Efficiency is the key in any smart home and what can be more efficient than a robot that performs multiple tasks for you. iRobot has made countless vacuums and mops to take those tedious tasks off your plate, but now you can combine both of those tasks in one device with the iRobot Roomba Combo J7+, a combination vacuuming/mopping robot that will make life incredibly easier.
The Roomba Combo J7+ is the first truly hands-free vacuum and mop due to its ability to detect the surface of each room and transform between being a vacuum and a mop all by itself without missing any spots or accidentally dragging the mop on your carpets or rugs. It really puts the smart into your smart home.
The vacuum on the Roomba Combo J7+ is immensely powerful. I confess myself a former skeptic regarding a robotic vacuum’s ability to really clean a carpet, but the combination of the sweeping tool, the rubber brushes and its powerful suction do wonders on my carpeted home. It actually made me begin to question what my canister vacuum was doing all these years if the Roomba could suck up as much as it does.
The Roomba does an excellent job at obstacle avoidance as well. Not only does it know how to avoid up to 80 household items like cables, for example, but one of the major things it avoids is pet…accidents. This is the truest nightmare of any pet owners who get a robotic vacuum. The thought of coming home to see that your vacuum tracked something far worse than a little debris around your house. Well, I saw the Roomba Combo J7+ in action, and it actively avoided that particular mess, so I am not worried. I am even less worried, because iRobot has their pet owner’s promise that says they will replace your unit if it fails to detect and runs over any cat or dog waste.
“The Roomba Combo J7+ is the first truly hands-free vacuum and mop…”
When the debris chamber is full, the iRobot Roomba Combo J7+ returns to its docking station where the bin will be automatically emptied into a bag stored inside the docking station, allowing you to store up to 60 days worth of debris before emptying it. A spare bag was included in the box and more can be purchased online. Other extra pieces that you get in the box include a new sweeping brush and mop.
The mop is stowed away in the top of the Roomba, keeping it far away from the carpet when it transitions from mopping the floor. The only manual thing that you have to do is ensure that the Roomba’s tank is full of water and cleaning solution. It even came with portioned-out pouches of cleaning fluid for hard floors and another specialized formula for hardwood floors.
The mopping can be customized between jobs and rooms, allowing you to select a level of liquid distribution that works for your needs. When doing its first Mop job, the Roomba Combo J7+ had left something to be desired. It was upon a little investigation that I discovered the default liquid level (standard) wasn’t sufficient for my needs in the kitchen. I am able to, through the iRobot Home App, increase the liquid level to “Ultra” (or knock it down to “Eco” if desired). You can also program the Combo J7+ to do an additional pass on the room for an extra clean. You can also decide to just vacuum a room with hard floors and forego the mopping for a job if you wish.
“When the debris chamber is full, the iRobot Roomba Combo J7+ returns to its docking station where the bin will be automatically emptied into a bag stored inside the docking station…”
The iRobot home app is where you will spend most of your time dealing with your Roomba Combo J7+. It is here where you can check on the status of your vacuum, schedule jobs for the Roomba or send it out on an impromptu job immediately, check out the map of your house, where you will see that your robot has identified the carpeted and hard-floored rooms in your house and set specific zones for the robot to remember.
Zones include clean zones that will allow you to send a command, even via Alexa or Google Assistant, for the Roomba to clean (e.g. vacuum under the dining room table or mop the front entrance). It also allows for Keep out and No Mopping zones to be created where those things are either not desired or cause issues for the robot. The app will even suggest areas to create for you. I received two suggestions from the app. One to create a space around where the Roomba Combo J7+ detected my pet food dishes and a keep out zone under my daughter’s bed where it had regularly gotten stuck.
It also does a good job communicating needing your help. I will receive a notification letting me know that Bertram (yes, you get to name it and yes, we named it after the butler from Disney Channel’s Jessie) had something stuck in its brushes. The good news is that you don’t tend to get a lot of these messages as time goes on. It learns about your house more as it goes along so, as long as you hold up your end of the bargain and don’t leave small items that can clog up the Roomba on your floor (things like Legos, hair accessories and other things you wouldn’t attempt to suck up with any vacuum). Then things should go smoothly.
The iRobot Roomba Combo J7+ comes in at $1099.99 USD (1,399.99 CAD), a steep price no doubt, but I look at the last three weeks of my life, leaving for the day and coming home to spotless floors without any of us having to haul out the big Kenmore that we own. It sits quietly in its corner waiting to be called on, and it just makes day to day life a little easier by removing arguably the most annoying household chore from my life. Its value is in what price you put on getting that time back.
