Customer Ratings & Reviews

This robot does a great job at vacuming! Keeps floors super clean. Easy to maintain. Takes care of two floors of out house. Does not fall from barcony or stairs. It's super Smart!

Excellent robot vacuum cleaner, I really like it.The cleaning is done carefully and attentively, without any omissions.

I love this! I have two dogs and typically had to mop and vacuum the main living area daily. It has saved me so much time to be able to do other things. My only regret is not getting one sooner.

 This has to be the worst Roomba I have ever owned. It is consistently malfunctioning, not completing jobs, getting stuck on a literal piece of hair in the floor… I could go on for hours about how absolutely awful this device is. I have reset it multiple times, ran the mapping feature more times than I can count, and manually reset and reset through the app dozens of times. It consistently loses connection with Wi-Fi (the only device on my network to do so) and honestly, I’m just tired of dealing with it. Will probably submit this through geek squad for warranty replacement and go with another another brand. Save yourself the headache.

Great vacuum! Disappointed that they would not ship from California to Florida where we live, had to ship myself.

I recently had wrist surgery and had difficulty vacuuming. I’ve always wanted an excuse to buy this and decided to go for it. Best decision of my life. I have a dog who sheds like crazy, and this vacuum keeps my floors very clean with minimal effort from me.

I like convenience and anything that makes my life simple and robot vacuums fit into that category for me. I have owned a number of various cleaning robots some that sweep and one or two that mop. I was really excited to get my hands on the Roomba J7 combo it is advertised as being smart and after using it for some time I can say that it certainly seems to live up to that claim. :::Initial Impressions::: The J7 came in a huge box and it included an assortment of items. You will find the following items inside the base itself, the robot vacuum/mop, two samples of cleaning solution, two mopping pads, an extra filter and a spin brush. I was taken back on just how big the base was and upon opening it you’ll find vacuum bags similar to those of the original floor vacuums I will explain more on this later. I found the vacuum to be hefty and it does have some weight to it so it doesn’t feel cheap like some vacuums I have used in the past. You can wrap the cord to either the left or right side of the base so that there isn’t a huge mess of wire laying around that is pretty much standard with every device on the market but there is more storage and the power cord can definitely be tucked further into the base I appreciated that. I am very impressed with just that and I hadn’t even powered on the device. :::General Thoughts::: Setup was so effortless and I truly appreciated how little time it took to plug in the device, download the iRobot app from the Google Play store and create an account. It took me less than five minutes to setup the smartphone application is straight forward it found my robot immediately and I love that this runs on the 5ghz band of Wi-Fi. This is the first robot that I own that had that as an option. I decided to name my Robot Robert, after that I immediately added the Alexa integration by linking the iRobot skill in Alexa and that took less than 30 seconds and worked on the first try. :::Smartphone app::: The app will suggest you setup a map of the location you will use it and for optimal results let it do that on the first run prior to cleaning so that way it can work in an efficient manner. After you can review the map and breakdown each location and label the rooms in your home for example you can label the location of the kitchen and add boundary markers that are used to divide each room like an entrance or exit. This really impressed me because this can be used via voice command or through the application and you can have your robot clean all locations or a specific room. I have used two competing brands of smart robots and the J7 makes them both seem primitive in comparison. So, you have map customization, cleaning options such as only sweep, or mop or both at the same time. You also have the ability to set how much water is used while mopping, and how many passes you would like for sweeping to be done. :::Cleaning::: The J7 works well on laminate, hardwood and carpet. I have a throw carpet in my bathroom and it wasn’t found in a tangled mess. I am unsure on how large the debris cup is on the vacuum but it really isn’t something you see because of the self-emptying feature and that is a nice feature to have not having to manually empty the vacuum after each or every few cleanings. The J7 uses a vacuum feature that sucks the debris into a vacuum bag and it is advertised to last about 60 days by iRobots standards by your usage may vary depending on how often you use it. An extra bag is included and I really appreciated that I have yet to look at the prices for the replacement parts but I am fine with having to purchase those periodically if it means not having to sweep or mop myself yes, I am aware of how lazy it may make me sound but I am totally alright with that because it is what the device is designed to do. I was baffled initially by the placement of the mopping pad because I couldn’t figure out how the floor would be cleaned for the life of me until I saw Robert in action. It works like a convertible hardtop where there is an arm that comes down to the floor to mop. I have never seen a robot mop do that before my mind was blown. So far, this vacuum is checking off all the boxes. :::Smart features::: Smart features are something that nearly every product on the market advertises but I assure you that once again no other device I used has the ability to learn as it cleans. How so you wonder? There is a pretty good camera that records what the robot perceives to be an “obstacle” at the end of each cleaning you can give feedback and select whether or not it was an obstacle and if it was only temporary. You also have the feature to instruct your robot to completely avoid that area or obstacle if you designate it to be so. My dog bowls are designate off limits so it doesn’t go too close to it. The ability for your robot to learn after each cleaning is amazing in itself and makes the product a better device for all who decide to use this product. I do not know of any other cleaning device that does this. This feature may seem invasive to some and is optional but I find it to be really useful and contribute to the database whenever possible. A perfect example of this is if there were a bag of golf clubs or something precious in a specific area of the house. You can tell iRobot if that place should be avoided altogether or if it is just temporary. :::Pros & Con’s::: Pros: - Smart learning capabilities - Very easy to setup - Intuitive and easy to use - Alexa compatible (not sure if google or other platforms are compatible) - You can setup a cleaning schedule - Self-emptying Cons: - Loud (not too big of a deal considering all that it does right) :::Closing thoughts::: Overall, this is truly a fantastic product and I just can’t stop praising it. I have to admit that after using this one time I put away my previous cleaning robot away in the basement and don’t have any intentions of ever using it again. It has the ability to become more efficient as time goes on and that is worth the investment in the J7 itself. Sure, this won’t mop super dirt floors but it will help maintain your floors and sweeping I don’t really do that anymore thanks to the J7. It is worth noting that this device isn’t infallible because you do need to take precaution especially if you have children that specific items shouldn’t be laying around because items can and will get caught in the cleaning brushes underneath. I had a robot brake on me in the past because of that. :::TL;DR::: iRobot really has something special here and it is nearly a perfect product that requires very little maintenance. It is truly smart and can continue to get better each time it cleans. If this sounds good to you don’t even bother looking at other products this is “the one to get”.

Its a nice little bot does great as a sweeper vacuum and so so at mopping but all in all i love it it mapped the house and i don't see any dog hair pups anymore lol also less dust also i love it!!!!! It climbs over nice size threshholds with no problem and easy to take care of.

I can’t really rate it right now because of the fact I haven’t had it long enough. Just say I do like it. It was a gift to myself it’s just some things I need to figure out. Thank you.

Love it. We have a few and the j series works great

You know you have the latest and greatest cleaning system when it does things you can’t even imagine are possible. And once you are familiar with the features, you wonder how you ever lived without them. The iRobot Roomba Combo j7 combines a robot + a vacuum + a mop. That means the only time I will ever use a regular vacuum again is to clean the one carpeted staircase and I will save a ton of time in cleaning. The setup out of the box was super easy. The docking station is simple and attractive and doesn’t take up too much space in any room. It was effortless to clean the vacuum. I didn’t realize how dusty it had gotten under my beds. The iRobot is sleek looking, even after being used multiple times, and the exterior seems very durable, so I don’t mind it sitting out in a room and not putting it away. I used the original packet of Bona concentrate the first time of use, then refilled the tank with Bona from the container I have. When I was done cleaning, I emptied the bin into the docking station with the press of a button as part of the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal system. Be sure to download the app and connect your iRobot. It took me two passes to accurately map out the second floor. The iRobot correctly identified the carpeted vs hardwood floor areas. I then sectioned off and labeled the rooms. Once done, I vacuumed and mopped every room using the innovative retractable mophead. I was thrilled that it uses Bona. I have real hardwood upstairs and engineered hardwood on the ground floor and that is what I use. The PrecisionVision navigation (object avoidance) was spot-on. I checked on it from time to time and followed it around so how hot it maneuvered around furniture. I was pleased that it made it over each of the thresholds in the house. Because I didn’t let it charge up completely before using it, it returned to the charging station to power up. Unfortunately it was done at around midnight and continued the cleaning session waking us up. With the app, you can personalize your cleaning. You can group specific rooms, create quick favorites, and set your cleaning preferences: the amount of water/cleaner, how many passes. Similar to settings on your cell phone, you can enable a child/pet lock, modify the lights, and locate your unit by having it make a sound. Those with Alexa can use voice commands. There is a Robot Health that tells you when you need to change the brushes and filter. As a matter of fact, the box came with an extra filter and brush. The message let you know what is going on with your unit and you know how much battery is left on the app. Here are some of the things I recently learned that I thought to share with potential owners: 1. Wrap up any cables/cords so as not to get caught under the iRobot. 2. Remove items from the floor (clothes, shoes, toys, etc.). 3. The edge-sweeping brush helped to get dust and particles in corners and around furniture. 4. Have a puppy? The iRobot purposely avoids pet waste. 5. Use the app to schedule cleaning so when you come home after long day, the floors have been cleaned and the iRobot is back at the docking station. 6. There is an opportunity to opt into Beta features. The price tag of the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ Robot Vacuum and Mop is a bit high for a spontaneous purchase, but as someone who values her time, lives in a household that has carpets/floors that get a lot of use, and detests vacuuming, I am so pleased with my iRobot vacuum for all its features and how much it simplifies my life. I own an older robot vacuum model and it doesn’t compare with all the advanced features the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ Robot Vacuum and Mop has. When I make a high price tag purchase, I spend considerable time researching the different models before making the final purchase and I encourage everyone to do the same. I feel very confident in saying that anyone purchasing the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ Robot Vacuum and Mop would be very pleased with their decision.

When I agreed to test this product, I was clearly in the “I will believe it when I see it with my own eyes” category. Everyone knows that Roombas vacuum, but how in the world could a Roomba both vacuum and mop? How would it deal with both vacuum-only areas and not get the rugs wet? Our house, which is replete with both kinds of surfaces, would be a good test. We have hardwood floors with small and large rugs and fully carpeted rooms. I received the j7+ for testing on a Thursday and had it out of the box and completely set up within minutes. The fact we were already using another (vacuum only) Roomba helped. This model was added to the already installed iRobot phone app using the Wi-Fi set up. One additional task that was necessary prepare this model up was filling a tank in the Roomba with the included packet of cleaning concentrate. Two packets were furnished: one for hardwood and another for other hard surfaces like stone, tile laminate, and vinyl. You pour the entire contents of the package into the tank and top it off with water until the tank is completely full. How is the mopping accomplished? There is a semi-circular appendage or arm that is extended from the Roomba that has a carpet like pad attached to it on the underside that mops hard surfaces as the arms extend it to touch and be moved by the Roomba along the surface to be cleaned. I am attaching a photograph of a mopping pad I attached to the arm. Since we already had a Roomba, I was hoping the new unit would simply be able to use the map already created by the other unit. But the j7+ both vacuums and mops, so it must create its own map of the carpeted and non-carpeted areas to properly accomplish both tasks. Not having a model that mopped before, I was also pleased to see that you can program the Roomba to mop and vacuum, or to just vacuum. This is a great feature as I will explain later. We initially set the unit up for a mopping and vacuuming run each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so the initial run would take place the next day while my wife and I were out of the house. I got home before she did, and was so impressed with the results, I texted her pictures of the newly mopped hardwood floors. They were gorgeous! I am including the shots in this review. I found no moist or wet areas on the rugs, and the hardwood areas looked fantastic. The Roomba was back in its cradle and the app reported it was ready for its next job. Then I noticed a button on the software to empty the bin. We had not seen that button on our older Roomba, which required manually removing and emptying the bin. One press, and the powerful vacuum on the back of the home unit operated for a few seconds to completely clean out the bin. I did not have to physically touch the Roomba or the base unit to empty the bin! In case you are wondering how this emptying feat is accomplished, when the Roomba pulls up on the base for charging, the bottom of the unit rides up on an indention positioned under the right rear of the base, where the base vacuum unit accesses the contents of the dust bin. The vacuum draws the dust from under the Roomba and into a disposable dust bag in the base assembly. One disposable bag is already installed, and replacement spare is included with the new unit. I would expect the bags to last through many weeks of use. There are consumables to consider with this model: the clearing concentrate, the dust bin bag, the mop surface (you get two with the unit), the sweeper (one is already attached, a spare comes in the box) and the dust filter (one already installed, another in the box). The sweeper and dust filter are common to other Roombas and last for many months, and both are easily replaceable which you will know if you have used a Roomba before. As with other Roombas, the battery will also have to be replaced after one to two years of use. I would suspect that the mop pads will last for many weeks. They appear to be cleanable after several uses with a light brushing with soap and water. The concentrate for mopping is a different story. I estimate that ½ the contents of the tank were used in the initial mopping. We are going to use the vacuum and mop job more sparingly than the vacuum only job. But I must add that we were so pleased with the results of the mopping job, we are already ordering some additional packets. And the j7+ is a triple threat: robotic vacuuming, robotic mopping, and robotic emptying of the dust bin. It did all those well and without supervision. Our other Roomba is still working after nearly three years of vacuuming jobs three times a week. Are the Roombas perfect? Of course not. Use them with common sense. The 7j+ will send photographs of obstacles it encounters to help the user program around the obstacle in future uses. The 7j+ completed its initial cleaning and mopping job in less than two hours without reporting any obstacles at all. It missed vacuuming in one room, but I noticed by looking at the history recorded on the app that I stopped the original mapping run before it was complete. I will chalk that mishap up to human error rather than robotic mishap. Still, I envision that, at least occasionally, this Roomba will find a way to get stuck and run out of power. I will come home and manually place it back on its base for charging. I can live with that happening occasionally in exchange for the great job that the Roomba does in doing maintenance vacuuming and now maintenance mopping as well. You will still need a conventional vacuum and mop for bigger messes than this diminutive robot was designed to handle. Remember that. But time is money, and Roombas save so much time and effort that their cost, for this household, makes them a great investment. And, yes, Roombas can now mop and leave our hardwood floors shiny and presentable. I have seen the results, and they exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend this product.

About the Roomba Combo j7+ The j7+ is iRobot’s premium robot vacuum that does both vacuuming and mopping. It boasts the power to vacuum and mop hard surfaces at the same time, while also promising to keep the mop pad from coming in contact with your carpet. When done with vacuuming it has a self-emptying feature to empty the dust bin. Packaging and Contents Packaging was pretty standard. It has a cardboard box with an outer display. Inserts are all cardboard. Contents include the robot, clean base, 2 mop pads, a sample of hard surface floor cleaner, a sample of hardwood floor cleaner, 2 dirt disposal bags, 1 extra filter, 1 extra sweeping brush, and instructions. App You must use the iRobot app to fully utilize the Combo j7+. Without it you can plug it in, charge it, and press the button on the top to manually start it. Otherwise, it requires the app to learn and direct the robot. The app tells it to vacuum, mop, runs mapping sessions, stores favorite routines, creates schedules, allows you to review history, read messages, set notifications, see details of product health (what needs to be replaced based on usage time), control product settings and review help topics. How It Learns To start, the robot requires a mapping session to learn the layout of your areas. The j7+ uses a camera to see objects and stores the layout as a map. The map gets uploaded to the iRobot cloud for storage. The camera will also take pictures of objects that it struggles with and ask you to identify what type of obstacle it sees. Once mapped you can divide the areas into rooms. This allows you to tell the robot to vacuum one room or vacuum and mop another. As mentioned it uses a camera to sense objects. Some objects it avoids and some it bumps into. I noticed that when it sees something it will slow down as it approaches. During the mapping session the robot will bump into more things until it learns where the room boundaries and obstacles are. Connectivity I had a lot of issues with getting the robot to connect to the app. I was able to connect the app to my router, but the app kept giving me a “We can’t connect right now” error message. This kept me from being able to tell the robot to do anything. I tried numerous steps to troubleshoot it and even reached out to customer service. Eventually I rebooted the router (again) and it started magically working. I can’t explain why that fixed it because I had already tried that earlier in the troubleshooting process. Vacuuming Once mapped properly the robot seemed to move in a mostly uniform order. It did repeat several areas, especially those with objects to vacuum around, so I am not sure if this is normal. The vacuum quality was only okay. My upright vacuum does a better job. Rugs The j7+ was not kind to my Ruggable rugs. It kept bending up the edges and corners. This will cause wear on the rugs over time. Rugs with fringe should be completely avoided. Mopping The quality of the mopping feature is terrible. My 5 year old could do a better job. While running the mission I watched the robot make nice orderly passes, but saw big streaks of dry floor space on the completed side. This means that my entire floor wasn’t even getting cleaned. After the j7+ finished and docked at the base I looked at the areas that it said it had mopped, and it didn’t even remove my dog’s drool spots next to the water bowl. I was very disappointed. Sound This thing is pretty loud. I wanted to run this after my family went to bed. It did not go well. When the vacuum empties its dust bin it is extremely loud. Also, the bumping around and climbing transitions strips from carpet to wood is loud enough to keep me from using it at night or even while watching TV. Run Time I don’t know what the official expected run time is, but initial mapping session was over an hour. It can run for quite a while without needing an extra charge. Maintenance There are a lot of replaceable parts to consider. First, it has a proprietary battery. That’s standard for robot vacuums but should be considered if you want to use this for a long time. Second, it uses special bags to collect the waste. I thought that we were past using disposable bags and onto canisters now. This adds costs and waste over the lifetime of the combo system. Third, the rollers are expected to wear out and be replaced. Fourth, there’s a sweeping brush that needs to be replaced every so often. Things like filters and the mopping solution are normal consumable items. Customer Service I had to contact customer service due to the connectivity issue with my router. This took place completely through email, and the gentleman that reached out to me was thorough and polite. Overall the customer service experience was good. Conclusion This product was just not impressive to me. The app connection gave me a lot of issues at first. Vacuuming worked okay, but it was not as good as my upright. Would just be using the robot for convenience to keep the dust from building up. The mopping feature was terrible and ineffective. I’m going to give this product a 3 star rating, but would not recommend this product to anyone. Some of the technology is neat, but it doesn’t work well enough to pay this much for it.

Pros 1. Very good vacuum 2. Nice object sensor 3. Easy to clean/maintain 4. Quick clean up 5. Nice features on app on how to section home Cons 1. Replacement parts are expensive and are recommended to be replaced often. 2. Pads are difficult to clean, even in washer. Have to clean by hand to get a nice clean pad 3. Water tank could hold more volume 4. App needs work. Roomba will randomly cancel a job and provide no explanation 5. Doesn't clean corners well Overall it's very convenient. I would say this is a better vacuum than it is a mop. I would still recommend mopping once a week but it helps maintain clean floors. I wouldn't say it deep cleans your floors though. Also if you are having trouble mapping your home, empty the room(s) of as much furniture as you can. That is what helped me get a good map. If you move the furniture into one room and still want that room mapped you can add that room to the map afterwards.

We already have a much older Roomba in a different floor in the house and also used a different brand. The advancement in how this works is really impressive. Initial setup was straightforward. Except for putting the moping cloth on the vacuum, everything else came ready. It even came with dirt bag already installed in the charging base and a spare bag as well. Onboarding takes a few minutes. Already had the iRobot app installed because of the other vacuum. It detected the new vacuum and connected without any fuss. After finding a good spot for the charging base with a good outlet, it war ready to go, or I would rather say, ready to learn. Note that the base draws a good amount of power when emptying the trash from the vacuum into the base, and it tripped one circuit that was already loaded, so moved it elsewhere and it's been working fine. Like a new pet, it has to be trained first. The first time or two it runs, it will start mapping the floor and rooms. It will first bump into everything with gusto, and left some visible paint marks around the vacuum from the times it went smashing the baseboards. The second time it was much gentler, and the house map started to take shape in the app. After a few cleaning jobs, the map is more or less complete, and the phone app will eventually ask to start organizing the map into rooms. This takes a bit of effort as it might not be immediately intuitive, and in our case it got every room division incorrectly. Once the rooms are divided, it will prompt to name the rooms, from a long list of pre-assigned names, or it can be customized. It will then move to the next training level and start taking pictures of what it think are obstacles. The vacuum has a front camera that has a narrow view of the floor level. It doesn't see much beyond a the height of shoes. With that the app will ask if the vacuum found a new obstacle, and if it's permanent, or temporary. If permanent, it will start adding exclusion zones to the map. Some of the examples are cables and power strips it finds on the floor. Temporary obstacles can be shopping bags or socks or shoes left on the floor. It's smart enough to not go over cables, which was an annoying problem with other vacuums we used before. Currently, once I lifted chairs off a dining table, and asked it to vacuum that room, it noticed the lack of chairs and asked if I wanted to add a new section within the room named dining table. So now I can tell it to clean around the dining table (and not necessarily all the room). It integrates very well with Alexa and Google Home. I don't use Google Home that much anymore so I don't have much feedback here besides that it does integrate with it. With Alexa it has a rich integration. I can tell it which of the two Roomba vacuums to use and which room. I can ask it to either vacuum or vacuum and mop. There is no integration with Apple HomeKit, and I don't think any robot vacuum works wit it yet, but it supports Siri shortcuts. The difference is that the former should work from a HomePod but the later only works when talking to the phone. From the app, one can customize the order on which rooms are cleaned with the option to save the routine as a favorite to reuse later. If using the vacuum on different places (or different floors), it can be done because the app can switch between multiple maps. Moping: On the back of the vacuum there is a plate where the mop attaches and the vacuum lowers the mop under or lifts it as necessary. It uses Bona brand floor cleaning liquid that's held on the same dustbin within the vacuum. It does not use too much liquid so the floor dries up very quickly. The vacuum comes with two sample concentrate that has to be mixed with water. However the Bona floor cleaner available at stores is already pre-mixed so just pour it into the receptacle. To fill the tank, remove the dustbin from the rear of the vacuum (Not on the base) and lift a rubber seal to fill it. I use a funnel to make things easier to me. I should note that the tank does not even last for a full cleaning of our main floor that is mostly hardwood floor with some area rugs (It knows not to apply floor cleaning to rugs). Vacuuming: It picked everything and went under cabinets without a problem. We have teenagers in the house so there is a good amount of hair to be cleaned on the floor. I was impressed that the main brushes did not get clogged with hair. In fact there was nothing else to clean from the rollers. However the first two times it ran it collected considerable amount of hair on one of its main legs and on the spinning brush it has on the front. Cleaning the vacuum: The base does a great job of emptying the dustbin from the vacuum. As I mentioned, it's very powerful (And also very loud). Only takes a few seconds to complete though. The brushes are very easy to clean and as I said their design does not collect much hair at all. There is also a caster wheel to be cleaned but it pulls right out. Then the front-side brush will generally get some hair, and I had to unscrew it to pick all the hair from it. But things should be easier if using the vacuum consistently. The first time it will pick up a lot of dirt that the handheld vacuum missed (mostly under cabinets, sofas, etc.). What I did not like: The liquid tank is too small in my opinion. It should be able to handle table and chair legs better. To make it worse, the tank level sensor is very inaccurate: With 1/3 tank full, it will indicate empty and won't mop. It seems to stumble on legs and chairs more than necessary. Overall I'm very impressed. Very well designed. Note that have to give it about a week to train it to each space. The base works well at emptying the dirt from the vacuum and moping works as expected however the liquid tank is way too small in my opinion. I don't want to have to fill it every day. The phone app is very well designed. iRobot has been making improvements for years, and I'm impressed how much smarter it got since our older vacuum. Integration with Alexa is very good. Except the Alexa skill keeps asking which robot to use when it should know, but these are things that iRobot can improve over time.

This is my third robot vac but the first from iRobot. I had always heard great things about the Roomba range and wanted to see if it was as good as the chatter indicated. Unboxing is fairly painless and all the different packing compartments are clearly marked. There was a written tip to remove the robot separately from the dock but that part seemed switched so I was lifting out the entire dock and robot, which could have been messy. I ignored the instruction and just grabbed the robot out which made more sense, then the dock, and all was well again. There are a few packing bits to remove from the robot but the dock is ready to plug in and things were all set within a few minutes. The quick-start guide suggested you could get going immediately and while that was true, the Roomba only had about half the charge it needed so in my case, it might have been better to charge it up and then start. Once the Roomba was on the dock, I started to work through the Roomba app and get it set up. This part was particularly good! I have quite a few Internet-connected devices around the house and often, they are painful to add to our wireless network. The Roomba however was a champ, getting things done quickly and right first time! Within a minute or two, it was getting new firmware and that was done and out the way quickly and ready for the first task. As recommended, I sent the Roomba out just to map the downstairs and save battery by not vacuuming on this first run. It took quite some time and needed to recharge about halfway through but got a good baseline for a map of where it would be vacuuming and mopping. Additionally, the maps show where carpet or rug has been detected. Once you have a map, you can go in and set boundaries, tighten up what it thought was a room and then name the spaces. I liked that I could customize some room names (our den has a more functional name) and setting boundary lines for rooms in our open plan was accurate too. Our previous robot vac’s app did not allow custom names and setting lines for boundaries was tedious and often impossible to get right. The next day, it was time to test out the cleaning functions. I thought the Roomba would vacuum first and then mop but it does the two simultaneously. The Roomba comes with 2 microfiber mopping pads and two starter sachets of Bona floor cleaner, one for hardwood floors and one for other hard surfaces. We have fake wood floors so the second sachet was better for our situation but great that you get one of each. I will need to get a refill bottle which are easy to find online and then you just top up from there, with no need to dilute. The included sachets are concentrated so you would top them off with water. I sent the Roomba to just clean the kitchen and it scooted off its dock and got to work. Once it had got the lay of the land, the mop deployed from on top and settled underneath, to do its work as the sweeper at the front got any dust or debris ahead of it. The deployment of the mop is genius – it keeps a potentially wet mop above the Roomba while it navigates across carpets and rugs. The previous robot vac had mopping capability as well but the mop was fixed and it refused to cross carpet with its wet mop. While great in protecting carpet, it made it useless for us as the dock is situated across the house, in a carpeted room. The logic of that robot just made it spin around by its dock when in mop mode because it could not handle carpet at all. The Roomba on the other hand, is able to go where the hard surface is and then deploy the mop. If it comes across any carpet or rugs, it will shift the mop back up and over to the back of the robot vac and deploy once safe again – very smart! So far, I am only having it mop on demand but if you fill up the tank each day and keep the supplied mop pads clean, you can have it vacuum and mop all the time. The Roomba is smart enough to know if the mop is attached or you have enough cleaning liquid on board and will just vacuum if not. I asked me wife what she thought of the finished results on the kitchen, as she will sometimes mop the floors by hand. She was very impressed and liked what the Roomba had done. This is praise indeed as the last robot vac was not very good – it just seemed to drag a wet mop around and smear water. The Roomba maybe does a better job because it is using the same cleaning liquid my wife uses to clean? She noticed that in some high traffic areas, footprints and water marks were still visible but said she had to work those areas hard by hand to clean and did not expect the robot vac to be matching that. Maybe something for the next generation to focus on? Once cleaning is complete, the Roomba will head back to the dock to unload its dustbin. The dock comes with a dust bag in place and a second is neatly stored next to that one, for when it is time to swap. The transfer of dust from Roomba to dock is loud but fast and seems to get the dust bin cleared out well. The Roomba ships with the spare bag in the dock, a spare HEPA filter, spare front brush and a spare roller brush. The app will keep track of life on these parts so you will get plenty of warning after the original set of parts is used before you need to order more. The app is very good and easily lets you set up custom jobs, review the last cleaning run and keep you updated on the health of the Roomba. Currently, while it learns our home, it notifies me after each run and sends me photos of items it does not recognize, to ask how to deal with it in future. Things like cat bowls, my slippers and wires are the main offenders and I have been able to set some of the wires as no-go areas easily, as well as a table with a slim, round stand that the robot vacuums like to clamber over and scrape the paint off. My wife hates this so the Roomba agreed and set it as a no-go area which should prevent any issues in the future. I should point out, the Roomba has a front-facing camera, with bright LED light nearby, so it can illuminate and identify objects which it then compares to a database that iRobot must be assembling of general household objects. I only saw the photos when they were shown at the end of a run and there doesn’t seem to be any other way to access them or the camera, so privacy issues should be at a minimum. So almost all my review has been complimentary – what don’t I like? Not much but one thing I miss is the live-map the last robot vac had. You could pull up the app and see where in the house the robot had got to, as well as the path it took so far – basically observing it in real time, against a map of the house. While you can see the map in the Roomba app, it does not show you where the Roomba is on it. It does identify the name of the space though, so you can at least see what room it is working on. On the other hand, if the Roomba is getting stuck on less or even zero objects, it shouldn’t be as important to see exactly where it is. Our previous vac had a LIDAR sensor on top whereas this Roomba relies more on its camera, so that probably makes a bit of a difference. Without the sensor, the Roomba can fit under more furniture, so it does make cleaning gains without the extra hardware on top. It does seem to bump more furniture as it goes but on the other hand, it gets dust and dirt closer to walls and items than the LIDAR-fitted device would. The Roomba also only has one sweeper brush at the front, instead of the two I am used to. I preferred two to rotate inward and push debris right in front of the robot vac but maybe iRobot found in testing that only one was required? At least it means less parts to replace as they wear out. The last robot vac talked and voiced status updates when necessary – this one will beep occasionally but relies on the app to keep you up to date. Battery life and charging status can be set in the app so it shows as a light on the main button on top but otherwise, you will need the app to get status updates. Back to what I do like – the straight line vacuuming and mopping is good and the robot vac does its best to keep them as straight as possible, adjusting when it does eventually hit an object and pivoting around it as close as possible. The mopping function is good, with the stowing of the wet mops a great and necessary feature. You need to manually clean and dry the mop pads after use but other than that and keeping the tank topped up, you could have the Roomba mop daily without too much fuss. I thought the Roomba was skipping some of the edges as it made turns at the end of each run but watched it finish up by mopping all the edges, before it stowed the mop and headed back to recharge. This is a great robot vacuum and I am very happy with the upgrade, even though other than the mopping being a bust, the last robot vac was mostly fine. Having the ability to have the floors mopped well and keeping the carpets dry is a great feature. The vacuum alone functionality is excellent, while the constant learning of what is an obstacle, compared to a central database of known household objects makes this a very smart robot vacuum. I’ve retrieved many a cat toy or string from the previous vac but so far, am having no problems with the Roomba Combo j7+. They say “don’t believe the hype” but in this case, I’m impressed with what iRobot and the Roomba range have achieved.

The combo J7 takes about a week to learn your floor plan really good. I was about to return it because the first time I watched it run around the house it looked lost. After research I learned the iRobots do the center of a room then the edges/baseboards last to get any debris that gets slung against the walls by the brush flicks. Now I can asign clean zones or rooms and it will drive through the house just as good as I could drive it and when it vacuums it makes the nice little lines just like a professionally mowed lawn and looks super clean. The mopping combo portion is about like a swiffer wet jet, good for everyday maintenance but if you have a true mess you’ll want to use something else. I have mine mop twice a week with the scheduling just because on mop days I’ll take the mop head off and clean it at some point because even though it work like a swiffer mop it still does a good job and get really dirty with just one session. I do wish it had LiDAR so it could clean in the dark but it’s still a schedule and leave alone device and it does a phenomenal job keeping your house clean.

We purchased the iRobot j7+ to replace another robot that just wasn't working well. The j7+is really fun to watch when it switches between the mopping and vacuuming modes. It does a good job mopping and so far am much better job at vacuuming than the other robot that we had. It has gotten stuck a few times in the same location and we had to set a "keep out" zone to prevent it from getting stuck there again. A few times it has been unable to return to the dock because it ran out of power. But it typically cleans for several hours. I like that it continues to ask for reviews of obstacles it finds during cleaning sessions. It even captured a picture of one of the dogs once.

I liked the way it did the vacuum. I was really impressed the way they designed the self empty feature. The only reason I have 4 star is that I wish this product had a mop cleaning option as well.

I generally don’t like to review electronics for at least six months and I’ve only owned this products for a 3 weeks. I’ll update this review in few months. I have really noticed a difference, especially in the cleanliness of my hardwood floors. I have 4 dogs so there’s a lot of hair and vacuuming was really a chore. I have Roomba scheduled in the app to vacuum every other day. I have the kitchen floor mopped every other day as well. It really has helped a lot, especially with all the dust in my old house. You do however need to hit spots that the Roomba misses with a regular vacuum cleaner (mostly tight corners). It’s still a lot easier than vacuuming the entire house with the vacuum cleaner. Mapping could be a little better. Doesn’t seem to recognize my entrance hall carpet (colors in it are similar to the floor). Also, I would want it to hit all corners with the rotating brushes to make sure dust and dog hair is removed in all the corners of rooms. Otherwise, the Roomba seems to be a great little product and it sure makes routine cleaning a easier. Hopefully it will continue to improve with software updates.