REVIEW – Let me begin this review by saying that my wife—“Queen Cheri”—is a clean freak. She hates dirty floors. We use a Noesis Florio robot vacuum to clean 1-2 times per week, and then she vacuums every Saturday using her beloved Dyson stick vacuum. After she’s done vacuuming the floors spotless (the Dyson’s laser light is amazing), I follow her with a wet/dry mop of the whole house. For over a year, I was using the Tineco Floor One S7 Steam vacuum—a great steam floor cleaner. Since we have no carpet, this routine works for us—well, for the Queen anyway. I do as I’m told. We recently had the opportunity to try a different kind of wet/dry combo, the Dreame H15 Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum. After incorporating it into our weekly floor routine, is the H15 a “Dreame” machine or not?
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $584.99 sale price ($899.99 retail)
Where to buy: Dreame, Amazon
What is it?
The Dreame H15 Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum is a smart, all-in-one floor cleaner that both vacuums and mops in a single motion. It combines hot water with powerful suction, which Dreame says gives a hygienic cleaning. Dreame also states that the H15 uses some of the latest cleaning tech available.
The H15 Pro Heat is modern-looking with smooth curves and tight-fitting pieces. It feels solidly built. There are two separate water tanks—clean and dirty. Each tank lifts easily from the vacuum for filling/emptying. When not in use, the H15 stands upright in a base that cleans the roller while simultaneously charging.
The H15’s motor drives forward and backward, making maneuvering around obstacles easier. It will also lie flat to go under couches, chairs, and low tables. That’s new.
There are many customized settings available with the H15. Most settings are best done in Dreame’s DreameHome app (Android and iOS). More on that later in this review.
Once finished, the H15 can be broken apart for washing and drying the tanks, filter, and roller.
What’s included?
- H15 Pro Heat vacuum
- Charging base
- Extra roller
- Extra filter
- Cleaning brush
Tech specs
- Smart features accessible through the app
- Mode switching in the handle
- Self-cleaning mode
- Hot water temp control
Design and features
As much as I like reviewing audio gear, I also get a kick trying out everyday appliances that can make life a bit easier and dare I say—healthier. While I do think my wife goes overboard on her cleanliness, I can’t fault her on the results. We walk around on tile and hardwood floors with white socks, and they seldom get too dirty on the bottoms. One of the reasons is the floor vacuum mops we use. The Dreame H15 Pro Heat adds a wrinkle to how these cleaners work. Note that while the H15 Pro Heat can work on carpet (dry vacuum only), it is intended for hard flooring.
Rather than use steam to help loosen and clean sticky or extra dirty areas, the H15 uses heated water to help floors get a little bit extra clean. Water temp reaches 185°F to help break up greasy or sticky areas—extra helpful for homes with kids. It can also help reduce bacteria, which begin to die at temperatures starting at 149°F.
There are three hot water settings: Mild, Standard, and Thermal. Mild is warm water used throughout the house. Standard can rapidly heat up to deal with problem areas. Then there’s Thermal, which sounds more intense than it is. I use the Thermal setting in the kitchen, around the dog bedding and eating area, and bathroom floors. I would use it all over the house, but it eats battery life. I can’t vacuum/mop our whole house without the H15 needing charging, so I use Smart Mode for other areas. Charging time takes about 4 hours.
Smart Mode lets the H15 control how much water and how much suction is needed, depending on the mess on the floor. I discovered that this mode is more battery-friendly than my Custom Thermal Mode.
Since Dreame calls this a “vacuum”, it’s good to know that suction is rated at 22,000 Pa (Pascals). The higher the Pa number, the more suction. 22K Pa is good for wet and dry messes on hard floors. Although Dreame told me that the H15 Pro is great as a wet cleaner, it’s good enough as a dry vacuum that a standard vacuum cleaner isn’t needed. I told Dreame that they don’t know my wife. So the H15 Pro will never be the lone vacuum in our house—no matter how good it is.
There are a couple of interesting features on the H15 Pro that may be a deal-maker for some.
A built-in “TangleCut Resilient Scraper” cuts hair tangles into bits so the hair won’t wrap around the roller—something that can happen often in homes with pets.
The coolest feature to me is what Dreame calls “GapFree AI DescendReach Robotic Arm & Triple-Edge Cleaning”. It’s a mouthful, but when the front of the H15 bumps up against a wall, as it’s pulled back, the arm drops and scrapes the mess away while suctioning, leaving the floor extra clean before rising out of the way. This also keeps the floor edging cleaner-looking. I appreciate this feature more than I thought I would.
When the task is done and the H15 is placed back into the charging base, the H15 kicks into self-cleaning mode (if selected in the app). The water temp reaches 212°F (that’s HOT), which can kill any bacteria and prevent mold as well as deep clean the roller from any leftover grime. I haven’t needed to hand-wash the roller at all. After cleaning the roller, the H15 dries it at 194°F. The drying prevents smells from developing. The self-cleaning mode is noisy, but effective.
As cool as the roller being cleaned is, that’s not true for the dirty water tank. If it’s not cleaned after each use, you will regret it. I neglected cleaning the tank for 4 days (I am testing it, after all). Not only did the tank smell rank, but it took a while to get rid of the odor. Hand-cleaning the tank is easy, but can be a bit messy. There are many parts inside that can cause water pouring from the faucet to splash around. The tank interior’s design separates solids for easier disposal.
The H15 Pro has an easy-to-see display on the unit. I use it to switch between Smart Mode and my custom hot water mode. All other settings I need, I do in the app. The display shows quite a bit of information, although its icons only require a trip to the app to decipher them. Dreame includes a removable sticker with explanations on the different modes displayed. Why didn’t Dreams make this part of the display itself? Once the sticker is removed, good luck remembering everything.
The H15 will tell you (in your language) what’s happening, such as what mode it’s in, charging, and general status. Voice prompts can also be handled through smart home voice assistants, such as Siri, Google Home, and Alexa. I refuse to use these in my home as I am a privacy freak. I don’t want my vacuum cleaner listening in on us.
As I said, the app contains just about every setting and customization you could want. The manual does a good job of explaining it. English mode works quite well. Since so many languages are available in the settings, I can’t say how well they work.
The H15 Pro has “RGB Detection & Smart Adjustment”. This is a sensor that detects the floor’s dirt level and automatically adjusts suction and water used to clean. It’s easier letting the H15 do the thinking. My brain is fried trying to remember the display icons.
Using the H15 Pro is easy enough. The weight is well-balanced, reducing any effort required for pushing and pulling. When the handle is upright and locked into place, the H15 shuts off until it’s unlocked for use. This allows easy transport from room to room on its rear wheels.
One unusual feature Dreame touts is the H15 Pr’s ability to lie flat to go under furniture. Not only that, but it can be remotely controlled to go far under furniture beyond an arm’s reach using the app’s forward and backward controls. For instance, the H15 can clean under a large bed without crawling around on the floor. While this can be useful, the H15 is not a robot cleaner. t will only go forward and backward. It’s up to the user to maneuver the H15 to the correct position.
Final thoughts
Dreame is upping the ante in the floor cleaner arena. They are quickly becoming a premium brand, similar to Tineco, their main competitor. Each year, we see new models with smarter features. I don’t know where this progress leads into the future, but I do know it’s interesting. And the result will be a cleaner home using products like the Dreame H15 Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum!
What I like about the Dreame H15 Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum
- Cleans well
- The app is easy to use
- Settings remain until changed
- Many settings to customize
What needs to be improved?
- Expensive
- Self-cleaning can be loud
- Display info only printed on the sticker
Price: $584.99 sale price ($899.99 retail)
Where to buy: Dreame, Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Dreame. Dreame did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
