If you have mainly hard flooring, it can often be a challenge to keep it stain-free. I know first-hand the perils of trying to keep my hardwood and tiled flooring spotless. So it isn’t any wonder why there’s a surge in popularity for having one of the best robot mops or hybrid robot vacuums that can keep both our carpets and hardwood floors clean.
However, if your robot mop leaves unsightly streaks or dirty marks on the floors after cleaning, it defeats the entire purpose. Worse still, you don’t want to have to run your smart cleaner again just to get your floors pristine. Just like any home appliance, robot mops require maintenance and TLC to make sure they’re running their best. So before you ditch your old model for brand new, make sure you always do these key things to get the most of your robot mop.
Use the right cleaning solution
While we all want our floors to smell fresh, never use your favorite, shop-bought cleaner. Experts advise to use only clean water or the right cleaning solution for your robot mop.
Commercial cleaner solutions that are not made for robot vacuums can be too harsh, and cause potential harm to your floors or appliance. Not only can the chemicals in regular floor cleaners corrode the vacuum's internal mechanisms, but they can stain or damage your hard floors.
It’s always better to use the right cleaning product that's recommended by your robot mop's manufacturer, and only the recommended cap full of their cleaner per tank.
Always run robot mop in dry mode first
Another tip is to set your robot mop to dry vacuum mode before you run in wet mode. If floors are not properly swept, excess dust and debris can cause streaking after mopping.
Nowadays, you can find certain hybrid robot vacuum cleaners that can automatically do both vac and wet mode at the same time. Otherwise, you’ll end up with unsightly, dirty streaks across your freshly cleaned floor.
Use a fresh mop pad for each cycle
If you find your robot mop often leaves dirty streaks on the floor, make sure you use a fresh pad for each cleaning cycle.
Generally, you should only load clean mop pads into the docking station, and wash reusable pads in a washing machine (without fabric softener). Alternatively, if using a single wet pad, these will need to be disposed of and replaced after use.
Certain robot vacuum mops such as the Ecovacs Deebot X8 Pro Omni come with a base that cleans the mopping pad after each use, although you will need to do manual cleaning every few months.
Stay on top of regular maintenance
Of course, regular cleaning and maintenance of robot mops are essential to get the most out of it. Experts advise to run another cycle after the first to help in removing left-over streaks on the floor from the first cleaning cycle.
Another tip is to empty the dust/contents bin after each cleaning cycle to avoid any dirty residue during the mopping mode. Don’t forget to wipe the interior of the bin clean, and ensure it's completely dry.
For more top tips on maintaining specific brands, follow these top tips on how to clean your Roomba for peak performance and how to clean your Roborock vacuum.
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