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Is Narwal Freo X Ultra the best floor cleaning robot on the market? Probably yes!

Cristiano Cento

April 30 2024

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Until a few weeks ago I was convinced that to obtain the best cleaning of your floor you could not ignore the brand new manual floor cleaners, i.e. the cordless floor vacuum cleaners that are used instead of the classic mop. I had tested some floor cleaning robot vacuum cleaners but while the dust extraction was certainly satisfactory, the floor washing was absolutely not. Then I was lucky enough to test the brand new one Narwhal Freo X Ultra and I must say that my opinion has radically changed. In this article I will talk to you in depth about this new product made in the USA and which has just arrived in our country.

Narwal Freo

The product will arrive in a fairly bulky box which will contain the actual sales box. Inside you will find:

• Robot Narwal Freo
• N. 2 mops already installed
• Mop charging and self-cleaning base
• Clean water and dirty water tanks
• No. 3 disposable dust containers
• N.1 reusable dust container
• Narwal cleaner
• IT charging cable
• Instruction manual

TECHNICAL FEATURES ROBOT Narwal Freo

Let's start from the aesthetics and immediately say that it has a truly TOP feature, that is, the entire top cover is attached to the robot magnetically and is made up of a single piece. It will therefore be very simple to remove and replace it. The dimensions are 415mm x 370mm x 107mm and a weight of 4.25Kg.

Let's now come to its technical characteristics. The first thing that catches the eye, taking a look at the technical data sheet, is certainly the suction power which even reaches 8200Pa. For those less knowledgeable on the subject, this value tells us how strong the robot's suction pressure is which allows it to suck up dust. It goes without saying that the higher this value, the greater its ability to suck up every single grain of dust found on the floor. To give you an idea, around 4000 are considered very good products. I've seen very few exceed 6000, and none before Freo even exceed 8000.

If this value is fundamental for dust extraction, we have another very important one to help us understand how much the mops will be "crushed" on the ground and will consequently be able to wash even the most persistent stains, which are usually the oldest. Our Freo X Ultra arrives at 12N which turns out to be double and even quadruple pressure compared to competitors. In combination we find a rotation frequency of the mops that reaches 180 rpm making floor washing, at least on paper, the best performing on the market.

Another important detail is its completely rubberized dust collection brush.zero-tangling“, or zero tangles, which allows you to collect the Present in several = 99.56% of the hair and not to let them get tangled on it. Here is an exhaustive example:

The vocal feedback that will accompany us in the various cleaning operations is present, also in Italian.

MOCI

The mops are triangular in shape and this, together with the particular movement Smart EdgeSwing™ which is carried out in the areas close to the walls, allows an edge to edge washing that reaches almost the entirety of our floor, with a precision of up to 8mm away from the wall itself. They are sprayed with clean water via the internal water tank, which is not accessible to us, and washed at regular intervals (set by us) so as to wash with clean mops. The white color helps to see if they are clean or not and the 4 layers each have a particular function: the water storage layer, the aqueous layer, the cleaning layer and the bacteriostatic layer, all this translates into a great capacity of remove even the most stubborn stains.

Another fundamental aspect is the possibility of lifting the mops well 12 mm, a fundamental operation for those who own carpets. In fact, with automatic recognition, the robot will proceed to lift them just when it detects the presence of a carpet to avoid wetting it.

DUST COLLECTION

With regard to the dust collection we have 2 separate solutions: we can use disposable containers (we have 3 supplied) or the standard container. Let's see the differences. With disposable containers, through a particular procedure patented by Narval, the powder will be compressed, dried and sterilized so it will take up very little space, allowing us to use it for about a month and a half. Let's say the average timing of the classic bags that automatically collect the dust, emptying it by the robots, into the other competitor devices. Once full, just remove it and throw it away.
With reusable container the same collection, compression and sterilization procedure takes place but we will have the possibility to remove it and empty it manually once the washing session is finished. So it will be up to you which one to choose. This method is more suitable for cleanliness freaks who can't even tolerate the idea of ​​having dust in the robot.

Narwal Freo

The navigation system assumes well 3 laser readers, one in the upper turret, one on the side and one in the front. The one in the turret is the system LiDAR, a very well-established system used by most high-level robots. Together with the other 2, of which the lateral proprietary technology developed by Narval, allows the Freo to recognize very small obstacles, up to 1cm in size and thus avoid them. Competitors, with very sophisticated navigation systems, such as LiDAR, do not go below 3cm in minimum size, so objects smaller than this size will not be recognized and therefore avoided. The house scan is very fast and is requested upon first use. My apartment, about 80m2, took about 8 minutes to fully scan. A map will appear on the application 2d but also 3d of the rooms.

Narwal Freo

The mop charging and washing base contains the 2 tanks for clean water and dirty water, a touch display for direct access to some functions and the mop washing system. The water tanks are fine 4.5L that of'clean water e 4.1L that of theDirty water. But how does it work? Very simple, you just need to fill the clean water tank with water and detergent (or directly insert the Narwal detergent container supplied into the base, but we'll see this later). At this point, when a cleaning session that includes washing is launched, the robot will go to the station and its internal tank will be filled (not accessible to us) and at this point it will be ready to proceed with washing. Through the application (which we will see later) we have the possibility to set how many clean m² the robot will have to return to the station to wash the mops (8-10-12m²). We can also set the return to the station at the end of cleaning each room. In this way the Narwal will be able to wash the floor with always clean mops and this is naturally a fundamental thing. Naturally, after each mop wash, the station will clean the bulk of the dirt left on the (removable) washing base and suck up all the dirty water into the dedicated tank. Obviously if the internal tank is emptied it will be automatically refilled.

At the end of the cleaning session, the robot will return to the base for the last cleaning of the mops and related drying. This too can be managed via application in the ways and times we prefer.

My advice is to extract tray and base for cleaning (together they form the washing base), removable parts that are inside the base and wash them manually. As mentioned above, they will automatically be cleaned of any remaining dirt. But obviously some residue will remain and if you are a clean freak, at least every few washes, it would be useful to proceed with a thorough manual wash.

We will even have the possibility of loading clean water and discharging dirty water automatically. To do this, obviously, we will have to place the base in a point where we will have access to a drain and a water supply tap. So you will have to connect the dedicated KIT sold separately for loading and unloading and in this way the base will automatically manage this operation too. It is naturally not easy to have the house set up for this function, usually these "connections" are found in the bathroom but are normally used by the washing machine. In any case, if you had the chance, the base connections are located on the back. Just remove the plastic plate that covers them.

In the upper part of the station we have a convenient circular LCD touch display that will allow us to execute some commands directly from the station. To enable it, just touch it and the available commands are the following:

• Top icon: enable/disable FREO MIND
• Icon on the right: washing/drying mops
• Bottom icon: start/stop cleaning
• Icon on the left: call/exit to/from the station
• Central icon: child lock

As regards the detergent, we will have the convenient possibility of directly inserting the container of the washing base in front of the clean water tank where you will find a special recess. It should be placed upside down, without removing the cap. At the base of the seat we will find the entrance to a dispenser where we will have to insert our container into which we will only have to remove the plastic on the cap. In this way, the right amount of detergent will be released automatically without the annoying manual dosing operation (which is almost always wrong). It goes without saying that this feature is also a Narwal exclusive that you will not find in other devices.

APPLICATIONS

I found the application less complicated than other models in this segment, and I assure you it is not a plus poco. In the applications of other brands, sometimes, we get lost in a thousand menus and struggle to find what we are looking for because, let's be clear, the functions we use are essentially those and there are 4 (so to speak...). But let's start from the beginning. To install it, simply enter the store on your phone, Android or IOS, and search for "Narval". The first application that will appear is "Narval Freo" and is the one to install. Once installed, enable BT and location, and open the application, select Italy and Italian, create an account and select the "+" to add your device. Then select your Robot model.

When you have correctly installed it you will find yourself on the home page where you will view the battery charge and the status of the robot

From here we click "Enter device home" and we will find all the important menus. As a preliminary operation we will be asked to map the house. This operation is necessary to be able to use it. Important premise: the first time I used it there was no way to make it enter the docking automatically. So if this happens to you, don't worry, put it on manually and from that moment on there will be no problems recalling it on your home screen. Once you have done the preliminary mapping of the house you will be ready to use it: in my case (80 m²) it took about 20 minutes.

Once you enter the home page of the device you will find the map of the house in the foreground, the various washing modes, link to the 3D map, map type, docking station, settings (hexagonal icon at the top right)

Washing mode

There are 4 washing modes:

• Vacuum and wash: single pass to vacuum the dust and wash the floor
• Vacuum and then wash: first pass to vacuum the dust, second pass to wash
• Aspire: dust extraction only
• Lava: wash only

Obviously, if you have time to let the robot work, the best mode is "vacuum and then wash". However, if you have to hurry, “vacuum and wash” will halve the working time. These modes if not changed to custom mode, will be used for all rooms. If, however, you want to exclude some rooms from washing, for example, you will have to use the customized mode. By clicking on "personalization" you can decide how to clean room by room, in fact as soon as you click on it the rooms will be selected and a series of icons will appear in each room which will allow us to decide how to clean. By clicking on customization you will see what you have enabled in the various rooms, by clicking on the 2 dots you will enter the specific menu which will allow you to manually set the washing for each room.

Cleaning options

There are 5 cleaning options, let's look at them together:

• modality – The 4 already mentioned: vacuum and wash, vacuum and then wash, vacuum, wash
• Suction and washing cycle – These are the sessions of passage of the robot on each area of ​​the floor, you can set: X1, X2, X3. If you select X2 or X3 in the second and third pass, the washing pattern will also be changed (the application will visually explain how)
• Suction power – The power with which the robot will vacuum the dust can be set: silent, normal, strong, super powerful with obviously increasing power.
• Mop washing humidity – how much water will be released on the mops, 3 ever-increasing levels can be set.
• Accuracy level – how the robot will clean the floor, you can select: standard (for daily cleaning) or meticulous (for very dirty floors).

If we do not use the "personalization" mode, as already mentioned, all the rooms will be cleaned with the same set mode. But in this way we will have the possibility to use a further mode called “FREO MIND“. This intelligent mode allows the robot to intelligently clean based on the level of dirt it finds on the floor. However, within this mode we will have the possibility to modify the cleaning parameters or leave them on "intelligent" so that the robot manages them on its own, by clicking on "set". Well, I honestly didn't understand this possibility of changing the parameters in an "automatic" mode... in fact my advice is to leave them all on "intelligent". FREO MIND it can also be activated directly from the washing station display.

Exclusion zones

We also have the possibility of excluding individual areas or setting a washing mode only for those. To access this function you will have to click on the icon under the "3D" icon, then on "edit map", on "prohibited area" and finally on "+". At this point a red square will appear that you can resize and move as you wish, precisely to exclude certain areas from cleaning. Or set it as suction only or washing only. Once you have decided on the area, click on the green check and save by clicking save at the top right.

I remind you that our robot still has a automatic recognition of the carpets and if not excluded they will be cleaned by suction only, the mops will lift automatically to avoid wetting and ruining them.

General Settings

By clicking on the hexagonal icon at the top right we will enter the general settings menu. Here we will find very important settings to apply to obtain perfect cleaning according to our needs. Regarding the firmware you will be notified of new versions released. To install them, the robot must have a minimum recommended charge of 40%.

Clicking on Device you will enter the general settings of the robot. Here you can set the time zone, unit of measurement of the area, share the possibility of use with other family members, locate the robot (via voice feedback), restart it, reset the network, disconnect it.

In the menu "Clear” we will be able to configure the mop washing strategy (every 8-10-12m2 or at the end of each room and activate the Edge mode which is used, through a particular movement of our Narval, to wash the floor up to less than a cm from the edge of the wall (my advice is to leave the setting "Go beyond“). As for washing the mops, it will obviously be done completely automatically. Based on the setting we set, it will return to the base to wash the mops.

Let's now move on to the "General" menu where we can set other decidedly important settings:

• Ladderless mode: enable it if you don't have ladders, this way obstacles will be overcome more precisely
• Do Not Disturb: If enabled will turn off voice feedback and base station indicators. It will intelligently regulate those noisier functions at night
• High Altitude Mode: Enable it if you live in areas above 2000m
• Child lock: enable it if you don't want to risk that your children cannot interact with the robot
• Family with pets: enable it if you have dogs or cats at home, in this way the system for compacting the collected dust will be optimized even further

Another decidedly important menu is that of base station where we can set:

• Automatically add detergent: you will have the possibility to directly insert the Narval detergent container into the washing base and by enabling this option, detergent will be added automatically.
• Automatic bacteria control: enable it to inhibit any bacteria/mites present in the dust bag/container via hot air at the end of cleaning
• Mop drying type: silent, powerful, intelligent according to our needs. My advice is always smart mode and don't keep the base station in the bedroom.
• Default cleaning mode: vacuum and mop, vacuum and then mop, vacuum, mop. On the base we have an LCD display with 4 controls. Among these we have the one to start the robot, and the robot will start in the mode that we have set here.

We then find the menu dedicated to consumables and their status, manage accessories. Here you can check their status and know when it is time to replace or clean them.

In the menu language and voice you can set the volume of the robot's vocal feedback and set the language in which it will respond to you. For now we only have English and German as Western languages.

Let's finish with the menu third party control which will allow you to add our Narval ad Alexa and manage it with voice commands.

HOW DOES Narwal Freo X Ultra CLEAN

But let's get to the fundamental point, how it cleans the floor. So, I must say that the level is very high and has nothing to envy even of manual floor cleaners which are known to always have superior cleaning performances. His 8200Pa of aspiration, i 12N of mop pressure and technology DirtSense™ based on AI they definitely make themselves felt. You will hardly find dust residues or unwashed stains. Obviously, as far as stains are concerned, we must take into consideration that we are talking about a robot and we cannot expect it to remove old or particularly sticky stains.
Obstacle detection, thanks to triple laser system Lidar turret + Front Laser + Side Laser (Narval exclusive), is really very functional as is the cleaning around them, but the advice is always to keep the area to be cleaned as clear as possible. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to test its behavior on carpets, but I saw some demos and it seems really excellent: the mops rise (I remember up to 12mm) and dry cleaning is carried out perfectly.
The thorough cleaning near the walls is also very good thanks to Narval's proprietary algorithm EdgeSwing™, the triangular mops and the "shaking" movement will only leave a few millimeters of unwashed floor, millimeters which all things considered we must accept even with manual floor cleaners.
Excellentmop car wash who will therefore always wash the floor clean and will not take the collected dirt with them. This is indeed a fundamental point for washing, in fact with other similar products I noticed that after cleaning just one room they were really dirty.
Equally excellent is the automatic water filling of the robot's internal tank, which will take place completely automatically. In mop washing we also include automatic washing of the platform where the Narval will settle during the operation. Cleaning this area from time to time is always recommended. The platform is easily removable and washable with water.
The last positive aspect, among many, is the noisiness really limited. It stands around 58dB that compared to 70dB mediums of the competition is a big difference. You can therefore also use it in the evening while comfortably watching TV from the sofa, the noise disturbance will be minimal.
The only downside is the issue of non-automatic dust collection by the base. However, this is mitigated by the fact that the dust container, disposable or reusable, will have to be emptied once every 6/7 weeks, therefore as if the dust were collected in a bag from the base. No problem due to the possible risk of proliferation of mites or bacteria as through the specific setting of the app we can sterilize at the end of cleaning using hot air.
Finally, let's talk about aesthetics, which is always a personal and very subjective concept. I don't like the base very much, but very much. Beautiful, elegant, it hides the robot almost entirely and we remember its integrated LCD touch display which allows us to carry out some operations directly from there.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

Il Narwhal Freo X Ultra coastline 949€ list price and it seems to me to be a much more than honest price. I have seen other robots in the same segment, with decidedly fewer features, costing as much as €1499. If we then add the introductory offer then I can go too far, it becomes a Best Buy. In fact, until May 31st, you can buy it on Amazon at the price of 749€ and thanks to our discount coupon you can take it home with a further discount of 30€ it's a complimentary accessory kit worth €150 (to get it, just add the discount code and it will be automatically sent). So if you are looking for a top of the range floor cleaning robot vacuum cleaner then don't miss this incredible offer. For those with a lower budget, I remind you that narwhal has a cheaper robot on its list, the Freo XPlus. Obviously with inferior features but which offers excellent value for money.

Having said all this, the final choice remains up to you. I can only recommend this fantastic Narwal Freo X Ultra which will certainly be worth the money spent.

Narwal Freo X Ultra + FREE Accessory Kit🎁

★★★★★

769€ 949€

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Narwal Freo X Plus (from April 20)

★★★★★

329€ 399€

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