Hate cleaning your windows? Who doesn’t? The EcoVacs Winbot W2 Omni is a clever, yet easy-to-use robot cleaner that suctions and begins automatically cleaning your windows for you. Using this gadget, I went from yellow pollen-tinted windows to perfectly streak-free results in minutes for my apartment's floor-to-ceiling windows, and I barely had to lift a finger.
I’ve tested several of the best smart home devices over the years, and the Winbot W2 Omni is the one that truly made me feel like I was part of the home of the future. It's one of the key ways I transformed my new apartment to be the ultimate smart home space.
Although I’ve used robot vacuum cleaners for over 6 years now, it was new to experience a device that could clean vertically — and dare I say, almost magically —while remaining safely attached. But the Winbot W2 Omni's true brilliance is credited to how it intelligently cleans an entire panel, and then return to its original starting point when it's done. It uses these little nozzles that spray water every few inches as it climbs and descends your windows. Not going to lie, it’s oddly satisfying to watch.
The Winbot W2 Omni's setup is kept to a minimum. You simply dampen its mop pad, add water to the reservoir, place it against your window, and turn it on. The robot quickly suctions itself to the window, and gives you an auditory notification letting you know that it's secured. From there, it handles the rest, detecting the edges of your windows and starting the clean, which you can further customize with settings like how many times to cycle and which direction it should move. The robot itself is tethered to and powered by its square compact case which also houses its battery, charging cable and an extra set of mop pads.
There is a companion app that offers manual controls and additional settings, but I think it’s completely optional. Out of the box it already does an incredible job at cleaning, which is something you don't get with every smart home device. I’ve been using the Winbot W2 Omni every few weeks for the past few months and I still can’t help but smirk and admire it climb my giant 10 foot windows every time it goes by.
Once the Winbot finishes a panel, it gives you a little chime letting you know its time to place it on a new surface. Powering it down, it’ll notify you that the suctioning is turning off and that you need to hold on to its handle so it doesn’t fall off. Depending on how large or dirty your panels are, you can rinse the mop pads, refill the water reservoir and repeat. It's not a completely automated cleaning process like you see with self-emptying robot vacuums and mops, but given how much time and effort it’s saving, I don’t mind moving it between windows every few minutes until its cleaned them all.
Not only is this easier and quicker than using a bucket and squeegee, it's doing a better job with zero streaks and using way less water. Not to mention I don’t even have to break a sweat. Is this the type of smart home device that I thought I’d ever need, let alone ever get to try? No, but now that I have, it really has me excited to see what the future of home automation holds.
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