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The One Thing That Made Me a Much Better Cleaner—Instantly

Photo credit: Roborock
Photo credit: Roborock

This will come as a shock to absolutely no one, but I don’t love cleaning my apartment. Don’t get me wrong: It’s a great place, one of those classic New York City apartments with oversize windows and hardwood floors that make you feel like you’ve made it in the city. But in reality, the hardwood floors are warped and uneven, and my windows are dirty because I am simply never going to hang my body above the street to clean them. And as it turns out, I actually do mind not having a dishwasher. So, as you can see, I don't love cleaning my apartment.

Then I got a robot vacuum cleaner called the Roborock S7, and it changed everything. At first I sort of scoffed at the idea. We’ve all heard horror stories of poorly house-trained pets tangling with early-model robot vacuums, and I wondered if the price was worth it. I know how to vacuum, I thought. But the sweeping never ends, and I would like to do other things with my life. So I unboxed my little round robot, set it up with the Roborock app, named it Lucas, and immediately fell in love. I watched it purr and whoosh around my living room, deftly going from the hardwood to the deep-pile area rug and knew I could definitely get used to this.

"I watched it purr and whoosh around my living room, deftly going from the hardwood to the deep-pile area rug."

In the two weeks since I’ve had my Roborock, I’ve discovered that it doesn't just do exactly what I want it to do incredibly well; it goes beyond that. The vacuum makes easy transitions from one surface to another due to a technology called VibraRise, which is a sonic-mapping feature that allows the robovac to detect carpet, raise its mop, and vacuum the carpet without getting wet.

And it suctions up everything. I have long, wavy hair that seems to end up on every flat surface, and I was genuinely shocked by the way the Roborock found and picked up every last strand while gliding through my apartment, skimming over door jams and softly rounding corners.

However, it was the sonic mop that really sealed the deal for me: It scrubs up to 3,000 times per minute, making it extra effective at removing dirt, dried-on stains, and whatever else it finds. Just fill the little side tank with water, and let your robot wet-mop your floors for you, too.

Its auto-empty dock holds up to eight weeks of dust and debris, which means you'll do a lot less emptying. And it has an antibacterial dust bag that self-seals when you remove it, so nothing gets into the air.

The Roborock app is a huge plus, since it allows me to map out my apartment and select specific areas for full cleans or spot cleans. Its innovative, LIDAR navigation system allows it to see in the dark, generate very specific maps of a home, and recognize obstacles. I can program the vacuum to glide past the rooms I want to skip, clean the ones I want, and ultimately bring itself back to the charging port. A true highlight for me, as a person with enough plants to fill a medium-sized jungle, has been the ease with which the Roborock pivots around delicate pots on the floor. It has never once knocked into a planter or caught itself in a vine.

It even has voice control through its app, which is thrilling if you’ve given your Roborock a name. Nothing makes me feel more efficient saying, “Lucas, clean the bathroom” while I’m washing dishes, and watching the vacuum’s wheels spin off down the hall.

Can it do windows? No. But it can do damn near everything else, and my floors have never been cleaner.

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