iRobot Roomba Combo i5 Robot Vacuum and Mop

I'll be honest - I don't mop my floors nearly as often as I should.Okay - Fine! I've lived in my house for 5 years and I've never mopped...I don't even own a mop. ...But, we take our shoes off at the door...and it's not like we're eating off of the floor (beyond the 5 second rule).Alright - so we've established that my floors desperately need to be mopped and that I'm lazy. It would seem that a robot mop would be the perfect solution to both of those issues! Sadly this iRobot Mop is a soggy disappointment.iRobot has reached the point where it sells so many different models of Roomba vacuums that it is hard to keep track of which is which. I already own the J7 Roomba and thought that adding this i5 would be a nearly identical experience. Unfortunately the i5 ... MoreI'll be honest - I don't mop my floors nearly as often as I should.Okay - Fine! I've lived in my house for 5 years and I've never mopped...I don't even own a mop. ...But, we take our shoes off at the door...and it's not like we're eating off of the floor (beyond the 5 second rule).Alright - so we've established that my floors desperately need to be mopped and that I'm lazy. It would seem that a robot mop would be the perfect solution to both of those issues! Sadly this iRobot Mop is a soggy disappointment.iRobot has reached the point where it sells so many different models of Roomba vacuums that it is hard to keep track of which is which. I already own the J7 Roomba and thought that adding this i5 would be a nearly identical experience. Unfortunately the i5 simply is not nearly as refined as the J7 - most notably because the J7 navigates using an actual camera, while the i5 staggers around using infrared. I had assumed that I could simply share my existing house map with the i5 mop - sadly this was not the case. The i5 needed to go on a mapping run - during which it managed to get trapped underneath our Peloton Bike to the point where it seriously scuffed up the top of its beautiful robot face. Needless to say, it quickly proved that infrared is not as precise as the camera used by the J7.I was surprised and disappointed to find that the Mop is simply a separate dust bin that has a small water tank and a microfiber cloth that attaches via Velcro. The actual Robot doesn't seem to have any special mop features. Fill up the small tank (in the dust bin) and the water immediately soaks down into the microfiber pad while the robot drags it across the floor. There is no pressure pushing down on the wet pad, just a light - uneven smear as the robot navigates around the house.Newer Roomba Mops can actually lift the mop upwards out of the way when it senses carpet, but not this version. In order to avoid carpet, you must use the Mobile App to draw restricted areas for the mop to avoid. I found it easier to simply pick up area rugs and runners and let the Roomba fumble wetly around.I would rate the Mop a 2 stars and the vacuum as 4 stars. If my limited understanding of Common Core Math is accurate - that averages out to 3 stars total.If you're looking for a lower cost Roomba, the i5 is pretty good as a vacuum. It navigates well enough and does manage to suck up an impressive amount of dirt.But, if your intention is to purchase the device to mop - I absolutely do not recommend. Save a boatload of cash and buy a Swiffer which will clean more evenly, more thoroughly, and even save time.

The iRobot Roomba Combo i5 is a robot vacuum that offers a little extra (as one might surmise from the "combo" in its name) - it has the capability of mopping. Whether this translates to a truly upgraded robot vacuum or not, though, is difficult to say.On the positive side, the setup process is very similar to the i3, meaning it is fairly straightforward - of course, with the exception of having to set up the mopping bin. Unboxing was similarly straightforward and pleasant; I appreciated the lack of excessive plastic packaging. The woven top is a nice aesthetic touch and makes it look slightly less cheap and toy-like compared to the i3. I find that Roombas and other robot vacuums (my main experience is with Roombas and Ecovacs) are best for maintenance cleaning ... MoreThe iRobot Roomba Combo i5 is a robot vacuum that offers a little extra (as one might surmise from the "combo" in its name) - it has the capability of mopping. Whether this translates to a truly upgraded robot vacuum or not, though, is difficult to say.On the positive side, the setup process is very similar to the i3, meaning it is fairly straightforward - of course, with the exception of having to set up the mopping bin. Unboxing was similarly straightforward and pleasant; I appreciated the lack of excessive plastic packaging. The woven top is a nice aesthetic touch and makes it look slightly less cheap and toy-like compared to the i3. I find that Roombas and other robot vacuums (my main experience is with Roombas and Ecovacs) are best for maintenance cleaning but struggle to deep clean, and the Combo i5 is no exception here. It does a good job of keeping my place generally clean, but since it struggles to navigate the edges and corners of rooms and can have difficulty picking up larger messes, it's hard to recommend it as a replacement for a decent manual vacuum. That said, I was pretty pleasantly surprised to see how well it handled pet hair given that certain robot vacuums can suck (hah) at it. I have two cats and both are hairy little monsters, so I consider this no small feat. The app is just okay, I find that it's a bit clunky but being able to start and stop the Roomba with Google Assistant or Alexa is convenient. The battery life is similar to the i3 and it is ample enough for cleaning my entire downstairs (downstairs bathroom, living room, kitchen, and entryway) with battery to spare. Emptying the bin isn't a massive pain and it can usually do one or two cycles before needing to be emptied.All of that aside, there are some big drawbacks. I had these issues with the i3 and my previous Ecovacs, so I have come to accept these as a part of robot vacuum life. They are still worth noting though, especially if any of these are dealbreakers for you.One is that it needs to be babysit quite a bit. The i5 and i3 tend to get stuck on furniture legs - both get stuck on my laptop table, for instance, which has legs that are about 1.5" tall. You need to move all objects out of the way lest they get stuck on them, too - so wires, toys, and so on all must be off the floor. Essentially, you have to babyproof the room; even things like blinds strings will be an issue if they are within the Roomba's reach. For my home, because the i5 consistently gets stuck on the same furniture, I have to handhold it and watch it to make sure it doesn't end up stuck in the living room with a dead battery and a half-done job. This leads me to my next point...It can be inconvenient. The mopping feature is nice, but it won't replace a real mop and you must switch the dry bin out for the mopping bin to mop. The mop can't be used on carpet and has no way to lower or raise the mop part. If you, like me, have parts of your area that are carpeted, you have to somehow block the Roomba off from the carpeted areas, let it vacuum and mop, and then swap out the bins. It's more work than just using a Swiffer or similar mopping solution.The Roomba also cleans decently, but not well, especially along walls and corners. It tends to bump into objects, which is frustrating to watch (and if you, like me, have issues where the Roomba needs to be micromanaged...you will spend a good chunk of the time spent running it being mildly annoyed). The smart mapping isn't perfect and if it fails, you'll need to restart from the beginning. It also is fairly loud, so if you have nearby neighbors you will not want to be running this at 4 am.Overall, the Combo i5 is somewhat gimmicky but useful for light and maintenance cleaning. I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone hoping for a convenient one-stop-shop for cleaning their floors, but it's not a bad buy for someone who is familiar with the limitations of robot vacuums and is okay with having to swap out the dry and wet bins, or simply has no carpet. There is certainly room for improvement, but the Combo i5 isn't offensively bad in any way.

This Roombo combo i5 vacuum and mop is a great machine for putting aspects of your home cleaning routine on auto pilot! Whether you would prefer to use the mop for maintenance vacuuming followed by wet clean-up work or have the vacuum component handy to keep the heavier accumulation of dirt down in your carpets, rugs, and all other surfaces, this Roomba has you covered. This model makes more sense for my use case than the package that includes the self-emptying tower with this Combo i5 Roomba given the tower is not compatible with the combo mop attachment for-self emptying. So, I would say that if you are having misgivings on which one to go with, I would say get the self-emptying tower model if you are going to have the vacuum-only component swapped in more than ... MoreThis Roombo combo i5 vacuum and mop is a great machine for putting aspects of your home cleaning routine on auto pilot! Whether you would prefer to use the mop for maintenance vacuuming followed by wet clean-up work or have the vacuum component handy to keep the heavier accumulation of dirt down in your carpets, rugs, and all other surfaces, this Roomba has you covered. This model makes more sense for my use case than the package that includes the self-emptying tower with this Combo i5 Roomba given the tower is not compatible with the combo mop attachment for-self emptying. So, I would say that if you are having misgivings on which one to go with, I would say get the self-emptying tower model if you are going to have the vacuum-only component swapped in more than 75% of the time. Otherwise, it really isn’t that difficult to just empty the collection bin on the Roomba yourself once it gets full!As with other Roombas I have owned in the past, set up on this machine was incredibly easy. Downloading the iRobot app and scanning the quick start QR code on the quick start paperboard guide in the packaging takes you through all the aspects of setting up this little clean up machine step by step from advising you on how to assemble the home base charger and drip tray to getting you started on sending the Roomba out on its first Smart Mapping mission around your home. This task is crucial in order to assure that the Roomba gets a good idea of its surroundings and you as the owner are able to set up and edit the smart map according to areas you might want extra emphasis on cleaning or just want to have the Roomba leave alone completely. This first Smart Map run does take a while and the Roomba will not be cleaning during it; the Roomba will just travel around and map out rooms and obstacles. I left the Roomba in the format it came in out of the box which has it set up for vacuuming while it ran across the whole house mapping including on our carpeted floors. This process for our 1300 Square foot condo took a little over 3 hours including a pause to charge itself up given that it came out of the package with only 20% or so of a battery charge. So be prepared to give this machine ample time for set up, charging, and completing its smart mapping run so that you can enjoy all of its tremendous benefits!The combo bin that allows the Roomba to vacuum and then mop in one go is truly a genius thing that does wonders for our hardwood and linoleum floors. It would be silly to expect this machine to handle the rigors of mopping up heavy mud or other dense, excessively soiled or piled-up messes, but the clean-up of just regular day to day or week to week accumulation is where this Roomba stands out as truly ingenious. In this set up, you just need to be aware to empty to the vacuum collection bin when it gets full (the app notifies you) and also you may need to check the mop pad once and a while and give it a good rinse to make sure it has picked up and packed any larger particles into the mop pad fibers. All of this said, I just love this attachment and the fact that I can just use water as part of the mop routine! I still use a Swiffer for when we have heavier soiling or want to implement a cleaning agent as part of hardwood floor maintenance, but I am enjoying just using water in the Roomba! It fills up easily right from your tap and it also will notify you when the water is getting low. iRobot does sell a very reasonably priced cleaning solution concentration called Braava Jet Hard Floor cleaning solution concentrate in case you are interested in getting some factory compatible cleaning solution for the Roomba!A couple of tips and borderline cons I would mention about this Roomba model. First off, if you are going to use the combo bin with mop function, ensure that your home base charging station and drip tray for the Roomba is set up on a hard floor surface and that it does not have to travel over any carpets to start its mopping function. I noticed that when the mop pad is pretty sodden with water, it can take a long time to dry and the last thing you want to do is have your Roomba drag a wet mop pad over your carpeted floors to reach its mopping destination. Another matter of issue with the charging station and drip tray is it seems to like to move around a lot on my hardwood floor, so I may be getting some extra tacky anti-slide feet from 3M or something to stick onto the bottom so it doesn’t get bullied around so much by the Roomba when it comes on and off of it.The next tip and borderline con I would mention is the smart map set up on this particular Roomba model has been annoying. I have had Roomba’s in the past like the J7+ that were a breeze to set up and appeared to have perfect accuracy on the first try of getting the layout of our home. Additionally, it obeyed the boundaries I set in place and never wavered. This i5 Combo has been rather refractory in this process and I even had to swap in the vacuum bin and send it on a brand-new mapping run in order to get it to have a more accurate picture of my home.A tip before you set it up for its mopping function by swapping in the combo bin is to ensure that you send it on some “dry run” vacuuming missions to each of your designated hard floor surfaces to ensure it actually understands and accurately gages the boundaries. I was horrified when my Roomba was mopping and it suddenly jumped a boundary and started dragging it wet mop pad over my carpet! Yikes. I got that boundary line figured out and haven’t had issues since, but just be aware that there might be some trial and error to this process.Overall, I think that this Roomba i5 Combo delivers exactly what I would expect and more for a product making these promises at this price! It offers the means to maintain a clean home and with a little time spent getting it dialed in right, can save a lot of manual labor hours for maintaining the cleanliness of your floors!