Auto-Lifting Mop Pads Make This the Best Robovac Yet

ECOVACS DEEBOT T20 OMNI

The Deebot T20 Omni is a game-changing robot vacuum and mop that brings true automation to your cleaning routine. This advanced robot delivers faster and more efficient cleaning performance with its innovative auto-lifting mop pads. Experience the convenience of a powerful vacuum and a complete mopping system seamlessly combined into one intelligent machine, making your floors spotless and saving you time and effort.

• LiDAR laser technology with dToF sensors
• 3D imaging with a 70mm-350mm level of accuracy
• Dual-side brushes for hard to reach areas
• Main floating brush for deeper cleaning
• Automatic mop lifting for continuous cleaning
• New flexible cleaning modes: Vacuum Only, Mop Only, Vacuum + Mop, Vacuum then Mop
• Dual spinning mop rotates 180 times every minute for more efficient stain removal
• Automatically cleans mop pads with hot water and hot air drying
• Voice assistant for giving cleaning commands

• Battery Life: 5200mAh (Up to 170 min vacuum & mop runtime in standard mode)
• Price: $999
• Color : White
• Surface Recommendation: Floors & carpets
• Integrations: Alexa, Google Assistant, Ecovacs App
• Suction: 6,000 Pa
• Dust Bag Capacity（L）: 3L (About 60-75 Days)

• Finally, a "true" all-in-one robot vacuum cleaner
• Doesn't need its mop pads removed in order to vacuum
• Improved suction strength
• Some of the best mopping
• Extremely customizable app settings and cleaning modes
• Very detailed 3D and 2D maps which can be customized

• Very expensive, though for some, its worth the premium
• Can still get tangled in cables unless you switch to its very sensitive object detection mode
• Station is large and requires lots of room in your home
• Water tanks still require manual input

If you're like me, you love having a clean home but hate cleaning it. Go figure. When they were first released, robot vacuums were expensive, limited in how well or the types of floors they could clean, and overall, pretty unreliable. With improvements in their hardware and software, fast-forward a few years, these robots eventually became good enough to handle 90% of your regular floor cleaning needs. Along the way, we also saw the debut of dedicated robot mops and then closely followed by dual-vacuum and mopping robots, which are now quickly becoming the standard. While many of the options you can buy in 2023 do an excellent job at vacuuming your floors or mopping, few excel at both.

A few months ago we reviewed the Ecovacs X1 Omni where we were overall impressed with its cleaning performance for floors and carpets, though there were times when we would have appreciated additional suction strength for more stubborn debris, and we also felt that its exclusive security monitoring features were a bit gimmicky for vacuum. In that review, I specifically mentioned how I felt like we were on the verge of seeing another "breakthrough" with robot vacuums, and I predicted that within a year we would have even more automated cleaning experiences, especially when it came to mop pads.

Ecovacs has answered the call with the new T20 Omni and its auto-lifting and self-cleaning mop pads, and I don't say this lightly, but they are a game-changer. As someone who's experienced the frustration of rolling up carpets and constantly managing and cleaning mop pads, the auto-raising feature of the Omni T20 is the robot vacuum cleaner I've been anticipating for several years. It offers one of the best-automated floor cleaning experiences without the hassle, making it a top choice for those seeking convenience and efficiency, and don't mind spending $1000 to get it.

The Dilemma and the Seemingly Simple Solution

Hybrid robot vacuum and mop cleaners have been on the market for a few years now. They are quickly becoming more common in households, especially as their prices continue to drop and become more affordable, allowing users to more easily justify their initial higher upfront costs than traditional vacuums.

As great as these cleaners can be, one of my biggest gripes for years has been the constant need to manually switch their mop pads on and off, depending on whether I wanted my floors mopped or my carpets vacuumed. Even worse, these vacuums are programmed to avoid carpeted areas completely while their mop pads are attached. If your home has areas of the floor completely sectioned off by carpet, your robot cleaner will never be able to clean those locations on its own unless you physically bring the vacuum over, which is hardly practical or complimentary to the otherwise automated housekeeping these devices are meant to provide.

My experience with the previous X1 Omni showed how frustrating this can be, with its docking station located in my kitchen. Except for one bathroom, the kitchen in my apartment is completely partitioned off from the rest of my apartment by a carpet, which meant that if the mop pads were installed, the X1 Omni could only clean the kitchen and bathroom on its own. I had to roll up the carpet before leaving to have automated mopping while I was away from home. Unfortunately, this would also mean that the carpet itself couldn't be cleaned as part of the same automated schedule. I would need to unroll the carpet when I got home and start a new cleaning cycle either that night or the following day after I manually removed the mop pads.

Consequently, I often advise caution when recommending these dual vacuum/mop cleaners, as they are best suited for homes with primarily non-carpeted floors. Mopping feels more like a bonus feature rather than a primary function of these hybrid cleaners.

That's where the new Ecovacs Deebot T20 Omni comes in and changes the game. Its seemingly simple design change—a raised mop pad—eliminates these limitations. I must admit that using models without this feature now feels outdated in comparison. Thanks to the T20 Omni, users no longer have to compromise on which parts of their home can get cleaned, or choose between vacuuming or mopping while they're away. This innovation has transformed the experience, making mopping truly a primary and practical function rather than an afterthought.

Unboxing and Setup

The Deebot T20 Omni has a simple unboxing and setup process, allowing you to quickly get started with your new robot cleaner within about 15 minutes.

Inside the package, you will find the user manual, a brush with handle for maintenance, the robot vacuum itself, the dock/station, its power cable, two mop pads, and two side brushes. While no extra or replacement accessories are included, everything you need to begin cleaning is provided.

To get the T20 Omni ready for action, you'll start by removing the protective pieces of foam from the vacuum's sensors. Then, attach the side brushes and mop pads to the bottom of the vacuum, which snap on with a single push. To enable the mopping function, add water to the clean water tank, and then replace it back in the station. Next, plug in the station and then remove the plastic top panel from the vacuum.

As you prepare to connect the Deebot T20 Omni to your smartphone or tablet, locate the QR code located underneath the vacuum's cover panel. After downloading the Ecovacs app, you'll be prompted to scan the QR code using your device's camera to initiate the setup process. You'll need to first create or login with your Ecovacs account to gain access to additional features and customization options. As an optional step, you can name the vacuum and assign a name to your home within the app, making it even more convenient to control multiple devices or cleaning areas. Before you begin cleaning, the app will start with a quick mapping process of your home where the T20 Omni will begin to familiarize itself with its environment and optimize its cleaning routes accordingly. Once completed, you can either let the vacuum begin its first cleaning cycle, or you can further customize its settings including how effective you want it to vacuum, the wetness of its mop pads, how frequently it should wash its mop pads, as well as create automated cleaning schedules, mapping customization, room names, and rules.

I highly recommend taking a few minutes to dive into these options as it can really enhance your cleaning experience. For example, I like to program the order in which the vacuum cleans rooms. Doing so, the mop pads remain lifted until it reaches the designated cleaning location. This helps avoid tracking and streaking, and allows you to walk around in dry parts of your home more easily.

Minor Design Update

Besides its standard all-white color scheme, which in itself has the benefit of better blending in with your white walls and not being as much of an eyesore compared to the optional two-tone gray color of the X1 Omni I reviewed, the T20 Omni's docking station and vacuum look almost identical to the previous model. While I prefer the white color, it does tend to show hair, dust, and debris more easily, so you may find yourself wiping down the vacuum and dock more frequently to keep it looking clean. Another minor change is that the T20's vacuum and station now have one multi-press button for starting/stopping cleaning, pausing, and returning to the dock.

Raising the Bar... Literally

All of its important improvements are under the hood. The T20 Omni's biggest selling feature is its new auto-lifting mop pads, which can retract 9mm when carpets are detected. This is Ecovacs' first robot vacuum that can vacuum and mop simultaneously without users needing to add or remove the pads manually. This innovation has been a long time coming, saving precious time, preserving battery life, and taking automation to new heights. It's safe to say I've been waiting for this breakthrough for what feels like ages.

Even though the T20 Omni was beaten by a few months by the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ as the first robot vacuum/mop with this feature, the T20 Omni manages to stand out with better mopping performance and more capable dock with self-cleaning including automatically emptying the robot's waste bin, refilling the mop pads with clean water, and collecting the dirty water—all on its own. Even better, you no longer need to worry about stinky or stained pads: the mop pads are now treated to a hot air drying system and self-cleaning functionality.

With excellent accuracy, the T20 Omni recognizes carpets and automatically lifts the mopping pads while pausing rotation, simultaneously increasing suction power as it transitions from your hard floors to soft carpets. Again, the T20 Omni isn't the first robot cleaner to gain the ability to lift its mop pads, but it can do so higher than any other robot vacuum currently on the market, including the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+. This means it won't drag a wet cloth across your carpets. Another important feature is that the T20 Omni retains the same Ozmo Turbo 2.0 pressurized mopping system found on the X1 Omni. Unlike the Roomba, which uses a simple pad that's dragged across your floors, the T20 Omni's spinning mop heads rotate 180 times per minute to help loosen and clean more difficult spills and messes.

Beyond that, the T20 Omni also has a more powerful suction of 6000Pa compared to the X1 Omni's 5000pa. We found that it tackles dirt and debris stuck in deeper grooves more easily in a single go. In contrast, the X1 Omni occasionally needed a second go-around or for me to bust out the handheld vacuum to clean up completely. Tied in with this, T20 Omni uses rubber brush with spiraling blades, which not only is more effective at collecting debris but also helps avoid tangles with hair and other long pieces of waste.

Performance

During my testing, I closely monitored the cleaning performance and cycle of the DEEBOT T20 OMNI. In my two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment, I observed that a single cleaning cycle takes approximately 50 minutes to complete, effectively covering an area of 24 square meters. To satisfy my compulsion, within its app's settings, I have the vacuum set to "Deep" cleaning with "Edge Deep Detection" enabled. With these settings, the vacuum utilizes approximately 71% of its battery capacity. With the same 5200mAh battery as the X1 Omni, the T20 OMNI can clean for roughly 60 minutes on a single charge.

I found that setting the mopping pad wetness to normal and the pad cleaning interval to "Daily - About 10-minute intervals" yielded satisfactory results for optimal mopping effectiveness for my home. During a single cleaning cycle, the dirty water tank becomes approximately half full, while the clean water tank is depleted by around 3/5. This means that I can typically enjoy two complete cleaning sessions before emptying and refilling the tanks. Based on my automated cleaning schedule of every other day, I usually need to perform this tank maintenance approximately three times a week. However, I recommend checking and emptying the dirty water tank daily or at least every other day to prevent the buildup of odor and potential staining within the container.

Self-Cleaning, Drying, and Emptying

For those who plan rely heavily on the Deebot T20 Omni's mopping, you'll appreciate its new self-cleaning features. Both during and after it completes a cleaning cycle, the vacuum returns to the dock to wash its mops with hot water, precisely set at 131 °F. This helps avoid the build-up of dirt and oils on your mop pads and ensures the vacuum isn't tracking spills around your home.

The T20 Omni station also features Ecovacs' first hot air dryer. After a cleaning cycle, the dock thoroughly dries the mop pads after washing them with hot water. In addition to helping to prevent the formation of bacteria and foul odors, it should also increase the longevity of the pads before needing to be replaced. Additionally, the fully sealed style design of the Omni station ensures dust and allergens are auto-emptied and stored for over 60 days, providing months of maintenance-free cleaning.

Navigation and Smart Features

With TrueMapping 2.0 and TrueDetect 3D 3.0, the T20 Omni has slightly upgraded navigation, object recognition, and avoidance systems than on previous models. It uses a combination of LiDAR and front-facing cameras to scan and navigate around obstacles in your home, even in the dark. Importantly, within the app, there are now two levels of object avoidance that you can choose between.

While cautious and effective for clutter and wire avoidance, the first level can sometimes be overly sensitive. In my experience, enabling this mode led to occasional misidentifications, where the vacuum mistook the edges of my kitchen mat and desk fatigue mat as areas to avoid. Unfortunately, there is no way to override or teach the robot about these safe areas. On the other hand, the second mode is less sensitive but potentially more likely to encounter loose items such as wires, socks, or bag straps.

Equipped with the same wheels as its predecessor, the T20 Omni can navigate over heights of 20mm or less. That said, there are still areas where it can struggle. While the installed vinyl floor transition strip between my kitchen and bathroom is relatively flat, it occasionally presents a challenge for the vacuum. However, for the most part, the T20 managed to overcome this obstacle independently and resume its cleaning routine.

Similar to the X1 Omni, the T20 Omni shares a limitation in the form of its taller housing due to the lidar sensor on top. In comparison to competing robot vacuums with similar lidar systems, Ecovacs opted for a slightly taller design. This height prevents the T20 Omni from cleaning underneath surfaces that other vacuums I've tested can effortlessly reach, such as the legs of my standing desk or couch.

Unchanged from the X1 Omni, the T20 Omni uses the same optional voice assistant. By simply saying "OK YIKO," you can initiate cleaning jobs or switch between cleaning modes using voice commands. If you'd prefer, you can integrate the T20 with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri Shortcuts. In my experience, however, unless I needed the vacuum to clean a certain area, specifically at that exact moment, I was happy to let the vacuum run on its automated schedule.

Finally, a Truly Automated Robot Vacuum and Mop

The T20 Omni has revolutionized the hybrid robot vacuum and mop category with its raised mop pads which don't sacrifice cleaning performance. As someone who has wished for a solution to the constant manual switching of mop pads and the need to roll up carpets for effective cleaning, this new feature is now a must-have. Now, vacuuming and mopping can be accomplished in a single cleaning cycle.

Although larger homes will likely require you to refill and empty its water tanks after each cleaning cycle, which remains a manual task, the Deebot T20 Omni offers one of the most reliable and effective automated cleaning solutions. While it remains one of the priciest choices in 2023, this is a standout choice for those seeking the most hands-free cleaning experience with minimal effort.

The Deebot T209 Omni will be on sale for $100 off until 6/30 on Amazon and Ecovacs.com, bringing the list price to $999.

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