Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua 2-in-1 Vacuum & Mop review: "It's taken the faff out of mopping"

Price on writing: £399 | Buy now from Amazon

Our verdict

• Ease of use: 5/5

• Suction power: 4/5

• Mop effectiveness: 5/5

• Ease of emptying: 4.5/5

• Value for money: 4.5/5

I really like the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua. It’s the handiest vacuum cleaner/mop/handheld vacuum I’ve ever used because it does all these things (sometimes simultaneously!), and it does them all really well. Plus, it totally takes all the faff out of mopping, which is a huge thumbs up.

It did take me a while to get my head around the different suction levels—you’ve got ‘eco’, ‘auto’ and ‘turbo’. I soon realised that going in all guns blazing at turbo level produced the best whip-round results in terms of vacuuming but very quickly drained the battery. Once I realised the levels didn't have any effect on the floor mop performance, only the vacuum suction, I began using it on auto mode, which works fine.

Our house has quite a large floor plan due to a garage conversion, so I do find that this cordless vacuum will only do the whole ground floor in one go if in eco or auto mode on a full charge (the battery run time is around 40 minutes). As I tend not to vacuum the whole house in one go anyway (unless I’m prepping for a visit from Mum, of course!), this isn’t an issue.

For quick day-to-day vacuuming or mopping, a whip-round after the kids, or even when I used it on holiday in a static caravan, the Unlimited 7 Aqua does everything I want it to, and it does it well.

What’s in the box?

Upon unpacking the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua, you'll find:

• Main body of the vacuum

• Aqua mop head

• AllFloor DynamicPower brush

• 18v 3Ah rechargeable battery

• Docking station

• 2-in-1 furniture brush

• Small crevice nozzle

• Long flexible crevice nozzle

• 2x sets of mopping pads
  

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How easy is the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua to set up?

Set up was very easy—once I consulted this page! It’s fairly easy to see where all the attachments go, but I wasn’t sure what the different modes meant or what the little button on top of the mop head was for. It does come with an instruction booklet, but I found the website with the videos a lot easier to follow.

How easy is the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua Vacuum Cleaner & Mop to use day-to-day?

It’s super easy to use—simply unplug it from the charging station and switch it on! I tend to use it with the mop head more than the dry vacuum head because this is the handiest function for me (though it also wins major points as a handheld vac, see more on that below).

It runs for around 40 minutes on one charge and takes around 70 minutes to charge up. If you’re planning to use the Aqua for longer than 40 minutes at a time, I think it’d be worth picking up a second battery, and the good thing is that they’re compatible with a number of other Bosch items too, which is handy!

The main body of the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua has a flexible joint, which is really useful for vacuuming and mopping under furniture. I also really like the handheld vacuum for quick clean-ups. This is a feature which isn’t really advertised on the vac’s info page, but I find it one of its best functions—possibly because all other handheld vacs we’ve had in the past have been a bit rubbish!

We actually took the vacuum with us on holiday this summer as we were staying in a static caravan which had previously only been supplied with a broom—three kids + two weeks in a tiny caravan = definitely more than a broom is needed! I’m very glad we did bring it; the Bosch was able to handle muddy shoe prints, sand, dropped food and everything else my kids so helpfully threw its way with ease. Plus the caravan being so small meant that we didn’t have to recharge it at all.

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How does the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua Vacuum Cleaner perform on pet hair?

I’ve only used the vacuum brush head on areas with pet hair. It picks up as well as most vacuums do, but not quite as effectively as a bespoke vacuum cleaner for pet hair, such as the Henry PET200 or the Miele Cat & Dog.

How does the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua perform on carpets?

The vacuum head works well on carpets—I really like the lights on the front which highlight where I’m going and where I haven’t been yet.

The only carpet it hasn’t performed as well on is the thick, synthetic rug in my youngest daughter’s bedroom, but to be fair, I’ve yet to test a vacuum which does pick up well from it!

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How does the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua perform on hard floors?

Hard floors are where the Bosch Unlimited 7 excels. I’ve used cordless vacuums and electric steam mops before, but the Unlimited 7 is the first I’ve used to do both at the same time. It can take a bit of getting used to—it feels wrong to go over crumbs or cornflakes with a mop head—but I’ve been really impressed so far, particularly on our kitchen tiles, which are pale so can really hold onto a stain.

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How does the mop on the Bosch Unlimited 7 perform?

The mop works using rotating pads and a water release system, which you can control with the button on top of the mop head. You can add floor cleaner to the tank if you like; I’ve used it both with and without and found the mop function still works really well with just water, which is particularly useful when going from tiles to wood in one use. However, I do use floor cleaner if I’ve not gone over the floor for a while or if it’s not picking up a particularly bad stain.

I’ve used a steam mop on our tiles before as well as a traditional mop and bucket, and I’d say the Unlimited 7 Aqua works on a par with the steam mop. What's more, the pads on the Bosch are way easier to use and maintain, as my previous steam mop had detachable cloth heads which never cleaned very well in the washing machine and lost their elastic within weeks.

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How does the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua perform as a handheld vacuum?

This feature is a bit of an unsung hero of the Bosch Unlimited 7 because there’s not an awful lot of info online or on the instructions about it, yet for me it’s one of its handiest features.

It’s lightweight, efficient and vacuums rings around our Shark Cordless Handheld Vacuum, which we’ve always found a bit temperamental. My kids love a bit of crafting, so during the summer holidays, it’s really come into its own, handling glitter, little dried-up bits of play-doh, sand, dried flakes of paint, dirt, clay… I could go on.

I also found it really useful for whipping round the holiday caravan, particularly the gap between the sofa and floor where the vacuum head couldn’t reach.

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How easy is it to empty the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua?

It's very easy to empty. You detach the handle and there are images on the side to show you how to remove the bin and two filter layers. I tend to empty the main bin after every other use depending on how much it’s picked up. I also like that it’s see-through so I can tell easily when it’s full.

Does the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua 2-in-1 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner & Mop offer good value for money?

At £500 RRP, the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua is quite an investment, but when you consider all the things it is in one package—mop, vacuum, handheld vac—plus the fact that you can use the battery with other Bosch appliances, I think it does represent good value for money.

Although I don’t use it as my main vacuum cleaner, I do use it as my mop, so it actually gets far more use than my primary vacuum. With that in mind, on a cost-per-use basis it’s already earned its keep. The battery charge might not cover my whole house, but it’s taken the faff out of mopping and for that, it’s a thumbs up from me.

How we tested

I tested the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua 2-in-1 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner & Mop over a period of around six weeks, during which time I used both the brush head and the mop/vacuum hybrid head several times per week.

I used the Bosch Unlimited 7 mop head on tiles, laminate and engineered hard wood floors, and the brush head on all of the above and carpet too. We are a household of five (three kids aged between five and ten) and two cats.

About the author

Jenny Wonnacott is a Content Editor for Mumsnet, specialising in writing, editing and optimising parenting-related content. As a parent of three primary school-aged children, Jenny is passionate about making Mumsnetters' lives easier through rigorous research of all items recommended in reviews, features, and buyers' guides.

Jenny is also a best-selling sci-fi author (writing as J M Briscoe) and parenting blogger.

About Mumsnet Reviews

All Mumsnet product reviews are written by real people after extensive research and testing. We work hard to provide honest and independent advice you can trust. Sometimes, we earn revenue through affiliate (click-to-buy) links in our articles. However, we never allow this to influence our coverage.

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