NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — When it comes to cleaning, everyone loves a shortcut. So imagine a product that mops your floors without you having to lift a finger.
It may look like a robotic vacuum, but it’s actually a robotic mop. Consumer Reports, Tyler Ivester, explains what they are.
“Robotic mops range from basic models that are operated by remote control to sophisticated hybrid ones that mop and vacuum and are controlled by a remote or
an app,” Ivester said.
Robotic mops are designed to clean hard surface floors like tile, vinyl, or some hardwood—not carpet.
To test how well a robotic mop can actually mop, Consumer Reports testers spill espresso and V8 juice on ceramic tile and vinyl flooring and then let it dry.
The best robomops tackle the stains and leave a clean floor behind.
Hint: models with spinning mop heads did the best job.
“In our navigation test, we see how well a mop can avoid obstacles, we see how well they steer around furniture as well as how they interact with both cords and
carpet fringe,” Ivester said.
In Consumer Reports tests, this pricey hybrid model from Narwal came out on top and it has an auto-clean function that will wash the spinning mop heads as well.
For much less, this basic Samsung mop matched the Narwal test for test but it won’t clean itself. As a bonus, it can also be used as a handheld scrubber for surfaces like your shower. One downside of the Samsung—it’s more than five inches tall, which means it may not fit under some furniture or the toe kick of your kitchen cabinets.
If that’s an issue for you, the moderately-priced Bissell Spinwave also did well in Consumer Reports tests and is less than three and a half inches tall.
So how long does it take for a robomop to clean your floors? Consumer Reports says the models in their ratings range from 50 to 100 minutes.
