When iRobot introduced its first robot vacuum in 2002, the Roomba, it was at the highest price point. Now, the cheapest Roomba you can find starts at $374.99. Luckily, there's now a new, affordable, and effective robotic alternative to mopping: the new iRobot Braava Jet.
The Braava Jet is a breakthrough for iRobot, both in terms of design and intelligence. While most robot vacuums are round in shape, the Braava Jet is a small, square, mostly plastic device, with tasteful aqua blue hues. It looks neither like a mop nor like a robot.
The cleaning strategy is also different. It relies on tap water and specially designed cleaning pads that you place on the bottom of the device and remove with the pull of a lever when you're done. The robot mops by spraying water from the front of the device and then scrubs with the solution-soaked pads. It's similar to the Swiffer system except that the pads are specially coded on the bottom to let the robot know what type of cleaning job you want done: wet mopping or dry mopping (which doesn't use water).
The iRobot Braava Jet arrives fully assembled. You just need to charge the detachable battery, attach it to the body, open the reservoir cap under the handle, slowly add water, and then select a pad. The best way to use the iRobot Braava Jet is to place it near the far left corner of the room you want to clean, press the cleaning button on the device , and walk away. The robot covers 200 square feet per charge, just by refilling the water tank and changing the cleaning pads.
The pads also don’t just change the cleaning solution or scrubbing force, they change the entire way it cleans. Whether with a wet or damp pad, the Braava Jet will mop in a back-and-forth motion, tracing small “V”s on the floor as it slowly moves forward. The cleaning path isn’t random, though. The robot follows a specific path.
If you have switched to dry cleaning, the robot moves in straight lines.
