If you want the job done properly, go to a pro. That’s exactly the case with the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro, one of the more expensive robotic vacuum cleaners Xiaomi has to offer.
I tested the Mop 2 Pro right after spending some time with the cheaper option, the Mop 2 Lite (review here), and the difference really is night and day between the two models.
It’s easier said than done but if you’re looking for the best robot vacuum for your budget, spend a bit more. The higher price tag on this Xiaomi model is well justified – here’s why.
Take a look at these pros and cons for a quick overview and scroll on for our experience with it.
Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro – the upside:
- Good mopping action with ultrasonic vibration that removes most stains
- Easier setup and better navigation than other Xiaomi models
- Large dust tank that needs emptying every few days
- Easy to clean and cheap consumables
Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Lite – the downside:
- Taller than other Xiaomi vacuum robots, so you need 10cm furniture legs
- As with most mopping robot vacuums, you can’t use detergent in the tank
- Will sometimes get stuck in cables and clothes dryers
- Twice the price of the base model
Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro Price and specs
The Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro goes for around $500 which sounds steep in comparison with other Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaners but makes a lot of sense considering the freedom it gives you from chores.
The specs list include a large, 5200 mAh battery, which is almost double that of most Xiaomi robot vacuum cleaners.
Even the base Mop 2 has a 3,200 mAh battery, significantly less than this Pro model, which is a difference you’ll notice if you have a place bigger than 1 bedroom.
Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro Battery life
This means it can clean for more than two hours on a single charge, which makes it great for larger homes and apartments.
In our tests, for around 50-55 mp cleaning area (it depends based on much clutter was on the floor, like boxes and shopping bags), a full sweep and mopping emptied the battery about 40%. This meant we could set it to do repeated mops to make sure the floor was really clean, then leave it overnight to charge and get ready for a new busy day.
At 3000 pa, it also has more suction power than the regular Mop 2 (2700 pa) and significantly more than the Mop 2 Lite (2200 pa). Naturally, the price is usually the most important factor when buying an appliance but, in some cases, it is worth saving up and paying a little more for the more powerful model.
Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro for pet hair – can it handle it?
In this case, the Xiaomi Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro should be a strong choice for anyone who has kids or pets. Here, it was tested in a household with not one, not two but three elderly and very prone to shedding cats. After two weeks, I was confident that I could say goodbye to the old and unsightly bucket and mop.
Thanks to the round navigation sensor, it’s taller than the other Xiaomi options, especially compared to the super light Mop 2 Lite.
It measures around 95mm – 96.5 mm to be precise, if you want to measure your furniture legs to make sure it can slide under. That height can stop it from going under some pieces of furniture but, in most cases, it will fit.
Having owned a basic Mi Robot Vacuum for the past 6 years now, the Mop 2 Pro is of a comparable height and fits in all the places my regular duster does. If you have Ikea furniture with legs, those are usually 10cm tall, so it shouldn’t be a problem for the Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro to slide under them. In the video below you can see how slim the Mop 2 Lite is but, even though the video cuts short, even the Mop 2 Pro fit under the cabinet without a scrape.
And since I mentioned my day-to-day vacuum, let’s talk about durability. Really, more reviews should take into account the longevity of an appliance, since no one really wants to upgrade them like phones, every two years or so.
It would impossible to test the Mop 2 Pro for two years and come back with a timely review you can use when you want to buy a robot vacuum. However, in my experience with most Xiaomi-made smart home appliances, they are built to go the extra mile.
As I mentioned before, I am still using the first Xiaomi Mi Robot more than half a decade later and that device has saved me perhaps thousands of hours of chores. It also got its fair shares of bumps, scrapes and kicks along the way.
In that time, I have experimented with various upgrades, from Xiaomi to Roomba to Eufy to give some examples, but, for my actual household needs, I always came back to that old Xiaomi. Even now, the battery life is great. It’s more than 70 minutes on a charge, which, in my case, equals two full runs around the house.
The 2022 Mop 2 Pro looks just as sturdy as my original helper, so I’m confident it could have just as long of a life span. The mopping upgrade is enough to convince me to finally switch over to this model, since it did a fine job refreshing the floors and the mop cloths are sturdy. After 2 weeks of daily cleaning, with a couple of days doing two runs around the house, the mop cloth looked brand new.
Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro cleaning and mopping review
In two weeks of testing the Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro, it has not once lost its way to the charging dock.
Most of my issues with robotic vacuums have been software ones – it’s very annoying when a robot smacks into furniture or starts crying that it can’t find its charging cradle.
As for bumps, it may have hit the furniture once or twice during a clean, but overall its noise and ruckus levels are so low, you can actually run it during work hours or at night without the sound bothering me during calls.
The dust compartment is generous, like on most of Xiaomi’s robots, and fills completely, with the dust and pet hair packet tightly, after about three house cleans. You should expect to have to empty the Mop 2 Pro dust compartment after it swept about 150 sqm total.
In a household with three cats, the Mop 2 Pro swept away I’d say 90% of the fluff in the first clean. As maintenance, running this vacuum once a day and clean corners once a week with a handheld or your traditional vacuum cleaner will keep your house dust, lint and hair-free.
If they have over 2000 pa, most robot vacuums can handle household debris like hair, dust, spilled cereals and so on. With the Mop 2 Pro having 3000 pa, it cleaned everything and even stole a few Nerf darts on one occasion.
As for the mop, it did a fine job of removing regular dust and the grime that happens when you sometimes have to go in the house wearing your outdoor shoes.
Unlike the Mop 2 Lite, which just drags a moist mop cloth on the floor, the Mop 2 Pro comes with high-frequency sonic vibration mopping.
This means it can dislodge more annoying stains, like the ones found on the kitchen floor.
As with almost all robotic mops on the market, you can’t use cleaning solutions inside the tank, so the cleaning is done with water alone. It won’t be able to dislodge old grease, for example, but regular food spill stains or dried wine will go away in one sweep.
For those stubborn stains, spot cleaning with a sponge is enough to complete a full clean. Is it worth it? I’d say so, considering just how much space was saved by giving up the traditional mop and bucket. It might be faster to toss some water and detergent in a bucket and spend 15 minutes mopping the house but, for some, having a robot do everything meticulously in about an hour is the more time-saving option.
Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro cleaning without detergent: is it worth it?
To make sure my cleaning routine is as hands-free as possible, I ran the Mop 2 Pro once just for vacuuming. Then, with that completed, I’d walk around with a spray bottle with a bit of cleaning solution, spot treating the areas that had stubborn stains. After that, I’d start the Mop 2 Pro again by mopping on its second setting, the medium water level, to wipe everything.
Like on the Mop 2 or the Mop 2 Lite, you can choose how much water the vacuum uses to mop. On low, you can barely see where the robot has passed through, on medium the floor shines a bit and on high it’s clear which areas were scrubbed.
So far, of all the Xiaomi robots I tried (and ones from other brands), the Mop 2 Pro did the best job of mapping the house and actually remembering the map for the next clean.
For some inexplicable reason, for years now the Xiaomi smart home app has had problems remembering maps and devices. With a quick search, you can find hundreds of users sharing various Xiaomi tips and tricks online for going around this particular issue. For my household, I was used to having to switch my region to Singapore or the UK just to trick the app into remembering where the kitchen was but, in the case of the Mop 2 Pro, I had no issues.
Over two weeks, the robot vacuum cleaner perfectly mapped out my place, which means I almost never had to go save it from a too high threshold or bundle of cables.
Considering you buy a robot vacuum and mop to actually do those chores autonomously, without you having to chase it around, the Mi Robot Vacuum Mop 2 Pro handled that impressively well.
If your budget allows it and you want to buy one of the best robot vacuums, do give this one a shot. Plus, Xiaomi’s robot vacuum consumables are among some of the cheapest, so replacing a side brush or buying spare mop cloths won’t be a hassle once or twice a year.
Also read: Xiaomi Mi Smart Air Fryer Review: This Kitchen Gadget Can Really Replace Your Oven
Follow TechTheLead on Google News to get the news first.
