I (Skeptically) Tried a Robot Mop, And “Rocky” Has Made Me a Convert

I feel guilty for saying this, but sorry, Eufy, there’s a new robot in town.

In case you missed it, my family recently purchased a robot vacuum cleaner and I was floored (LOL) by how well it worked and how much I liked it and came to rely on it. The most obvious benefit of having a robot vacuum is helping us keep our floors clean, which is no small feat with the number of humans (7) and pets (4) who call our house home, and the affordable Eufy vacuum does it surprisingly well.

But I was also impressed by how well it cleans around chair legs and along the edges of our walls. We have also enjoyed the more hidden benefit of how Eufy prompts us to pick up toys and other out-of-place clutter on the floor in order to prepare for his nightly run. All in all, getting to know Eufy made me wish we hadn’t waited so long to get a robot vacuum cleaner!

Happy as I was with Eufy, I was recently offered the opportunity to try out the Roborock S7. It’s a smarter unit, and it not only vacuums, but mops. Once again, I was skeptical, and once again I was blown away by how well it works.

Rocky, as he has come to be known, took a maiden voyage around the house and mapped out the rooms in our home. I love this feature because we can tell him to go to a certain place and either vacuum or mop or we can program him to do certain rooms at certain times. And when I say “tell him,” I mean that literally. Rocky is smart home-connected, so we can direct him through our Google Home speakers (as well as through the Google Home app).

You may have the most questions about the mopping portion of the unit, like I did, and I’ll try to address those here. First off, Rocky knows when he’s on hard floors versus carpets and seamlessly switches modes. The mopping portion is easy to set up and maintain. You fill a compartment (that’s much like the dust bin compartment for the vacuum function with water. A connected microfiber pad gets dampened just the right amount with this water and the pad shifts down to touch the floor when it’s time to mop. The floors aren’t left too wet, there’s no streaking, and, yes, it get the floors noticeably clean!

As much as I am thrilled by the development of a robot vacuum and mop combo, I know it has even more to offer that I need to take advantage of. The Roborock S7 has a high-intensity scrub mode for tackling dried-on messes that, out of habit, I’ve still been cleaning by hand. I also need to remember that I can call Rocky to clean up messes that happen in the moment. I’ve been thinking of him as my nighttime helper, but he can and should be called on to help right in the thick of things. Lastly, I’d like to make better use of programming Rocky to take care of certain rooms at particular times of the day. I can make a schedule for him and I need to. For instance, I’d like to start sending him to vacuum the kitchen after each meal.

Rocky comes with what I consider a hefty price tag. Honestly, I’m not sure if I would have tried him out if it meant shelling out over $600 without knowing how much labor he would take out of my hands. From our current perspective, my husband says without hesitation that Rocky is worth his price tag. Of course I can’t say what a powerful, smart, and, it has to be said, nice-looking vacuuming and mopping machine is worth to your household, but know that it is a welcome, useful, even esteemed addition to ours.