iRobot was pretty much the pioneer in the robot vacuum category—the original Roomba dates back to 2002—so I expected nothing but good things from the decades-tested Roomba Combo j9+. It’s certainly an attractive cleaning machine, with stylish gold accents and a decorator-friendly docking station. It also promises to solve a common problem with modern vacuum/mop combos: mop pads that drag on carpet. It delivers on that, but you may have to deal with another problem. The price is not for the faint of heart (or wallet). Is it worth the spend? Will this robot keep your floors clean with minimal effort? Here’s my review of the Roomba Combo j9+.
Rick Broida/Yahoo
VERDICT: iRobot’s robot cleaner is relatively easy to use, detects obstacles, and moves well from hard floors to carpets. But it’s better at vacuuming than mopping, and without an automatic wash station, it’s hard to justify choosing it over other robots in the same price range.
- Attractive dock design
- Unique mop cleverly avoids carpet
- Camera-based guidance system to avoid obstacles and animal droppings
- Easy setup of rooms and zones within the app
- Can identify dirtier areas and focus more cleaning attention there
- The below-average profile makes it easier to fit under furniture
- The app-based user manual is limited in scope and difficult to read
- Dock does not clean or dry mop pads;
- Mop pads can get stuck under carpets
- Water tank difficult to refill
- The app does not display cleaning progress or robot location in real time.
$1,399 at Wayfair
Setting up Roomba Combo j9+
To make setup easier, iRobot provides two illustrated quick start pages that I found – to a certain extent – clear and informative.
Once you’ve found a spot for the dock and rolled the j9+ in to charge, the iRobot app takes over the rest of the setup process. It does a pretty good job of showing you the basics, but note that the app-based user guide is basically a PDF that’s hard to read (because it’s so small) and is limited in scope. If you’re looking for help with specific features or operations, you won’t find it here.
Fortunately, the app is pretty intuitive overall. I wouldn’t say it’s beginner-friendly, as there are a few areas that confused me (and I have a much of these things). For example, why are there controls to “empty bin” and “fill bin” when these things should happen automatically? Why does the clean room facility have oddly specific names like “cloakroom” and “desk” that are more likely to be obstacles I’d rather avoid?
Features and performance of the Roomba Combo j9+
Like most robot vacuums in this price range, the Combo j9+ can sweep, vacuum and mop on demand or at set times. It empties its own dust bin into the docking station, which also contains a fresh water tank that needs to be refilled from time to time. (Exactly how often depends on how often you clean your floors, but iRobot estimates it’s 30 days.)
A word about the dock: It’s one of the prettier ones I’ve seen, with a wood-paneled top that would actually make a nice little side table since it never needs to be lifted. Instead, you get to the water reservoir by opening the front-facing door. The downside is that the reservoir is wide, not tall like most other docks, and so a bit awkward when you’re trying to refill it.
In my testing, the Roomba performed quite well overall, although it was a little slow and aimless at first. iRobot notes that the Combo j9+ takes 3-5 runs to create a detailed map of your floors. Other models I’ve tested manage to do this after the first pass, but to iRobot’s credit, the map here seems more accurate and detailed. I also like how easy it is to name rooms, create dividers, and set no-go zones—tasks that some other robot vacuum apps make complicated.
But why doesn’t the app show the robot’s location or cleaning progress on that map while it’s running? This is a fairly common feature on other vacuums. While you get status alerts like “damping pad,” I miss being able to see exactly where the robot is—especially when it gets stuck and I have to search for it. (The app does have a “locator” feature, though, which plays a sound to help you find it.) I was also surprised that my phone didn’t notify me when it was finished cleaning.
Less surprisingly, the Combo j9+ did a good job of sweeping and vacuuming, which makes sense given iRobot’s experience in that area. It’s also pretty good at avoiding obstacles, thanks in part to a camera-guided guidance system. If you have pets, you’ll be happy to know that iRobot guarantees that the Roomba will avoid any detected “accidents” that could otherwise result in a pretty bad mess. (If it fails, you’re entitled to a free robot replacement.)
Cleaning, but what about mopping?
The most interesting feature here is probably the mop. Some robots use a flat pad on the bottom, others use rotating brushes. The challenge with both designs is what happens when the machine rolls onto a carpet: the wet mop ends up dragging on it. Some newer models can automatically raise their pads or brushes, which is helpful for short-pile carpets, but they can only mop up to a certain height. Anything slightly higher will still get wet.
The Combo j9+ has a wiping pad that fits into the GreatWhen a hard floor needs cleaning, the pad swings out on a mechanical arm and is then pushed under the robot. This is a clever solution that definitely solves the wet carpet problem.
Also clever: iRobot’s SmartScrub technology, which lets the robot move back and forth over problem areas – the machine equivalent of muscle power. Unfortunately, in my tests, this didn’t work quite as well as rotating brushes, especially with sticky things like jam. The pad also doesn’t get into corners, although brushes have limitations there too.
There is another problem with the mechanical arm design: in some cases, the mop pad got stuck under the corner of a carpet, presumably because the robot didn’t have enough space behind it to back up. This happened with two different carpets in two different rooms.
All robot vacuums get stuck occasionally. My biggest complaint about the Roomba is that while it uses clean water with each mop, it doesn’t self-clean its mopping pad, which most other high-end robot vacuums can do. While it’s not difficult to remove, wash, and reinstall the pad, for me it’s an extra step – and something to remember. A robot vacuum/mopping machine should require minimal intervention from its owner; the whole point of spending that money is to free yourself from floor chores.
It’s also worth noting that I encountered one or two operational glitches during testing. One time I started a “vacuum and mop everywhere” cycle and it just vacuumed. The next time it worked as intended. Likewise, it ran out of battery during a cycle and returned to the charging station to recharge, but never ventured out again to finish the job.
Roomba Combo j9+: Should you buy it?
iRobot’s flagship robot has a lot of good features, from its attractive design to its clever mop that solves a real problem with these types of machines. It vacuums particularly well, and I also appreciate its ability to avoid obstacles (especially pet poop) and detect areas that need special attention.
However, I don’t think it mops as effectively as robots with rotating brushes, and I don’t want to have to wash the mop pad myself – not when I’m spending so much money. This aspect alone makes it harder to recommend this robot than, say, the latest Roborock model (which I’m currently testing).
Speaking of money, it’s worth noting that despite the $1,400 MSRP, the Combo j9+ is frequently discounted to $1,000 — almost every other month, in fact. That makes it a bit more palatable compared to rivals that cost hundreds more. If that sounds like your kind of thing, definitely wait for the sale price.
