iRobot just announced something it’s never done before: a floor cleaner you have to push yourself.
The Roomba Electro Plus costs $399 and combines vacuuming, mopping, and disinfecting into one cordless unit. You operate it manually — no autonomy, no navigation, no AI. Just you and a stick.
What makes it interesting is how it sanitizes. It uses electrolysis to turn ordinary tap water into a commercial-grade disinfectant. No separate cleaning solutions needed. iRobot says it kills 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The tech comes from Picea, iRobot’s parent company that acquired them after their bankruptcy.
The Electro Plus has a self-cleaning roller mop and a motor that helps propel it forward — so less elbow grease required. The charging dock washes and dries the mop with hot water and hot air. You just have to drain and refill the water tank.
iRobot says customers asked for this. Chief engineer Adam Pope says it fills a gap: quick spot cleaning with a handheld tool, while the Roombas handle the rest of the house.
Alongside the Electro Plus, iRobot launched five new robot vacuums. The Roomba Max 775 Combo tops the lineup at $999.99 with 30,000Pa suction and hot-water mop washing. The Plus 575 and 515 are almost half the size of previous models thanks to new dual-lidar sensors, making them easier to fit under furniture. Prices across the board dropped compared to the models they replace.
iRobot’s first non-robot is a bet that sometimes, you just want to do it yourself — faster.
