iRobot Braava Jet 240

amazon iRobot Braava Jet 240 reviews

The iRobot Braava Jet 240 is a small, quiet robot that can mop and sweep floors in small spaces, making it a good choice for apartment dwellers.

The Braava Jet 240 ($199) is a tiny robot that can mop and sweep floors. It’s also the least expensive option in iRobot’s lineup. Meant for small spaces like bathrooms and kitchens, it sprays water and uses various pads to clean efficiently and quietly. Unlike iRobot’s Braava 380t, which has a larger surface area, the Jet has a built-in navigation system and an additional cleaning mode (wet mopping). It doesn’t have the power to remove deep stains, so it’s not a complete replacement for your Swiffer. But if you live in an apartment and want a robot to keep things tidy and clean, the Braava Jet 240 is a good choice.

Design and Features

The Jet is a small, boxy bot with a friendly blue-white tone at 6.7 x 7.0 x 3.3 inches (HWD) and 2.7 pounds. It’s easy to pick up with the top handle and keep between rooms but heavy enough to keep its mop pressed firmly against the floor. The top is also home to a Clean blue button to start and stop sessions. You can hold down the button to set up a Virtual Barrier, an invisible boundary that the robot will not cross (more on that).

Lift the handle upwards, and you’ll find the radiator cap and a switch to eject the mop pad. The back is where the battery is, while the front is where the jet nozzle is. Below you’ll find the cliff sensors, a reader that detects what type of cleaning pad is attached, a base for you to attach the pad to, and two wheels.

Jet 240 has three types of cleaning modes: wet wipe, wet sweep, and dry sweep. Battery life varies depending on the cleaning you choose. Wet mopping consumes the fastest battery because the robot sprays water, vibrates, and moves in a more complex pattern. It can clean up to 150 square feet in wet mopping mode and up to 200 square feet when wet or dry mopping. By comparison, the Braava 380t can clean up to 1,000 square feet, making it a better choice for homes or penthouses.

The Jet comes with one rechargeable lithium-ion battery, one battery charger, two wet wipes, and two dry sweeping pads. Extra sanitary pads come in 10 packs for $7.99. The pads are disposable, but you can get a pack of two machine washable wet wipes for $19.99 or a pack of three for $29.99. They can be washed up to 50 times.

Setup and Performance

Setup is relatively simple. The battery is separate from the robot, so you need to put it in the charger, plug it into an outlet and wait for it to charge; It takes about two hours to reach capacity. The indicator light on the battery flashes yellow when charging and turns solid green after it is charged.

Once the battery is installed, select a cleaning pad, turn the ‘bot upside down and slide the pad into the base at the bottom until you hear a click. The Jet automatically knows which mode to use based on the type of pad you mount underneath. If you choose a damp brush or wet mop, you will also need to fill the robot with water. To do that, lift the handle upwards, open the jar’s lid, and slowly pour in warm water. iRobot is careful not to use any liquid other than water to clog the nozzle and damage the internal hardware.

Place the Braava in the area you want to mop or sweep, about a foot away from any wall. Press the Clean button after waking it up and again to start the cleaning session. To test the Jet, I first used it in my tiled bathroom with a damp mop fitted. It has no problem cleaning along the tub walls and walls, around the toilet, and every nook and cranny it can reach. I watched it spin around, spin backward, squirt some water in front of it, roll across the water and back as if simulating an actual wiping or sweeping motion. When finished about 20 minutes later, it returns to its original position.

The bathroom looked noticeably cleaner, and the pad was completely filthy, so it picked up a lot of dirt. But some stubborn spots remain, requiring the use of manual muscle strength and a Swiffer. The same is true when set to wet mopping mode.

After the bathroom, I turned the robot’s attention to my tiled entryway, where I usually store my shoes. I hid all my shoes in the closet, slid into the wet rags, and turned on the robot. After about 20 minutes, it stopped, and I dumped another dirty pad in the trash. The floor was cleaner again, but some water remained in the gaps between the tiles; I should probably use a damp cloth.

Finally, I tried the dry sweep on hardwood floors in my kitchen. I set up a virtual barrier by facing the robot out of my living room and pressing and holding the Clean button, which establishes an invisible boundary. It sweeps back and forth for about half an hour and ends up with another dirt pad. Thanks to the Virtual Barrier, it never entered my living area, so I didn’t have to worry about it rolling over the carpet or hitting the couch.

Once done, the Jet returns to the starting point so you can pick it up. You can push the toilet plate out without touching it by lifting the handle and pulling the pad eject switch. iRobot says you should drain the water tank before storing the robot, whether it’s wheeled down or lying on its side.

Interestingly, the Braava Jet plays well with my curious cats. The robot knows not to spray any objects that appear in front of it; it only sprays water on the part of the floor that it knows is clear.

It also works very quietly, so you can easily hold a conversation or watch TV when it’s on. The only noise you hear is the slight swirl as it sprays water.

Conclusion

The Braava Jet 240 is small, quiet, relatively inexpensive, and does a good job cleaning your floors. It lacks the power to remove really hard stains, so you’ll need to provide some manual assistance at times. That said, this is the cheapest robot from iRobot and is the go-to choice for anyone who lives in a small space and wants to keep it clean while putting in minimal effort. If you want to cover a wider range, the Braava 380t cleans 5x the surface area, even though it costs $100 more.

Advantages

Multiple cleaning modes, including wet wipe, wet sweep, and dry sweep

Quiet

Small

Relatively affordable

Defect

Stains that are difficult to require manual intervention during testing

Small active area

Additional wipes can be expensive

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