Narwal Freo Robot Vacuum Review: Watch This Before Buying! ESPECIALLY if you have CARPET!

Summary

In this review, Erin from Tech Gadgets Canada evaluates the Narwal Freo, a robot vacuum and mop with advanced features like dirt detection, floor type recognition, and a special cleaning solution. While the sleek design and innovative features are praised, the vacuum's performance falls short, especially on carpets. It struggles with suction and frequently gets stuck on obstacles. Despite working well on hard floors and offering convenient mopping pad cleaning, Erin concludes that it is overpriced for its underwhelming vacuuming abilities, recommending alternatives like iRobot's j7+ or Roborock's S7 MaxV Ultra.

Takeaways

• 🤖 The reviewer has tested about 30 different robot vacuums and has a solid understanding of what makes a great vacuum.
• 🧼 The Narwal Freyo robot vacuum and mop claims to sense dirt, adjust its cleaning process accordingly, and use a special cleaning solution to achieve better results than water alone.
• 💧 The device has two triangular microfiber mopping pads, two side brushes, and a main roller brush. It also comes with a clean water tank, a dirty water tank, and a cleanser container inside the dock.
• 📱 The robot can be controlled via buttons on the device, the dock’s LCD display, or through the Narwal app, which allows for hands-free control, scheduling, and feature adjustments.
• 🔍 The reviewer did not notice the advertised dirt-sensing technology working effectively and found the vacuum’s overall performance, particularly on carpets, to be subpar.
• 🧹 During testing, the vacuum left behind 70-90% of spilled debris and struggled with common household dirt like small dry leaves.
• 🚫 The Freyo frequently got stuck on obstacles like cords, cables, rugs, and bath mats, requiring manual intervention to continue its cleaning tasks.
• 🧽 While the mopping function performed decently, it was not consistent in handling dried spills and often missed spots.
• ⚙️ Although the robot is designed to be used for light, daily cleaning, the reviewer found its suction power lacking, especially when tested on carpets.
• 💸 The Narwal Freyo is priced at $1,498 USD, but the reviewer believes it’s overpriced given its poor vacuuming performance and limited functionality.

Q & A

What are the three main promises of the Narwhal Freo robot vacuum and mop?

The Narwhal Freo claims to sense dirt and adjust to clean properly, identify floor types to clean them correctly, and use a special cleanser to clean floors more thoroughly than water alone.

What are some of the unique features of the Narwhal Freo’s design?

The Narwhal Freo features two rounded triangle microfiber pads for mopping, two side brushes, a main roller brush, and a dock with an LCD display for easy status updates. It also has separate clean and dirty water tanks and uses a special cleaning solution for mopping.

How easy is it to set up the Narwhal Freo?

Setting up the Narwhal Freo is very easy. You just turn it on, follow the instructions on the touch screen to connect it to Wi-Fi, and download the Narwhal app for remote control, scheduling, and other features.

How does the Narwhal Freo’s dirt sensing technology work?

The dirt sensing technology works in two ways: on the dock, it detects how dirty the mopping pads are and adjusts the cleaning mix. On the robot itself, it senses how dirty the floor is and adjusts its cleaning patterns. However, the reviewer found that this technology didn’t always seem effective.

How well does the Narwhal Freo clean on hard floors?

The Narwhal Freo was decent at cleaning hard floors, though not perfect. It could lift its mopping pads off carpets effectively and didn’t leave the floors too wet or streaky. However, it sometimes missed larger or dried-on spills.

How effective is the Narwhal Freo on carpets?

The Narwhal Freo struggled significantly on carpets, leaving behind 70-90% of spills and failing to pick up finer debris like cornmeal or oats. It didn’t seem to have enough suction power to perform well on carpets.

What issues did the reviewer encounter with the Narwhal Freo’s obstacle avoidance?

The Narwhal Freo frequently got stuck on cords, rugs, and bath mats, requiring the reviewer to intervene multiple times per cleaning session. Its obstacle avoidance was less effective than other robot vacuums the reviewer had tested.

Does the Narwhal Freo automatically empty its dustbin?

No, the Narwhal Freo does not have an automatic dustbin emptying feature. Users must manually empty the dustbin after each cleaning session.

What type of homes would benefit most from the Narwhal Freo?

The Narwhal Freo would be most suitable for homes with all hard floors and light dirt. It struggled in homes with carpets or heavier dirt, but performed better in homes without carpets.

What is the reviewer’s overall opinion of the Narwhal Freo?

The reviewer was disappointed with the Narwhal Freo, noting that while it has some innovative features, its performance was inferior compared to other robots, especially on carpets. It was also overpriced for its capabilities.