iRobot makes the best of the best when it comes to robot vacuums. However, I have become a fan of their mopping line they dub Braava. When you’re looking at the Braava line you’re likely considering the Braava m6 or the Braava 240 and wondering which one you should purchase.
Features of the Braava m6
The Braava m6 uses as the company describes a precision water spray and a vibrating cleaning head to take care of stains and dirt. While you can use the iRobot cleaning solution I personally have tried both Method & Bona floor cleaners and prefer them. You can also attach a dry pad that when detected the Braava M6 will sweep the floors to pick up dirt and dust (this is great if you don’t want to have it mop your floors frequently).
The flat edges and the fact the pad protrudes from sides make it really good at getting right up against my baseboards to keep the floors clean. The device is also roughly 3.5 inches tall which allows it to clean under my tables, bar stools, entertainment center, and even under a bookcase that I routinely forgot to clean on my own.
Braava M6 Navigation & Tech
Unlike the 240 that we are going to talk about in a minute, the Braava M6 uses iRobot’s iAdapt 3.0 navigation. Fancy words aside basically the Braava M6 can map out your home, you can assign rooms and tell the robot to clean only that specific room. It’s the same technology you see on the Roomba i7+ and this is used in conjunction with the Wi-Fi connectivity features.
The Braava m6 is also as I mentioned Wi-Fi-connected this allows you to control the device with Amazon Alexa or Google Home. Just yesterday I asked Google to mop my floors and it worked quite well. I previously used Amazon Alexa in my home and let’s just say that experience was a bit more annoying as you need to explicitly read out a specific command. Personally if you have Alexa it’s simply easier to use the iRobot app to start the device as it’s going to be much faster.
Also, one other important detail is the Braava m6 because it is Wi-Fi connected does receive updates fairly regularly and they do add new features. The 240 which we will get into below will not which is important if you’re looking to keep these devices for an extended period of time.
Braava 240 Features
The Braava 240’s only benefit is it’s cheaper it lacks most of the features you expect a cleaning robot to have. It has a smaller tank, smaller battery, doesn’t connect with Google Home or Amazon Alexa. The device also has the advantage of being much smaller in width but in height they are nearly identical.
While the 240 can be connected to the iRobot app it doesn’t allow you to select an individual room to clean, or set keep out zones. It’s only able to do spot cleaning outside of just letting it run until the battery dies which will be quite frequent because the device doesn’t offer recharge and resume. Also as it’s using the older iAdapt 2.0 the device doesn’t save maps of your home the map it does make only is to tell the device where it previously cleaned and they are deleted after the run is complete.
This is a major issue in a larger home especially if you’re home is primarily hardwood floors and you want it to be cleaned everywhere. Basically the 240 lacks the proper tech to fully clean a larger home because it will run until it dies and when it does the mapping technology doesn’t offer a good means to resume the cleaning.
A side-by-side comparison of the Braava jet 240 and the Braava m6
| MODEL | BRAAVA M6 | BRAAVA JET 240 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions (l x w x h,inches) | 10.6 x 10.6 x 3.5 | 6.7 x 7.0 x 3.3 |
| Weight (pounds) | 4.85 | 2.7 |
| Navigation technology | iAdapt 3.0 | iAdapt 2.0 |
| Lithium-ion battery | Yes | Yes |
| Wet mopping | Yes | Yes |
| Back and forth mopping | Yes | Yes |
| Dry sweeping | Yes | Yes |
| Hard floors | Yes | Yes |
| Maximized-edge design | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Braava Jet Hard Floor Cleaning Solution | Yes | Yes |
| Vibrating cleaning head | No | Yes |
| Precision jet spray | Yes | Yes |
| Adjust spray level | Yes | Yes |
| Spot cleaning | Yes | Yes |
| iRobot HOME App | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi connected | Yes | No |
| Recharges and resumes | Yes | No |
| Communicates with Roomba i7 & s9 robot vacuums | Yes | No |
| Compatible with Alexa and the Google Assistant | Yes | No |
| Compatible with Virtual Wall barrier | Yes | Partial |
Braava m6 or Braava 240 Which Is Right For You?
Personally I would only suggest the 240 to someone who is looking to “dip their toes” into the robot mop scene as it’s incredibly limited in it’s functionality and isn’t going to work in larger homes. If you live in an apartment for instance, and you’re only looking to clean your kitchen or bathroom on a routine basis than the 240 makes sense.
As for the Braava m6, this is ideal for a home where most of the flooring is hardwood or tile especially in a home where almost all the flooring except for your closets are hardwood. I personally prefer the Braava m6 I even purchased their reusable pads which I worked out the math and they are very much worth the investment.
