iRobot · Review
iRobot Roomba Combo j9+
The combo that never wets carpet — its mop rides on top until needed.
Tested & updated February 28, 2026
The Combo j9+ is the combo for carpet-heavy, pet-filled homes: peerless vacuuming and a mop that physically cannot touch your rugs. Just know you'll be hand-washing that pad.
best for — Carpet-dominant homes with pets that want occasional hard-floor mopping
- Cleaning
- 9.0
- Mopping
- 7.4
- Navigation
- 9.1
- App & smarts
- 8.4
- Value
- 7.6
$1,337.06 at Amazonlow stock
price as of Jun 12, 7:25 PM ET — subject to change
Pros & cons
▲ What we like
- +Mop pad swings fully onto the robot's roof over carpet — impossible to smear
- +iRobot's class-leading carpet vacuuming and pet-hair handling
- +Trustworthy obstacle avoidance with the pet-waste guarantee
- +Best-looking, most furniture-like dock in the category
▼ What we don't
- −Dock doesn't wash the mop pad — that's on you
- −Back-and-forth SmartScrub mops well but slowly
- −Wet performance trails spinning-pad rivals
Key specs
- Brush system
- Dual rubber rollers
- Mop
- SmartScrub pad, lifts fully over the deck
- Dock
- Self-empty + auto water refill
- Obstacle avoidance
- PrecisionVision, pet-waste guarantee
- Carpet safety
- Pad stows on top — zero contact
- Dock style
- Wood-look top, doubles as side table
Full review
01Design & dock
iRobot solved damp carpet with a hinge: the Combo j9+'s mop pad lifts not millimeters but all the way over the top of the robot, riding shotgun until hard floor appears. The dock refills the water tank and swallows debris, and with its wood-grain lid it passes for a small side table — the only dock in our fleet a guest compliments rather than questions.
02Vacuuming performance
Mechanically this is the j9+ vacuum, and it tests like it: 96% hard floor, 90% mid-pile carpet, and the dual rubber rollers remain the benchmark for pet hair. For homes that are 70% carpet, nothing else in the combo class vacuums better.
03Mopping, navigation & app
SmartScrub drags the pad in deliberate back-and-forth strokes with real pressure — it cleared 5 of 12 dried stains, fine for maintenance mopping but behind spinning-pad rivals, and runs take noticeably longer. The dock also doesn't wash the pad, so that ritual is yours weekly. Navigation and obstacle avoidance are iRobot's best-in-class, pet-waste guarantee included.
04Who should buy it
Choose the Combo j9+ when carpet quality and pet mess drive the decision and mopping is a nice-to-have for the kitchen. If mopping is half the job in your home, the Roborock, Dreame, or Eufy combos will serve the wet half far better.
iRobot Roomba Combo j9+
The Combo j9+ is the combo for carpet-heavy, pet-filled homes: peerless vacuuming and a mop that physically cannot touch your rugs. Just know you'll be hand-washing that pad.
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