If you have let the robot vacuum excitement pass you by out of disinterest, there are still great new options for you. ILIFE has released plenty of robot vacuums, but they have also released the W90 Cordless Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner. This comprehensive review puts it through its paces to see how it fares.

This is a sponsored article and was made possible by ILIFE. The actual contents and opinions are the sole views of the author who maintains editorial independence, even when a post is sponsored.

ILIFE W90 Wet & Dry Vacuum Features

The ILIFE W90 Cordless Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner is an upright appliance that vacuums, washes, and mops your floor. It’s not connected to a device, so there are no concerns of pairing, connecting to the Internet, etc. Its features include:

• Vacuums, mops, and washes floors

• 6000Pa suction power

• Runtime of up to 30 minutes

• Voice and light prompts

• Brush roller self-cleaning

• Cleans tile, laminate, marble, and hardwood

Setting Up the Vacuum

I have to admit: this was a heavy box. The ILIFE W90 Vacuum shipped in a larger, bulkier box, and I wasn’t able to move it up the stairs on my own.

The following was included in the box:

• W90 Wet & Dry Vacuum

• Vacuum handle

• Charging base

• Power adapter

• User manual and warranty

• Extra sponge filter screen

• Cleaning tool

• Multi-surface cleaner

Although a user manual is included, it was sometimes short of information, so some things needed to be figured out along the way. One thing the manual does explain is how to fit the handle into the base of the vacuum. It slides in very simply.

The charging base is similar to what you would find with a robot vacuum. It has a cord that plugs into an electrical outlet, with another end that plugs into the charging base. Place it in your home near an electrical outlet and where you would like the vacuum to be stored/charged when not in use.

Place the vacuum on top of the base so that it makes contact to charge. It will very loudly tell you that it is charging, and the light in front will change to a flashing orange. When it’s done charging, it will turn green, then off to save battery. It took between an hour and an hour and 15 minutes to charge completely.

Using the ILIFE W90

Before cleaning your floors, you need to fill up the clean water tank. While the ILIFE W90 Cordless Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner came with a small bottle of cleanser, I have not tried that yet. There is nothing in the instruction manual about using cleanser, though there is on the back of the bottle. I find adding soap attracts more dirt, so I prefer not to use it on my floors.

The clean water tank is located at the back of the vacuum. It simply lifts right out after pressing the button. You don’t need to use special water and can use tap water to fill it up.

Simply lift the ILIFE W90 Vacuum off its charging base, and you’re ready to go. Note that you will get another loud message from the vacuum letting you know that you can start cleaning.

There are operating buttons on the front and back of the vacuum. On the front is the power button and another that controls whether the vacuum operates in automatic or powerful mode. The voice will activate when you change the mode to let you know. I didn’t find an overwhelming difference between the two modes. The button on the back will add an additional spray of water to the floor.

The vacuum is heavy to operate. It will give you a little bit of a workout if you have many areas to clean up. It wasn’t too heavy for me but may be for some. I could lift it up and down the stairs, but it was too heavy to clean my stairs.

The W90 cleaned my floors well, though it wasn’t very thorough in the corners. I would say robot vacuums do a better job cleaning in corners, though the W90 did a better job mopping my floors overall. It won’t lift up dried spots initially, but if you spray them to soak a little bit, then come back at the end, you can get them to lift up.

Cleaning Up the W9

Some regular maintenance needs to be done when you finish cleaning with the ILIFE W90 Cordless Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner. It seemed like a lot the first time, but after doing it a few more times, I realized it wasn’t. It took just a couple of minutes.

The bottom button on the front of the handle is a self-cleaning button for the roller. If there isn’t much clean water in the tank, add more. Return the vacuum to the charging base and hit the button. It will spin the roller and clean it, then stop.

These pictures were taken before I cleaned my floors, as I didn’t want to subject everyone to the realities of the floors of my home with three adults and a dog. Press the button to remove the dirty water tank, and pull the inside assembly and the plastic filter out. Dump out the dirty water and debris and rinse off the plastic filter and sponge assembly. Interestingly, the sponge remained dry every time. I haven’t needed to air dry it.

Even though you put the roller through the self-clean, you still need to rinse it off. But it really wasn’t dirty after the self-clean. Open the tray, lift the roller out, rinse it out, and shake out the excess water. A really neat trick is that you can set it out to dry in one of the round holes on the side of the charging base.

Final Thoughts

Wet & dry vacs have come a long way. They’ve become smart, they’ve remained “dumb,” and some, like the ILIFE W90 Cordless Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner, remained “dumb” but still picked up some smart tricks. It provides a three-way cleaning and helps you clean it after it finishes the job. This one is for you if you don’t want to go near smart appliances and can handle a little extra weight. I think I’ll find room in my cleaning for both a robot vacuum and the W90. Pick up your own for $179.99 after applying the Amazon coupon

Laura Tucker

Laura has spent nearly 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with more than 10 of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past three decades. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site's sponsored review program.