Yahoo Finance Ultenic’s New Robot Vacuum Also Mops Floors, So We Pushed It to the Limit
Value: 16/20
Functionality: 16/20
Ease of Use: 18/20
Aesthetics: 17/20
Suction: 19/20
TOTAL: 86/100
Despite all warnings of a future robot apocalypse—and the moral of the woefully underrated 1999 Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House—I cannot resist a home gadget. Any robot that promises to dust, mop, vacuum, turn on the lights or tell me a joke is welcome at my house. So, when I learned that Ultenic’s new T10 robot vacuum doesn’t just suck up dirt and dust—it mops and cleans its own dust bin, so you don’t have to empty it as often—I had to try it out. And by “try it out,” I mean relegate the poor thing to a month of tending to spills, glommed-on frosting and finger paint, Goldfish crumbs and more. Here’s how it fared—and what you should know before buying one yourself.
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It’s a Top-Notch Vacuum, and a *Decent* Mop
When it comes to vacuuming, the T10 is great at picking up everything from dust to pet hair to gleefully discarded bits of my toddler’s lunch. And it’s pretty good about weaving a tight path around and under furniture, getting into areas I typically ignore (my apologies to that six-inch gap under my dresser for my months of neglect).
Where I wish it worked a little harder was on the mopping front, particularly when you consider that the machine will set you back $499. It’s great for people without kids or pets, who likely just need the occasional touch-up to keep things sparkling. Though there are four adjustable water levels to help you clean more efficiently and a spot-cleaning function, I found that if you have dried spills that require scrubbing, you’re going to have to do it yourself. The T10’s mopping function is more like having someone clean your floors with a Swiffer WetJet; it makes for a dust-free clean, but it’s not too intensive.
You’ll Want to Hide Your Accent Rugs—Or Set Up Virtual Boundaries
The T10 is great at adjusting its suction to transition from hardwood or tile floors to carpeting, but I soon learned that my penchant for tasseled boho accent rugs and bath mats was, well, problematic. Lil’ T10 can’t resist rolling on them…and getting stuck, loudly announcing that it needs help. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to use the app to create virtual boundaries, so it avoids those areas.
And, on that front, you can use the app to schedule regular cleanings, be it vacuuming, mopping or both at once, and which areas you want cleaned. (For us, it’s the hallways, living room, dining room and kitchen, every morning.) The T10 is quiet enough that it can clean the house each morning, just before our alarms go off, without waking anyone up. Well, as long as it doesn’t empty its dust bin…
It Can Sound Like It’s About to Take Flight at Times
One of the coolest features is that its charger includes a self-emptying station. That makes it a little bulkier (but overall, the design is pretty sleek and compact, so bonus points on that front!). And when it cleans its dust bin, you’ll know—largely because it suddenly gets twice as loud, creating a high-powered suctioning sound that runs for about 30 seconds or so. It’s not long—it’s just noisy—but you can determine how often it does that using the app, and once you know what’s going on, it’s really not a pain. Especially when it means you don’t have to clean out the little robot vac as often.
The Bottom Line: It’ll Become a Member of Your Family
Within days of using it, my toddler named the T10 “TeeDee,” and it’s almost become a lovable pet: TeeDee patiently waits to pick up scraps after dinner, it occasionally “barks” (ahem, empties its dust bin) and best of all, it’s housebroken. Though it does occasionally run over your toes in its enthusiasm to clean.
So, is it right for your life? I’ll let you decide. Here are some quick pros and cons at a glance:
Pros:
It has a 280-minute runtime, cleaning up to 2,690 square feet
Responds to Google Assistant and Alexa (and includes a remote control)
Strong vacuum suctioning
Easy to use
Cons:
Gets caught on rugs easily
Noisy at times
Pricey
The PureWow100 is a scale our editors use to vet new products and services, so you know what’s worth the spend—and what’s total hype. Learn more about our process here.
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