Narwal Flow review: A few bad apples don’t spoil the bunch

The Narwal Flow both exceeds and falls below expectations. On one hand, it's a carpet cleaning connoisseur. Despite my unwavering allegiance to the stick vacuum, it lives up to the claim of above-average suction power and debris pickup rate. You can even use it in place of your stick vacuum; it’s that good. Its mopping performance is exceptional, and I was taken aback by how lustrous it left my floors. 

On the other hand, the app needs some serious fine-tuning, and the vacuuming mode just didn’t fare as well on tiles. It’s like night and day, the way my carpet remains spotless while the tiles are waiting patiently for the same treatment. 

The Narwal Flow has most of the foundational features on lock, but the execution needs polishing. Even though a few flaws don’t negate an otherwise capable vacuum, they did leave a sour taste in my mouth that’s hard to ignore.

I’m disillusioned when it comes to robot vacuum performance on carpet. They don’t typically get deep enough into the fibres, and I’m left thinking ‘my stick vacuum does a better job, anyway’. I was ready to feel that pang of disappointment that comes with sub-optimal carpet cleaning, but the Narwal Flow proved me wrong. 

It deep-cleaned every carpeted room like its life depended on it. The 22,000 PA suction meant that no (reachable) corner was left untouched. It delivered a thorough clean with a freshly lifted appearance, and little to no debris in sight. Narwal claims that you won’t need to get the stick vacuum out once the Flow is done with it, and by God, they were right. Even my clean-freak fiancé was satisfied with the state of the carpets, which is an accolade in and of itself. 

The Narwal Flow also flexed its star quality in the mopping category. The new FlowWash mopping system uses a track-style mop pad in a curved triangle shape instead of the dual-spinning mops on most Freo models. It uses 12N of downward pressure with hot water mop washing, which yields tiles that are buffed to the gods, even when challenged with dirt, grime, and spills. Mopping on the lower settings did leave behind the occasional sticky residue, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed by a single pass through on the highest setting. 

With such a glowing appraisal of the Flow’s mopping and carpet cleaning capabilities, I expected the same story on tiled surfaces. After trialling setting after setting, it just didn’t mirror the deep, spotless clean I was getting on carpet. Several passes on the highest vacuuming setting weren't enough to fully collect the Weetbix particles I scattered during testing, and the side brush just shoved them into difficult corners and tiny crevices. When it came to smaller particles like salt and sugar, the Flow still left around 30% of the total amount untouched. Even spot-cleaning on the highest suction setting wasn’t enough. 

Compared to how pristine the carpets came out, I was disappointed that the tiles didn’t get the same sparkly treatment. After a solemn but hopeful half an hour of waiting for the Flow to redeem itself, I threw in the towel and ran over the remnants with the stick vac. 

Like a toxic ex, the Flow has some real issues with commitment. After mopping up a sizeable spill or going full force in a room or two, it’ll head back to the dock to empty the dustbin or clean the mop pad. Sometimes it’ll head back out to finish the task; other times it’ll remain idle in the dock. A notification will come through, gleefully claiming the vacuum has completed its task, when a single glance down the hallway is enough to tell me that it’s turned a blind eye to half the rooms in the house. 

The Narwal Flow occasionally flexes the same muscle when it comes to larger spills. It’s smart enough to notice and classify the spillage as needing some serious attention, but it’s a gamble on whether or not it’ll commit to cleaning it. Sometimes, it rolls up its sleeves and works hard to buff it until it’s sparkling clean. Other times, it’ll run over the spill a few times and call it a day. 

The only solution I’ve implemented thus far is to monitor the Flow’s location and performance. It works, but it makes me feel like a micro-managing boss who’s put their employee on a PIP, and I hate it.

When it comes to navigation, the Narwal Flow performs exceptionally well. It avoids obstacles like the plague, though it can be a pain point if you’re a family of gamers with HDMI cords taped to the walls. Pack away all cords before the Flow is on its course, because if it encounters one, it’s likely to bid the room farewell and head straight back to the dock. 

Once the Narwal Flow sets a map of your house, you’re home and hosed. It might not correctly label every room from the get-go, but all it takes is a second in the app to separate your bathrooms from your corridors. It knows not to venture too close to the stairs, and is capable of pushing itself into a room to get the job done if the door has been left ajar. It also has no issue scaling lips and room dividers without getting stuck, so you won’t have to worry about swooping to its rescue.

The 8-in-1 multi-function base station excels at its job. It cleans and dries the mop pad remarkably well, and I seldom have to empty the clean and dirty water canisters. The 2.5L dust bag lasts over six months, with a graph in the app to show you when you should order a new one. It delivers on the promise of minimal maintenance, aside from one caveat. 

With continued use, the dock can get quite dirty. If you’re consistently tackling sauces, spills, and the like, residue is bound to slip through the cracks. I found that after buffing a sizeable spill, the inside of the dock bore the brunt of any leftovers not caught by the pump. On several occasions, dirty water began to collect in the backside of the dock, presumably because it wasn’t emptied properly. The app doesn't notify you if you’re unlucky enough to have a dock filled with dirty water, so take a peek now and then to ensure it’s all hunky dory. 

While the Narwal Flow is great at its job, the app is what truly lets it down. I’ve encountered bugs, mistranslations, and a ‘not connected’ error that rears its ugly head every other day. While the app is highly customisable, it’s also complex and not super user-friendly. It fails to send alerts when obstacles are in the way, or it can’t reach the desired location. As mentioned, the Flow has a nasty habit of approaching a room, then immediately heading back to the dock and declaring the task a success. Eventually, I realised it was because the app was locked on a default setting to ignore all carpeted surfaces. 

It can feel jarring scouring the app for a single setting, which is why I’d recommend carving out some time to become familiar with it. By default, cleaning cycles are automatically set to Freo Mind, the AI-powered smart setting that adjusts your cleaning level based on how dirty your environment is. This means that, for my floor type, it defaults to light mopping and vacuuming. While this might work for you, I found it performed best on multiple cycles with the highest mopping temperature, vacuum suction and coverage level. If you’re after a deep, spotless clean, play around with the settings before defaulting to Freo Mind. 

I do like that it’s highly customisable, and there are plenty of features, like shortcuts and schedules, that’ll make your life easier and your home cleaner. It's just an overwhelming experience right off the bat, especially if the Flow is your introduction to the robovac world. However, I am hopeful the bugs and errors are fixable via future software updates.

The Narwal Flow has all the features you'd expect from a flagship. Its mopping performance is exceptional, and its suction on carpet is deep and meticulous. Though its vacuuming performance falls short. It struggles to fully pick up debris, conquer corners, and even uses the side brush to push debris into unreachable spots. 

These are all minor gripes in comparison to the app, which is what truly lets the Flow down. It can feel complex and overwhelming, especially for rookies, and it often fails to deliver notifications. 

While these compromises don’t diminish how well the Narwal Flow fares in other categories, it’s worth considering if the pros outweigh the cons. It's not going to be the main cleaning weapon in your arsenal, but its mopping and carpet cleaning capabilities are pretty damn impressive. A few bad apples don’t spoil the bunch, especially when they’re this good. However, they do leave a sour taste in your mouth that’s hard to ignore.