Setting up the Scooba 450 is easy. You'll need to charge it for eight hours the first time out, but after that it can reach a full charge in less than three hours, which is faster than previous models. Once fully charged, you need to load the Scooba's 750ml tank with water as well as iRobot's own hard floor cleaning solution. It comes with a bottle of solution out of the box, but after that it'll run you $12.95 per bottle. You can't use any other cleaning fluids, but a single bottle should last for 32 cleaning cycles, so it's not terribly expensive. If you're all out of cleaner, iRobot says you can also just use water.
There's a Tank Release button on top of the Scooba which allows you to easily detach the water tank from the rest of the robot's body. And the bottom of the tank has clearly labeled Clean and Dirty compartments, so it's clear where the fresh water goes in and the refuse later goes out. Once the tank is full, you're ready to clean.
Cleaning Process
While the Scooba 450 looks like a Roomba, it certainly doesn't clean like one. The Scooba uses a new three-cycle cleaning process, which iRobot claims makes it up to three times more effective than previous models. When you turn it on, the Scooba automatically sweeps and pre-soaks, scrubs, and then squeegees your floors dry. That pre-soak period is crucial, according to iRobot, since it provides more time for the water and cleaning solution to loosen any dirt and debris.
iRobot has updated its iAdapt responsive navigation technology for wet floors, which optimizes the amount of time the Scooba makes between passes. And the robot's scrubbing brush spins at over 600 rpm, which helps it clean up most moderate messes. According to iRobot, the Scooba is capable of washing away up to 99.3 percent of bacteria, which is impressive.
Performance
What's most important, though, is how the Scooba works on real floors, and in most instances, it does a pretty solid job. In small spaces, the Scooba follows a very regimented process. It starts off by cleaning in a circle, making a few revolutions outward, before it takes off to the nearest wall, then cleans the perimeter of the room. If the room you're cleaning is a perfect, unfurnished square, you can actually watch this process play out pretty exactly.
The Scooba cleans well, too. It makes quick work of any relatively fresh stains, and I was surprised by just how much dirt came out of the tank when it was finished cleaning. You might have to lend a helping hand for deeper-set stains, like an ancient coffee spill, but if you use the Scooba on a regular basis it should keep your floors looking as good as new.
