iRobot Roomba Plus 505 + White

Of all the iRobot machines I have had, this is by far the best. I was allowed to test this machine to give my honest opinion. I was skeptical because iRobot has stood still in terms of development for a while and has been surpassed on all sides in the meantime. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised and this machine does its job well, a lot better than my current Roomba i8 and Jet m6 combination. What I especially like is that you don't have to worry about it. I empty the dirty water tank every day and fill the fresh water tank and that's about it. I do notice that this 505 uses quite a lot of water because the tank is not very small but is still empty every day in a space of ±90m2.

Other plus points are certainly that this Roomba finally uses Lidar navigation, which means that it can also do its job in the dark. My old machines cannot do this, for example, because they rely on a camera to navigate and this one cannot see much in the dark. After cleaning, the mops are cleaned in the base station and then dried with warm air, which is also very nice and the mops stay reasonably fresh.

The only thing that really disappointed me is the new iRobot app. Getting the Roomba 505 to run its first lap requires a lot of patience and in my household with 4 children and a dog it is impossible to get it to make a map properly first. I finally did this once when we were all gone, after that it went well. Later I also discovered that you can set per room how the Roomba should treat it (clean twice, vacuum first and then mop, etc.). However, you only see this when you scroll down when you want to press the cleaning button. These are points that could be improved, in addition to the totally failed time indications of 10,000+ hours and English texts mixed with Dutch. Last downside of the new app in my case; you cannot operate your old Roomba and Braava models with it.

The Roomba® Plus 505 Combo + AutoWash™ Dock really makes our floors visibly cleaner. The object detection works excellently and the robot effortlessly avoids obstacles such as cables and furniture. The mopping function with SmartScrub is also very useful, you can also see in the dirty water tank afterwards that the water has become really dirty. What is a pity is the app: it is downright frustrating. Settings are often not saved, zones disappear and the interface is anything but user-friendly. All in all an excellent vacuum cleaner, but the app really needs to be improved because in this way it is just a waste of such a premium product. Making a good robot vacuum cleaner seems more difficult to me than developing a good app for it, fortunately an app can be updated. We were allowed to test this product.

As a family member (with wife, 4 year old daughter) and owner of two friendly cats, I know how important clean floors are. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been testing the iRobot Roomba Combo j5+ with AutoWash™ Dock extensively, and I’m very impressed with how it simplifies and improves cleaning.

The Roomba Combo j5+ does everything by itself. Not only does it automatically empty the dust bin, but it also cleans the mopping pads in the docking station. This means that every time the robot mops, it starts with perfectly clean pads, ensuring a hygienic, streak-free result. With my previous robot, I sometimes had streaks from stray cat litter because the mop dragged across the floor. With the j5+’s rotating mopping pads, this is a thing of the past; the floor is spotless every time. The active mopping action tackles even dried-on stains, and the combination of vacuuming and mopping ensures a thorough clean. Hair and sand from our cats are effortlessly picked up. Of course, there are always a few points to consider, but these do not outweigh the many advantages. The size of the device including the AutoWash™ Dock is considerable, so think in advance about where you want to place this handy helper. It is also important to empty the dirty water tank regularly to prevent odors.

The Roomba Combo j5+ does not lift the mopping pads. If you have carpets, it is necessary to set virtual walls in the app to prevent the robot from mopping over your carpets. This requires some extra setting up once, but ensures that your carpets stay dry and clean.

Finally, there is the compatibility of the app with older iRobot models. Although the new iRobot Home app recognizes your older robot, full control is not possible. This is something to keep in mind if you already have an existing iRobot and want to manage everything from one app.