Whether you’re already an iRobot convert or eyeing a robot cleaner for the first time, you’ll want to take a look at the?iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, a powerful new robot vacuum that also doubles as a robot mop with its floor scrubbing capabilities. Plus, it can fill its own water tank, making it both a neat and functional choice.
The j9+ is an updated version of last year’s j7+ vac/mop combo, iRobot’s first model to incorporate a robotic arm to lift the mop pad to the top of the vacuum, helping to keep rugs and carpets dry. It was also the first hybrid robot we tested that nailed both vacuuming and mopping, so we were excited to see that this new flagship model has both a redesigned Clean Base Auto-Fill Dock and some new tricks to make it even more useful.
But is the extra scrubbing power and redesigned dock worth its high price tag? Here’s everything we found out during our testing.
The Roomba Combo j9+, iRobot’s latest combination robot mop and vacuum, is an updated version of the brand's former flagship model, the Roomba Combo j7+. We especially love this one's self-filling water tank and newly redesigned dock.
What we liked about it
The dock now holds and fills water
The first thing we noticed about the Roomba j9+ was the new, larger dock. At 15.8 by 16.4 by 16.3 inches, it’s nowhere near as big as the one on the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, our pick for best luxury robot vacuum and mop — but that’s because the Roomba doesn’t clean and dry its mop pad like the Roborock, Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni or some of the other latest premium so-called “hands-off” robot floor cleaners on the market. Instead, iRobot added a?water reservoir to the dock, which can hold up to 30 days’ worth of water or mopping solution. Each time you send it on a mopping run, the base automatically fills the robot with water, which is a big upgrade from having to manually fill the robot’s water tank each time you use it, as we had to do with the Combo j7+.
However, for all its bells and whistles, the Roomba j9+ did not get a self-cleaning base. The reason, an iRobot rep told us, is because self-cleaning mopping stations seem to spread dirt. Instead, the new Roomba uses swappable pads that you take off and wash manually. While I found that simple enough to do, here’s hoping iRobot figures out a better way to add self-cleaning capabilities down the road so you never have to get your hands wet.
The j9+ still automatically empties the dirt bin every time it docks at the base. And though iRobot claims the loud banging noise it makes while doing so is slightly less disturbing now, we haven’t clocked a difference. Would it make sense for the company to add a shutoff feature for, say, people who work from home or parents with sleeping babies? We’d say iRobot should definitely look into it.
The dock is more like furniture
We’re very drawn to the new, aesthetically pleasing dock, which is now topped with a wooden tray that you can use to display or store items like a clock or TV remote. There’s also easily accessed interior storage in the slightly deeper base for extra dust bags and mopping pads. The dust bags will hold up to eight weeks’ worth of debris, depending on your daily use.
The new dock also includes indicators on the top right that light up when the robot is charging or to alert you of a problem. You can also start the robot by pressing a button on the top of the base.
Smarter cleaning features
While Roomba’s innovative lifting robotic arm keeps your carpets dry while cleaning the house, the downside of this design is that the mop won’t oscillate to scrub the floor. To boost the cleaning power of the mop, iRobot introduced SmartScrub — a new feature that allows the entire robot to rock back and forth over an area, simulating the push and pull of a manual mop over a stain — with the j9+. The company says this promises two times deeper scrubbing, and when we tested it, we could see the added downward pressure it used on the floor as it moved ever so slightly back and forth. This feature is now available in an iRobot OS firmware update so Combo j7+ owners can enjoy it too.
The j9+ also boasts a Dirt Detective feature, which can magically figure out which rooms are the dirtiest. (OK, it’s not magic; it’s in the new iRobot OS 7.0, and it does this by incorporating historical data from previous runs to see how much dirt was picked up in each area — we’re looking at you, kitchen floor.) It then prioritizes cleaning that room first, and might even add a second pass to make sure it’s clean.
We appreciated this feature, and when used in conjunction with iRobot’s existing automatic Carpet Boost functionality — which increases the vacuum suction as it goes around the house — it indeed boosted the cleaning power, especially when it came to cat hair and annoying kitty litter.
Navigation and object detection
Like its predecessors, the Roomba Combo j9+ has a forward-facing camera that guides it as it moves around the house and helps it recognize obstacles in its path. iRobot’s Roomba vacuums have always excelled at this in my home, steering clear of things like power cables, cats and, most importantly, pet poop.
Another thing we appreciated about iRobot’s navigation is the newest option to save and recall the map of my house from the older j7+ to the new j9+. As with all new robo vacs, it creates a map of your house to let you control how it cleans specific rooms in the app. With this upgrade, we no longer had to re-run the entire mapping process, which can be time-consuming. The robot got stuck a few times and it took two runs of the house for the map to fully learn the layout, but it got there eventually.
What we didn’t like about it
The noise
As mentioned, despite iRobot’s claims that this model is quieter, we still find the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ to be very loud, especially when emptying the robot’s contents into the self-emptying base. And yes, we’ve long wanted iRobot to build in a Do Not Disturb option to keep the robot from automatically emptying itself, but so far, no dice. However, since the emptying process takes about 30 seconds, it shouldn’t be a deal breaker.
The wet, dirty mop pad
No matter how efficient iRobot’s navigation is — allowing it to move in neat, straight rows — it’s still dragging the mop pad around. So, sure, it’s picking up all your mess, but it’s also taking it along as it goes. The more expensive autonomous robots, such as the previously mentioned Roborock S8 Pro Ultra, Ecovacs Deebot X2 Omni and Narwal Freo X Ultra, send the robot back to the self-cleaning base every so often to rinse off the mop pads and start fresh from where they left off. The difference is that the j9+ uses a removable, washable mop pad, which is fine if you’re doing a smaller mop, but if you plan on washing all the floors in your home at once, it may start to feel less than clean.
We had no problem simply throwing the iRobot mop pad into the wash or rinsing it by hand after every room it mopped, which is easy to do. And this was especially helpful after it cleaned the cat litter area or the kitchen floor.
How it compares
The iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ doesn’t have the autonomous self-cleaning base station so common in the latest (and way more expensive — some of the new ones announced at CES start at $1,800!) robot floor cleaners like the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, and it doesn’t incorporate new cleaning capabilities like the Ecovacs Deebot X2 Combo we’ll be reviewing soon. It’s more than just a robot vacuum, but it’s not all-encompassing like the huge luxury models out there, and that puts it in a sweet spot of its own. If you don’t need the hands-off experience of a luxury floor cleaner, you’re getting a premium robot floor cleaner with an attractive self-empty dock that automatically empties debris and fills the robot’s water tank for under a thousand dollars.
Bottom line
As one of the first companies to revolutionize robot cleaning products, iRobot has always impressed us with some of the best and most innovative features in the market. However, with the flood of new products, specifically from Chinese competitors offering lower prices, the company has been floundering to stay profitable, leading to its most recent hopeful buyout by Amazon. Unfortunately, Amazon backed away after regulatory hurdles, so it may be worth watching how iRobot reinvents itself in the coming months.
However, with the Roomba Combo j7+ already crowned as our best robot vacuum overall — and with the Combo j9+ coming in as virtually identical (with some added improvements and features) — it’s easy to recommend this updated model. The redesigned dock takes over the chore of filling the robot’s water tank, and the smart cleaning features boost its performance power. Plus, per usual, it won’t get your carpets wet when in mopping mode. If you’re just searching for a robot vacuum without the mop, you can save even more money by looking at the Roomba j9+, which comes with the self-emptying dock and is just $600 from iRobot.
