In the last few years a not-so-quiet revolution is taking place in the world of vacuum cleaners. But in the last one year — the pandemic phase — we have realised how much we hate housework. C’mon, you wouldn’t like to roll up your sleeves and get to work under the table, below the sofa, under the bed, the many tables, the corridor…. It was truly a liberating experience to have a review unit of Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P to give a few days of freedom from hoovering. It can vacuum the floor. It can mop the floor. And boy, it did prove to be quite a terminator of dust. No, it’s not going to replace an upright or canister vacuum but it does give freedom to the user from a lot of bending down. And the one from Mi offers good competition to the iRobot. Let’s dive in.

App makes life easier

Connecting the Xiaomi Home app to the vacuum cleaner hardly takes two minutes. It searches for a stable Wi-Fi and then pairs with the device. You can use the machine without the app, which is a great option if you don’t want another addition to your app list. But the app is really helpful when it comes to mapping the house. The data stays with you and is not shared and the maps are abstract.

You can name each of the rooms on the app. The app shows how much area is getting cleaned, duration and battery left. There is an option to start/pause vacuuming as well as change the suction speed. All this is helpful. From the app I could clearly see that the Mop P didn’t move around like a headless chicken, going over the same place again and again.

The vacuum cleaner moves in a straight line when it senses a lot of empty space, otherwise I saw it follow a ‘Y-pattern’. In this the cleaner moves at an angle, goes into reverse and then again at an angle. It’s really helpful, collecting a lot of dust efficiently, without wasting battery.

Via the app, you can choose the rooms to be cleaned and keep an eye on the vacuum cleaner.

Once done, the machine returns to its charging station The Telegraph

Good mapping capabilities

With a nine-year-old and her cat in the house, there are things strewn all over the place — art and craft paper to cat hair to clips and wires leading to this and that.

Small obstacles are not an issue, like a thick rug or wires. My place is somewhat old and so the doorsteps are on the higher side but the cleaner managed to go over the bump and move into the corridor when required.

In the five-odd days we used the cleaner, not once did it get tangled up with TV wires, those leading to smarthome assistants or those from the desktop. There are some low tables and empty bottles lying around, none of them got knocked over. The vacuum cleaner is sturdy, coming away from its war with dust unscratched while the brush didn’t hurt the house cat.

The laser mechanism on top of the cleaner is efficient and I prefer it to the camera option available on some other models because if the lighting in the house is on the dimmer side, it gets difficult to map the place. A 3,200mAh battery keeps the machine alive, which is fine for an apartment but if you have largish den (more than 1,200sqft), then you may have to charge it half way through the cleaning process. The battery may seem a lot but it uses a lot of power to suck up dirt and also power the machine.

There is enough cleaning accessories inside the Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P box

Cleaning up the act

There are individual tanks for mopping and vacuuming, which is helpful. Most of time, I use the vacuuming mode as pet hair is all over the house… all the time. It can easily climb on to thick carpets. First I tried dropping a small cup of oatmeal, 90 per cent of which was collected and the same goes for rice grains.

Testing with a cup of flour, it did manage to clean well but it took a few swipes before doing the needful. In test environments the area is restricted but dropping a cup of flour inside the house involves spilling it all over. Then people walk around, which means sandals take particles from one place to another. Though it took a bit of time, the Mop P did a good job, taking out flour from crevices between tiles.

There are several levels of vacuuming — silent, standard, medium and turbo. I kept the machine on standard mode most of the time while medium in the kitchen.

Mopping the floor is also pretty easy. There is a separate container into which you can pour water. There is an extra wipe in the box and though it is recommended to clean the wipe/mop every day, I did it every two-three days because…. What’s that word? Lazy?! Anyway, there were no moulds but cleaning each day is a good habit. Also, if there is some water left in the container, you won’t end up with a mouldy compartment. And don’t worry about leaks.

There is also a ‘vacuum and mop’ option but for me it was easier to vacuum and then mop because of too much cat hair in the house. The only issue I noticed is that the brush attracts a lot of hair. More than cumbersome, it’s somewhat disagreeable to the eye while cleaning it out.

Once out of charge, the machine returns automatically to the charging station and fuels up quickly, all set for another round.

Mi Robot Vacuum-Mop P can gather pet hair and debris easily The Telegraph

Can it replace old-fashioned cleaning?

If you have a lot of very low furniture — like a bed — it will not be able to go under it. Plus, old houses tend to have a lot of nooks and crannies which may remain inaccessible. Plus, remember this is a floor cleaner and will not clean upholstery or, for that matter, the ceiling (but, of course!). Also, I want more information about accessories (extra wipes, brushes and so on) on Xiaomi’s India website.

Small downsides aside, the machine is reasonably priced when compared with similar devices from other brands. Technology can help you with cleaning, which can really be a drag if you are working from home and also doing a few household chores. It does all the backbreaking tasks for you but every week you have to clean the brush and compartments. Now, any break from such chores is pleasant. Besides, all the robotic hoovering can free up hours of your time, so what’s there not to like about it?! With the Mi Robot Vacuum Mop P (Rs 24,999), it’s one small step for cleanliness, and one giant leap towards having free time.

Breathe a sigh of relief

• It’s meant to reduce the amount of time you spend vacuuming

• It handles mopping well, liberating you from a lot of back-breaking work

• Since it can connect to the Wi-Fi, you can map your house and control the machine virtually

• Robotic vacuums can easily collect loose dust and debris from hard floors or low-pile rugs

• They clean up pet hair

• The Laser Detect System (LDS) acts as the eyes for the machine to create a digital image of the house. It’s on point

A few things to consider

• If there are many thick carpets around the house, a canister vacuum cleaner will do a better job

• Ensure there is no pet poop anywhere before cleaning begins. There is a chance that poop will get smeared

• The spinning brush and central suction band do a good job but there will always be spots that the Mop P can’t reach

• It can’t be used on stairs