iRobot Braava jet m6 robot mop review

Robot mops are a tricky proposition. Are you willing to risk dampening your rugs in exchange for a little help around the house? In our iRobot Braava jet m6 review, we found that this one device excels at going where it’s told and actually getting the floors clean. The Braava jet m6’s solid mapping capability paired with efficient wet mopping and dry sweeping (think Swiffering instead of vacuuming) makes it the best robot mop on the market today.

The Braava jet m6 consistently impressed us more times than not. We think this sweeping and mopping bot is a good deal for $399, too. While it’s pricier than the $179 iRobot Braava jet 240 and the $199 iLife Shinebot W400, we trust the Braava jet m6 to clean without supervision.

iRobot Braava jet m6: Price and availability

The iRobot Braava jet m6 is currently available for $499.99 at Amazon, BestBuy and other major retailers. Along with the robot mop and dock, in the box you’ll find two disposable dry cleaning pads, two disposable wet cleaning pads, one washable (reusable wet cleaning pad) and a trial-size bottle of iRobot brand hard floor cleaning solution. 

Additional disposable dry sweeping or wet mopping pads are available in packs of seven for $7.99. Reusable pads are available in two packs:The first option includes one dry and one wet washable pad for $24.99. The second option includes two wet mopping washable pads, also for $24.99. Full-size 16-ounce bottles of the cleaning solution sell for $7.99. The cleaning solution isn’t required for the mop to function and it works in all iRobot Braava jet models—unlike the pads, which are specific to each Braava jet.

iRobot Braava jet m6: Design

The iRobot Braava jet m6 has the same premium design elements as the Roomba s9+, complete with a metallic-colored disc in the center. Instead of the Roomba s9’s black and gold color scheme, the 10.6-inch square Braava jet m6 is dressed in matte white with a silver disc in the center that conceals the removable water tank. Looking at the robot cleaning power couple side-by-side, they make quite the attractive pair.

Compared to the iLife Shinebot W400, the Braava jet m6 looks positively futuristic, eschewing shiny plastics for an understated look. Both of these mopping robots look massive compared to the Braava jet 240, which almost looks like a child toy in comparison, measuring 6.7 inches by 7 inches and 3.3 inches high.

The front of the Braava jet m6 is a large bumper that houses the spray nozzle and pad eject button. A cleverly hidden grip handle sits in the recess just behind the front bumper. To the right of the handle is a large “Clean” button placed between a home button and a spot clean button. 

On the underside of you’ll find two rubber wheels, several sensors, and the pad holder and reader. The Braava jet m6 uses proprietary pads for all cleaning operations that are not just specific to iRobot, but specific to this particular model. As you might expect, iRobot is happy to sell you replacement pads. Disposable pads are available in packs of seven for $7.99. Washable, reusable pads are available in two packs for $24.99. We tested the dry and wet pads in both the disposable and reusable varieties. After several runs, we preferred the washable pads as they felt sturdier. In particular, the reusable dry sweeping pad seemed to trap more debris than the disposable version. To clean the pads, toss them in a washing machine and then let them air dry. 

There’s a lot of thoughtfulness evident in the Braava jet m6—especially with the water tank. Where the smaller Braava jet 240 required placing the whole device at an awkward angle to fill the water tank, the 15-ounce tank on the m6 lifts out from the center. Though concealed by the aforementioned silver disc, the tank itself is flat on the bottom, meaning it’ll safely sit on a counter while you add water or cleaning solution. It’s the little things that make a difference. 

The white dock included with the Braava jet m6 has a black infrared sensor band around the top of it. Once the dock is situated, a large white drip tray attaches to it. There are guides along the edges and wheel indentations to keep the bot in its place. The drip tray isn’t so much connected to the dock as it is loosely attached to it. If you pick the dock up to move it, the tray will fall off. While initially surprising when it fell off, I liked that it made for easy cleaning. I also greatly preferred it to the drip tray on the Roborock S6 MaxV, which the manufacturer suggested should be affixed directly to the floor.

iRobot Braava jet m6: Setup and app

Setting up the iRobot Braava jet m6 was similar to setting up a robot vacuum. Though I wanted to place the Braava jet m6 next to its vacuuming companion, the iRobot Roomba s9+, robot social distancing requirements meant the Braava jet m6 needed 1.5 feet of space on either side and 4 feet of open space in front of it. After charging for a couple of hours, the m6 was ready to go—almost. First, I had to attach the desired cleaning pad to the underside of the bot and add water (or water and cleaning solution) to the tank. The type of pad—dry sweeping or wet mopping—attached to the m6 determines the cleaning mode. 

The updated iRobot Home app (Android and iOS) is not only less cluttered and modern looking, but also allows users to create favorite cleaning schemes for cleaning specific areas at the touch of a button. In addition to the already present “Keep Out Zones,” the new app adds “Clean Zones” for tidying up areas that get the most traffic. For example, instead of cleaning the whole kitchen, a clean zone can be created to clean just the areas in front of the sink and stove. In our testing, we found it to be precise and accurate. Previously, I would manually move the bot to the dirty area and press the on-board spot cleaning button. Now the m6 (or most other iRobot products) can be commanded to clean a specific area without you having to get up from the couch. We are truly living in the future. 

The app also lets you trigger the m6 from other automated smart home devices, such as the August smart lock, the Ecobee smart thermostat, the MyQ smart garage door opener, or via IFTTT. However, we wouldn’t recommend giving the Braava jet m6 free range until it has created a full map of your home and you’re confident it won’t accidentally become lodged under a couch in the middle of a wet mopping run.

iRobot Braava jet m6: Performance

The Braava jet m6 changed the way I think about robot mops. Having tested dedicated mops like the iLife Shinebot W400 and the diminutive Braava jet 240, I thought they were good for quick cleanings in-between using the classic combo of a regular mop, bucket, and elbow grease; an easy way to keep the kitchen looking decent, but not powerful enough to replace a monthly deep clean. The Braava jet m6 cleaned my kitchen floors well enough that I would feel comfortable keeping the mop and bucket in the closet for an extra month. 

I was also hesitant to let a robot mop roam unsupervised around my house. That also changed with the Braava jet m6. Once it created a map and I was able to add keep out zones, I was ok with letting the bot do the dirty work while I walked the dog.

The Braava jet m6 proved to be a formidable cleaner. I tested it in a 70-square-foot area of hardwood floor in my kitchen. Using the dry sweeping pad, the Braava jet m6 cleaned the area in 14 minutes and 9 seconds. Despite its larger size, it was a slower sweeper than the Braava jet 240, which completed the same task in 10 minutes, 8 seconds.

Using the wet mopping pad, the Braava jet m6 cleaned the same area in 30 minutes and 28 seconds. It was slightly faster than the Braava jet 240’s time of 31 minutes, 9 seconds. The iLife Shinebot W400 cut those cleaning times by more than half, completing the task in just 13 minutes, 44 seconds. While the Shinebot W400 left us with wet floors, the water trail left from the Braava jet m6 was much lighter and disappeared quickly. We used the default water setting in the app, which, oddly enough, was the largest amount of water. I swabbed a damp paper towel over one section of the floor after using the m6 and it was almost completely clean. When I did the same after using the Shinebot W400, the paper towel was a little dirty. The Braava jet m6’s cleaning prowess is on another level.

Once the Braava jet m6 is done, all you have to do is hit the pad eject button. While the pads on the m6 didn’t fly off with the same force as the Braava jet 240, they were easy to remove. The m6 is meant for cleaning whole floors and larger homes, which means it’s equipped with a generously-sized water tank. After completing two full runs of the first floor—216 square feet of bare floor according to the app—the tank was just under halfway full. 

Though a trial size bottle of cleaning solution is included with the Braava jet m6, it’s not required in order for the bot to function. It did seem to pick up more dirt as opposed to using water alone. As one might guess, the solution is also proprietary to iRobot. (The company says that other cleaning solutions might clog up or damage the m6’s components). 

It’s available in 16-ounce bottles for $7.99. It’s concentrated, so 2 ounces of solution are mixed with 13 ounces of water in each tank. While the proprietary solution is annoying, I’ll give iRobot a pass here since they’re the only company I’ve seen that offers an alternative to water as a cleaning agent in robot mops. 

iRobot Braava jet m6: Mapping and linked cleaning

Like the iRobot Roomba i7+ and s9, the Braava jet m6 created a thorough map of the first floor of our mostly open floor plan home. The mop hit one stumbling block, a section of our living room that’s covered with large area rugs. The sole rug-free section is a stone fireplace hearth, which the m6 didn’t initially venture across. The solution was to manually move the bot to the hardwood front entryway and have it create a new map there. However, on subsequent runs using the updated app, the m6 found its way across the hearth and the second map became unnecessary.

The Braava jet m6 was able to create a mostly complete and accurate map of the first floor in three runs. We found the training run option within the app to be incredibly useful. Though the m6 requires a pad to be attached in order to run at all, the training run with a dry sweeping pad attached was much quicker than the usual cleaning run. 

After the map is created, you’re able to create room dividers, clean zones and keep out zones. You’ll also give each room you create a name from a pre-populated list or give it a custom name. Creating a room divider feels smoother and less fiddly in the new app. Creating both clean and keep out zones is as simple as resizing a box. The size of the box is displayed in feet as you adjust it, giving you a better idea of exactly where you’re telling the bot to clean or avoid. For example, we were able to approximate the size and location of our dining room rug and add it as a keep out zone for the Braava jet m6. It’s certainly not a perfect science, but it’s easy to make small adjustments in the app. As someone who’s seen her fair share of robot map implementations, iRobot’s app continues to have the least cumbersome setup after initial map creation.

One of the niftiest features of the higher-end iRobot products is Imprint Link Technology. If you own a Roomba i7 or Roomba s9 and add the Braava jet m6, you can create a dynamic cleaning duo. From the home page of the vacuum, you can set up a linked cleaning, meaning the robot vacuum will clean where you want it to first, then it will trigger the robot mop to get to work. The best part is you can select whole floor cleaning or specific rooms. It was crazy to watch in action. Through the app, I told the Roomba s9 to vacuum my kitchen and then told the Braava jet m6 to mop my kitchen, bathroom and dining room. Approximately 30 seconds after the Roomba s9 docked and automatically emptied its bin, the Braava jet m6 lit up and began moving away from its dock. 

Not only was it fun to watch, but it struck me as incredibly useful. The vacuum captured stray dog hair from my floors, then the mop cleaned up the paw prints. There are several hybrid cleaning robots on the market, but only a couple can vacuum and mop with one command and the results have been less than stellar. 

One note: Roomba robot vacuums and the Braava jet m6 can’t share maps across devices. So even if you already have a map for your Roomba i7 set up, a separate one will have to be created for the robot mop.

iRobot Braava jet m6 review: Verdict

The iRobot Braava jet m6 is the most well-thought out robot mop we’ve tested. It has all of the perks of a high-end robot vacuum: accurate mapping, specific room cleaning, and no-go zones. But when used with the new iRobot Home app, which offers greater mapping precision, targeted cleaning areas and more thoughtful cleaning times, the Braava jet m6 is elevated to one of the best robot devices we’ve tested. While we don’t love that the only cleaning solution recommended by iRobot is proprietary, it does a better job getting your floors clean than water alone. If you have a house full of heavily trafficked bare floors, we heartily recommend the iRobot Braava jet m6.

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