So, how well does it clean? Like all robot hoovers, the Combo j7+ is never going to clean or wash your floors better than you could do manually, but that’s hardly the point. Testing it at Christmas, it recognised our tree and offered to create a zone around its base, where it would hoover in two passes to catch every last needle. After a few cleaning runs the app starts to suggest these zones automatically as it identifies particularly grubby areas of your home. This mode uses less water, but you can create zones in the iRobot app for the robot to focus its mopping energy on, such as around the toilet, the dishwasher or your pet’s food bowl.

It’s a small 210ml tank integrated into the dustbin, which is just about enough for a two bedroom flat if you choose the mop’s eco-mode. While it can hoover all day long by returning to its base station to recharge and empty its bin as often as needed, the water tank it uses for mopping has to be manually topped up. Meanwhile scheduling allows you to have the Roomba set off at the same time, every day, automatically. The Combo j7+ works with all of the main voice assistants too, so you can say things like “ask the Roomba to clean around my desk” to have it tidy up your lunchtime crumbs on command. Other robot vacuums we’ve tested don’t differentiate between rooms, so if the device is bothering you your only choice is to end the entire cleaning run. You can label rooms and designate virtual no-go zones, and because the Roomba knows where it is in the home, you can tell it to skip the room it’s currently cleaning if you find it getting under your feet while you cook or work.

Combo cleaner safe