If you value a well-polished floor, the Narwal Flow is our new top pick for mopping capabilities in a robot vacuum.
Narwal FlowNarwal Flow
Not only does the floor look great, but the edges and corners are super clean, and my rugs are clean and have not moved from where I placed them. A number of vacuums can accomplish all of these things, but this is the first time they have all happened at the same time.
And after testing it for a month, running it for well over 1,000 hours and 7,500 sqft of floor cleaning tasks, I’m pretty happy to declare that this is one of the best robot vacuums you can buy.What’s the Narwal Flow all about?
Back at CES 2025 we awarded the Narwal Flow a CES 2025 Breakthrough award for its various innovations. The multi-function base station, and the new FlowWash System with EdgeReach Technology were top factors in that decision. It was obvious from those early demos that this was going to be the bot to beat for floor mopping in 2025, so I’m super pleased to have now had the bot in-house for live testing.
Traditionally, Narwal deploys dual spinning mop pads on its bots. With the Narwal Flow, the FlowWash Mopping System is an elongated roller system. This creates a full-width flat surface that can polish a lot of surfaces at once. The Flow also adds EdgeReach, which allows the roller to push out to the side so that the bot can clean completely to the edge of your room and into corners.
The Flow is equipped with familiar folding front brushes and a zero-tangling main roller, powered by 20,000 Pa of suction pressure for all of your vacuuming needs.
Though Narwal has been a leader in terms of mapping and navigation in the past, the Flow steps that up, too. Combining powerful AI computing in their Twin-AI Dodge with the reliability of 3D modeling from LiDAR sensors, the Flow navigates my home better than any Narwal bot before it. Plus, the LiDAR sensor is now situated in the rear casing, making this one of the shortest Narwal bots as well, perfect for getting under furniture.
The 8-in-1 multi-function base station houses clean and dirty water canisters, a large dry debris collection bag, and an assortment of self-cleaning and automation features. These features promise many weeks of maintenance-free and stress-free operation.Many promises, but how does the Narwal Flow stack up in the real world?
Let’s start with the basics. The Flow is proving to be a very reliable vacuum, and that all starts with mapping and navigation. After setup, the Flow mapped my floors just as well as previous Narwal units did, and it continues to navigate with precision. It accurately identifies cords, shoes, furniture, and carpets that it should avoid running over. This includes my extra-thick bath mats that I always talk about; the Flow is the first bot to identify the mats as being too tall for it, avoiding them instead of getting stuck on them.
