep, the Roomba Combo Essential is a breeze to clean and maintain. The dustbin and mop reservoir are easy to empty and refill. Roomba does recommend you change the brush and filter every 6 months. The dust bin is on the smaller size, so I recommend emptying it after every 2-3 cleans. Also at this price point, I do wish the docking station came with an automatic dustbin disposal. Overall, the iRobot Roomba Combo Essential Robot Vacuum & Mop is a good automatic Vacuum in terms of performance, convenience, and versatility. That being said, I do not think it will 100% eliminate your need for a standard vacuum, where you will still want one for those immediate spills, big homes with multiple floors, and especially if you have more than one animal that sheds. Just go into viewing the Roomba as a partner to the standard vacuum, where it cleans those tricky areas that you can't get to and just keeps your home tidy. Pros: Convenient and hands-free cleaning with intelligent navigation. Dual-functionality as a vacuum and mop for comprehensive cleaning. User-friendly app for scheduling, customization, and monitoring. Suitable for both hard floors and carpets with strong suction power. Cons: May struggle with very high-pile carpets or shag rugs. Some may prefer a larger dustbin for less frequent emptying. Docking station does not have an auto empty dustbin Not for big homes.

One of my favorite innovations in recent years is the robot vacuum. There seem to be many variations these days and this vacuum/mop combo from iRobot is no different. From my experience, robot vacuums have essentially the same setup process. Unbox it, remove packaging, set the vacuum on its base, download the app, and connect the vacuum to your WiFi network. Within just a few minutes you are ready to start your first cleaning session. This Roomba Combo unit was the same type of setup. Since this device also incorporates a mopping function, you have the option to add the mop head or leave it off if you are going to vacuum only. I didn’t have any issues with getting the robot set up or the app connected. What I did have issues with was getting the robot to actually finishing a cleaning session. The first time I sent it out, the robot ran for approximately 2 minutes and didn’t clean enough floor space to register in the app. In reality it was probably only about 2 feet away from the base. The vacuum pulled out of the base station, rotated a few times, moved forward a bit, hit a transition strip between our dining room and living room and then I heard the chime indicating that cleaning was done. I was shocked. I immediately sent it back out. This time it ran for 3 minutes, ran into our dog dishes, which spilled water all over the floor (and the vacuum), and then returned to its base. Both times there were no errors that occurred. The vacuum just thought it was done cleaning. Before I tried a third time, I moved the base out into the open. Originally, I placed it up against a wall, but it was underneath our rabbit’s cage. So, I thought the open floor space might help. Ironically enough, I placed the base directly in front of another robot vacuum. This time, the robot moved off the base, rotated a few times and then shot out across the kitchen floor. “Finally!” I heard the vacuum moved back and forth across the kitchen/dining room linoleum and then it came to the transition strip again. The vacuum bumped the dog dish again, but there was no spill this time. The vacuum paused before attempting to move across into the living room and all of a sudden, the unit powered off. I’ve never seen that type of behavior from a robot vacuum — not even one with low battery. I looked a the app and saw that the vacuum lost its network connection. The app directed me to take steps to fix the issue because “this was not something that would resolve itself.” I did a reboot of the vacuum and then sent it off cleaning again. The vacuum did make it into our living room, which is mid-thick carpet. The vacuum didn’t seem to have trouble moving across the floor, but it did get stuck in a corner three times. I had to pick it up and move it out of the corner each time and tell it to clean again. After about an hour of babysitting the vacuum, I called it quits and told the vacuum to go home. It could not do it. I tried three different times and the vacuum just spun and then got stuck in a corner again. It finally re-docked on the base once I physically moved it to be within about 1.5 feet of the base. I like iRobot products in general, but I just don’t know about this one. I was genuinely surprised at the lack of functionality I experienced with this unit. In addition to the vacuum’s ineptness, the app also seems to lack something. It looks as though the app/vacuum should be recording map data, but I never saw any from my Roomba. I also noticed that there was a large gap of history on the app. As I mentioned, the vacuum tried to clean for about an hour before I stopped it. That cleaning session was not recorded at all. I will say that the space the vacuum was able to clean seemed to be done well. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make up for the amount of babysitting I had to do while the vacuum was running. I feel as though that defeats the purpose of having a robot vacuum.

Works very well on doing a deep clean. Some issues with it returning to base consistently and some iffy software but all in all a great buy

This unit is not a very good unit. It constantly gets suck under the sofa. It get stuck in carious parts of the house and keeps falling down the steps. The mop function is a joke. I returned it after a few days and bought the a better vacuum and a standlone mop. This is significantly a better choice.

It was not able to navigate my home at all, and had troubles finding it's base

Runs into everything and then just stops and have to reset

super bad gets stuck every were does not pickup all trash not happy at all. I was on vacation so by the time i got to use it return period was over

The Roomba Combo Essential is an entry level vacuum and mop combo robot that offers a lot of the basic functionality you would expect in a robot vac/mop, while maintaining a relatively affordable price point. However, it is missing some of the higher end features that make these types of products really useful. The Combo Essential features a vacuum that iRobot claims works on all floor types including carpet, wood, tile, etc. It has 3 suction settings and 3 water levels for the mop. You can connect the Roomba Essential Combo to wifi using the Roomba app, where you can set cleaning schedules, see cleaning reports, product health, and a few other things. Once connected to wifi, you can also control it with smart home assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Home. This is not my first robot vacuum, or even my first vacuum/mop combo, so I do have a point of reference I am comparing to. As far as vacuums, I also own a Roomba 981. Compared to the 981, the Essential is a tad smaller, and much quieter. I was very impressed with how quiet it actually was. This is the kind of robot vac you can set to clean and still enjoy a conversation with someone or watch TV. As mentioned, it is a bit smaller than the 981, and I noticed it only has one cleaning brush compared to 2 on the 981, so it took a bit longer to clean the same area, and I noticed that the 981 still picked up quite a bit of dirt that the Essential missed. So the smaller size and quieter operation seems to come with less power overall as well. Navigation wise, it seems to be about on par with the 981 and other robot vacs. It did very well at navigating around all my furniture and not getting stuck. However, I do have a gliding rocker that seems to give all these robot vacs problems, and the Essential was no different. It got stuck under it and couldn’t get itself out. Something that really bugs me about this vac, and the 981 for that matter, is in the app, you get a cleaning map after each job. However, there is no way to save the map for better navigation, or to set up “rooms” or virtual barriers. The only way to keep the vac out of a room is to physically block it with either a door or some other large objects. This wouldn’t bug me so much if the higher end roombas didn’t have this functionality built in. It almost seems like it’s really just a software feature that iRobot could easily implement in these lower priced models, but they arbitrarily turn it off to make the higher priced models seem more feature-rich. One last thing I noticed after each cleaning job I tested it with, was that it picked up some very large objects and just continued about its business. The first time was a jelly packet (I know, I don’t know where it got a jelly packet either). That one was probably the worst and is most likely what affected the cleaning performance in that test. I have no idea how long it was carrying around this little packet, just covering most of the suction area. I would really appreciate it if it had some kind of object detection or gave me some kind of indication that something was possibly clogging it. In the next test I had a similar experience, but this time with a tissue. The tissue probably didn’t affect the performance as much as the jelly packet, but still, it would be nice if the robot was smart enough to say hey, something might be stuck over here. As far as how well it cleaned, it did a decent job. I tested it on both hard floors and carpet. Carpet is where I tested it almost side by side with the 981, and it just didn’t do as well. While iRobot claims you can use it on carpet, I’d recommend something a bit more powerful. It did a good enough job, but I could tell that it just didn’t have the weight or power to really clean well. You can see it bouncing along the carpet while it cleans, something I never see with the 981. On hard floors it fared a bit better. It cleaned most of the dirt and dust I could see. And this is where the mop functionality comes into play. Now, this is a pretty basic “mop”. Basically, it’s a wet cloth you plop on the back of the vac. It has a little water reservoir to keep the cloth wet while running, but there is no cleaning solution and it doesn’t suck the water back up or anything. It just runs the wet cloth along the floors as it vacuums. So It’s not going to do nearly as good of a job as actually mopping, or even using a swiffer or something. But it’s better than nothing. Honestly, I wouldn’t get this vac for the mop. It’s something that’s just an added bonus, but don’t expect great things from it. It could be that I’ve been spoiled from my other robot vac/mop combo which features rotating, self cleaning pads, and all the bells and whistles. That one works a little more how you would expect a robot mop to work, but it costs a lot more than this one. This one is about as entry level as it gets, and I’m afraid may just turn people off of robot vacs altogether if you’re expecting anything more than just running a wet cloth along your floors. If the main thing you are wanting is a robot vac, I’d recommend saving up a bit and getting something a little higher end. In conclusion, this is definitely an entry level robot vac/mop combo. The vacuum performs well enough for an entry level product, and I could easily recommend it for smaller homes or homes without a lot of carpet. If its main use will be carpet, you may want to go with something with a little more power. The mop feature doesn’t work well enough for me to recommend. If you are in the market for a robot mop, I would recommend getting something a little more high end than this. So as I stated in the title, this product overall is a mixed bag. It’s small, quiet, and priced right. But performance is a bit lacking when compared to other robot vacs and/or mops.

I've owned Robot Vacuum cleaners before, but never an iRobot Roomba. I was excited for the Roomba Combo Essential because the promise of a Vaccuum and Mop is cool. My home has hardwood floors with the usual floor rugs thrown in for good measure. Setup of the iRobot was easy. Their app (requires registration) but pro tip when you unbox the iRobot make sure you don't trash the cardboard sleeve with the giant QR code - it helps with pairing. WiFi setup was fast, and the iRobot connected quickly to my WiFi 6 network. Yay! In terms of use, this is where I get a little mixed. The vacuum capability is great. The iRobot navigated from wooden floor to carpet with ease. It's not too loud given it roomba's around the house and also sucks up dirt. The navigation is trademark Roomba reliable. It's kind of freaking watching it race towards a wall and stop promptly before the point of impact. The mixed feeling is that on carpet, the Roomba was leaving heavy track lines. This is not something my older robot vacuum cleaner does and I'm not sure if it's because of weight, or the wheel design - but it meant I had to manually go over the carpet with an old-school vacuum to get rid of the lines. In terms of mop function, I am a disappointed. There are limitations I accept, like you need to manually switch in the mop head and ensure the Roomba loaded with cleaning liquid. Fair. However, as an essential model, you can't set it to only clean a specific room and or avoid another room. If you are using the mop function, you need to build a wall of furniture around your carpeted areas. I kind of wish they had a more elegant solution. I'd even settle for the old school robot vacuum solution of tape rather than walls of furniture. It also means you can never really set it to automop because you need to prep and protect your rugs first. This brings me to trying to score it out of 5. It's a tough one, if your floors are all wooden and you have no rugs, this would be a great hybrid robot vacuum. I'm not sure how many people live in that world? If you just have carpet, then you could get the vacuum only model. If you could set it to only clean a specific room, that would be great - but that's really outside of robot vacuums in this price range. As my home is open plan, I'm kind of stuck to let it roam (roomba?) free. I landed on 3/5 as a score, because if I live in an apartment, I might close a few doors and would lock it up in the kitchen and have it mop the kitchen on a weekly basis and ignore the rest of the house, then on alternate days let it roam free and simply vacuum. What keeps it short of a 4 is the wheel tracks it left on my carpet, and that I would recommend it to a fiend with a lot of watch outs on the limitations, like roadblock rugs or carpeted rooms if you decide to mop.

If you are looking for a budget robot vacuum/mop this is a great deal. To be honest I was a bit confused on how it was going to work but essentially it is an iRobot but with a small water tank in the waste bin and has an attachable micro fiber cloth that fits on the back half of the bottom of the robot. You do have the option of just using it as a vacuum only but there is no option to mop only. When running it with the mop function make sure you have the tank filled. The guide recommends cool water only which I was skeptical of but there are no streaks at all on my hard wood floors. I will mention that this robot just goes wherever but remembers where is been but there isn’t any way to block out areas like some of their higher end robots. I had to put a 2x2 under my entertainment center to stop it from getting all tangled up in my wires hence the reason for a star deduction. The mopping pad is shaped like a crescent moon so if it rolls over a wire or cord those points grab it and get it stuck. After “wire proofing “ my first floor I love it. I vacuum every day with a cordless vac and I was so surprised by how much stuff was in the bin. I also used a spay type microfiber mop, not anymore. This replaced my cordless vac and spray mop. So glad I got this!

I've owned several robot vacuum cleaners and am not new to ownership or use of them. I have never had a Roomba and was excited to test this. I was underwhelmed. First, the instructions were useless - if I were new to this type of product, I'd be lost. Print is tiny and almost impossible to read with glasses. Instructions are also wrong. Before you even do anything with an app, you should plug in the vac to the power supply (which has no power light to let you know it is actually working) and then charge the vac prior to use. This also has the vac where it can be picked up immediately once you download and to install the app. If you install the app like you are instructed to do, you can't access the vac since it will still be in the overused white bags that cover everything in the box. Vacuum is odd in that it only has one horizontal brush - another brand that is likely even less expensive than this model that I bought on Amazon, has two to bring in items into the main brush. Oddly in the packing container, there is apparently an area for a second brush, but when you turn the vac over, it has only one area to attach a brush. This alone downrated the product by one star. It should be noted you cannot even see instructions on the app until you actually install the app and connect it to wireless and to the vac! This is backwards! Product will talk to you so don't be surprised. One thing this thing will not do is to tell you the debris holder is full. If they went to this effort to make it notify you of an error, why not indicate the holder is full so you can stop the machine and enter. I wasted half an hour with it riding around doing nothing but moving. Machine is also much worse than average on how it does its job. Compared to the current less expensive brand that I have, this thing seems trapped in an area that is wide open and it just repeatedly does that area instead of moving on. I repeatedly had to pick it up and to move it to another area. This vac has some sort of "mopping" feature that is really a joke. It is effectively an attachment with a cloth that you install to the bottom and a place for water to be added. This was remarkably ineffective and pointless and adds no value to the vacuum at all. The overall travel time of the vacuum was no worse than the cheaper brand that I owned nor was it better in length of use. Highly disappointing product. I would recommend you buy something else.