iRobot is known for its Roomba robot vacuum line, but they’re not the only floor cleaner under the stairs. The company also has a line of mopping robots designed to keep your hard floors spotless. The smallest and most economical of these is the Braava Jet 240, a multi-mode robotic mop that is best suited for small spaces.
iRobot Braava Jet 240 Design
Compared to its robot vacuum brothers, the iRobot Braava jet 240 is comparatively tiny. The diminutive robot measures 6.7 x 7 x 3.3 inches, about half the size of one of the iRobot vacuums.
The Braava Jet is also markedly smaller than the $249 iLife Shinebot W400, which towers over it at 11.1 x 11.5 x 4.7 inches. The W400 also weighs a massive 7.72 pounds empty, while the Braava jet is a meager 2.7 pounds. The almost square shape and short stature of the Braava jet 240 make it perfect for cleaning around corners and under kitchen cabinets.
The Braava Jet 240 has a robust handle built into the top that conceals entry to the water tank and the cleaning pad. It folds flat and encircles the combined power and the Clean button in the middle. The water sprayer is housed on the front side of the robot. Flip it over and you’ll see an easily removable battery that is charged separately from the device.
How the Braava Jet 240 Works
The Jet has three cleaning modes:
Wet mopping: According to iRobot, this mode is closest to how you’re going to clean the floor by hand. The Jet moves three times over the surface, scrubbing in a back-and-forth and side-to-side motion for a brief while before switching to the next patch. This mode uses much of the water and battery life and can clean up to 200 square feet.
Damp sweeping: Double passes over the board, the Jet uses less water and runs in a straight back-and-forth pattern. This gentler mode will clean up to 250 square feet of space.
Dry sweeping: The Jet makes a single pass in a straight, forward line without using any water. It can also clean up to 250 square feet in this mode.
The Jet uses color-coded disposable mop pads with each mode—blue for wet, orange for damp, white for dry—and senses what kind of work to do via its pad reader. Two of them are included free of charge with the robot, and more can be bought for $8 for a package of 10.
Machine-washable reusable pads are available as well. You can get a two-pack of these wet-mopping pads for $20, or a three-pack for $30.
The Jet navigates intelligently, going in one direction until it hits a wall, then maneuvering through obstacles to get back to its original route. It just sprays water on the floors it senses to be clear and never on walls or furniture. You may also build a “virtual wall” to keep it away from certain places or spaces.
Should You Buy It?
The Braava Jet 240 is an affordable and powerful way to give your hard floors more attention than they currently get, particularly for apartment dwellers. It’s not nearly strong enough for stubborn grime, though, so you’re always going to have to pull out your stick mop for some harder work. But you’re likely to find that you need to do less and less if you’re using the Jet for routine maintenance mopping.