Yes, on essentially every combo I’ve tested. Leave the mop pad or roller off the robot entirely, and switch the app to vacuum-only mode. It runs as a straight vacuum and never asks for water.

The two steps

Step one is physical: don’t install the pad or the roller. Most combos ship with the mop as a separate piece that clips or magnets onto the underside. If it isn’t attached, there’s nothing to get wet.

Step two is in the app. Every major brand has a vacuum-only or sweep-only cleaning mode. Set it there and save it as the default. With those two things done, the robot won’t draw water, won’t prompt you to fill a tank, and won’t run a mop cycle at the dock. Some models will show a reminder that no pad is detected the first couple of runs; that clears once it learns the configuration.

Why this is often the smarter buy

I tell a lot of people this and it surprises them. If you don’t want mopping, you’re usually still better off buying the better combo robot and never installing the mop than buying a true vacuum-only model.

The reason is where the engineering goes. Combo units get the newer brush designs, the better obstacle avoidance, the better navigation, and the better docks, because that’s where the manufacturers compete. Vacuum-only models are typically older platforms. Skipping a feature on a good robot beats buying a lesser robot that never had the feature.

The one thing to check before you commit: make sure the model lets you run the dock without water. A few of the all-in-one docks want a full clean water tank before they’ll let a cycle start. Most don’t. It’s worth a quick look at the manual.

Dad’s Take

You’re allowed to buy a feature you never use. Leaving the mop in the box is a perfectly good strategy.