Auto-emptying robot vacuums are no longer the novelty they once were. Every brand seems to have its own take on “hands-free cleaning,” with Anker-owned Eufy being among the most recent entrants. The Eufy RoboVac LR30 Hybrid+ is a hybrid robot vacuum and mop, as the name implies. However, rather than embracing the concept of hands-free cleaning, the LR30 Hybrid+’s mopping capability requires far too much manual intervention, undermining the overall experience.
It’s worth noting that the RoboVac LR30 Hybrid+ is a Target-exclusive variant of the Eufy LR35 Hybrid+. The LR30 Hybrid+ and LR35 Hybrid+ are nearly identical, with the main difference being suction power (3000Pa vs. 3200Pa). The $500 LR30 Hybrid+ is priced slightly lower than the more powerful $550 LR35 Hybrid+.
Looks
The LR30 Hybrid+ robot, like the Eufy X8 Hybrid, has a more premium appearance than previous Eufy vacuums. This includes a black tempered-glass top with blue LED accents on the power and Home buttons, as well as angled blue lines flanking the LIDAR turret. The robot’s underbelly is all business, with a rubber-and-bristle roller as well as a pair of spinning edge brushes. A 200ml dust box/water tank combination, with water in an upper chamber as well as debris in a lower one, slots into the back of the robot. For mopping jobs, a mop module with an attached microfiber pad sits at the bottom of this combo box.
Is the Eufy RoboVac LR30 Hybrid+ capable of emptying its own bin?
The auto-empty station on the RoboVac LR30 Hybrid+ is a 1.3-foot-tall and slightly less-than-a-foot-wide cylinder. It comes with a 3L dust bag that can store debris for up to 60 days (depending on usage) before needing to be replaced. The station also serves as a charging station for the robot, and an attached plastic waterproof pad keeps water from soaking your floor whenever the robot returns from mopping.
Set-Up
The physical setup of the LR30 Hybrid+ is minimal. All you have to do is snap the two edge brushes to the bottom of the robot as well as attach the waterproof pad. The Eufy Clean app walks you through connecting the robot to your Wi-Fi. While you select the LR30 Hybrid+ from a list of Eufy products, the app launches a setup wizard, which takes about 3-4 minutes to complete. The robot maps your space using LiDAR navigation, and it creates a virtual map the first time it cleans. This map can be modified to allow for room and zone cleaning. You can also use the map to perform spot cleaning by tapping an area and dragging your finger to set a target point. The robot will navigate to the location and begin cleaning.
How effective is the Eufy RoboVac LR30 Hybrid+ at vacuuming floors?
The LR30 Hybrid+ cleans in a Z-shaped pattern and is extremely effective. The vacuum got into every nook and cranny of my downstairs level, only getting stuck once on some cables I had forgotten to pick up before I started cleaning. In this case, I received a voice alert as well as a notification in the app that the edge brush was stuck. The robot resumed after I repositioned it and pressed the “clean” button again.
You can choose from four suction levels, with a maximum suction of 3000Pa, or you can let the robot adjust its suction automatically by cleaning in Auto mode. The LR30 Hybrid+ had no trouble sucking up dust, pet hair, and other household debris with that kind of suction power. When the robot re-docks after a cleaning job, the onboard dust box is automatically emptied. In the Eufy Clean app settings menu, you can set the frequency to every two or three cleans. When the dust bag is full, simply open the lid of the auto-empty station and remove and replace the bag.
How effective is the Eufy RoboVac LR30 Hybrid+ at mopping floors?
To clean your floors, fill the water tank with tap water, attach the mop module to the tank’s bottom, and re-insert the entire unit into the robot. When you begin cleaning, the robot will vacuum and mop automatically. Eufy warns that the LR30 Hybrid+ mopping mode is only for floors free of stubborn stains. Even so, the company recommends vacuuming three times before mopping. This is because the robot simply wipes its dampened mop pad across the floor without scrubbing. This will, at best, pick up any surface grime left behind after a thorough vacuuming, but it will not replace a stick mop for cleaning deeper dirt. To tailor water flow to the amount of dirt, the Eufy app allows you to choose from three water levels: low, medium, and high.
The amount of hands-on labour required is more bothersome than the disappointing results of the mopping. For each cleaning job, you must manually remove and refill the water tank, attach the mop module (possibly multiple times if cleaning a large room), and swap out clean mop pads for dirty ones. These aren’t particularly difficult tasks, but they contradict Eufy’s promise of no-hands cleaning.
The Eufy Clean app places all of the most important controls on the main screen, including the map, cleaning modes, and suction/water levels. The Settings menu contains additional features such as multi-map support, cleaning schedules, and detailed cleaning histories.
Verdict
The Eufy RoboVac LR30 Hybrid+, like many hybrid robot cleaners, excels at vacuuming, however its mopping performance is likely to disappoint. While most users will probably be satisfied with the LR30 Hybrid+’s maintenance-mopping capabilities in exchange for the convenience of fully automated vacuuming, those who require a more diligent mopping job should consider another hybrid. The similarly priced Yeedi Mop Station Pro, for example, provides superior floor washing thanks to a pair of self-cleaning rotating mop heads.
