Product test
Testing the Kärcher FCV 4 hard floor and carpet cleaner
by Stefanie Lechthaler
Rowenta’s X-Clean 10 vacuums, mops and speaks
20.6.2025
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Video: Valentina Sproge-Werndli
Pictures: Valentina Sproge-Werndli
The X-Clean 10 is the new wet/dry vacuum cleaner from Rowenta. It vacuums and mops floors in a single sweep and cleans itself immediately afterwards. The device is also quite chatty.
I’m a genuinely lazy person. So lazy, in fact, that I consider vacuuming and mopping the floors in two steps to be completely superfluous. I either vacuum the floor or mop it. But when you mop without hoovering first, damp black balls of start to collect everywhere. «How nice,» I then think to myself. They remind me of those cute dust sprites the Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro.
Waltzing with a self-cleaning roller
The true innovation in the Rowenta X-Clean is below the belt. Namely, a fresh water tank located where things get dirty, at the bottom of the mop and roller. The lower centre of gravity ensures that I’ve been dancing effortlessly across the floor and through the apartment, supported by the motorised roller.
Speaking of the dirt container: waste water and solid dirt are kept separately, which prevents a mess when you’re emptying it. The stolid stuff goes into the bin, and the dirty water down the drain. Ingenious! The roller then cleans itself at the base station. This takes about ten to fifteen minutes. You have to remove coarse dirt or hair by hand and the roller can be removed in one easy step. That’s it. An exemplary solution.
Talkative AI
Like any self-respecting company, Rowenta also uses AI to market its product. But it’s useless. The X-Clean has four programmes: Turbo, Quiet, Vacuum only or AI. In this case, «AI» means that a sensor detects how much dirt the roller is currently cleaning up and shifts the appliance up a gear accordingly. This makes the X-Clean just a tad smarter than my toaster or egg cooker.
Like my egg cooker, the X-Clean 10 can speak. And it’s quite the chatterbox. It tells me when I should empty the tank, start the cleaning programme or clean – the wet/dry vacuum cleaner comments on everything. I don’t really understand who needs this, as you can also read everything from the display. Well, there’s a simple solution to this: switching off AI.
Problem: no spare battery
According to the manufacturer, the Rowenta X-Clean 10 battery lasts up to one hour. If you need more, you need to recharge the device. That’s because the battery is permanently installed, which is unacceptable for a cordless vacuum cleaner. It means you’re limited to this one hour and can’t simply change the battery if it gives up the ghost. Rowenta urgently needs to improve this in the next version.
In a nutshell
The X-Clean 10 is the almost perfect wet/dry vacuum cleaner
With the X-Clean 10, I actually have the best of both worlds: I can vacuum and mop the floor in one go. There are residues along the wall and in the corners. The artificial intelligence is incompetent and the voice mode is useless. Fortunately, I don't have to log into an app or the cloud, as is the case with other manufacturers. And the gimmicks can simply be switched off. One star is deducted for the permanently installed battery. This is no longer up to date. Anyone looking for a wet/dry vacuum cleaner that really works will be very well served by this appliance.
Pro
- Few residues
- Can be easily pushed around
- Solid dirt separated from waste water
- Self-cleaning
Contra
- No exchangeable battery
- Voice output is annoying, can fortunately be switched off
Simon Balissat
Teamleader Editorial
Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.chWhen I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.
Home + Kitchen
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