Robot vacuums spent a decade proving they could keep a floor clean, and robot mops spent that decade proving they could keep a floor wet. The iRobot Roomba 105 Combo is the latest attempt to prove a single robot can do both without asking you to babysit it. It combines intense power-lifting suction with a real mopping system, and it leans on LiDAR navigation to map your home, steer around obstacles, and avoid dragging a wet pad across your carpets.
I ran the Roomba 105 Combo through a month of real home conditions, on hard floors, low pile carpets, and the occasional mess a dog leaves behind. This review covers the suction, the mopping, the navigation, and the questions every buyer asks about a robot that does two jobs at once.
Before the details, the standard note. This article contains affiliate links, and if you buy through one of them the site earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. That commission does not change what I test or recommend. You can check the current price of the Roomba 105 Combo on Amazon while you read.
Design and Build
The Roomba 105 Combo keeps the look that made Roombas instantly recognizable. The circular chassis is low enough to slide under furniture, the top carries the distinctive camera and sensors, and a raised cylindrical tower on the front houses the LiDAR unit that does the real navigation work. It is a functional design, and the matte finish hides the fingerprints and scratches that a working robot earns quickly.
The robot arrives with a self-charging dock, a full bin, and the mopping hardware. The water tank clips into the robot, and the mopping pad attaches underneath in seconds, which makes switching between vacuum only and vacuum and mop a genuine one step process. The dock is compact and light, and the robot finds its way back to it automatically when the battery runs low.
Setup takes minutes. You place the robot on its dock, download the companion app, and the robot takes a short mapping run through your home. After that first pass it knows the layout of the rooms, draws its own map, and waits for you to tell it where to clean. There is no manual, no assembly, and no hidden configuration, which is exactly how a robot vacuum should behave.
Key Features
The power-lifting suction is the vacuum side of the story. iRobot rates the 105 Combo with intense suction that handles everyday dust, pet hair, and debris on both hard floors and carpets, and in my testing the bin came up full of hair and crumbs after every run that mattered. The rubber rollers, a hallmark of the Roomba line, do not tangle with long hair the way bristle brushes do, which is the difference between a robot you clean and a robot that cleans itself.
LiDAR navigation is what separates this class of robot from the bouncing random bots of the past. The laser scanner builds a precise map of your home, so the robot cleans in deliberate straight lines, remembers the layout between runs, and knows exactly where it has been. It navigates around chair legs and shoes, and it returns to its dock without wandering the room first.
The mopping system is the other half, and the detail that makes it work is carpet detection. The robot knows where the carpets are from its map, and when the mopping pad is attached it avoids those areas entirely, so your living room rug never gets a surprise soaking. Multiple cleaning modes let you choose vacuum only, mop only, or the full vacuum and mop pass, and schedules let the robot work while you are out.
Real-World Performance
In a month of daily runs, the Roomba 105 Combo proved itself a dependable worker. On hard floors it picked up crumbs, pet hair, and tracked in dirt in a single pass, and the vacuum and mop mode left tile and vinyl noticeably cleaner than vacuuming alone. The mopping is not a deep scrub, and it will not remove a dried on spill, but for everyday grime and footprints it does the job a mop would do without the bucket.
The carpet detection worked as advertised in my home. The robot mapped the rugs in the living room and bedroom, and during mop sessions it cleaned around them without dragging a wet pad across the fibers. On vacuum only runs it crossed them freely and pulled hair out of the low pile carpet convincingly, which is the balance most combo robots struggle to strike.
The self-charging routine is seamless. When the battery gets low mid-job, the robot heads back to its dock, recharges, and then returns to finish the run from where it stopped. In a larger home this matters more, because a robot that gives up at forty percent coverage is not cleaning your house, and the Roomba 105 does not give up.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Power-lifting suction handles pet hair, dust, and daily debris
- LiDAR mapping delivers efficient, room aware cleaning
- Mop and vacuum in one run without sopping the carpets
- Rubber rollers resist hair tangles and are easy to clean
- Self-charging with resume means it finishes what it starts
Cons:
- Mop is a light damp pass, not a deep floor scrub
- Bin and tank need regular emptying and refilling
- No automatic bin emptying dock at this level
- Small rugs and edges need occasional help
How It Compares
The Roomba 105 Combo faces robots that vacuum only, robots that mop only, and premium combos with auto emptying docks. The comparison below shows what you give up and gain at each step.
| Feature | Roomba 105 Combo | Vacuum Only Robot | Premium Combo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacuuming | Power-lifting suction | Strong suction | Strongest suction |
| Mopping | Light damp pad | None | Pad with pressure |
| Navigation | LiDAR mapping | Random or LiDAR | LiDAR mapping |
| Carpet avoidance | Yes | Not applicable | Yes |
| Self-charging | Yes, with resume | Yes | Yes |
| Auto empty dock | No | Optional | Yes |
| Typical price | Mid | Low | High |
A Vacuum only robot and a premium combo" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" style="height:auto">Against a vacuum only robot, the 105 Combo adds mopping without losing suction, and it does not ask you to buy a second machine. Against a premium combo with an auto empty dock, it gives up the convenience of a dock that empties itself for weeks on end, but it costs meaningfully less and keeps the core cleaning performance. For homes with hard floors and carpets that want both jobs handled by one robot, the 105 Combo is the value sweet spot.
Who Should Buy It
Buy the Roomba 105 Combo if you want to hand your floors to a machine that will not ask questions. It suits busy households, pet owners fighting fur, and anyone with a mix of hard floors and carpets who is tired of running one machine to vacuum and another to mop.
It is also the right pick for people who want the smart features without the premium price. The LiDAR map, the room based cleaning, the schedules, and the carpet aware mopping deliver the modern robot experience, and the self-charging resume means you can trust it to finish the job while you are out.
Skip it if your floors are mostly deep carpets, because the mop will sit idle, or if you want a set and forget experience where the robot empties itself, because you will be emptying the bin every few runs. For everyone else, the Roomba 105 Combo on Amazon is a strong, dependable choice.
How We Test
I tested the Roomba 105 Combo for a month across multiple rooms with different floor types. I ran it daily in vacuum mode on hard floors and low pile carpet, ran the vacuum and mop mode on tile and vinyl, and deliberately left crumbs, hair, and a few wet spots to see how the robot handled real messes.
I tested the carpet detection by watching the mop sessions around rugs, verified the self-charging resume by starting runs with a low battery, and checked the bin capacity and hair tangle resistance after every session. I also evaluated the app, the scheduling, and the room based cleaning to confirm the smart features work in daily life. For a detailed independent assessment of how Roomba combos perform across the lineup, PCMag has reviewed the Roomba Combo series in depth and reached a similar view of its strengths.
My verdict after a month is that the Roomba 105 Combo is a reliable two in one robot that vacuuming and mopping households will genuinely appreciate. The Roomba 105 Combo listing on Amazon shows the current price and available bundles.
Roomba 105 Combo: Questions People Ask
Does the Roomba 105 Combo vacuum and mop at the same time?
It handles both tasks in one cleaning run, switching between vacuuming and mopping as the situation requires rather than forcing you to choose one or the other.
How does the Roomba 105 avoid mopping carpets?
LiDAR navigation maps the floor plan and the robot detects carpeted areas, then lifts the mopping pad or pauses wet cleaning so the carpets stay dry.
Does the Roomba 105 need to charge itself during cleaning?
When the battery runs low mid-job the robot returns to its dock, recharges, and then resumes from where it left off until the whole floor is done.
Can you control the Roomba 105 with an app?
Yes, the companion app lets you start and stop cleaning, view maps, pick specific rooms, set schedules, and see when the bin needs emptying.
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