Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

12/17/2016 Update: After months of regular use, the Braava is still doing a fine job and I am still quite happy with it. My history with iRobot products goes back to the very first Roomba model in 2002. I have had many of them over the years, and even had the very first iRobot mopping robot, the Scooba. The Scooba was pricy and too big to reach areas in the bathroom. The newest iRobot Braava seems to solve these problems. It takes a very different approach than the Scooba did. Braava is tiny (kind of the size of a Mac mini) which means it has a much better chance of fitting in tiny areas between a toilet and sink. In my apartment, it easily fits on one side, but the other is still too close to the wall. It's also very short, so it fits under the lower kitchen cabinets and stove, which the Scooba never could. My old Scooba had to be filled with a mixture of water and cleaning solution, and had a rubber roller and squeegee to clean. The Braava is more like a Swiffer(TM) Wetjet. You put some water in the unit, then slide in a cleaning pad that contains the cleaning solution. There are also dry pads that just sweep and don't use water. You need to place the unit about a foot from each wall in the lower left of the room, then press a button to turn it on, then again to start it, and away it goes. Instead of the random-seeming "bump and go" action that a Roomba has, the Braava follows a pattern, zigging and zagging across the floor. The manual claims it will map out the room each time it is used, figuring out where the walls are. It seems much more intelligent than Roomba, though I still get a laugh when I see it bump in to a wall, then back up and pause, as if it's trying to figure out what just hit it. It covers the entire floor and hugs all the edges consistently in the three rooms I tested it in. When it bumped from kitchen floor to dining room carpet, it detected that and avoided spraying water and trying to mop there. Good job, iRobot. You can even power it up a special way to tell it "never go behind where you start" so if you want to clean just half of a large room, the unit will only clean what is in front of it. Clever. The Braava will squirt water in front of it, then quietly move forward and backwards over the spot in a Y pattern. While it moves, another motor inside causes it to vibrate over the floor, likely giving it greater cleaning power than manually pushing a Swiffer around. The unit is fairly quiet when moving, but gets noisier when squirting water (another motor) or vibrating (another motor). It stills seems quieter than my Roomba 560. The design is very nice. The packaging is about as good as I've seen for a non-Apple product. You get the Braava, a battery, battery charger, and a set of three types of cleaning pads (6 total). On the Braava, there is a handle that lifts up on the top for carrying it around, and also for getting to the rubberized plug where you put water in. I found I had to pour water in very slowly. There is also an eject button for removing the cleaning pad. You can just hold it over the trash can and pop it right out without ever touching the dirty pad. You get a small battery and a wall charger. You put the battery in the charger and plug it in. A flashing orange light turns green when charged. It takes 1-2 hours to charge then you can put the batter in the back of the Braava and do a full cleaning cycle. The charger and battery are small (it's not like the huge packs that the Roomba needs). The three types of cleaning pads include a dry pad (like an original Swiffer) which does not use water, a wet/dry (damp) one, and a wet one. You get two of each with the Braava. To test, I first swept my guest bathroom to get it as clean as I could with a broom and dust pan. Then I ran the Braava with a dry pad and it came out filthy full of hair and dirt my broom didn't get. Next I ran the wet pad and ended up with a much shinier (and clean smelling) bathroom. I do not know how this would compare to a Swiffer Wetjet, but I know putting in a pad, some water, and hitting a button is a much better use of my time. I enjoy watching TV while robots take care of the housework ;-) My first unit arrived defective (likely damaged in shipment - it had a slight rattle, which were from small screws that got knocked out), but iRobot quickly sent me a replacement. I have always had great support from iRobot, and they have replaced many earlier model Roombas I had during the 1-year warranties. My replacement Braava had no issues and has been working just great since I received it. The cleaning pads are $7.99 for a set of 10. Thus, the cost per cleaning is .79 cents. There is also a $20 set of 2 washable pads that you can re-use up to 50 times (.20 per use). The re-usable pads clean with water only since the cleaning solution is in the pads and you ONLY put in water in the Braava (no mixing of cleaning solution like you had to do with the Scooba). For under $200, this device is great for lazy folks like me who may only "mop" when there is a spill. I now expect to regularly clean my kitchen and bathrooms (and by "I" I mean the Braava robot). At .79 per use (or .20 with the re-usable pads), it compares favorably to the current price of Swiffer Wetjet refills of .60 each on Amazon, plus the cost of the Wetjet cleaning solution. Heck, it might actually be cheaper than manual cleaning (less cost of electricity). As much as I hate "disposable cleaning pads" (think of the landfills!), I do like the convenience. I am very happy with the Braava. I will update this review if that changes, but for right now, I'm glad to give it five stars.