My Honest Roborock S5 MAX review (spoiler alert: I love it!)

Roborock S5 MAX is probably one of the best inventions in the world!

Ok, I’m exaggerating, but it’s a wonderful house gadget that has helped me so much in the last year. 

I got it last Black Friday, online, and I’ve used it ever since, 3 times a week, with no exception. 

The robot definitely decreased my time doing house chores, and thank god, I now have to do a proper vacuum of the place only once a month. I still think you need to use the big vacuum from time to time, even if the Roborock does clean very well. Just add it to your cleaning checklist. 

I know a lot of people are considering getting one, so I decided to write up my experience with the Roborock S5 MAX. 

The short version is that I loved it and I would definitely recommend it to you. 

The long version is below. I go through the technical data you need to know, and then my pros and cons, with a few pics and GIFs sprinkled through to help you get a feel for it. 

So let’s get to the Roborock S5 MAX review:

Technical Details – Everything You Need To Know About Roborock S5 MAX

Here is what the Roborock brand page says its main features are:

• Roborock S5 MAX is a robot vacuum, which means it’s a small machine you plug in and let it clean your floors. It’s automated, so you don’t have to do anything. 
• Accurate floor plans. The Roborock S5 Max can map out your home’s layout. “It spins at 300rpm, sending 360° area scans through a custom algorithm in real-time. Using that data, it creates a 98% accurate floor plan map, and it knows where rooms are.”
• Easy scheduling. A key feature we have used since day one is the scheduling. You can schedule cleaning sessions for the whole house, or for specific rooms, all from the Roborock mobile phone app.
• Mop cleaner. It can also mop the floors, although I must admit I don’t actually use this functionality. The website says it has a huge 290ml water tank that is enough to clean a 65sqm (700 sqft) apartment more than 3-times or a 200 sqm (2600 sqft) home in one go.
• Virtual no-mop zones and barriers. The mobile app also lets you create no-mop and no go zones for your cleaning schedules, and that’s extremely useful, especially if you have carpets. 
• Vacuum and Mop cleaning settings. According to the website, “From the app, [you can] choose the right water flow for any floor type, low-flow on stone, to high-flow for grimy kitchens. Similarly, for vacuum, inside S5 Max is a specialized fan spinning at 15000 rpm, channeling its airflow through carefully designed pathways.  From the app you can choose the intensity of the fan anytime.”
• Great for multiple floors. If you have multiple floors, no need to worry, it works great for that, too. The robot vacuum has Multi-level Mapping systems that use precision LiDAR scanning to recognize different levels of a home automatically. “Every floor can have independent No-go Zones, Invisible Walls, and No-mop Zones. And the current level is automatically recognized so you don’t need to open the Roborock app.”
• You can use it with Amazon Alexa, so bonus points for that. You can just shout “Alexa, turn on Roborock.” 

How to use Roborock S5 MAX

The first thing you need to do, after you unbox it, is to find it a place to stay & charge. Ideally, in a corner, or unde a table. I put mine under a coffee table in the living room, mostly because it’s close to an outlet. 

Second step is to download the app and connect it to the machine.

Third step, start mapping out your home with the help of the app. Here’s a great video showing you how to do it– the mapping part starts at min 2:30. 

Fourth step – schedule your cleaning sessions. I use it every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at 9:30. But you might prefer doing it more often, if you have a bigger family. Or less, maybe even only once a week, if you live alone. 

And then start cleaning! We used it immediately after programming it, just to see what it does, we were so curious 🙂

The Pros and Cons of Roborock S5 MAX

I’ve been using the Roborock vacuum for almost a year now, so I can definitely tell you the benefits and the not so great parts of it. Here they are below:

The Pros

• The first and most important thing I have to mention about the Roborock S5 MAX is that it’s very convenient and easy to use. We set up a schedule for it: it cleans three times a week, when we’re already at work. That means we don’t have to plug it in, or run it ourselves, or do anything special. It just runs by itself, and that’s extremely helpful. We do have to make sure the bin is cleared out after a few cycles, but it’s worth it. 
• It cleans under the couch and bed. I’m in love with this functionality. The house used to gather a lot of dust under these two things, and now I don’t have to worry about it.
• It’s small, so it doesn’t take up a lot of space. My previous one was huge and I didn’t really have a space for it, so it occupied a part of my laundry room, I really didn’t like it. The Roborock S5 MAX lives under a small coffee table, in a corner of the living room, and it’s not in the way, so we don’t mind.  
• I love the fact it already knows the rooms, where each furniture piece is, and where it can go. It doesn’t go around blindly, bumping into everything. The first thing we did, when we got it, was to map out the rooms. We actually helped it, and “told” it where the kitchen ended and the living room began, for example, so we could easily make it go only there, if we needed to.
• Speaking of obstacles, the other cool thing about it is that it has amazing environmental sensors, which means it doesn’t fall off the stairs, or slam into walls. It knows the space very well (on most occasions). 
• I also like the fact that it doesn’t make a lot of noise. For example, you can talk on the phone while it’s on. It’s not completely silent, but it doesn’t bother, either. Better than a normal vacuum, that’s for sure.

The Cons – Not actual negative traits, just inconveniences

• It sometimes gets stuck. This happens rarely because the machine already knows its way around our house, and on most occasions, we clear the floor. But sometimes it gets stuck in cords or random things we forgot to pick up. Roborock usually alerts you, or it just gets stuck there. Either way, nothing is broken, it’s just a minor inconvenience you have to take care of. One way to avoid this is to make sure the floors are as clear as they can before starting it up. 

• You have to clear out the dustbin once every 3-4 cleaning cycles. Now, this is an obvious consequence of having such a small machine that vacuums. But you always have to be mindful of clearing out the dustbin because a full one can not clean the floors as best as it usually can. 
• It doesn’t clean the corners (obviously, because of its shape). Roborock S5 MAX is great for a quick clean-up bi-weekly, but it shouldn’t be used exclusively. Because of the corner issue, I usually whip out my big, trusty vacuum cleaner once a month, to make sure everything (and everywhere) is clean. 

Conclusion

I am very happy with my purchase. The Roborock S5 MAX is a great investment and it’s definitely worth the price. I think any home (and especially its owners) would benefit from having one clean up the floors weekly (or daily, suit yourself). Just make sure it’s not the only way, because the place needs a proper, thorough clean from time to time. 
In conclusion, I highly recommend you get the Roborock S5 MAX! Get it on Amazon here!

*This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links, at no extra cost to you.