Roborock S5 Max vacuums and mops your floors

Robot vacuum technology has made sweeping advances over the past few years. Not only are robot vacuums smarter, but they do a much better job of cleaning than earlier models. Case in point: the Roborock S5 Max ($599.99), a robot vacuum that also mops floors.

The S5 Max comes with a charging dock that provides power to charge the vacuum’s battery, which can run up to three hours in light cleaning mode. You control the S5 Max from a smartphone app which will guide you through setup on your home’s Wi-Fi network. Once it connects to the network and the battery is charged, you’re ready to clean. Roborock advises you to vacuum the floor at least three times before you attempt to mop.

The S5 Max has laser range finding technology to accurately measure the room. An outline of your kitchen floor will appear in the app, and a tiny icon of the S5 Max moving around the screen shows its trail as it completes its rounds. It goes around the perimeter of the room first. A small rotating brush is designed to move debris away from the walls and corners and into the path of the vacuum. It works really well.

After the edges are cleaned, it goes back and forth in the room to cover the entire floor. After two passes around the room, it announces that it’s finished and returns to the dock.

Living with a robot vacuum is a lot like living with a toddler. You have to pick up the things you don’t want it to bump into, including electrical wires.

It’s also a good idea to watch it clean each room the first time you use it so you can figure out any areas you want it to avoid. You can set these preferences up in the app after the S5 Max maps your rooms.

The S5Max can fit under most furniture, including sofas, chairs and beds. You’ll want to look under the bed for stray socks, which will get caught in the brushes, stopping the cleaning cycle.

It’s also quiet, so you can carry on a phone conversation while it cleans.

Once the S5 Max has been around your house, you can save the map of each room and set custom schedules. You can automate the cleaning of each room and set barriers or areas you want the vacuum to avoid. You can also set no-mop zones if you’re running the mop and don’t want the vacuum to drag a wet mop pad over your area rugs (it will simply avoid the rugs during mopping runs).

It has a 290 milliliter water tank that’s controlled electronically and you can select from three moisture settings. There are two precise valves in the tank that allow water to soak the microfiber pad, which then mops the floor. Roborock says one tank can clean 2,000 square feet of flooring.

It makes good contact with the floor, but there’s minimal scrubbing. It won’t remove dried food spills from your floor, but small dried liquid spills come up with no problem, as do footprints.

Roborock recommends only water in the tank, as the filter may clog and inhibit the flow to the pad. One microfiber pad is included. You wash it when it gets dirty, but it will wear out eventually. Replacements are two for $17 online. The app will help you keep track of the age of your consumables like the rotating brush, filters and mop pads.