I have used this a couple of times in a smaller half-bath/powder room which has tile flooring. I fully admit I hate cleaning floors so the floor had dust bunnies and hair in the corners. So, I went over it with a stick vacuum and then used the dry pad (which is akin to a dry Swiffer duster) and then I used the wet cleaning pad on the mop. Note, that there are three types of pads, wet, damp, and dry. All the pads themselves are actually dry. The damp and wet refers to how much water the unit will spray while cleaning. When the damp pad is connected the unit will spray less water than with the wet pad connected. The robot knows which pad is connected based on holes in the pad attachment that slip into the base of the robot. They look like old-school programming punch cards (for those who are old enough to remember what those were) and based on the configuration of the holes, the robot knows how much, if any, water to spray while cleaning. The robot holds 150 mL of water (so just over half a cup), which is strangely not in the documentation provided with the unit but can be found on the iRobot website.
The first time I cleaned the bathroom it took quite long. It probably took 30 minutes with the dry pad and another 30 with the wet pad. The second time, just using the wet pad took about 15-20 minutes. After the cleaning cycle, the floor was damp, but not extremely wet. So, the pad did a good job getting up most of the water that was sprayed. How clean it will get your floor will largely depend on how clean you kept it up to the point of using the mop the first time. After the first use of the wet pad, I had to pick up some wet dust/hair clumps that were left on the floor. After the second use, there were almost none of those and the floor was cleaner. So, if you use it once a week or once every two weeks, it seems like it will do a great job keeping the floors clean.
Here are some pros and cons I have noticed after the first couple of uses:
Pros:
1. It is small and can maneuver around tight spaces. It had no problems getting around the back of the toilet and between the toilet and vanity in a small bathroom.
2. The pads are reasonably priced for replacement disposable pads, and there are washable pads available as well, so it ends up being very cost-efficient.
3. The pads can be ejected after you run it by a slide-type button, so you do not have to touch the pad to get it off the unit. Definitely a plus after cleaning a bathroom.
4. It is very light, even with water in it, and has a handle so you can pick it up without touching the bottom.
5. It has a rechargeable battery. While it does not have a docking station that the unit reconnects to and charges from like the more expensive units do, it does have a battery that pops in and out of the unit and plugs into a charging dock (which itself plugs into a regular wall outlet) to charge. It takes a couple of hours for the battery to charge, and when the robot is connected to the app, it has a battery indicator so you know how full the battery is.
Cons:
1. It does not have all the bells and whistles that the higher-priced units have, like a docking station, the ability to schedule times to clean, etc. It does have some "smartness" to it, such as a virtual wall feature that will allow you to set it down and not clean anything behind where the unit starts out, but that is about it. Personally, I just put it toward the back wall of the bathroom and shut the door, and do not bother engaging the virtual wall. It will stop cleaning roughly where it started, so if you do not start it in front of the door, you will be able to open the door when it is done without it blocking the door (if the door swings into the room being cleaned).
2. It does not turn off on its own right away after the cleaning cycle stops. It is just a small point, but it would be nice if it just powered down right away after it stops so it does not waste battery power needlessly.
If I think of any other pros or cons as I use it, I will update the review. But, so far, after just a couple of uses, I really like this, and definitely recommend it, especially if you are not cleaning large areas.
The first time I cleaned the bathroom it took quite long. It probably took 30 minutes with the dry pad and another 30 with the wet pad. The second time, just using the wet pad took about 15-20 minutes. After the cleaning cycle, the floor was damp, but not extremely wet. So, the pad did a good job getting up most of the water that was sprayed. How clean it will get your floor will largely depend on how clean you kept it up to the point of using the mop the first time. After the first use of the wet pad, I had to pick up some wet dust/hair clumps that were left on the floor. After the second use, there were almost none of those and the floor was cleaner. So, if you use it once a week or once every two weeks, it seems like it will do a great job keeping the floors clean.
Here are some pros and cons I have noticed after the first couple of uses:
Pros:
1. It is small and can maneuver around tight spaces. It had no problems getting around the back of the toilet and between the toilet and vanity in a small bathroom.
2. The pads are reasonably priced for replacement disposable pads, and there are washable pads available as well, so it ends up being very cost-efficient.
3. The pads can be ejected after you run it by a slide-type button, so you do not have to touch the pad to get it off the unit. Definitely a plus after cleaning a bathroom.
4. It is very light, even with water in it, and has a handle so you can pick it up without touching the bottom.
5. It has a rechargeable battery. While it does not have a docking station that the unit reconnects to and charges from like the more expensive units do, it does have a battery that pops in and out of the unit and plugs into a charging dock (which itself plugs into a regular wall outlet) to charge. It takes a couple of hours for the battery to charge, and when the robot is connected to the app, it has a battery indicator so you know how full the battery is.
Cons:
1. It does not have all the bells and whistles that the higher-priced units have, like a docking station, the ability to schedule times to clean, etc. It does have some "smartness" to it, such as a virtual wall feature that will allow you to set it down and not clean anything behind where the unit starts out, but that is about it. Personally, I just put it toward the back wall of the bathroom and shut the door, and do not bother engaging the virtual wall. It will stop cleaning roughly where it started, so if you do not start it in front of the door, you will be able to open the door when it is done without it blocking the door (if the door swings into the room being cleaned).
2. It does not turn off on its own right away after the cleaning cycle stops. It is just a small point, but it would be nice if it just powered down right away after it stops so it does not waste battery power needlessly.
If I think of any other pros or cons as I use it, I will update the review. But, so far, after just a couple of uses, I really like this, and definitely recommend it, especially if you are not cleaning large areas.
