While robot vacuums have been getting a lot of the attention, robot mops have really taken off too and some robot vacuum are even coming with a mopping attachment.
A robot mop is a great device to have in your home if you have a lot of hardwood, tile or any hard floors.
Since robot mops are so popular, it brings up new questions, like will they avoid carpets and rugs? What will happen to the rug or carpet if the robot mop goes over it while cleaning? All these questions and more will be answered in this post.
Avoiding Carpets And Rugs
Most robot mops will avoid carpets and rugs when they detect it.
Other models have the option of a no-mop zone in the app that the user can set. My everyday Roborock S5 has a vacuum and a mop attachment, and I can set no-mop zones in the app, and it listens. The Roborock S7 can even detect the carpeted areas and will turn the water off when it goes on top of it.
Carpets & Rugs Will Be Fine
If your robot mop accidentally goes over the carpeted area, it’s not a huge deal for most carpets.
You want to avoid excess water on carpet and rugs, but the robot mop making a mistake once is not always a problem.
The amount of water that is dripped from robot mops is not a lot, and you may not even notice the wetness on the rug or carpet. I wouldn’t make it a routine thing, but the robot mop hitting the carpet is not a huge deal.
Also, most robot mops don’t use any cleaners and instead just use tap water to clean. Chemicals can clog the drip nozzles of robot vacuums/mops, so a robot mop is more of an in-between cleaner for your normal mopping.
Don’t get me wrong, they will clean quite well, with some having vibrating cleaning heads, but it’s not meant to be a replacement just like a robot vacuum is not a replacement for your regular vacuum cleaner.
How Robot Mops Work
The most common type of robot mop is one that has a water tank above a microfiber cleaning cloth.
Water is gravity fed to the microfiber rag, where the rag is dragged on the floor to clean.
You have more complicated robot mops that apply more water and may even move the cleaning pad, but in general, most are basic, especially when combined with a robot vacuum.
The best robot mop is the Braava Jet M6 as it takes it to a whole new level.
How Robot Mops Detect Carpet
A robot mop can detect carpets and rugs by the change in height, like they do when adjusting the floor.
The carpet and rugs sit higher on the floor compared to the hard floor, and when it sees that change, the robot will know it’s entering a carpeted area. Though, I’ve seen large tile confuse the robot mop into thinking it was carpet.
Along with some robot mops having cameras to detect objects in front of it like rugs, many have apps that you can set to no-mop zones.
Robot Mops Worth It?
Robot mops have come a long way, and many of them are doing actual mopping now.
To understand what I’m talking about, this YouTuber does a fantastic job explaining it.
So, yes, robot mops are worth it now, as long as you buy a good one and have enough hard floors.