Tag Archives: mop

Your Floor Cleaner Is Just Spreading Dirty Water. BSTY’s Dual-Tank System Fixes It.

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The lines between form and function have never been blurrier, or more beautiful, than they are in today’s best home tech. The BSTY Dual-Action Cordless Floor Washer is a testament to this evolution, offering a singular device that manages to look as sharp as it performs. Its seamless integration of vacuuming, steam mopping, and self-cleaning mechanisms is tailored for those who want their spaces immaculate, but never at the expense of visual serenity. This is not merely another entry in the crowded floor-care market; it’s a thoughtfully considered piece of hardware that addresses the entire life cycle of a chore, from start to finish.

Let’s be honest, the way we clean floors is broken. It’s a clumsy, multi-stage process that often feels like you’re just moving dirt around. You start with the vacuum, wrestling with a cord or racing against a dying battery to suck up the crumbs, the pet hair, and the dust. Then comes the second act: the mop. You’re either sloshing a dirty string-mop around in a bucket of increasingly murky water, or you’re using a fancy hybrid cleaner that often just turns dry debris into a wet, gritty paste. It solves one problem by creating another. The BSTY project seems to have started with a deep, almost obsessive, understanding of this frustration.

Designer: BSTY

Click Here to Buy Now: $399 $599 ($200 off). Hurry, only 15/50 left. Raised over $61,000.

The solution begins with a simple, elegant workflow that is physically built into the machine. As you push the BSTY forward, it’s a dedicated dry vacuum. The front of the cleaning head houses a system that delivers a full 20,000Pa of suction, a figure that puts it in the upper echelon of cordless stick vacuums. That’s enough power to lift embedded dirt from grout lines and grab pet hair without just rolling over it. All that dry debris is whisked away into its own separate container. Then, on the pull-back motion, the mopping system engages. A fresh stream of water, which can be heated up to a steamy 100°C in the tank, wets a microfiber roller that scrubs the floor. The dirty water is immediately lifted off the roller and funneled into a second, completely separate dirty water tank. This clever little feature is a fundamental re-engineering of the hybrid cleaner, ensuring that dirty water never gets a second chance to touch your clean floor.

Beyond just using hot water for mopping, the BSTY integrates a true 180°C steam function. This is a significant leap beyond the boiling point, generating a dry, high-temperature steam that can sanitize surfaces and break down greasy, stuck-on messes without a drop of chemical cleaner. It’s a feature that will appeal to anyone with kids, pets, or just a healthy aversion to chemical residues. This focus on thermal cleaning creates a more effective, hygienic result. And it manages to pack this technology into a cordless body that delivers a solid 40 minutes of runtime, all while operating at a reported 50 decibels in its quiet mode, which is about the level of a calm conversation. The physical design is just as considered. The entire unit can pivot to lay completely flat, a 180-degree articulation that finally allows a machine this powerful to slide all the way under a low-profile sofa or media console.

But the most insightful piece of design might be what happens after the cleaning is done. Anyone who owns a current-generation floor washer knows the secret shame of the post-clean cleanup: rinsing a filthy roller, scrubbing a grimy water tank, and leaving the parts to air-dry, hoping they don’t develop a funky, mildewed smell. The BSTY’s docking station is designed to eliminate this final, frustrating step. When you dock the machine, it automatically begins a self-cleaning cycle, flushing the roller and internal tubing with clean water. But then it initiates the real game-changer: a high-temperature drying cycle. It circulates hot air through the brush head, leaving the roller completely dry, clean, and free of the moisture that breeds bacteria and odor. This isn’t just about convenience; it’s about making the entire ownership experience better. It ensures the machine is genuinely ready for its next use, not waiting for you to reassemble its damp components.

The early-bird pricing is set at $399, which is a considerable discount from the planned $599 retail price, positioning it as an aggressive play for early adopters who are tired of the status quo. For that price, the package appears to be comprehensive. The box includes the main BSTY unit, the crucial self-cleaning and charging dock that completes the automated experience, a power adapter, a spare roller brush for good measure, a small cleaning tool for any manual maintenance, and a 1-year warranty. The campaign is targeting a global shipping window around March of next year, aiming to bring this thoughtful approach to floor care into homes just in time for spring cleaning!

Click Here to Buy Now: $399 $599 ($200 off). Hurry, only 15/50 left. Raised over $61,000.

The post Your Floor Cleaner Is Just Spreading Dirty Water. BSTY’s Dual-Tank System Fixes It. first appeared on Yanko Design.

eufy Robot Vacuum Omni S1 Pro with World’s First Floor Washing Function makes cleaning enjoyable

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We all know that keeping the floor clean is important but this seemingly simple activity turns out to be tedious and time-consuming. Robot vacuums have been around for quite some time now to ease that pain, but few are able to go beyond just sucking up dust and small particles. And those that can wipe the floor tend to be inefficient, ineffective, or both. A leader in the smart home market, eufy is presenting its latest design that will keep your floor clean without getting your hands dirty, saving you time and energy to spend on the more important things in life.

Designers: Simon Kim (Senior Design Manager, eufy), Jaewan Jeong (Design Director, eufy)

Click Here to Buy Now: $999 $1499 ($500 off). Hurry, only 207/700 left! Raised over $1,300,000.

It might have “robot vacuum” in its name, but the eufy Robot Vacuum Omni S1 Pro is definitely more than just that. It’s an all-in-one floor-cleaning machine that makes no room for compromises when it comes to getting the door out of your floor space. Its 8,000 Pa suction power makes short work of dust and solid particles on your floors and carpets, but that’s only the beginning. Its real power comes from its revolutionary floor washing system that ensures no dirt or stain is left to mar the beauty of your floor.

100% Clean Under UV Light See the visibly different cleaning results of S1 Pro compared with a normal robot mop.

Spinning at a rate of 170 RPM and exerting a downward force of 10N, this 290mm TurboWash roller mop mimics how a human would scrub a floor to get those stubborn stains out. Unlike other robot vacuums with the bare minimum mopping function, the eufy Robot Vacuum Omni S1 Pro has two separate water tanks in the device itself, separate clean and wastewater to ensure that the mop itself stays clean and doesn’t drag its own dirt across the floor it’s supposed to be cleaning.

Eco-Clean Ozone™ Eliminates 99.99% of Germs. Built-in ozone sanitization for the highest standard of cleanliness.

Once the robot is done with its task, it retreats to the innovative All-in-One Station where it not only charges its batteries but also initiates a completely hands-free cleaning process. It automatically empties the dust bin and disposes of wastewater, cleaning the mop and drying it with hot air to prevent the growth of bacteria and odors, and then refills the robot’s tank with clean water for the next session. It even has a built-in ozone generator that sanitizes not just the mop but also your floor with a sterilization rate of up to 99.99%, creating a safe environment for children and pets even during high-risk seasons. All of these happen without human intervention, and you only need to empty the dustbin after 68 or so days!

Automatically detects carpet edges and lifts the mop to protect the material.

While it already sets itself apart with its revolutionary cleaning features, the eufy Robot Vacuum Omni S1 Pro stands out even more with its groundbreaking design and advanced intelligence. Eschewing the traditional circular form that has dominated this market for decades, the eufy Robot Vacuum Omni S1 Pro adopts a unique square body that is compact, sleek, and modern, adapting to the needs and tastes of today’s sophisticated homeowners. Winner of the iF Design Award 2024 and Good Design Award, the eufy Robot Vacuum Omni S1 Pro delivers a fresh and memorable design that doesn’t compromise on functionality. In fact, it’s thanks to that square shape and low 96mm profile that it can reach within 1cm of walls and corners and glide under low furniture with ease.

Even the All-in-One Station itself is a testament to eufy’s commitment to excellent design. Its minimalist aesthetic and narrow body not only saves space but also enhances the visual atmosphere with its elegant appearance. That simplicity, however, belies intelligent features that bring convenience and comfort to users’ lives. An effortless touchscreen allows the user to directly access features without having to fumble with a smartphone. The transparent water not only lets you easily check water levels at a glance, it also gives the design a modern and hi-tech vibe. Finally, the station’s ergonomic golden height means you won’t have to bend over and strain your back just to open the lid or change the water in the tank.

Despite its compact size, the robot actually packs quite an impressive assortment of technologies, like a 3D MatrixEye™ Depth Perception system that utilizes the same RGB camera with active binocular technology used in self-driving cars for obstacle avoidance. Its TrueCourse Mapping™, powered by a dToF LiDAR, the same LiDAR technology used in NASA’s Landing project, ensures precise mapping of your home, while the powerful eufy mobile app gives you the ability to schedule cleaning times, set no-go zones, and manage multi-floor mapping. Whatever the floor cleaning task, the eufy Robot Vacuum Omni S1 Pro promises a stress-free experience that will leave your floor clean and sanitized so that you and your family can live better, safer, and more enjoyable lives.

Click Here to Buy Now: $999 $1499 ($500 off). Hurry, only 207/700 left! Raised over $1,300,000.

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SwitchBot K10+ Mini Robot Vacuum Review: Small Wonder, Big Benefits

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PROS:


  • Compact size makes cleaning tight spaces a breeze

  • Replaceable mop wipes are convenient and hygienic

  • Packs plenty of smart features despite the size

CONS:


  • Light and limited mopping function

  • Can't vacuum and mop at the same time

  • Disposable wet wipes can be wasteful and expensive over time

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The SwitchBot K10+ mini robot vacuum cleaner challenges the status quo to deliver the same smarts and power in a compact and agile package.

They predated the craze that is now known as smart homes, but robot vacuums have only really caught on in the past few years as people started to appreciate the time and effort these intelligent machines save them. As time goes on, the humble giant pucks that were robot vacuums have evolved into more advanced species with more features and more intelligence to make life more convenient for humans and sometimes even pets. That said, all these smart robot vacuums have embraced the motto of “bigger is better,” which is definitely not the case when these rolling circles start bumping into corners or get stuck in between furniture. The SwitchBot K10+ tries to attack that problem from a different angle by offering a robot vacuum that’s smaller yet still just as smart, so we take it for a roll to see if size does matter or not.

Designer: SwitchBot

Aesthetics

When seen in isolation, it’s hard to point out what makes the SwitchBot K10+ robot vacuum cleaner special. Yes, it has a clean and minimalist design, but so do most machines in this market. Available only in white, the K10+ makes no effort to hide the sensors in front and on top, though it does give the otherwise plain appearance some visual flair.

When you put it in the context of other things in your house, however, that’s when you really appreciate the design of the SwitchBot K10+. It’s significantly smaller than other robot vacuum cleaners in all aspects, from the robot itself to its auto-emptying base station. The size difference is even more apparent when you compare it with a regular robot vac and see how much smaller it is. With small black markings on its face and on the top of its head, it almost looks like a cute toy.

That diminutive size isn’t just for show, of course. We’ll get to the performance aspects later, but even just in terms of appearance, the K10+ has an edge over the competition. Its compact size makes it easier to place the vacuum and its base station almost anywhere, whether it’s in plain sight, hidden in corners, or in between shelves. Whether you want to show it off or have it disappear in the background, the SwitchBot K10+ gives you the choice and doesn’t force you like some behemoth robot vacuum cleaners and their overgrown stations.

Ergonomics

Some say big is better, but being small has plenty of benefits as well. It’s a size that’s often associated with agility and manageability, and the SwitchBot K10+ definitely checks those boxes off. At only 2.3kg, you can easily pick up the robot, and you’ll actually do that a lot if you want to mop the floor with it. That’s because the K10+ doesn’t have an independent mopping component and you’ll have to turn it over every time to put on or remove the mop wet wipes we’ll get to in a bit.

You might also want to bring it up or down stairs, in case you want to vacuum other floors. While the SwitchBot app can indeed store maps, the robot can’t climb stairs on its own. Because of its small size and lightweight design, you won’t break a sweat carrying the machine where it can do its job. Of course, you won’t be carrying the charging station with it, so you’ll have to be more attentive to the robot’s battery levels.

Operating and managing the robot vacuum is also easy as pie. Of course, most of the action happens on the SwitchBot mobile app, but there are still some things you have to do manually. The dustbin is automatically emptied, but you should clean it after a few months at least. You’ll have to also maintain the brushes, which is where the vacuum’s lightweight body comes in again. Most importantly, there’s a manual on/off switch under the top lid that you do have to flip to get the ball rolling. Fortunately, getting to all these parts is a walk in the park thanks to the K10+’s simple and smart design.

Performance

It’s easy to dismiss the SwitchBot K10+’s power after hearing that it’s the world’s smallest robot vacuum cleaner, but that would definitely be playing into the size trap. There is a saying that also goes “small is terrible,” but in this case small is a lot better in things that the big guys can’t even handle. This is especially true for the many areas you take for granted in your house, like between the legs of chairs, underneath low furniture, or that narrow space between the wall and the couch.

The SwitchBot K10+ possesses excellent LIDAR vision and silicon smarts to make short work of these cramped spaces. After the initial navigation of the floor’s layout, you are given a visual map where you can merge or separate areas, in the rare cases that the robot got it wrong. That same vision and intelligence is also what allows the K10+ to easily navigate the “in-betweens” with agility and precision, correcting itself if it does bump into a leg or corner wall. In other words, the small robot has plenty of brains to get around without a hitch and insert itself in places that regular vacuum cleaners wouldn’t even dream of fitting.

When it comes to the actual act of vacuuming, the SwitchBot K10+ is a bit of a mixed bag that’s leaning more toward the positive. Despite its size, its 2,500Pa suction power is plenty strong, able to handle most tasks on hardwood floors. Yes, it will fail on very thick and tall carpets, but short ones are no problem at all. It even has automatic carpet detection so that it knows to apply stronger suction when rolling over a mop. It’s not a complete clean on the first pass, but you can program it to do two passes every time. Interestingly, when it is programmed that way, it will alternate between horizontal and vertical routes to make sure that every inch of the floor is covered.

All of the robot’s functions can be reached from the SwitchBot smartphone app, which you need to set up before you can even use it. It has everything you need to control the K10+, from mapping to setting no-go zones to switching between four levels of suction strength. You can also schedule when and where the robot will do the cleaning as well as how many passes it makes in each area. The app, however, has also a few features you rarely find in other robot vacuums. For example, you can download a voice package to change how the robot sounds when it reports to you, personalizing the experience to some degree. There’s also an “accessory usage life” that uses a time-based counter to remind the owner to clean or change out certain parts to keep the robot performing at its best.

With a size this small, there are bound to be some limitations, and, objectively speaking, there are quite a few. As mentioned, 2,500Pa is not enough to handle tough dirt and thick carpets, but the SwitchBot K10+’s biggest weakness is its mopping function. There is no separate water tank or roller for mopping, and you have to use disposable wipes (included in the package) every time you want to wipe the floor. The upside is that you don’t have to deal with washing mop heads and the risk of gathering germs along the way. You simply remove the wet wipe and throw it away. The downside is that the cost of these wipes will accumulate over time, making it a rather expensive function.

The mopping function isn’t that great either, since there are no rollers or mop heads to really do a proper moping. It’s basically doing the equivalent of simply wiping off the floor with a damp cloth and nothing more, so tougher stains won’t go away using this method. Given the way it works, you can’t even vacuum and mop at the same time and have to switch between modes. It’s a very basic feature that you probably wouldn’t miss if it weren’t there in the first place, but SwitchBot seems to have decided to put it there just for the sake of having it on marketing material.

Sustainability

Although it’s quite unique in its size, the SwitchBot K10+ is very typical in its design, including its abundant use of plastic. That makes the product less eco-friendly, but there is another aspect that further pushes its sustainability grade down. The wet wipes for mopping, while convenient and hygienic, are pretty wasteful and environment-unfriendly. More advanced robot vacuum cleaners have automated washing and drying to solve the problem of cleaning mops, but there just isn’t enough room for the small K10+ for this feature. For some households, it’s not going to be a deal-breaker, just something they have to take into account when computing the total cost of ownership.

Value

The SwitchBot K10+ is a rather unique product that is full of surprises but also leaves potential buyers even more undecided about its value. With a standard $499.99 price tag, it’s not exactly the most affordable robot vacuum cleaner, despite its smaller size. It almost sounds like a niche product, but you might be surprised at how common that niche turns out to be.

The world’s smallest robot vacuum really shines in small places like apartments, one to two-bedroom suites, and similar residential spaces. Individuals and small families have long felt left out by the mainstream market because of large robot vacuums that couldn’t properly navigate their cramped floors. The K10+ surprisingly offers pretty much the standard set of features for robot vacuums, including decent suction power for most kinds of dirt and particles, so it gets the job done even when it involves squeezing into tight spaces. Yes, it might have been better off not offering any mopping functionality at all, but it’s at least there if and when you need it.

Verdict

Robot vacuum cleaners are becoming as common as smart home speakers and security cameras, providing the convenience of technology in a very palpable and almost mundane way. There’s a great deal of uniformity in the design of these smart machines, which means there’s very little variety in terms of style and form. The SwitchBot K10+ breaks free from those conventions by offering a smaller robot, but its small size isn’t just for show nor is it a disadvantage.

Thanks to its smaller radius, the K10+ can squeeze into tight spaces and reach floors that its larger rivals couldn’t. Despite its size, it has enough power to really suck the dirt off even from some short and light carpets. Sure, the mopping function is disappointing and wasteful, but you don’t always have to use it if all you need is a dirt-less floor. Even with just the basics, which it delivers with skill and proficiency, the SwitchBot K10+ can shave off hours from your busy day, freeing you to do the more important things in life like spending time with others or even with yourself.

The post SwitchBot K10+ Mini Robot Vacuum Review: Small Wonder, Big Benefits first appeared on Yanko Design.