Recently Xiaomi has renewed its catalog of robot vacuum cleaners with three proposals for all pockets and needs. What are you looking for, the best of the best? Then look at this ambitious Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Ultra, which we already told you would make it very difficult for other high-end quality-price candidates. We have analyzed it thoroughly, and this has been our experience.
Navigation and autonomy
As usual with a robot vacuum cleaner, if you want the best cleaning results, it is recommended that you clear your home before starting it up. However, real life is another story: scattered shoes, cables on the floor, falling curtains, plant leaves…so any technology that allows the vacuum cleaner to go through your house in the shortest possible time, without damaging your things and leaving areas without cleaning, the better.
The Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Ultra combines a laser sight – a fully consolidated and well-behaved technology – and a front ToF sensor, an implementation that, in theory, will avoid obstacles. Because sometimes, it’s not just that it drags a sneaker 2 meters; it can suck up the cord of the night lamp and drop it on the floor.
These ToF sensors work the same as a submarine’s sonar or radar. Thus, they accurately measure an object’s distance by projecting a beam of infrared light toward it.
During these days of testing this model, I have been satisfied with its effectiveness in tracing trajectories to optimize times and passes (essential if you have not left home and are “suffering” the noise of the aspiration), but with room for improvement in several aspects. :
The corners, nooks, crannies, and spaces that are difficult to access, such as between the dining room chairs, are left unchecked. It can be seen both in the application, where it marks the trajectory and simply by finding balls of dirt that effectively make it necessary for us to pass the broom or a vacuum cleaner manually.
Although it has been able to get around the obstacles in my house, it has pulled a couple of times on the cable of the dehumidifier – which hangs on the floor –unplugging it.
For some strange reason, it has been stopped in places that were not problematic a priori, such as in the middle of the corridor or the living room. I don't know if it has been lost or if it is a specific bug pending to be solved by an update.Efficient browsing to make the most of its excellent battery
After the first general cleaning, you will see that a map has been drawn, a handy tool for partial cleaning, for example, to vacuum the bathroom after grooming yourself. As it also allows you to save several maps, it can be helpful for homes with several floors. And I already tell you that autonomy accompanies.
Between how well it navigates and the generous 5,200 mAh battery it houses, considerable autonomy is to be assumed, which according to the manufacturer, is capable of covering up to 240 square meters.
However, this data must be taken with caution since it is not the same to aspire to maximum than minimum power. We have dedicated ourselves to cleaning our house uninterruptedly with the most ambitious mode, and we have achieved 90 minutes of operation in Turbo, or what is the same, almost three complete cleanings of a 55-square meter apartment.
Cleanliness: Remarkable in vacuuming and pass scraping in scrubbing
Having a moderately precise and efficient navigation system means that it leaves few spaces uncleaned, something essential if we want the floor to be pristine. But here, the action of the brushes also contributes to their suction capacity of 4000 Pa and the accessory for scrubbing the floor.
This robot vacuum cleaner has four cleaning modes, from most minor to most potent: silent, average, strong, and Turbo.
While it is true that we have tested it quite a bit with Turbo mode, the normal one is sufficient for regular maintenance cleaning with dust, hair, some crumbs, and sand. Of course, if you have pets or come home with your shoes full of mud peeling off, it is better to bet on the Strong or Turbo Modes.
An exciting feature if you have floors at different heights, although they can also be rugs, is that they can raise a height of about 2 centimeters.
Why “maintenance”? Because as there are corners that are left uncleaned or, for example, behind the doors (if you are going to clean the whole house, it is normal for them to be open to allow passage), it is advisable from time to time to pass the broom or the manual vacuum cleaner.
Calling what Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Ultra does is perhaps pretentious
Calling what Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Ultra does scrubbing is perhaps pretentious. In general, in these robots, the scrubbing is below the vacuum in terms of results. However, this model also lacks vibration systems that help to loosen the dirt, limiting itself to brushing a wet mop across the floor with three water level options: low, medium, and high.
If you spilled a drop of coffee on the floor or spilled some while in the shower, it will do the trick of cleaning it up, but don’t expect miracles with dried stains.
In its favor, it is surprising that such a small deposit gives you enough to scrub the house a couple of times with medium mode. Or what is the same, the water dosage is so good that it stretches it a lot, and you will be able to step on the floor a couple of minutes after scrubbing.