As hated household chores go, mopping is probably despised more than even vacuuming (though let’s agree cleaning toilets tops the list). The dirty water, the back-aching labor, and the fact that most homes have far less moppable flooring than they do carpeting makes the job all too easy to neglect.
As with vacuuming, though, robotics has come to rescue. Robot mops don’t require cumbersome buckets or ringing out filthy mop heads. All you need to do is fill their tank with water, set them on the floor, press the start button, and get out of the way. Some will even vacuum or sweep the floor first, relieving you of that chore as well. They won’t eliminate the need to use an old-fashioned stick mop from time to time, but they can make the floor significantly easier to clean when you do.
Here are our current top picks for robot mops. This is an evolving category— manufacturers are still experimenting with what makes a good robot mop—so there can be a significant variance between products in terms of features and functions. Still, there are some basic things to look for and we’ve included them below our picks to help guide you if our top picks don’t meet your unique needs. Or you can click here to skip to our latest robot mop reviews.
Best robot mop
Best vacuum/mop hybrid
The Roborock S7 balances vacuuming and mopping modes better and yields more impressive results than any of the competing hybrids we’ve tried. This LiDAR-packing robot arrives with an innovative mopping assembly and sonic scrubbing technology that allows it to loosen stains, something most robot vacuum/mop hybrids, which simply drag a damp cloth across the floor, are incapable of. And with a max suction of 2500Pa, the S7 is no slouch when it comes to vacuuming both floors and rugs. You can even pair it with Roborock’s optional Auto Empty Dock, which detects when the S7 returns to its charging pins and automatically sucks the contents from its dustbin.
What to look for in a robot mop
Dedicated floor mop or vacuum/mop hybrid: At their heart, all robot mops function similarly: You fill a tank with water, and the water is dispensed as the robot navigates across your floors, using an attached cloth/pad to scrub dirt off your floor.
The robots, however, generally come in two types. Models like the iRobot Braava Jet 240 and the iLife Shinebot W400 can’t vacuum your floors (though the former can do a dry sweep of debris) before mopping.
Vacuum/mop hybrids are essentially robot vacuums that come with an attachable water reservoir. When you want to mop, you fill this small-capacity tank with tap water, attach a microfiber cloth to it, and slot it onto the bottom of the vacuum.
There are no hard and fast rules regarding which type of robot mop is better, but we have observed some general trends. Hybrid types tend to be more likely to come with features like app control and smart home integration. And, of course, they give you the advantage of tackling two chores with one device. We’ve found, however, that their method of dragging a damp microfiber cloth across the floor isn’t the best for tough stains. Dedicated robot mops usually spray water directly on the floor to soften gunk and stains and apply some agitation via a scrubbing pad or brush. In our tests, these have brushes consistently been more effective on deeper dirt.
Navigation: Like their vacuuming counterparts, robot mops navigate around furniture, walls, and other obstacles using a collection of sensors. Some hybrid models also take advantage of mapping technology. Most of the ones we’ve tested, though, can’t tell what type of floor surface they’re on. That presents potential problems if the floor you want to mop adjoins a carpeted room, as kitchens and bathrooms often do. Fortunately, many robot mops come with some kind of virtual barrier you can position between hard flooring and carpeting to keep the robot out of trouble.
Battery Life: Battery life correlates to how much a robot mop can cover in a single charge. We’ve found one hour to be the sweet spot for most apartments and condominiums, but a minimum of 90 minutes is recommended for larger homes. It’s also important to remember that mopping will use more battery life than vacuuming, so if you go with a hybrid model, expect to get less than the manufacturer’s claimed run time when using the mopping function.
Our latest robot mop reviews
iRobot Braava Jet 240
iLife Shinebot W400 floor-washing robot
Samsung Jetbot Mop
Narwal Robotic Cleaner
Roborock Xioawa Plus E35
Author: Michael Ansaldo, Freelance contributor
Michael Ansaldo is veteran consumer and small-business technology journalist. He contributes regularly to TechHive and PCWorld.