REVIEW – If you’re a regular reader, you already know that I love my Ecovacs Deebot OZMO T8 AIVI robot vacuum, even though it’s named like a Terminator and comes with lasers. I love how well it vacuums and while I wasn’t initially impressed with the mopping, after using it for a while, I’ve determined that it does a pretty OK job of mopping by dragging the mop behind as it vacuums. But, Ecovacs had teased me with a mention of an upcoming accessory for the T8 AIVI with an electrically oscillating mop. Instead of just dragging a wet pad over the floor, it is supposed to scrub as it mops. Alas, the promise of being able to force a robot to scrub the floors was just that, a promise. Until now! Introducing the Ecovacs OZMO Pro electrically oscillating mop accessory for OZMO T8 series vacuums!
What is it?
The OZMO Pro is a replacement for the stock water tank and mopping assembly for the OZMO T8 AIVI and newly announced OZMO T8 vacuums. The mopping plate oscillates at 480 oscillations per minute, scrubbing the floor as it mops.
What’s in the box?
- OZMO Pro electrically oscillating mop and water tank with disposable mopping pad attached
- Package of 25 disposable mopping pads
- Quick start guide
Hardware specs
- Oscillation rate: 480 oscillations per minute
- Tank capacity: 200ml by my measure, although specs say 240ml
- Water flow: Electronically controlled with four delivery rates
- Carpet detection: automatic
- Pad compatibility: Ecovacs disposable mopping pads – not compatible with the washable pad
- Vacuum compatibility: OZMOo T8 AIVI and OZMO T8
Design and features
The OZMO Pro looks very much like the original water tank, except it comes in a smoked plastic finish.
On the left, we see the water connection to the T8 AIVI and on the right, the electrical connection. The blue flap on top is the water fill port cover.
Looking at the outside, you can see the squeeze switch to release the OZMO Pro as well as the locking pins on the top.
To install or remove the OZMO Pro, you squeeze the release button. That pulls down the locking pins, allowing the unit to slide in and out of the back of the T8 AIVI
The oscillating mopping plate is covered in a hook-and-loop type of plastic that grabs the mopping pad quite securely.
Setup
The OZMO Pro is a drop-in replacement for the standard water tank and mopping assembly for the T8 series. The difference is that you don’t leave this installed like you do the regular water tank. With the original tank, the tank just stays in the T8 AIVI and only comes into play when you snap on the mopping plate. When the OZMO Pro is installed, it will oscillate whenever the T8 AIVI is running. Therefore, when you’re done scrubbing, you swap the OZMO Pro out and pop the standard tank back in.
Performance
There are four levels of water flow: low, medium, high, and ultra-high, all via an electronically controlled water pump. I have been using medium and have been satisfied with the results. There is a damp trail behind the T8 AIVI as it mops, but it dries very quickly. Ecovacs recommends using only distilled or softened water to avoid build-up in the tank. We have a softener, so I fill the tank from the tap. They do not recommend using a cleaning solution of any kind. Ecovacs claims that the OZMO Pro can remove up to 99.26% of bacteria from floor surfaces.
In the app, you can also set up for quick scrubbing or deep scrubbing.
If we had a nasty spill, I can see bumping it up to ultra-high flow, deep scrubbing, and a double pass to deep clean the area.
Here’s a quick look, and listen, to the OZMO Pro in action, installed in the back of the T8 AIVI.
The OZMO Pro is considerably louder than just running the T8 AIVI with the standard mop. The standard mop doesn’t make any noise and the T8 AIVI is relatively quiet as robot vacs go. Adding in the OZMO Pro makes it quite loud. Of course, the pad is moving back and forth 480 times per minute, so it’s pretty understandable. Generally, I plan to schedule scrubbing when we’re not home.
The same limitations apply to the OZMO Pro as the original mopping system where it can’t go over the carpet. It’s obvious that is a design feature to prevent you from getting your carpet wet. In my case, if I want the T8 AIVI to mop our bathroom, I need to do the following:
- Tell the T8 AIVI to clean our bathroom
- Follow it in through the carpeted bedroom
- Hit pause in the app once it gets to the bathroom
- Install the OZMO Pro (or the regular mopping plate)
- Let it mop
- Wait for it to finish
- Hit pause in the app as it can’t get back to the charging base
- Remove the OZMO Pro (or mopping plate)
- Let it return to the charging base
It sounds more complicated than it is. And for us, the bathroom in our bedroom is the only hard floor area that isn’t continuous, so that is just a minor inconvenience.
As I was writing this, I had the T8 AIVI out there deep-scrubbing my floors, even though we had mopped recently. Here’s a photo showing a brand new mopping pad on the bottom and the filthy pad from the T8 AIVI on top. Wow – I thought our floors were pretty clean, but the scrubbing action from the OZMO Pro was able to pull up more dirt.
After deep-scrubbing what amounted to just under 1,000 square feet of scrubbing, there was still 25%-33% of the water left in the tank, so the T8 AIVI should be able to scrub 1,200 square feet without issue on medium water flow.
Ecovacs is selling the disposable pads at $24.95 for 25 pads. Overall, I think that’s pretty reasonable and in-line with the cost of Swiffer refills.
The app allows you to define no-mop zones and virtual boundaries to keep the mop out of areas where you don’t want it to go. The T8 AIVI’s automatic carpet detection also helps keep it out of trouble.
What I like
- Scrubs as it mops
- Works quickly
- The app lets you quick-mob or deep-scrub
- Can clean a fairly large area on a single tank and charge
- Reasonably priced mopping pads
What I’d change
- It’s a bit noisy, but given what it’s doing, it is understandable
- It would be great if there was a reusable pad option
Final thoughts
Overall, I was impressed with how well the T8 AIVI mopped just by dragging its mopping pad behind as it vacuumed. It wasn’t perfect, but it kept the floors relatively clean. Now, with the OZMO Pro, we can get a deeper clean in the same amount of time. It’s still not perfect, but it’s pretty darn good. With the T8 AIVI’s terrific mapping and the app’s setup that allows me to target specific areas, it’s simple to mop a bathroom, mop the kitchen, or mop all the contiguous hard floor areas with a few clicks.
The downside is that it is noisier, but that’s easily mitigated by having the T8 AIVI take care of the cleaning business when we’re not home. It’s fast enough that even if we’re only gone for an hour or two, we can come home to vacuumed and scrubbed hard floors. That’s pretty cool. I just wish I could use the washable, reusable microfiber cleaning pad from the original mopping plate rather than throwing away cleaning pads each time I mop.
I can now add scrubbing floors to the list of things I have our eventual robot overlords doing for me before the pending rebellion. That makes me happy, for now.
Price: $99.99
Where to buy: Ecovacs
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Ecovacs.
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“It’s fast enough that even if we’re only gone for an hour or two, we can come home to vacuumed and scrubbed hard floors.” — I’m confused because it appears to contradict “The difference is that you don’t leave this installed like you do the regular water tank.” So does mean you CAN leave this installed so that it vacuums and deep-scrub while you’re not home?
Tom:
No, you do not leave the OZMO Pro installed. Here’s what we did two days ago…
We were getting ready to head out to run errands – we would be gone an hour or two. I filled the OZMO Pro, slapped on a cleaning pad, and installed it. Then, as we left, I told the T8 AIVI to clean the laundry room, kitchen/dining area, living room, front entry, and guest bath – the hard-surfaced areas that are all connected. As we walked out the door, it started cleaning. Before we got home, it finished, docked, and was charging. When we got home, I popped out the OZMO Pro, tossed the pad, drained the remaining water from the reservoir, and put it away.
If we know we’re leaving, say at 2pm, I’ll do the same thing, but schedule it to start cleaning at 2:05pm.
So yes, when we’re going to scrub, I install the OZMO Pro, but I still have to clean when we’re not here.
I hope this answers your question.
Thanks for the info, Garry. When I read that you came home to both a vacuumed and mopped floor, I was under the impression that this device was able to both vacuum and mop with this accessory without any human intervention. It seems that cannot be done.
My pleasure, Tom. Given that the reservoir needs water and the scrubbing surface needs a pad applied, there will always be human intervention. But, if you do those two things and leave it sitting on the dock, you can start it whenever you want, so it’s pretty much there.
Does anyone know if this oscillating attachment will work with the Deebot N8 Plus?
If you look at the manufacturer’s website, it clearly states that this is for the T series only.
https://www.ecovacs.com/us/deebot-winbot-accessories/OZMO-Pro