Why your next robot vacuum needs a mop (and why Roborock makes the best choice)

Roborock S6 mopping
Roborock S6 mopping (Image credit: Nick Sutrich/Android Central)

You wouldn't buy a single-function phone, so why buy a single-function robot vacuum? Robot vacuums are a great way to clean your home, and while the brushes and extra suction modes typically favor carpeted areas, those hard floors (such as wood or tile) tend to get neglected. High suction is great for pulling dirt and grime out of carpets or the gaps between wood floor panels, but what about the sticky residue in the kitchen or the caked-on food on the dining room floor? That's what you need a mop for.

Last year we saw a big paradigm shift in the world of robot vacuums as many robot vacuum makers, like Roborock, realized this deficiency and began adding mop attachments to the underside of their robot vacuums. Most robot vacuums still do not have a way to mop hard floors and, thus, only offer half of the equipment required to adequately clean these types of floors. Roborock offers half a dozen robot vacuums with this mopping functionality, all of which can clean hard floors better than robot vacuums without mops.

With the launch of the Roborock S5 Max, Roborock debuted a new concept to the robot mopping world: constant pressure. Other robot vacuums with mopping attachments simply rely on gravity to get the job done. When the water tank is full and the vacuum weighs more, the mopping pad hugs the floor more closely. As water is expunged from the tank the vacuum gets lighter and the mopping pad no longer presses against the floor.

Roborock S5 Max water tank

Source: Roborock (Image credit: Source: Roborock)

Roborock solves this problem with the Roborock S5 Max by including a spring-loaded mop attachment that presses down with an even 300g of pressure from start to finish. That means a more consistent clean throughout the entire cycle. The S5 Max also includes a 280ml water tank that's significantly bigger than ever before and is rated to clean up to 2,600 square feet in a single run.

The Roborock app provides an easy way to adjust both the suction and the flow of water, so you can choose to prioritize mopping over vacuuming by lowering the suction, helping keep the vacuum quiet while it's mopping hard floors. The ability to control the water flow is especially impressive, keeping the mop from getting too wet on floors that don't need it, or soaking the pad to help clean more stubborn spots. Better yet, it'll shut the water flow off for areas that have already been mopped, helping to keep parts of the house from being too wet for too long.

While the Roborock S5 Max offers the very best of a robot mop and vacuum in one device, the Roborock S5 and Roborock S6 also offer mopping functionality that clean your hard floors better than robot vacuums that don't have the ability to mop. Aside from superior hardware options, all of Roborock's S-line (S4, S5, S5 Max, S6) offer the same incredible laser-guided navigation that creates floorplans of your home as the vacuum works.

These maps are 98% scale accurate to the layout of your home and can be used to designate different rooms in the home, including rooms that have carpet and shouldn't be mopped. Compare this with other robot vacuums, which often rely on cameras or random bump-and-go style navigation to traverse your home, and have a more difficult time mapping exactly where everything resides within your abode. The 300RPM laser array up top can see in all directions at once and can even help the vacuum get into those tight spaces underneath chair legs and behind furniture where those dust bunnies love to reside.

All of these features can be combined and utilized with the scheduling feature, which means you can easily schedule times to clean the living room or bedrooms, and other times to vacuum and mop the rest of the hard floors in the house. Each room can have its own suction levels and mopping levels, meaning it takes almost no time or effort to design a sophisticated cleaning schedule that'll keep your home clean every single day of the week. Roborock even offers disposable or reusable cloth mopping pads for maximum convenience and versitility, and both wet and dry pad options are available.

Want a vacuum that can do more than just suck? Roborock has several options available that will fit your needs and your budget. With smarts that'll regularly surprise you, and software updates that steadily increase the usability and functionality of your investment, Roborock's robot vacuums are more than just an appliance; they're a suite of friendly robots that can get the job done so you won't have to.

If you're looking to save a few bucks, be sure to take a look at the Roborock S5 and the Roborock E35 on November 19 when pre-Black Friday sales kick off.

Nicholas Sutrich
Senior Content Producer — Smartphones & VR
Nick started with DOS and NES and uses those fond memories of floppy disks and cartridges to fuel his opinions on modern tech. Whether it's VR, smart home gadgets, or something else that beeps and boops, he's been writing about it since 2011. Reach him on Twitter or Instagram @Gwanatu