Tineco Floor One Switch S6 vacuum/mop – flash dry mop clean (cleaning review)

11/06/2024
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

Tineco Floor One Switch S6 vacuum/mop is two devices in one – a powered vacuum/mop and a removable, swappable SwitchPro vacuum motor and cleaning accessories – switch!

My wife loves it when we test Tineco. First, I get to do the floors, and second, this ensures the best hard floor clean after the various robovac/mops do their job.

I love Tineco because its products are well-made, and each generation shows innovation in design without compromise. For example, this generation has 70° FlashDry mop drying in just five minutes. There is no chance of odours or mould with this.

Having reviewed the Tineco power mops Floor One S5 Pro, S6 Pro Extreme, and S7 Pro and other brands like Eufy Mach, Karcher and HIZERO, we feel qualified to say we are power mop experts. You can read our guide, Five Tips For Choosing A Cordless Power Mop.

Similarly, we have reviewed numerous dry ‘stick’ vacuums from Dyson, LG, Samsung, Tineco, Shark, Ultenic, and Karcher and have owned many corded bag vacs in our lifetime.

This is handy: a power vacuum/mop and combo vacuum for the right user. Read on.

Australian Review: Tineco Floor One Switch S6 vacuum/mop

Website	Tineco US product details (US pricing) Tineco AU Site Manual
Price	$999
From	Authorised Amazon AU site only
Warranty	24-months ACL on unit and 12-months on accessories
Made in	China
Company	Tineco (Est. 1998) is part of Ecovacs (Deebot). In 2019, it launched in the US, followed by Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
More	CyberShack Tineco news and reviews CyberShack Cleaning news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

We are also tightening up on grading. From now on, Pass, for example, means meeting expectations for the price bracket. We consider a Pass mark to be 70+/100 with extra points added for class-leading and excellence.

First Impression – a Tineco vacuum/mop with benefits – Pass+

Yes, it is a Tineco characterised by being very well-made and having a strong familial resemblance to the other models. That resemblance is more due to science than coincidence. A power vac/mop needs a clean water tank, a wastewater tank, a front roller, a motor, a handle and a charging cradle.

Yet Tineco has improved on the charging cradle with the addition of FlashDry – a 70° C, 5-minute hot-air dry to prevent any change of mould or odour.

It has also made the vacuum motor—SwitchPro—detachable for use as a stick or hand vacuum. Clever with a few minor caveats:

Its handle adds 60mm to the vac/mop body ‘height’, making it a little more difficult to get under things like chairs and low furniture. That is no biggie, as Tineco needs to stay relatively upright to prevent water leakage.
It powers the vac/mop and the standalone vac. If you run out of battery (35 minutes vac/mop or 65 minutes vac only), recharging takes about 5 hours (just as battery power tools do). This means that as a combo, it is best for about 70-100m2 maximum before a charge.
Power-wise, it is more of a ‘Dust Buster’ on steroids. The eco/Max 15/30 air-watt power is enough to effectively vacuum short pile carpet, edges, under cupboard overhangs, etc. But don’t try to do a Dyson that typically has 250 air watts.

On the positive side, the SwitchPro and vacuum dustbin weighs 1320g, the 560 mm aluminium wand weighs 326g, and the full-sized power head weighs 800g for <2.4kg. The floor-to-mid-handle hold height is approx. one meter, which is perfect.

We will report in two parts – its efficacy as a vac/mop and as a stick vacuum.

Vacuum/Mop for hard floors

The Tineco Floor One Switch S6 is like the other Tineco models except for a removable SwitchPro vacuum unit. But it is also smaller. Where the S5/6/7 have 8L clean water and 7.2L wastewater, this has 500/450ml.

Rule #1 is that it will do a smaller area, limited by the water reservoir and the battery life. We estimate that this is about 75-100m2 for both.

It is perfect for apartment dwellers – one or two bedrooms, bathroom/s, and an open-space living area.

Tineco’s floor cleaning solution aids the mop’s grime-cutting ability, although you can use tap water (a cap full per 500ml). It costs $39.95 per litre but shop around. It is economical and does a better job than water alone.

It is safe and contains 5% 2 Methyl oxirane (washing/grease stripping) and Benzothiazolinone (fungicide). Its use will avoid clogging the roller spray head. Note that tap water can cause calcium scale with prolonged use.

Rule #2 – use the solution.

Subjectively, it vacuums/mops as well as its siblings, with the identical 450RPM roller and edge cleaning ability on both sides. It automatically adjusts water delivery from 20 to 100ml/min.

Power assist wheels vacuum/mop – Pass

It has forward-direction power assist wheels and light friction when reversing. At 4.3kg, it is not heavy, but if you need forward and rear power wheel assist, the S7 Pro offers that.

Noise – Pass

It is about 75-78dB – the same as a vacuum cleaner.

Tineco App – Not necessary

The Tineco App is for Android and iOS. As this model does not have firmware updates, it is an unnecessary app. Every function is available on the device itself.

Consumer Advice: We suggest you first read the AU website’s privacy policy and terms of use. Note that these are different from the device policies in the App.

While we can say that the policy and terms are relatively benign, understand that:

They are governed by and construed by the laws of the People’s Republic of China without reference to conflicts of laws. Any disputes under these Terms of Use shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts located in Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, P.R China.

The good news is that you don’t need the App (so don’t use it), which is all about owning customer data and using it for direct email marketing.

Battery Life – Pass+

It uses a new 21.6V/4A/86W Li-Po pouch cell with an approximate 5-hour charge.

In our tests on 50m2 of hard floors, it used 50% of the battery and 75% of the clean water.

The self-clean cycle saw the battery go down by a further 10%. Its claim of 35 minutes of battery life on a vacuum/mop defaults is verified.

We then managed to vacuum 45m2 of carpet and wall edges before exhausting the battery. Its claim of 65 minutes of vacuum time on defaults is verified.

Tineco does not reveal the battery cycle life, but we assume it is at least 500 (and probably many more) recharges.

Modes – Pass+

Auto vac/mop – Use this 99% of the time. This means that iLoop automatically adjusts vacuum power and spray volumes.
Max – Increased vacuum power and the water spray from a light rinse to max. I use Max on stubborn stains like dried coffee. No iLoop.
The vacuum only has eco and max modes.

Maintenance – Pass+ if you are lazy and Pass if you are meticulous

The self-clean function is excellent, and now, with 70°, 5-minute FlashDry, you don’t need to clean the vacuum/mop manually.

Otherwise, the front cover can be easily removed, exposing the floating blade and easy-to-remove roller (spare provided). Rinse and dry. The images below were before it auto-cleans and are for illustration only.

Of course, you must empty the wastewater (after every 50-75m2 run) and rinse it under the sink. A HEPA filter can be washed (a spare is provided).

SwitchPro Vacuum motor and accessories

No air watt specifications are provided, but we expect that it has around 35 in Eco and 70 in Max modes. This is like a ‘Dust Buster’ on steroids. No, it is not like a Dyson et al. with 250AW or more.

The air suction is greatly assisted by full-sized and mini power heads, making it quite effective as a handheld or stick vacuum. The dustbin has six multi-cyclone filters and a reasonably small 9<500ml) dustbin capacity.

We tested Eco mode on 45m2 of short-pile waffle weave carpet, which did a decent job. It is not for long-pile carpets or feature rugs. Max Mode reduces battery life to about 30 minutes, and we could not discern any effectiveness difference on the test carpet.

It has a simple LCD readout and iLoop Automatic suction levels for Eco and Max – a blue-to-red indicator loop.

It has four tools – combo crevice and soft brush, mini-power brush, and zero tangle power brush.

As a stick vacuum, its power head is small enough (50m high) to fit under any cupboard overhang (many vacuums are too high). It has LED lighting for dark areas.

It is great as a hand vac—it is a perfect size for in-car use, furniture cleaning, and general cleaning.

Dustbin empty – Pass

It is a manual job, and you will get your hands dirty. You can wash the dustbin and cyclone unit. You also need to wash the filter occasionally to maintain suction effectiveness.

Storage – Pass+

A stand clips onto the side of the charge base and stores all accessories.

Who should buy this

A one or two-bedroom apartment is about the right match for run time and suction power. Considering that the S6 Pro costs $999, you will get a scaled-down version with a general-purpose stock vac for the same price.

CyberShack’s view – Tineco Floor One Switch S6 vacuum/mop is a great combo for the right home.

I referred to power tools earlier and how you may have one battery to power several units. This is similar – 30+ minutes of vacuum/mop or 65 minutes of vacuum. Charge for <5 hours and repeat.

It is a good buy if your home area matches this unit’s cleaning area. If you have longer carpet, harder-to-clean floors, etc., look at the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro – an upgrade to an already good vacuum mop and the Tineco Pure One S12 Platinum smart stick vacuum cleaner.

Tineco Floor One Switch S6 vacuum/mop ratings 80/100

Note that 2024 reviews use 70/100 as a base pass mark. Earlier reviews used 80/100, but we needed some headroom to reward class-leading or excellence. Deduct 10 points for older reviews.

Features: 80—It has all the expected features, including a combo vacuum/mop and a separate vacuum.
Value: 80 – Reasonable value, but remember, this is not a heavy-duty unit.
Performance: 80—It meets performance expectations for hard floors as a vacuum/mop and for handheld and stick use on short-pile carpets, edges, etc.
Ease of Use: 80—Forward-assist powered vacuum mop and lightweight vacuum. A 2-year warranty is good.
Design: 80 – Shares Tineco Floor One design cues and is very well made.