My Narwal Review: Is this Vacuum/Mop Robot Worth it?

I gave the Narwal vacuum and self-cleaning mopping robot a test drive, and I’d love to share my experience with this time saving home assistant, whom I’ve nicknamed “The Boss”.

*This post is sponsored by Narwal. All opinions, images and content are my own. Big thanks to Narwal for sending along this product so I could try it out and share my experience!

In truth, my friends, I have long dreamt of owning a vacuum/mop robot. You see, I have 2400 square feet of hardwood floors in my home, 4 kids, a hardworking-muddy-boot-wearing hubby, a dog – and this homeschooling/working mama simply can’t keep up with the dirty floors!

It’s a massive task to sweep and mop them every week, and in truth, they could use it every other day.

So when Narwal contacted me and asked if I wanted to try out their self cleaning mop and vacuum robot and share my experience, I about fell out of my chair faster than I could say YES!

DISCLAIMER: I’ve only ever had a robot vacuum (no mop feature), and it was an “off brand” type, and not very popular. It seemed to give me more problems than it solved, so I rarely used it. I don’t have much to compare the Narwal to, but I’ll let you know what I honestly think after using it!

A RUNDOWN OF THE NARWAL FEATURES

The Narwal has a beautiful cleaning and charging station where all the magic prepares to happen. You can start and stop right from the station, from the mopping and vacuuming unit itself, and/or from the App you install on your phone.

The Narwal station self cleans the mop heads as needed automatically, and charges automatically when needed.

It has 2 separate water tanks, for all its mopping purposes. One tank holds the clean water and the other tank holds the wastewater.

You have a sweeping attachment and the 2 mopping attachments, which are removable and washable for a deep clean. Depending on which attachments are installed, the Narwal knows what to do.

There is a dust bin/filter that you empty, which the Narwal kindly notifies you of when needed.

The Narwal can transition from hard floor to rug effortlessly.

It also transitions from floor types very well.

Most notable is the controls you have through the Narwal App. Before you begin using the Narwal to sweep or mop, you will have the Narwal map your home/space and it is recorded in the App.

You can also map out area rugs or areas where you do not want it to go. For example, if you are mopping and you don’t want it to mop your rugs (obviously) you simply set these “no-go zones” and it will avoid those programmed spaces.

After mapping your home, you can select any or all rooms to be mopped or vacuumed. This feature is great because our main kitchen and living area could use a quick clean daily or a few times a week, where the bedrooms need it less frequently.

The Narwal mop and vacuum have all the amazing and magical features you would expect a well built robot to have, such as sensing roadblocks and maneuvering around them.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE NARWAL VACUUM PERFORMANCE

Let’s talk about my opinions of the vacuuming feature first.

I was particularly impressed with the Narwals ability to get into the corners and edges. My other vacuum robot did not do nearly as well of a job. I believe it is due to the fact that the wispy whirly things that pull in debris are longer and have more reach. Because they were so light and long, it also made removing hair tangles WAY easier!

Both my hubby and I thought it maneuvered very well into the tight spots and corners. It was super thorough! This is comparing it to my other vacuum robot which made me feel like I would need to hand sweep all the edges and corner into the room first, just so it would get it all. (Defeating the purpose entirely!)

I definitely don’t feel like I need to do this with the Narwal.

The only negative I felt was notable, was the fact that the dust collector tray was smaller than I would like, and this meant I needed to empty it more frequently. It’s not really a set it and forget it type vacuum. I don’t imagine it would be wise to turn it on and then head to work.

Maybe that was just due to my super dirty floors, which I saved up longer than normal for my test drive! Perhaps if I keep up on it, it won’t need to be emptied as much.

Having said all that, I feel the Narwal vacuum feature would do well for a daily maintenance on your floors and for the times when the floor has been neglected and needs a deeper clean. Either situation, I feel like the Narwal can handle it if you are there to empty the dust collector when needed.

MY OPINION OF THE NARWAL MOPPING PERFORMANCE

Having a mopping feature was what I was most excited and intrigued about. Could a robot really mop my floors for me?!

Yes, my friend, it can – and I felt like the Narwal did an amazing job! My floors were way shinier than when I bribe my kids to mop . . . which is going to save me a lot of ice cream trips in the long run! (Or I’ll just enlist more help on the yard!)

I have a lot of rugs, and it amazed me to watch the Narwal get right up to them and then back away. On some occasions it went on the rug edges a bit, but that can probably be fixed if I go in and program it more accurately.

I’m not too worried about it because it doesn’t actually get it too wet, so any water on the rug would dry super fast.

I love that I can choose to add some Narwal detergent or just use water. I’m a fan of as little chemicals as possible in my home, so I’ll just be using the water – which I’ve always done in my mopping.

The Narwal had great mopping coverage and it was fascinating to watch it mop first around the edges and then row by row.

Just like the vacuuming, it maneuvered around the corners and edges nicely. I would say tight corners it may not reach right in there (since there are no wispy whirly thingy’s), but since it vacuumed the corners really well I am okay with that, and would likely plan a deep clean on my hands and knees a couple times a year anyway.

The self cleaning feature is A-MA-ZING! It’s not like the vacuum where you have to manually empty the dust bin. It literally can mop your entire area hands off. When it needs to get more water or scrub the pads, it just makes its way back to the docking station and takes care of it.

I will say, don’t expect the self cleaning feature to make your pads pristine white again each time it goes to self clean. Well, unless your floors are pristine clean to start with! But the self cleaning seems to get any sticky gunk off and gives it a fresh scrubbing surface. The pads velcro on and off so I can easily throw them in the wash and use the extra set in between laundry day.

I also found that more than one pass was needed to completely clean our super muddy mudroom, which happened after my kids tramped in after a rainstorm.

This mud was thick and dry, and didn’t completely come off with one pass of the Narwal. But you can set how many sets you want the Narwal to do in each space so that is a major perk for extra dirty areas. I still found I needed some elbow grease to get all the mud off, but I kind of expected that.

With that said, some quick prep work of moving small rugs, chairs and any large debris or gunk is wise before you set your Narwal to go.

All that aside, that is still some major time and sanity saved in my book!

Sorry to get long winded on the mopping feature, but I was so absolutely delighted by how well it did and how clean my floors looked afterwards. I feel it’s even better than the vacuum feature, and that is saying something!

NARWAL FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NARWAL ROBOT VACUUM AND MOP PROS AND CONS

NARWAL PROS:

• Clean and minimalistic appearance
• Advanced smart features and mapping capabilities
• Intuitive App and smart controls
• Vacuum and mop features in one unit
• Ability to set “no-go zones”
• Transitions well between carpet/rugs and hard floors
• Self-cleaning mop features
• Maneuvers corners and edges very well
• Holds a long charge and water tanks for 3000 square feet
• Removable and washable mop pads
• Efficiently traps dust, hair and allergens
• Beautiful design
• Ability to choose multiple scenarios and cleaning plans
• Adjustable moisture levels
• Pet friendly and includes child proof locks
• Fast charging

NARWAL CONS:

• Docking station is larger than most and requires a buffer zone surrounding it (Though it is reasonable. We have it stored in our laundry room, so it is mostly out of our daily view.)
• Higher priced
• Have to manually swap out the vacuum and mopping attachments
• Waste water should be dumped after each use
• Programming may feel intimidating
• The unit is slightly bigger and bulkier than most (because it has so much capability!)
• Smaller dust filter which needs to be emptied more frequently, if your floors are heavily soiled. (Daily vacuuming will require less frequency).
• Can’t detect when on carpet or hard floors. It must be programmed for those zones.
• You will need to eventually buy replacement brushes and filters

I hope I was able to give you a comprehensive look at the Narwal robot! I know it is a big investment to make, and I hope it was helpful in your decision.

Overall, I am extremely grateful to have this product in my life and I know it will be a huge help to keep my home nice and clean.

Please consider saving this post to your Pinterest boards, and feel free to check out my video pins to see the Narwal in action!

• Narwal Video Pin

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Narwal and if you have any more questions for me! Leave them in the comments below.

Thanks for reading!

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