The Narwal Freo certainly isn’t the most affordable robot vacuum and mop around, but that’s because it’s not basic. It does a lot more than you might expect, and it gets the job done—well.
With its first robot that boasted self-cleaning properties being released back in 2019, Narwal has come a long way over recent years. Thanks to DirtSense technology, the Narwal Freo is able to detect the level of dirt on your floors, returning to areas that need a little more care and attention. Not only that, but it self-washes and self-dries its mops so they are fresh for the next round of cleaning.
Narwal Freo Robot Vacuum
The Narwal Freo is a self-washing and self-drying robot vacuum and mop combo. It efficiently cleans floors, and thanks to DirtSense technology, will return to stubborn areas to ensure the job is done.
Simple Setup
Most smart devices require a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band to complete the setup process, and the Narwal Freo is no different. Standing by the robot vacuum and station with your smartphone connected to your Wi-Fi network is likely the easiest option, eliminating any potential issues. Unfortunately, there is no 5GHz support, but this isn’t something I had expected there to be.
Downloading the Narwal app was easy since there was only one. Some smart devices offer multiple apps (for some unknown reason), so I was pleased to see this wasn’t the case. Although you can use the Narwal Freo on its own without the app, there are lots of benefits to using it, aside from it being convenient for lazy users like myself.
You can easily sync the app to the robot vacuum using the easy-to-use LCD panel on the base station. Once done, it’s time to release the Narwal into the world to start mapping your floors.
Intricate, Yet Quick Mapping
As you can seen from the screenshots above, mapping a 235-square-foot area took just two and a half minutes. The Narwal Freo zoomed across the ground floor of my house insanely quickly. I’ve owned other robot vacuums and I can’t say any of them were this quick to map the entire downstairs of a house.
Narwal uses LiDAR technology—a laser on top of the unit that uses range detection to build an accurate 2D map of its surroundings. Although it doesn’t remap areas as it goes—which some robot vacuums can do—you’re able to delete the map and ask the Freo to remap areas should you need to. And, since the process is so quick, it’s not really a troublesome task.
Once the mapping is complete, you can go into the app and label areas for the Narwal to clean. You can also separate identified rooms into unique areas; I have an open plan kitchen/office, so I further split this up in case I want to have the kitchen cleaned, but not my office while working.
It’s Smart(ish), but It Cleans Well
The Narwal Freo is easy to control, either from the touchscreen panel on the base station or via the app. You have various modes to choose from, including Vacuum Mode, Mop Mode, Vacuum and Mop Mode, and Vacuum the Mop Mode. These are pretty self-explanatory.
Alternatively, you can initiate Freo Mode. Here, the Narwal vacuums an area, then mops it using its DirtSense technology, adjusting the mopping or vacuuming to match how dirty it is.
While Freo Mode is definitely the most effective at cleaning, I did find it took far too long to complete a cleaning cycle. My go-to option is Vacuum and Mop Mode—the Narwal Freo does both things I want it to do, cleaning its mops after each room has been tackled. If the mop heads are too dirty, the robot will return to its station, and then come back to the same spot, ensuring the job gets finished.
Cleaning the whole downstairs generally takes between 25 to 40 minutes, depending on how dirty the floors are. In some cases, the Narwal Freo can use almost the entire tank of water in one run—again, this is determined by how often it needs to return for a refill and how dirty your floors are.
Emptying the dirty water tank is pretty grim. In fact, the water stinks. How brown the water gets really is a testament to how good of a job the Freo does. It’s incredibly effective at actually cleaning and scrubbing floors, rather than just making them wet. This means you’ll need to empty and provide clean water more frequently, but I don’t mind if the results are positive.
Lacking AI-based object detection did prove frustrating at times, mostly because I have cats, and a child, all of whom tend to leave things where they’re not supposed to be. Rather than being able to open the app and set the Freo to clean, I have to ensure the downstairs area is clear of things like cat food mats, shoes, cables, and so on.
The Narwal Freo does have a tendency to chew up things in its path. While it has the usual cliff sensors, saving your robot from taking a dive down the stairs, anything else is a potential hazard. Even the breakfast bar stools have to be removed from the floor; otherwise, the Narwal Freo gets too cozy with the stool’s feet, getting itself lost and stopping it in its tracks.
High Performance Despite the Specs
On paper, the Narwal Freo features 3000Pa suction power, which is far from the likes of other robot vacuums boasting up to 8000Pa. However, this doesn’t mean performance suffers. In fact, it performs well, because suction isn’t the only factor to consider when cleaning floors.
Yes, suction helps remove embedded dirt and lifts it up from carpets and hard-to-reach areas, but many robot vacuums have a tendency to pull up large clumps of dirt, and then leave it trailing behind them.
Underneath the hood, the Narwal Freo features two mop pads, dual V-shaped side brushes, and a roller brush with actual bristles. The roller brush is more akin to something like a Shark vacuum, able to pick up stubborn dirt. Just be sure to clean the roller bar regularly, as I was faced with a surprise the first time I looked at it.
Unlike some self-emptying robot vacuum stations, the Narwal Freo doesn’t self-empty. If there was one thing I wish it did, it would be this. It’s not the most pleasant job having to lift the flap on the top of the Narwal Freo and pull out its little dustbin. Granted, it’s not the worst either, but in an ideal world, it would self empty, too—especially considering the price point.
Is It Worth Buying the Narwal Freo?
Priced at $1,400, the Narwal Freo isn’t something you’ll decide to purchase on a whim. This is a big investment, so you have to ensure it’s right.
For the price, I would have preferred it to offer a self-emptying function, but not enough that it would sway my purchase. With two large water tanks, a space for an additional cleaner, and a robot vacuum and mop that intelligently senses how dirty floors are, when to lift the mops while vacuuming, and when to clean them, I do think it’s worth buying.
Although I don’t personally use it, the added option of controlling the Narwal using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant is a nice touch (though Apple HomeKit isn’t supported). For now, the app and touchscreen panel are helpful enough to be able to access whenever I need them.
In terms of mopping performance, the Narwal Freo did a fantastic job; I really couldn’t fault it. Yes, you still need to tidy up beforehand thanks to the lack of AI object identification, but you can’t have everything. For carpet use, it could do with a few improvements, especially if you have cats. On the hard floor, it’s easy enough to pick up dirt and scrub anything left behind with the mops, but embedded dirt is hard to get out with that lower suction power.
Depending on what you want your robot vacuum and mop to do, the Narwal Freo may or may not be the one for you. But for me, it works really well. I can get the downstairs cleaned every day in less than an hour.
