Roborock S6 Pure review: Helping save my rural home from filth

In preparing for my Roborock S6 Pure review, I had flashbacks to when I got my first robot vacuum five years ago. It was a base model Roomba, and I thought it was the greatest device ever. That was until I upgraded to the Roborock S5 after a few years of using the basic Roomba. That's when I saw what one of these fantastic cleaning machines was really capable of. My family loved that thing, as much as you can for a robot, I suppose. That is until that nightmare of a robovac going on its scheduled clean up in the middle of the night with an aging pup who was unable to hold it until morning — yup, gross.

In my quest to find a replacement vacuum, it became quickly apparent how much my family relied on that robotic vacuum to help out around our home. See, there are two adults, two young kids, the previously mentioned aging dog, and two cats, living in a country home off a gravel road — it gets dirty quick. Getting accustomed to the wonderful features that Roborock vacuums offer, I knew I wanted another. The S6 Pure is one of three in the S6 lineup, and while it doesn't have all the ultra-high-tech options, the S6 MaxV does, it also costs a fair amount less.

The Roborock S6 Pure continues the company's run of making some of the best robot vacuums around. With its multitude of sensors, a laser mapping system, great app support, mopping capabilities, and much more, the S6 Pure is fantastic. However, it isn't perfect, and some things could be improved. Here's my review of Roborock S6 Pure and how it faired in my home that can at times be a bit chaotic, and to be honest, dirty.

Cannot live without

Roborock S6 Pure: What I like

As I mentioned above, I live in a rural area off of a gravel road with a family of four plus animals in my home, so it gets hectic and dirty quickly. Having a robot vacuum that can take care of the floors daily is a must-have for me. The Roborock S6 Pure has mostly all the features I could ask for in a robovac, minus the object-detecting cameras the S6 MaxV offers.

The laser mapping and navigation on the S6 Pure does an excellent job of getting an accurate layout of my home's floorplan. This makes for faster and more efficient cleaning sessions, but also means that the vacuum can recognize rooms. Doing this allows you to go into the app and tell the vacuum to clean a specific room when it needs it, rather than the whole house. You also get to set up a virtual wall or entire areas that are a no-go for the vacuum.

Source: Chris Wedel/Android Central

This helps keep the vacuum out of rooms you don't want it to clean or areas you want to avoid for various reasons. I set up an avoidance zone during the holidays to keep the Roborock S6 Pure from getting under the Christmas tree and messing with the tree skirt and gifts. This is easily one of my favorite and must-have features for my robovac, and the app makes it extremely simple.

Speaking of simple, emptying the dust bin and removing the brush to remove any tangles is very easy. The large bin easily lifts out, and the door on the bin is excellent for quickly dumping out the debris. Removing the washable filter from the dust bin is also convenient when you want to shake off the built-up dust or rinse it off.

I really appreciate the improved side brush over the Roborock S5 I had previously. It had a familiar three-pronged spinning brush with traditional bristles. The S6 Pure has more durable and, in my opinion, more effective rubber bristles on the spinning brush. I feel like this change does a better job of pulling up hairs from the carpet and getting larger crumbs and dirt from baseboards to the main brush.

In the winter of 2019, my home went from tile and carpet to tile and laminate flooring. This meant that a vacuum that included a mopping feature was even more critical to my home's cleaning routine. The S6 Pure's water tank capacity increased from 140ml to 180ml over my S5's. This means it can cover much more ground before needing a top-up. Putting the water tank onto the vacuum is simple, as is removing the cleaning pad to be tossed into the washing machine for the next mopping session.

I also was quite surprised by how much quieter this S6 Pure is over the S5 I had. The noise was one reason I would schedule the vacuum to clean in the middle of the night while the family slept. However, after the late-night cleaning oopsie with the pet, I now run the vacuum during the day and the noise is much lower even on the max suction setting.

Nearly perfect

Roborock S6 Pure: What I don't like

All in all, I couldn't be much happier with what the S6 Pure offers. That said, some things could be improved. My main issue is that even though it has the same suction power rating of 2000Pa as the Roborock S5 I previously used, the S6 Pure doesn't seem to collect as much. I want to think that perhaps this smaller amount of debris in the dust bin is due to the household doing a better job of cleaning ourselves, but I'm doubtful.

Since it is wintertime, the family does spend less time outside, so we aren't tracking in as much as before. However, we still have an inside dog and two cats that have not stopped shedding — so there's that. Don't get me wrong, the S6 Pure still picks up a good amount of stuff from the floors, but it doesn't seem to collect as much as the previous model I had.

As much as I appreciate all of the fantastic features within the app for the vacuum, I miss having a dedicated spot clean button on the device. The S6 and S6 MaxV both have this function that allows you to place the unit in an area you'd like cleaned up and then simply press the button. The vacuum then cleans a specific amount of square footage and then is done.

Yes, you can do this on the S6 Pure from the app by creating a zone you want to vacuum to clean or by taking it to an area then using the app to tell it to spot clean. However, sometimes it's faster and easier just to press a button and be done.

Source: Chris Wedel/Android Central

The last issue I have is when it comes to mopping, there's no dedicated mop mode for the S6 Pure. There's no change in behavior when the water tank is installed. The unit simply vacuums and pulls around the water and cleaning pad with it. I want to be able to turn off the suction when mopping, and even better, for the S6 Pure to actually "scrub" back and forth when mopping.

Before I had my first robot vacuum, I had a home with all hardwood flooring, and we had a robot duster of sorts. You could attach a Swiffer pad to it, and it would then clean the floors. You could also do this with a wet cloth and then select the mop option on the unit. This would tell the device to clean the room in a pattern that would overlap multiple times, effectively scrubbing the floor.

I'm glad for the features that the S6 Pure has, I just think that they could be improved on to do a more thorough job of cleaning. However, even in its current iteration, I much prefer what it can do over not having the option at all.

The competition

Of course, there are many choices out there for picking the best robot vacuum for your home, and one of those is the Roborock S5 Max. It offers many of the same features and improves on some as the S6 Pure, and one such improvement is the mopping system. The S5 Max has a larger tank, a spring-loaded pad to better press against the floor, and an actual pump to spray water onto the surface. There's also the ability to set no-go zones specifically for mopping to avoid getting onto carpets.

Suppose you are looking for a vacuum that offers more intelligence when cleaning and accessories like an auto-empty station, then you should consider the Ecovacs Deebot Ozmo T8 AIVI. It has mapping, mopping, and controls as the S6 Pure does, but it also brings a camera to its arsenal. This camera acts as object detection to help the vacuum learn what things on the floor are. Knowing these items will let it avoid going over something it shouldn't — pet stuff.

When looking at the competition, it's hard not to include one of the first robot vacuum companies, Roomba — specifically the Roomba 960. This is a great option if you don't need to have a mopping feature. Roomba has been making robot vacuums for a long time, and its devices do an excellent job. The 960 has mapping, strong suction, an app to set walls and no-go zones, along with many other features. For reliable performance with excellent technology built-in, the Roomba 960 is a solid choice.

Roborock S6 Pure: Should you buy

Who it's for ...

• Those who want advanced vacuum features without spending a lot of money
• Who want a vacuum that can offer basic wet mop upkeep for their floors
• Households that are busy and have pets

Who it isn't for ...

• Houses with floors that require regular scrubbing
• Don't want to set no-go zones each time that the vacuum mops
• Those who are looking for a cheap vacuum

From the standpoint of a robot vacuum, the S6 Pure does a solid job. When throwing in the mapping, no-go zones, and basic mopping features, it is a great addition to almost any home. However, if your hard floors get extra grimey and need actual scrubbing or you don't want to have to create avoidance areas for each mopping session, you may want to look to other options.

4 out of 5

Personally, I feel that every home should have a robot vacuum, and the Roborock S6 Pure is an excellent choice for most homes. It does an excellent job of doing daily floor maintenance, from vacuuming to scrubbing floors. The addition of its fantastic mapping capabilities combined with the robust app gives you the ability to control almost precisely how your home is cleaned.

The mopping feature is a nice addition, too. Though basic, it does help maintain hard floors between those manual scrubs. Though I wish the vacuum could automatically avoid carpets when mopping, as it can automatically increase suction on carpets when vacuuming, I'm glad I can at least manually create avoidance areas when needed.

The Roborock S6 Pure is a welcomed addition to my hectic home. I'm glad that its wide range of advanced features is available at its price range, but mostly glad that the S6 Pure is here to help save me from vacuuming every day.