Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist Assessment: Nice Design—But Does It Ship?

A placing design? No query about it. The identify “Artist” alone makes it clear that Tineco doesn’t view the FLOOR ONE STATION S9 as simply one other run-of-the-mill moist/dry vacuum. A shiny housing, eye-catching show, and huge docking station—its presentation is much extra elaborate than that of many different units on this class. But what actually received thrilling through the Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist take a look at was what lies behind this presentation: How simple is the system to maneuver, how nicely does it deal with sticky liquids, crumbs, advantageous particles, and pet hair, and the way a lot work does the station really take off your fingers after mopping?

Technical specs of the Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist

Unboxing and contents of the Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist

First impression upon unboxing: numerous packaging. Many components are individually packed in small baggage, plus there are many protecting movies that you must peel off first. This seemingly minimizes the danger of harm throughout delivery, however the entire course of doesn’t really feel notably sustainable or fast.

The bundle contains:

• the primary unit with brush roll
• the Smart Refresh Station with a 5-liter water tank
• a 500 ml bottle of cleansing resolution
• a dry filter
• a substitute filter
• a second brush curler as a spare
• a cleansing device for the curler

For a tool on this worth vary, that’s an honest choice. The most placing distinction from many different moist/dry vacuums, nonetheless, is the station itself: Instead of a flat docking station the place you merely place the system to cost it, this one encompasses a considerably bigger unit with its personal 5-liter tank that mechanically provides the system with scorching water. A substitute curler and substitute filter are nonetheless included proper out of the field—so if you happen to discover after a number of months that the primary curler is beginning to wear down, you don’t must reorder instantly.

Design and Build Quality

At first look, the coloured gentle strip on the high of the Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist stands out within the take a look at—a gradient from blue to pink/crimson that Tineco calls a “3D light display” and compares to the Aurora Borealis. In my case, it really lights up when in use, and it’s greater than only a standing LED; it’s extra of a steady coloration gradient that provides the system a definite visible id.

Separate from that, there’s a second, useful show additional down on the deal with: an LED touchscreen that reveals Wi-Fi standing and battery degree in p.c and provides the Auto, Max, Suction, and Quiet modes as selectable choices instantly on the display. So you possibly can change modes proper there, not simply by way of the button on the physique.

There can be an LED highlight on the comb head that illuminates the ground in entrance of the system—helpful whenever you’re sweeping below cupboards or into the darkish nook behind the couch and in any other case can’t see what’s really there.

As for the fabric, I used to be fearful that the shiny floor—Tineco calls it a “crystalline IMD layer”—would rapidly look ugly. Fingerprints do present up every now and then, however nothing too unhealthy that you just’d must consistently wipe away. Overall, the housing feels high-quality, not like low cost plastic.

Handling: Lighter than the numbers recommend

On paper, the S9 Artist isn’t precisely a light-weight at 5.2 kilos, and you may inform that whenever you decide it up—the system feels compact however positively substantial in your hand. Once it’s on the ground, you hardly discover it in any respect. When I first began pushing it, I had sure expectations in thoughts, which have been rapidly dispelled: The system feels way more comfy to maneuver than the quantity on paper would recommend. It’s not a sluggish block that you must laboriously push via the residence.

The cause for that is the SmoothDrive system: The wheels actively help when transferring ahead and backward. You don’t really feel such as you’re pushing a heavy block in entrance of you—particularly when transferring ahead and backward, you discover that the system helps itself.

I used to be a bit shocked by the upright help. If you stand the S9 Artist upright for a second, you possibly can clearly really feel that the system doesn’t simply passively keep in place. It noticeably helps the motion and stays very steady when standing. At first, this feels a bit uncommon as a result of the mop vacuum has extra of a thoughts of its personal than you’d count on from a traditional ground cleaner. After a couple of minutes, although, I discovered precisely that to be sensible: You can cease briefly, transfer one thing out of the best way, or change areas with out the system feeling wobbly or cumbersome.

The S9 Artist additionally handles getting below furnishings higher than you’d count on given its design. When laid flat, the system stays low sufficient to suit below many cupboards or sofas; the LED highlight helps you find mud, hair, and crumbs with out simply counting on contact.

Test: How does the Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist carry out in real-world use?

In my on a regular basis take a look at, I didn’t simply push the Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist throughout a fairly clear ground—I put it via a number of typical kitchen mishaps: spilled cola combine, crispbread crumbs, dried-up mustard, herb combine, salt, and crumbled cornflakes.

With the cola combine, the sticky element was notably attention-grabbing. The S9 picked up the liquid itself very nicely: after the primary cross, most of it was already gone; after a second cross, the ground not felt greasy. It doesn’t dry fully instantly, however solely a slight dampness stays, which dries rapidly. It’s exactly in conditions like this that you just understand why a wet-and-dry vacuum may be extra sensible than paper towels, rags, and a follow-up wipe-down.

The S9 Artist additionally performs impressively with dry crumbs. It picks up small crumbs instantly, whereas bigger items typically require a bit extra precision. But the important thing level is: it doesn’t simply push them in entrance of it, it really sucks them in. After a cross, there’s no advantageous crumb mud left behind—the type you typically overlook when sweeping.

Dried mustard was the stickier a part of the take a look at. Such residues are more difficult for wet-vacuum cleaners than pure liquids as a result of they have to be loosened from the ground relatively than merely picked up. The S9 Artist dealt with this as nicely, although it required a bit extra follow-up work on the yellowish residue in comparison with cola combine or crumbs.

All in all, the Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist carried out notably nicely with combined kitchen grime: liquids, crumbs, advantageous particles, and sticky residues hardly ever find yourself on the ground individually in on a regular basis life. It handles this actual combination very nicely.

Edge cleansing and streaking

Edge cleansing is without doubt one of the S9 Artist’s robust fits. Tineco employs a triple-edge cleansing system right here: the curler not solely will get near baseboards, furnishings, and fixtures on the entrance but additionally on the perimeters. Fine particles particularly, corresponding to herb mixes or salt, which are likely to get caught proper alongside an edge, was picked up nicely within the take a look at.

However, the moist vacuum cleaner doesn’t work fully edge-free. Even the S9 Artist can’t get into true inside corners completely; relying on the angle, a small residue should still stay there. Along straight edges, although, it does a superb job, particularly the place crumbs or advantageous particles lie instantly towards the furnishings.

In addition, there’s a movable squeegee on the entrance that lifts because the system strikes ahead and lowers once more because it retracts. On the spec sheet, that is listed because the “StreakFree squeegee” with a response time of 0.2 seconds. What issues isn’t a lot the quantity because the impact when retracting: the wiper presses extra firmly towards the ground, picks up water marks extra successfully, and reduces seen streaks. After urgent the cease button, the system additionally mechanically strikes again a brief distance to choose up any remaining water streaks.

Hair Pickup and Anti-Tangle in Everyday Use

When it involves hair, the S9 Artist carried out pleasantly unobtrusively in testing. Individual hairs, longer strands, and even advantageous canine undercoat have been picked up with out the curler changing into visibly clogged. This is an particularly vital level for wet-and-dry vacuums, as a result of tangled hair rapidly turns into a nuisance: Remove the comb, take away the hair, put all the pieces again in.

Tineco depends on the DualBlock Anti-Tangle System for this. A comb-like scraper catches the hair instantly on the curler, whereas a second scraper carries it away together with the soiled water. When utilizing the mop vacuum, the primary profit is that you just don’t have to achieve for scissors proper after mopping. In my case, no vital hair tangles shaped across the curler.

Officially, the S9 Artist remains to be meant for exhausting flooring. The undeniable fact that it additionally picked up canine undercoat from a rug in my case is subsequently extra of a sensible aspect impact than a substitute for a correct vacuum cleaner or cordless vacuum with a carpet nozzle. For households with pets or lengthy hair, the hair pickup remains to be a transparent plus.

Self-cleaning take a look at: The Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist encompasses a hot-water circulation system as a substitute of simply rinsing the curler

After coping with cola combine, crumbs, and herbs, the S9 Artist returns to the station. The thrilling half right here isn’t a lot that self-cleaning begins in any respect—you’d count on that on this worth vary by now—however relatively how Tineco has solved it. The Smart Refresh Station operates with its personal 5-liter water reservoir, heats the water, and mechanically refills the system’s recent water tank. Only then does the cleansing cycle run via the system, hose, and brush curler.

You additionally don’t must measure out the cleansing resolution your self each time. It is distributed mechanically, which is definitely extra handy than these little cap-counting calculations required by less complicated units. However, the system doesn’t run fully by itself: recent water within the station, the soiled water tank on the machine, and strong residues are nonetheless issues you must care for.

After cleansing with scorching water comes drying, and right here there are two modes to select from: According to Tineco, FlashDry dries in about 5 minutes at 110°C, whereas SilentDry stays beneath 45 dB(A)—useful if you happen to’re mopping within the night and don’t need to get up the entire home. To match this, the comb curler itself is extra heat-resistant than a regular curler, which is important at 110°C.

Sounds like loads of know-how for “the roller gets dry”—and it’s. The query is whether or not it really makes a distinction ultimately.

After one cycle, the curler was nonetheless barely damp regardless of the new water and 110°C drying. Not moist, however not fully dry both. After a second drying cycle, it was considerably drier. That’s not a giant effort, however it does put the very assured 5-minute declare into perspective a bit.

This doesn’t make the Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist maintenance-free—the take a look at confirmed that. Solid particles stays contained in the unit, and the tank, curler, and housing must also be checked repeatedly. The self-cleaning characteristic noticeably reduces the trouble required after mopping, however it doesn’t make the S9 Artist a tool you possibly can merely ignore indefinitely.

The Tineco App

The S9 Artist can connect with the Tineco app by way of Wi-Fi. Among different issues, this lets you examine the battery degree, additional customise the cleansing modes, and—useful if the voice prompts are annoying—alter the voice and quantity of the voice output.

In my opinion, the app isn’t important. The controls on the system itself are completely enough for regular use, and particularly whenever you’re doing a fast sweep, you don’t need to must fiddle along with your smartphone first. As a complement for primary settings and voice prompts, it’s nonetheless helpful, although, as a result of you possibly can fine-tune a number of issues there extra exactly than instantly on the show.

Volume and Voice Prompts

As for the quantity, I by no means felt at any level that it turned disagreeable. You can hear the system, in fact—particularly in Max mode and through self-cleaning, it’s fairly noticeable. But for me, that was by no means the purpose the place it turned annoying.

More noticeable to me than the quantity have been the voice prompts. They’re useful as a result of the system itself lets when it’s operating low on recent water or when the soiled water tank is full. However, anybody who usually finds speaking units annoying will in all probability need to flip them down anyway—and that’s precisely the place the app is useful.

What it is best to know earlier than shopping for

There are nonetheless a number of sensible factors to bear in mind earlier than shopping for. The recent water tank is comparatively compact for its quantity, however it doesn’t essentially match comfortably below each small lavatory faucet. It’s a lot simpler to fill on the kitchen sink or at a bathe or tub faucet.

The station requires extra planning. It’s not a small charging pad that you may simply shove right into a nook someplace; as a substitute, it wants a everlasting spot close to an outlet. Visually, too, the S9 Artist doesn’t merely disappear inconspicuously into a cupboard.

Furthermore, the S9 Artist doesn’t exchange a regular vacuum cleaner. It is designed for exhausting flooring; sofas, upholstery, automobiles, carpets, or dry corners stay the area of one other system. However, for kitchen spills, moist marks, and combined grime, it saves you many steps.

After testing the Tineco FLOOR ONE STATION S9 Artist, the design issues much less

With the S9 Artist, it’s not the design that stands out ultimately, although Tineco closely emphasizes this very level. The housing appears modern, the show is eye-catching, and the station additionally feels considerably larger high quality than a easy charging base. But for me, one thing else was decisive within the take a look at: The mop vacuum feels lighter to push than its weight suggests, will get near straight edges, and has no main issues with typical kitchen grime.

The S9 Artist does a very robust job with combined messes. Cola combine, crumbs, herbs, mustard, salt, and cornflakes weren’t unrealistic excessive assessments, however relatively pretty regular kitchen accidents. That’s precisely the place the system shines, as a result of it picks up liquids, advantageous particles, and sticky residue in a single cross with out making an even bigger mess.

The station is greater than only a handy additional. Hot-water cleansing, automated recent water provide, and drying noticeably scale back the trouble required after mopping. The system isn’t good: the curler was nonetheless barely damp after a FlashDry cycle in my case, emptying the soiled water tank remains to be a guide activity, and also you’ll nonetheless want a unique system for upholstery, automobiles, or dry corners.

With an MSRP of 899 euros, the Tineco S9 Artist is clearly an costly system. It makes essentially the most sense in households with a lot of exhausting flooring, common kitchen spills, pet hair, or little want to do follow-up cleansing after mopping. If you solely mop a number of sq. meters often, you don’t want a system like this. But if you happen to incessantly wet-clean and are on the lookout for a handy resolution with a docking station, this can be a system that impresses primarily with its dealing with, edge cleansing, and self-cleaning capabilities—not its worth.

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