Tapo RV30 Plus Robot Vacuum Review: Compact Auto-Emptying

Worth When Reviewed

Not but out there within the US

For smaller households, the Tapo RV30 Plus is the Goldilocks’ precept in a robotic vacuum and mop.

It’s neither too huge nor too small, too easy nor too difficult, too automated nor too guide – in actual fact, for households searching for a robotic vacuum and mop for a reasonable sized house with out loads of empty wall area to face it towards, it’s excellent.

Plus, it’s simple to make use of. If you happen to simply need vacuuming, you possibly can set it up, schedule your cleans, and just about overlook about it for 70 days (or extra for those who don’t have a lot of a dusty home).

In order for you mopping, you’ll have to refill the mop tank and alter the mop cloths between cleans. However that’s the trade-off for an auto-empty dock that’s smaller than most and received’t take up an excessive amount of area. For one which cleans its mops as nicely, try our evaluation of the Ecovacs T20 Plus.

Let’s have a look at what you get within the field.

What’s included with the RV30 Plus?

• Auto-empty charging dock
• Vacuum and mop
• Spare vacuum bag, mop fabric, facet brush and HEPA filter

The very first thing you’ll discover is that the auto-empty charging dock – which is the Plus within the product identify – is way smaller than most of its rivals. At 38cm excessive, 23cm extensive, and roughly 19cm deep, it has the footprint of a small waste-paper bin reasonably than, say, a water cooler, and this instantly makes it simpler to position in a room and it lessens the sense that the equipment dominates the area.

Now this compact dock measurement is because of a tail suction air duct that’s almost 45% shorter than the typical suction ducts at this level – or so Tapo tells us. This air duct additionally has tremendous sturdy suction energy at 27,000Pa, which just about means it sucks the particles out of the vacuum shortly; we discovered {that a} 6m² clear meant a 3 second auto-emptying that was noticeably loud however not overwhelming.

One factor to notice right here is that the dock solely auto-empties mud, it doesn’t empty or refill the mopping tank. You’ll have to try this manually.

Then you definately get the robotic vacuum and mop itself. It’s a typical 35cm diameter measurement with the LiDAR tower on high taking it to about 9.5cm excessive. On the entrance, you’ve gotten three buttons: “energy/clear” begins or pauses cleansing, “dock” prompts the vac to return to the dock or empty the bin when docked, and “spot cleansing/youngster lock” makes the vacuum begin spot cleansing and turns the kid lock on or off.

Alex Greenwood / Foundry

To accompany the vacuum, there’s a mop fabric tank mount: a bit of plastic that holds the washable mop cloths and clips into the underside of the water tank. Then there are two washable mop cloths, two disposable 4-litre mud luggage, two facet brushes, two HEPA filters for the vacuum, a cleansing brush, and a consumer guide.   

Now what’s attention-grabbing in regards to the Tapo is the color scheme. The vacuum has a white physique with a black bumper, and the dock has a white midsection with a black lid and decrease physique. This black and white impact could be very trendy and cute, however it received’t essentially match a chintz bed room, so bear that in thoughts if in case you have extra conventional inside design tastes.  

Organising the RV30 Plus

• Straightforward to arrange
• QR code equipped
• Could make a number of maps

Place the dock towards a wall 0.5m from adjoining partitions or furnishings, take away all of the protecting strips and movies, suit your brush and tank, change on the ability change on the underside of the vacuum, and place the vacuum on the backside of the dock so the charging plates join.

There’s no docking plate, which is uncommon however e provides it a smaller footprint, so that you do have to make sure you are connecting the proper facet of the robotic vac to the dock.

Obtain the app – the consumer guide provides you a QR code – after which observe the onscreen directions to create your profile, hook up with Wi-Fi and pair the vacuum to your cellphone. It’s a easy course of, and we discovered it fast and simple.

Then create your map. Earlier than you do, it’s price checking whether or not the spot you’ve sited the robotic vac is the very best place when it comes to zoning and accessibility.

When you begin the mapping course of, the RV30 will slowly transfer across the open ground area, scanning and storing the format by way of its LiDAR and Gyro Twin Navigation System, then it’s going to divide the area into “rooms” earlier than presenting you with a map you possibly can edit.

At this level, you possibly can merge or separate totally different rooms, and set digital partitions and no-go zones. We discovered that it was a good suggestion to set no-go zones round items of furnishings the place cables cluster, or which have a base {that a} robotic vacuum may attempt to climb.

It’s also possible to arrange a number of maps for those who want to use the RV30 Plus on a distinct ground or part of your property that it could possibly’t attain from the dock.

Vacuuming

• Customized cleans
• Scheduled cleansing
• 4 suction ranges

There are 4 vacuuming ranges: quiet, normal, turbo and max. We discovered max to be quieter than a standard vacuum cleaner, and quiet to be little greater than a hum.

You possibly can select to hoover by room, ground or zone. We discovered vacuuming took a couple of minute per m². The robotic vacuum outlines the room in query first after which zigzags inside the define. It’s also possible to select whether or not the vacuum goes over the ground as soon as, twice or thrice.

Alex Greenwood / Foundry

It’s also possible to programme customized cleans the place you set your preferences for every particular person room – which vacuum degree you need to make use of for that ground and what number of occasions you need the vacuum to cowl it.

You possibly can schedule the RV30 Plus to start cleansing at a sure time on sure days, and you’ll both clear your entire ground or select the rooms you want to clear and the way you want to clear them.

In our take a look at, we discovered that the RV30 cleaned effectively and speedily. Tapo says the vacuum has 4,200 Pa suction, which might pull up particles sandwiched between gaps, and we discovered this to be correct – to the extent that it sucked up a few of the outdated wooden filler between our floorboards. A fingertip take a look at by the skirting boards got here up clear, suggesting that it actually will get into the corners.

And this doesn’t shock us, as a result of a noticeable characteristic of the robotic is its lengthy facet brush. At a 6cm extension from the facet of the robotic vac, it’s a good centimetre longer than different main robotic vacuum manufacturers, which allows the vacuum to achieve gaps and crevices that may in any other case get missed.

Tapo suggests the auto-empty 4-litre bag ought to final you as much as 70 days, and also you get a spare one with the robotic vacuum. In fact, the frequency depends upon how dusty your own home is.

By way of how a lot it could possibly do from one battery cost, Tapo says that the 5000 mAh battery can ship three hours steady cleansing, and 360 m² most vacuum protection.        

The RV30 Plus can deal with thresholds beneath 2cm, however actually can’t climb greater than this, so if in case you have a house with vital variations in ground heights, you might need to have a look at one thing else.              

You possibly can management the RV30 Plus with voice instructions by way of Alexa and Google House, and the robotic vacuum has real-time voice reporting. It additionally contains a Do No Disturb mode, and a toddler and pet lock.   

Mopping

• Wonderful water mopping ranges
• Vacuums and mops concurrently
• Wipe motion, reasonably than buffing motion

Mopping with the RV30 is solely a query of filling the water tank and clipping within the mop fabric tank mount to the underside of the tank, full with mounted mop fabric. The act of clipping within the tank mount prompts the mopping characteristic to activate.

The mop fabric itself is a terry towelling half-moon that wipes because it goes alongside, which signifies that it could possibly solely give a delicate clear. If you happen to want a robotic mop that has extra of an abrasive, buffing motion, this mop may not be for you.

Nonetheless, it has three water flows: low, reasonable and excessive – and they’re the very best water ranges now we have seen in a robotic mop. Usually, with competitiors, it’s a must to set a excessive water degree to even get a visual post-mop sheen, however with the RV30, the reasonable degree leaves a noticeable shine in your flooring.

For that reason, we’d say that you just’ll get extra of a mopping motion from the Tapo, and never simply the damp dusting we’ve seen from different manufacturers.

The 300ml tank provides you about 200m² of mopping capability. Nonetheless, you possibly can’t set the Tapo to solely mop your flooring; it’s going to at all times vacuum on the identical time too.

Worth and availability

The RV30 Plus is Tapo’s top quality robotic vacuum and mop. As but, it isn’t out there within the US. The closest choice – and its characteristic set and design are very related, though its suction is just not as highly effective and it options solely gyro, not LiDAR navigation – is the TP-Hyperlink Tapo RV10 Plus, which you should purchase from the model’s web site for $269.99 on the time of writing.

Within the UK, the RV30 Plus is obtainable from Amazon and direct from Tapo. There are frequent offers out there and we predict that if you may get it for lower than the RRP, it’s an excellent deal for this characteristic set and general high quality of the machine.

It’s also possible to purchase the RV30 itself, with out the auto-empty dock, from Amazon.

Verdict

The Tapo RV30 Plus is a type of sensible house home equipment that you just arrange, and it simply does its factor with out a lot fuss. We discovered we didn’t really want to assume a lot about it, other than refilling the tank on occasion and changing the mop fabric if we determined to mop.

With its compact auto-empty dock, we predict it’s purchase for individuals who don’t have loads of spare wall area and simply need a robotic vacuum to scrub their flooring with out a lot fuss. 

If you happen to’d prefer to see extra robotic vacuum shopping for choices to match, take a look at our round-up of the very best robotic vacuums we’ve examined.