A really good robot for keeping floors clean with minimal fuss

When it comes to robotic vacuums, you’ve probably heard of Shark, Roomba, maybe Roborock – but Narwal? No. It’s definitely not a household name, but based on my experience with the Freo X Ultra, it probably should be. Having recently tested the Dyson 360 Vis Nav, the DreameBot L20 Ultra, and the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+, I can say with certainty that this is among the best high-end home cleaning machines and definitely one of my favorites. It’s expensive, yes, but it’s often discounted and priced comparable to others that sweep, mop, and self-clean. Here is my Narwal Freo X Ultra review.

Rick Broida/Yahoo

VERDICT: Unless you have a lot of carpeting and high-pile cords on your floor, this is one of the best combination cleaning products you can use to keep your home clean.

Pros

• A quick and effective cleanser
• Quieter than most competing models
• Auto-lift mops raise more than most…
• Wash and dry your mops
• The ingenious anti-tangle brush really works
• Large Capacity Water Tanks

Cons

• Questionable navigation at times
• Map customization can be a little tricky
• …but still not high enough for soft carpet
• Not good at avoiding things like cords and shoelaces

$1,000 on Amazon

Narwal Freo X Ultra: configuration and design

The all-white, glossy Freo X Ultra would look right at home in an Apple Store. I particularly like the dock’s sculpted design and its built-in touchscreen that you can use for basic robot functions (start/stop, recover, child lock, etc.). Narwal provides a helpful quick-start poster along with a printed manual that is brief but informative, with written (how quaint!) explanations of various options and features.

Installing the included cleaning detergent bottle was a little confusing, as it wasn’t immediately clear where it was supposed to go inside the base station. What’s more, the instructions indicated leaving the lid on the bottle, but there was an aluminum cap on the lid with an arrow that suggested it should be removed.

With that issue resolved, it was easy to set things up in the Narwal app, which required just a few steps to create a Narwal account and then connect the robot to my home Wi-Fi network.

Like most of these machines, it’s recommended to install it somewhere with a little space on each side of the dock. But I placed mine between a washing machine and a shoe rack and luckily I had no problems getting in or out.

Narwal Freo X Ultra: Features and Operation

This robot relies on a pair of rotating brush heads (many, if not most, only use one) to pull debris into the rotating brush vacuum’s path (more on that in a bit). It also employs dual rotating mops, which are moistened and treated with detergent during startup and then cleaned and dried (with heat!). The Freo will, as needed, return to the dock mid-cycle to “refresh” the mop heads.

One thing I noticed right off the bat is that the Freo is quieter than many of the robo-vacs I’ve tried, at least in “standard” mode. It gets noisier when you increase the suction, which it can do automatically when it detects dirtier areas. (You can also manually set the suction strength at the start of a cleaning cycle.)

In an effort to combat a common robotic mop problem, Freo mop heads automatically lift 12mm – a few millimeters more than most – when rolling over rugs or carpets. The idea here is to prevent the wet heads from dragging the fibers. This works well in low pile rooms, but if you have pile or even just what I would call “shag” carpet, 12mm is not high enough. This is an area where something like the iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ does better; Your mop rises to the top of the robot, so it never drags. (It is not quite just as effective at cleaning, however.)

In my testing, the Freo performed very well at cleaning my laminate kitchen floor, and I loved rarely having to worry about cleaning or even checking the mops. I would like the Narwal app to notify me when the clean water and dirty water tanks are getting low or almost full, respectively, so I can proactively empty them. Instead, I often start a job and then come back and discover that it didn’t happen because a tank needed attention. On the plus side, both tanks are huge, which means fewer trips to the sink.

Narwal has included some interesting vacuum innovations in this machine. The first is the rotating brush, which promises to get rid of tangles resulting from the suction of hair, pet hair, carpet fibers and the like. Every robot vacuum I’ve ever used has required painstaking removal of these tangles at some point.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I examined the Freo brush and found nothing on it. It was spotless, as clean as the day I unpacked it. And that was after months of use. My dog ​​doesn’t shed, so I can’t say for sure if it would be as clean after sucking on the pet’s hair, but I’m still surprised by the results.

Where does all the sucked up debris go? In the robot’s dustbin, of course, but unlike most other premium vacuums, this one doesn’t empty itself into the dock after each cleaning. Instead, it compresses the dirt into its internal disposable bag. Narwal estimates it could take you up to seven weeks before you need to replace it. (I waited until the app told me the bag was full. This was after about three months, but note that I only run the machine once or twice a week, not daily. Instead of throwing away the bag, I emptied it. as best I could and reinstalled it.)

So while you might naturally think, “Wait, doesn’t this robot empty itself like all the others do?”, that’s not necessary because of this dust compression method. What’s more, there’s no risk of obstruction between the vacuum and the dock, nor any annoying emptying noises.

Narwal Freo X Ultra: What I didn’t like

Narwal’s app is… ok. Some aspects are intuitive, others require some study (such as icons that do not have labels and are not easy to identify). I especially wish it was a little better in the mapping department.

As with most modern robotic vacuums, this one scans your home and creates a virtual map. Once done, you can label multiple rooms, create dividers, set up no-go zones, and so on. Unfortunately, the app didn’t do a good job of creating the initial map. Did not identify rooms or furniture; I had to add these things manually. Some other apps I’ve tried, like those from Dyson and iRobot, make all of this much easier. Fortunately, once you’ve set up your map, you won’t need to touch it again.

This machine is a great cleaner, no doubt, but it’s not the best browser. On many occasions I noticed him running in a random direction right in the middle of cleaning, as if he had somewhere else to be. And when returning to the dock to charge or wash the mop, he often goes to the wrong room before turning around and heading to the laundry room. (“Oh, right, that’s it where the dock is.”)

Likewise, despite being packed with advanced sensors, on one occasion it swallowed a wayward shoelace and got stuck, requiring my intervention to free it. The same thing happened with a power cord coming out of a light bulb. It has no problem avoiding larger things, but it has difficulty with things like ropes and ropes.

Narwal Freo X Ultra: Should You Buy It?

Despite the navigation and obstacle avoidance hiccups, I’m a fan of the Freo X Ultra—mainly because I rarely need to pay attention to it. I start a vacuum/mop cycle and a few hours later it’s ready. Every few weeks, I empty the dirty water tank and refill the clean water tank. And most important of all, the floors definitely look clean.

The $1,400 list price is hard to swallow, no doubt. But Narwal disregards this occasionally. At the time of writing, it is actually on sale for $1,000. At the very least, the Freo X Ultra should be on your short list of home cleaning time savers.