Dreame L40 Ultra Review: Everything You Want in a Robot Vacuum Cleaner

In a nutshell

If you are looking for one of the best robot vacuum cleaners with mopping function, the Dreame L40 Ultra is a compulsory candidate. The 11,000 Pa powerful vacuum and mopping robot is impressive in every situation. This appliance vacuums almost flawlessly in reality. There is hardly any room for improvement when mopping. Up to 32 (!) different water flow rates can be selected for tough situations, and this is topped only by the incredibly long battery life.

The integrated technology is no less spectacular. Dreame has equipped the L40 Ultra an extendable side brush, a swivel mop, and a hair shredder. The cleaning result in the corners is equally impressive. The special highlight of this feature-rich all-in-one docking station is the automatic detergent dispenser. This works through a cleaning agent container, which is located next to the dust bag in the docking station.

The Dreame L40 Ultra costs $1,499.99 a pop based on its recommended retail price. If you were to purchase the robot vacuum cleaner by September 22, you can save $200 as it will retail for $1,299.99.

Design and build quality

The Dreame L40 Ultra looks just like the X40 Ultra at first glance. The robot vacuum cleaner boasts a modern design and will not ruin the aesthetics of your home decor in any way. There are two water containers in the docking station. The golden cover conceals a dust bag as well as a container that holds the detergent.

Pros:

• High-quality design, excellent workmanship.
• Integrated container for cleaning solutions.

Cons:

• A rather tall model.

The L40 Ultra is the latest model in Dreame's well-known L series. The robot vacuum cleaner is available only in one color — white gold. Here, Dreame continues down the path taken by the L20 Ultra and the X40 Ultra (review). The robot vacuum cleaner measures 10.4 cm in height and conceals a 300 ml dust container and water tank.

Dreame doesn't skimp on technology with this model. The robot vacuum cleaner has an extendable side brush and a flexible mop to deliver a more thorough corner cleaning experience. The built-in main brush is made of silicone and prevents hair from getting tangled. Alternatively, Dreame includes the so-called "Tricut" brush. This is the same primary brush that is also found in the X40 Ultra. The unique feature of this brush is the integrated hair shredder.

Let's remain with what you get right out of the box. By Dreame's standards, is it rather spartan. There is a simple reason for this: there is no "complete" version of the L40 Ultra, i.e. no package with numerous spare parts, as the case with the L20 Ultra and X40 Ultra. Instead, each purchase comes with the following:

• 1x Tricut brush.
• 1x spare dust bag.
• 1x 200 ml detergent.

The design of the all-in-one docking station is extremely elegant and is based on the X40 Ultra (review). The docking station measures 34 × 45.7 × 59.1 cm. A 4.5-liter fresh water tank and a 4-liter dirty water tank are located under the hinged hood. Finally, there is a detergent container and a 3.2-liter dust bag behind the ribbed cover in front.

Its control and operation are both performed via the Dreame Home app. It takes about five minutes to create an account and add the appliance. To shorten the process and add the L40 Ultra quickly in the app, you can scan the QR code that is located under the hinged cover. You should then check if there are any firmware updates before the robot vacuum cleaner can get to work.

Once you have added the robot vacuum cleaner in the app, it's time to begin mapping out various zones. The robot vacuum cleaner needs just a few minutes to create an initial floor plan. The mapping exercise was precise. In our review, the robot vacuum cleaner perfectly recognized all rooms and divided them without errors.

App and functions

The Dreame Home app is one of the most user-friendly apps for robot vacuum cleaners. The structure is simple and offers many practical functions. It works without the need for a Wi-Fi network, which means the robot vacuum cleaner can also be controlled remotely using mobile data.

Pros:

• Numerous setting options.
• Clear, well-organized structure.

Cons:

• -

The Dreame Home app offers so many customization options that we don't even know where to begin. When in doubt, how about the main menu? This is where you set the cleaning options. You can choose between five suction levels (if you only want the robot vacuum cleaner to vacuum, otherwise the choice is limited to four levels) and a whopping 32 levels of water flow rates. In other words, how much should the mopping equipment be moistened when mopping?

You can also determine the station's self-cleaning processes. You decide just how thoroughly the mopping equipment should be cleaned and how long the drying process with hot air should take. The time display, which tells you how long the hot air drying process will take, is a particularly practical feature.

You will also find settings for saved maps in the start menu. In addition to the no-go zones, you can add furniture, separate or add rooms, and also specify the floor direction. The latter setting ensures the robot vacuum cleaner moves in a certain direction when cleaning the floor. This prevents the robot vacuum cleaner from scratching the floor, assuming it vacuums and mops simultaneously while dragging a pebble along with the mop.

If you were to take a look at the other settings, you can find various customization options for carpet cleaning. As with the X40 Ultra, Dreame integrated the "Intensive carpet cleaning" function. Once you activate this, the robot vacuum cleaner moves particularly slowly on carpets to suck up every last speck of dust from the carpet. The ability of the L40 Ultra makes it a strong contender against the Ecovacs X5 Omni when it comes to claiming the title of the best robot vacuum cleaner for carpets.

If you prefer fixed routines, you can save schedules with precise cleaning settings. In addition, you can view details of the remaining service life of all the individual parts installed in the other settings area. We particularly liked the fact the control also works remotely using mobile data. You are not tied to a WLAN or Bluetooth connection in this manner.

Overall, the software offers an incomparable mix of customization options and a stylish layout. Users for whom the Dreame L40 Ultra is their entry into the world of robot vacuum cleaners will have no difficulty at all in operating the app.

Suction and wiping performance

The Dreame L40 Ultra is a powerful robot vacuum cleaner through and through. The suction power is lower than that of its predecessor, but in reality, it worked flawlessly.

Pros:

• Automatic detergent supply.
• Excellent suction power.
• Impressive mopping performance even with dried stains.
• Incredible battery life.
• Comparatively quiet when operating.

Cons:

• -

The suction power of the new Dreame robot vacuum cleaner is remarkable. It simply disregards the type of dirt it vacuums. The Dreame L40 Ultra provides first-class suction in everyday use. The situation is similar when it comes to corners and hard-to-reach areas. This is where the extendable side brush comes into play. The robot vacuum cleaner intuitively extends this and you can adjust the frequency of the extension in the app.

The new Dreame robot vacuum cleaner is also ideal for households with four-legged friends. The L40 Ultra vacuums up pet hair without any fuss. There is no trace of tangled hair in the main brush, too. If such performance is not good enough for you, we recommend you take a look at our article with tips and tricks to improve the cleaning performance of your robot vacuum cleaner.

When it comes to cleaning carpets, it is no less impressive. As mentioned, Dreame integrated the "Intensive carpet cleaning" function into the X40 Ultra app for the robot vacuum cleaner to slow down its speed on carpets. You can also specify the robot vacuum cleaner to vacuum carpets first.

Your rugs will never be negatively affected with this appliance working in your home. It is curious the robot vacuum cleaner does not avoid carpets, but simply drives through them. In the map, it looks as though the robot vacuum cleaner has mopped the entire carpet. However, the appliance lifts the mops by 10.5 cm whenever it makes its rounds on the carpet. There is an optional setting to set the mop pads down in the docking station if the appliance is only required to vacuum.

The mopping result left nothing to be desired. Fresh stains proved to be no issue at all. What's special is how you don't have to use the highest water flow rate. In reality, level 20 is enough to wipe away even slightly dried stains without much effort. If you come across a really tough case, you can fall back to level 32.

Once the cleaning tour is completed or the appliance has made a stopover in the docking station, the docking station takes care of cleaning the mopping pads with 65-degree hot water while drying them using hot air. The docking station will also remove all dust simultaneously. The app informs you of the remaining drying time in the start menu in the docking station functions area.

A so-called five-channel color sensor technology and an RGB camera are responsible for navigation. Throughout the entire review duration, we didn't have to help the robot vacuum cleaner extract itself from a hopeless situation. On the contrary: the L40 Ultra always kept its bearings and even recognized new obstacles with ease. The appliance also maneuvered around obstacles without making contact with ease. It also displays recognized objects in the app as a reference. To provide the robot vacuum cleaner with additional assistance, you can add furniture to the floor plan.

Like the X40 Ultra, the L40 Ultra also has a crazy battery life. The app offers five suction levels if the appliance is only supposed to vacuum. If you want the intelligent robot vacuum cleaner to vacuum and mop simultaneously, there are only four available suction levels. The L40 Ultra only loses 19 percent of its battery after 30 minutes of vacuuming and mopping. After the L40 Ultra vacuums for 30 minutes on the highest setting and mops for half an hour, you still have 61 percent of battery life left on the clock.

Technical specifications

	Technical specifications
Device	Dreame L40 Ultra
Image
Price (RRP)	$1,499.99
Suction power	11,000 Pa
Height	10.4 cm
Special features	Extendable mop, Extendable mop, Hair shredder
Suction function	Yes
Mop cleaning and drying	Yes
Automatic detergent supply	No
Dimensions of the base station	34 × 45.7 × 59.1 cm