Roomba Combo j7+ – the new iRobot vacuum cleaner in the stern test

household appliance
Roomba Combo j7+ – the first robot vacuum that can also wipe gently

The new Combo j7+ can not only vacuum autonomously, it can also wipe. And unlike the competition, it does it so skilfully that the carpets in the house don’t get wet.

iRobot’s Roomba vacuum cleaners are the market leaders in their segment. Now, for the first time, the company has released a device that can vacuum and wipe at the same time. With some delay. These combination devices have long been very popular with customers. Because here one has the impression of getting two devices – a wiper and a vacuum cleaner – for the price of one. With some devices, the dust container is exchanged for a tank, others do both in one module.

iRobot didn’t want to be in fashion for a long time. Because all devices work with a wipe pad on the underside. Even when lifted, when the machine is not supposed to wipe, the wet cloth brushes over carpets and unsuitable floors. In the long run, this does not get the fibers, especially if real carpets made of natural fibers are watered regularly.

No wet biotope in the carpet

Of the Roomba combo j7+ got to the root of the problem, the cleaning pad is not under the device when it is idle, a lever mechanism takes it to the top if the floor is unsuitable. This is a far more complex solution, but it protects the soil in the long run. There is always only a little water, but if such a device works every day, the surface is also moistened every day.

Of course, the j7+ can also “just suck”. In the test, it was able to reliably detect the surface in “vacuum and wipe” mode. The promise not to wet fluffy substrates was kept. The machine first vacuums a room before mopping. Then the mop folds down and the corresponding zones are wiped over with a damp cloth and then it’s on to the next room.

Mopping is not scrubbing

Like all machines of this type, wiping leads to an effect of perceived cleanliness. For this purpose, particles whirled up during vacuuming are removed. In warm areas, the distributed water should also have a refreshing effect. But one should never translate the word “wiping” with “scrubbing”. Coarse dirt or dried sauce residues on the floor cannot be removed with a “wipe over it once with a damp cloth”. Finally, a damp cloth is gently passed over the floor.

The Combo j7+ comes with the recommended docking station – it reliably vacuums up the dust and stores weeks of dirt. But she doesn’t pump water into the mop. Depending on the size of the soil, the mini-tank has to be refilled regularly. If it runs empty, the machine continues to work in suction mode.

Apart from the wiping function, the combo device essentially corresponds to the well-known j7 vacuum cleaner. The new robot also shares the smarter software with the delivered devices, which update themselves automatically. An app is optional for some machines, but mandatory for iRobot vacuum cleaners. The network connection updates the software and trains the robot.

Smart and safe

iRobot’s vacuum cleaners shouldn’t just vacuum through the apartment, they should “understand the household”, as CEO Colin Angle told us. And that’s not easy at all. Because unlike an industrial production plant, the household is a chaotic affair. “The AI ​​is not the problem today, the budget is.” The small devices work towards this big goal step by step. For example, with the detection of “dangerous” objects. We have not tried whether the robot really recognizes a dog pile – the worst case scenario for robot vacuum cleaners. But he reliably avoids shoelaces. So much cleverness also needs to be trained, the robot regularly sends photos of its “encounters” – then you can decide whether to mark a danger point here that the robot will avoid in the future. Or shouldn’t it be better to clear away the cable chaos next to the sofa. With us, the j7+ either sent pictures of the dog that wouldn’t move or of cables that were in the way at all possible places. In this way, the robot can be used to very crowded apartments within a few days.

When machines understand the household (and its inhabitants) better and better and observe them in detail, data protection becomes central. Some customers ignore the problem. But you should remember that a robot drives around the apartment every day with a high-resolution camera and is connected to the network via an app and W-LAN. Here you should be on the safe side with the devices from iRobot. The company originally developed robots for the US military. All data is protected by hardware encryption.

Opportunities should be exploited

The j7+ is a device that currently ranks at the top. You use this more if you also “challenge” the machine, i.e. train it and ask it to do cleaning jobs via voice control. The device recognizes “dirty zones” by itself, for example in front of the kitchen worktop. Once that’s set up, you can order the machine right there. In our opinion, however, the feature is only used regularly if the machine is commanded around via voice control such as Alexa. Then you can casually have the vacuum cleaner around the dining table in passing. The same command via mobile app is far less casual.

If you only let your robot work at 11 a.m. when you are away from home, these skills are somewhat wasted. The price of the robot with the large docking station is currently a hair’s breadth below 1000 euros. For the combo j7+ speaks its cleverness, the elegant shape, the patent docking station and the data security.

As smart as these devices are, don’t expect miracles from the robots. Steps in the apartment are still insurmountable obstacles and the sophisticated cleaning plan ends in front of a closed door. The wiping pleases with its additional freshness, but you should not think that the rubber boot dirt disappears directly from the field into the hallway.

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