Robots are supposed to be convenient, but they also have to be useful. Both robots have to be manually recharged with plug-in adapters. When dry sweeping, Mint can cover up to 1,000 square feet in a single cleaning cycle. Scooba can clean up to 500 square feet, or one to three rooms, on a charge. When I got lazy and didn't empty Scooba's tank, it tended to drip on my floor after I shut it off, so I placed it on an old newspaper. Filling and emptying the tank before and after each use is a chore, not to mention removing hair, dust, and other debris from the brush, filter, and port. Scooba, about 15 inches in diameter and weighing 8.6 pounds, needs a lot of care since it scrubs floors with brushes, water, and a cleaning solution. When you're done you either discard or wash them. Its best feature, though, is ease of use-the Swiffer, Pledge, or reusable microfiber cloths are a snap to fit into the pad. There's even a handle on the back so you can carry it around. Mint can take on hardwood floors, tiles, and other hard surfaces.Ībout the size of a Netbook and weighing 4 pounds, Mint is compact and lightweight. They're two very different machines, but let's see how they stack up. I happened to have a Scooba 350 at home, so when I got my hands on a Mint, I decided to compare the bots' performance on my hardwood and tile floors.

Scooba retails for $299 and up, and has been on the market for nearly five years. Mint is somewhat comparable to low-cost dusting robots like the $50 RoboMop, but at $249 it's almost in the same league as more sophisticated floor-washing machines like iRobot's Scooba. You put a wet or dry dust cloth on the removable cleaning pad, push a button, and Mint gets to work. But Evolution Robotics' Mint is one of a number of floor-cleaning robots designed to lighten the housework load.Īnnounced at CES earlier this year and shipping this fall, Mint is an automatic floor cleaner-not a vacuum like iRobot's Roomba. As with personal jet packs, that hasn't happened. It's the 21st century, and robots are supposed to be doing everything for us now. Newcomer Mint, at right, is smaller and lighter than iRobot's Scooba.

Roomba vs mint reviews