Scooba The Robot Mop

I've long been a fan of the Roomba Robotic Intelligent Vacuum (see our review of the original Roomba). New for 2005 iRobot does it again with Scooba ©®, the first robotic mop.

If you own pets, you know dry vacuuming isn't always the answer - from muddy footprints to puppy accidents, some things just call for a mop! Enter Scooba ®, the floor washing robot. Developed in conjunction with Chlorox, the Scooba uses a special cleaning solution which is safe and effective on tile, marble, sealed hardwood and linoleum - it does not contain bleach.

Like the irobot Roomba, Scooba is a marvel if intelligent engineering. In just one pass the Scooba preps (picks up loose dirt), cleans, scrubs and dries your floor. It efficiently cleans your entire floor, navigating around and under obstacles by the same method as the Roomba - an algorithm based on that used by robotic military minesweepers. If you've never watched one, the cleaning pattern looks strange at first but believe me, it doesn't miss a thing.

Scooba will clean an average (200 sq foot) kitchen floor in one tankful of solution and is very easy to fill and use. It is always using clean solution, so it doesn't spread dirt around like a mop. After cleaning, just empty and rinse the tank, brush and filter.

At present time, Scooba will only operate in wet cleaning mode, so if the rooms you will be cleaning open into areas with carpeting or other Scooba unfriendly materials you will want to block them off with either a physical barrier or an iRobot "virtual wall" - a battery-operated device which emits an infrared beam which Scooba won't cross.

Caveats: Use of cleaners other than the special Chlorox solution is likely to damage the robot and will void your warantee. The special solution is reasonably priced - a 3 pack of 32oz bottles currently costs $17.99 and a 5 pack can be purchased for $24.99.  Each 32 oz bottle lasts for 16 full cleaning cycles. I suggest buying a supply or cleaning solution when you purchase your Scooba as it is sold with a "trial size" bottle which will only last for 4 cleanings. The solution can also be purchased in any store that carries the Scooba.

Scooba ® is currently available by pre-order directly from iRobot.