Rowenta Smart Force Essential Aqua, the triumph of simplicity

There is great competition in the world of robot vacuum cleaners, and the device that concerns us today, The Rowenta Smart Force Essential Aqua is hitting hard, obtaining high ratings on the part of the users.

La well-known European brand It is one of the leaders in the world of sled-type vacuum cleaners and also has a dominant position in stick vacuum cleaners.

Now, has also developed its range of Smart Force robots, which combine simplicity and good performance, at a reasonable price., especially those with the Essential designation: everything you expect from a low-medium range robot, without complications and with good performance in all areas.

In the Essential range there is a version that only vacuums, the Smart Force Essential, and this one that we analyze today, which also mops and scrubs.. Each of them has, in turn, two models, which differ in color. In the case of the Essential Aqua they are the RR6971WH, in black and blue, and the RR6976WH, in silver gray.

Rowenta Smart Force Essential Aqua: our review

The Rowenta Smart Force Essential Aqua has obtained a rating of 92 points out of 100, based on 109 opinions. It is a simple and effective robot, which does its job well on all types of surfaces, and is capable of vacuuming and scrubbing at the same time, which makes it a good ally when cleaning the home.

And all this, at a very competitive price, and with the quality and guarantee of the renowned Franco-German brand, one of the world leaders in the world of vacuum cleaners.

Box contents

Rowenta Smart Force Essential Aqua: start-up

This robot, like others from this same manufacturer, includes graphic instructions, in the form of drawings, that show in a simple way how to start and operate the robot.

As usual, although the robot comes partially loaded, It is advisable to fully charge it before first use. Full charge can take 4-6 hours. The charging base should be placed in a place where the robot can easily locate it, preferably in a central place in the house, leaving one meter of free space on each side and two meters in front (these are recommendations from the manufacturer, although it may work with less space; in any case, it should not be placed in a corner).

The charging base will always be plugged in, so that the robot can go to it when the battery is low. Once charged, it will remain in stand-by on the base, with minimal electricity consumption, as is usual in robot vacuum cleaners.

When the Essential Aqua has the mopping attachment on, it is recommended that you not be able to access the charging base, to prevent the wet mop from coming into contact with the terminals, as it could be damaged.

The robot has a large button on its top, from which it can be started and paused. Besides, can be operated comfortably from the remote control, from which we can also access other functions, as we will see later.

The button lights up green when it is operating normally, and red when it is running out of battery or there is some type of error (for example, it is stuck, something has gotten tangled in the roller, etc.).

Operation of the Rowenta Smart Force Essential Aqua

This robot incorporates 10 infrared sensors, which allow it to navigate efficiently, minimizing shocks, and anti-fall sensors, to avoid problems with unevenness.. Its navigation is random, that is, it is not intelligent nor does it map rooms like other slightly higher-end robots, but it is quite methodical and effective.

Thanks to its sensors, It detects the objects in front of it, and goes around the house making a pattern that mixes straight and diagonal lines, in addition to edging walls and furniture legs.

The Smart Force Essential Aqua has three cleaning modes, selectable via the remote control:

The Rowenta Smart Force Essential is quite effective. It is capable of trapping not only dust and lint, but also somewhat larger solid particles.

The combination of its active motorized brush and its two side brushes is quite effective, obtaining good results, especially on hard floors.. On thin and medium thick carpets it also does a sufficient job, although it is not specially designed for it (Rowenta has another model, the Smart Force Extreme for these purposes).

The battery life is around 150 minutes, which It is enough to clean medium-sized homes. His movements are quite fluid, and he does not usually collide with obstacles (In case it does, as usual, it has a bumper that cushions the blow).

For specific cleanings, or for areas where people tend to “do more life”, room cleaning (Random Room) is interesting, which in half an hour makes several passes through each place, doing a fairly effective job.. To put it into operation, we would simply leave the robot locked in the room, and press the room cleaning button on the remote control. In this case, the charging base should be left in the room, since at the end of the 30 minutes, it will try to return to it.

Its noise level, around 65 decibels, is not excessively high, it is acceptable. It is not one of the quietest robots on the market, but it is located at a medium level, compatible with other activities.

The tank of the Smart Essential is not too big. Its 0,25 liters place this robot in a medium-low environment, which will require you to empty it more often than other competitors.

Programmable

The Smart Force Essential can be easily programmed so that they start working at a specific time every day. That is, it is not possible to program different times on different days, as can be done in other robots, but it would leave at the same time every day. First of all, simplicity, we have already said that this is an “essential” robot.

As usual, the first thing is to set the time we are at, on the remote control (button with a drawing of a clock). Once this has been done, we can schedule it at the time we want, using the calendar button. To choose the hour and minutes, we move with the up and down arrows; At the end of the process, a beep will sound to indicate that it has been recorded.

Mopping and scrubbing

It is the difference between this Aqua version and the plain Essential version. If you do not want this functionality, you can opt for this second one, although from our point of view, it is interesting. The price difference between both modalities is around 20 euros.

Even if you're not interested in the mopping option, the mop is quite effective, especially on some floor types, at trapping dirt. Your parquet will look dust-free and shiny. You can lightly moisten it with a special cleaning product for mops, and your wooden floor will look spectacular.

The mop is machine washable, and according to the manufacturer, it can be washed and reused about 100 times (in addition, a spare one comes, so we would have enough for about 200 cycles).

Regarding the scrubbing function, the Essential Aqua incorporates a flat tank, with a capacity of 110 milliliters. Although it doesn't seem like a lot of water (just half a glass), the robot doses quite well, slightly moistening the soil, so it is capable of covering a fairly large surface.

As we have already mentioned, care must be taken, in this sense, that it does not return to the charging base with the water tank on, as this could wet it and cause a problem. If we are not going to be or cannot be watching it, the best thing when scrubbing is to remove the charging base, so that it cannot access it.

The scrubbing result is acceptable. It is not comparable to scrubbing by hand, but it can be useful for cleaning the kitchen and/or bathrooms on a daily basis., freeing us from the most common work. It catches the freshest and lightest stains, also thanks to its mop, but if they are more stuck it will not be able to do so.

The Essential Aqua is capable of vacuuming and mopping (or vacuuming and mopping) at the same time, thanks to which we can carry out the complete cleaning in less time.

Advantages of the Rowenta Smart Force Essential Aqua

Drawbacks

This is a low-mid range model, which fulfills its purpose very well and does what is expected of it. Perhaps its biggest drawback is the size of the tank, which is not too big. Also, if your home has many carpets and/or they are thick, it may not be the most suitable model.

Opinions on the Rowenta Smart Force Essential Aqua

Good value for money, we have everything super clean. She picks up all the dirt while we watch TV comfortably.

It has surprised me. It scrubs and vacuums at the same time, the suction is very good and it has a lot of autonomy. I was hesitant about the tank, but it holds a lot of dirt, including pet hair.

I am very happy, it has a lot of autonomy and doesn't get stuck in the joints between rooms like the one I had previously. He also has no problems getting on the mats.

Very intuitive, it sucks perfectly and mops. It overcomes carpets and does not fall down stairs. Great value for money.

Essential, I use it every day, I have it scheduled. There is no more dog lint and the floor shines brighter.

Why buy the Rowenta Smart Force Essential Aqua

If you want a robot that is easy to handle and meets what you expect from it, achieving a good result in home cleaning, this robot can be a great alternative.

If you want a device belonging to one of the leading brands, but you don't feel like spending a fortune; if you are looking for great value for money, but would like to have a 4 in 1 robot, also capable of mopping and scrubbing, the Smart Force Essential Aqua may be what you need.

Alternatives to the Rowenta Smart Force Essential Aqua

In a price environment similar to that of this robot, there are several alternatives with good suction power and intelligent navigation systems, based on a gyroscope. Two interesting options could be the Ikohs Netbot S15 and Conga 1790.

Rowenta, leader in the world of aspiration

The Rowenta brand has more than a century of history, since it was founded in 1884 by Robert Weintraud, a German industrialist (he formed the brand name from his own). Initially, it produced stationery, smoking accessories, lamps and watches, although as it entered the XNUMXth century, it began to specialize in household appliances.

In 1949 it launched an iron with a thermostat and innovative ceramic elements, and in 1957, the first steam iron. Already in the sixties, he launched a dryer (1967), an electric coffee maker (1971) that became a great success, with millions of units sold, and his first vacuum cleaners (1974). In 2001 he launched his first bagless vacuum cleaner, the origin of a successful saga to which bestsellers such as the RO 3753.

The company maintains its headquarters in Germany, although since 1988, it belongs to the French group SEB, which includes other well-known brands, such as Krups, Tefal or Moulinex.