Dreame Bot L10 Pro Review: a Versatile Robot Vacuum Cleaner for Smart Home

Dreame Bot L10 Pro proved to be a good all-purpose device. It is the optimal format of a robot vacuum cleaner for keeping a smart home clean, especially if there are no specific requirements. Maybe you need only dry cleaning - then choose something simpler. Or, on the contrary, you need a lot of thorough cleaning, then look at the specialized robotmops. If you have a large volume of debris, check out the variants with a tank on a docking station. For example Dreame has a model Z10 Pro. Well, as an advanced all-purpose solution we consider Dreame Bot L10 Pro or its analogues. Dreame Bot L10 Pro stands out against competitors RoboRock S5 MAX or Roidmi Eve Plus with much more suction power, a bigger garbage can capacity and a navigation system. Finally, let's not forget about the smart home: Support for one ecosystem or another can play an important role in the choice. 

Pros:

• Dry and wet cleaning in one device
• Mi Home plus support for smart home scenarios
• Advanced navigation system and fast creation of premises maps
• Careful handling and high-quality recognition of different surfaces
• High cleaning speed

Cons:

• No automatic cleaning of the trash

It vacuums, mops the floor, and cooperates with other smart devices - that's the shortest description of our hero today, the Dreame Bot L10 Pro. It is a versatile robotic vacuum cleaner from the Xiaomi ecosystem, controlled by the Mi Home app. It features an advanced navigation system with a laser rangefinder and the already mentioned integration with the smart home. It is an attractive option for everyday cleaning, if you want to have a device with all the modern features, but there are no specific requirements for it. That is if to say in two words. But there is more to tell about this robot, so read on.

What is in the Box?

There's a lot of stuff in the box, and it's all arranged in different cardboard compartments. The way the inner structure of the package is designed inspires respect, the guys from Dreame really got it right. But let's move on to the contents. The vacuum cleaner itself comes with the main brush and dust container already installed. It also comes with a water tank with a removable wipe attached, a side brush, a docking station, a power cord, and paper instructions. The brushes, mops, and trash can filter (of course, it's already installed) are consumables and are not hard to buy separately. There is a tool for cleaning the brushes inside the case in a separate recess. It is convenient not to have it lost.

Design

Dreame Bot L10 Pro looks like most other robot vacuum cleaners. The body is plastic, black, the upper surface is glossy, everything else is matte. Above the smooth surface of the cleaner there is a "command tower" with a laser rangefinder. Part of this same surface hinges in the manner of a lid to reveal access to the trash can. On the other side there is a control panel with three buttons for manually starting general and local cleaning, as well as for returning to the base.

Turning the cleaner over, we see first of all the main brush in the form of a rubber roller with black bristles. It is held by a plastic protective frame and, if necessary, can be removed for cleaning or replacement, quickly and easily, without tools. The brush is flanked by powerful drive wheels with impressive "tractor" treads. There's another wheel closer to the edge of the housing that can rotate 360 degrees. On the sides of this wheel you can see big charging contacts, which are used to connect the vacuum cleaner to the docking station. There is a three-blade angle brush next to it. On the opposite side of the lower part of the case the whole segment of the circle is marked for the wet cleaning module installation.  

On the end surface let's single out one part, which we'll conventionally call "the nose". It is equipped with three "windows" of navigation sensors. There is nothing on the side parts, and the entire "stern" is occupied by a matrix of holes for air release.

The docking station is simple and compact with no controls whatsoever. Its lower surface is covered with a raised rubber pad, which very well keeps the station from sliding on a smooth floor, really tightly.

And this is a waste bin. It's not even a tank, but rather a bin, given its size. It is small (but in other vacuum cleaners they are often even smaller), made of semi-transparent plastic, with a replaceable HEPA-filter. It is easy to remove, but it holds firmly. In general, all parts of the vacuum cleaner fit well, there is a feeling that all of it will not fall apart while in use.  

Another thing to look at is the wet-cleaning module. It has one small wheel and a Velcro platform for attaching a mop. Although the word “mop", as usual for robotic vacuum cleaners, is not very appropriate for this product. It has a special shape, Velcro fastener, and a rubber guide for inserting it into the cleaning module. A high-tech rag I would say. The wet cleaning module also acts as a container for water, the hole for filling is closed by a powerful rubber plug.

Preparation for Work

Let's get ready to clean up, shall we? The first thing to do is to choose a place for the docking station. The manufacturer recommends allotting half a meter to the right and left of the vacuum cleaner for charging, but in practice a much more modest distance is enough. You should remove the shipping fasteners from the vacuum cleaner itself and install the side brush. After turning it on and placing it on the base station, the vacuum cleaner will start charging. Basically, you can control it without any settings or applications. There are three buttons on the body: power on, return to the base and spot cleaning. A long press on the first of them turns the vacuum cleaner on or off altogether, and a short press starts cleaning. That way the cleaner just goes everywhere it can. Spot cleaning defines the area more precisely: it is a square one and a half by one and a half meters, on which the device will pass "in snake form", vacuuming on the move.

But Dreame Bot L10 Pro is too smart device to be limited to such simple functions, so let's connect it properly. To use it to its full potential, we'll need a Wi-Fi network, a smartphone, and the Mi Home app with a proper account. I use Xiaomi smart home elements with the China region set, in this mode Dreame Bot L10 Pro also works fine, although, most likely, the vacuum cleaner is also compatible with other regions. In Mi Home start adding a new device, select our device from the list (the system itself will find it when scanning the environment), then the vacuum cleaner will create a temporary Wi-Fi network (what technology has reached!) and will offer you to connect to it.

After that, all we have to do is mostly follow the progress indicators, the vacuum cleaner will make friends with both the smartphone and your router, learning how to work in its network. Next, Mi Home will prompt us to select the room where the vacuum cleaner is located and give it a name (you can leave the standard one). The next steps are a brief instruction, a user agreement and a firmware update.  

The Settings

Everything is ready to work, now it is worth exploring the capabilities of the vacuum cleaner inside the Mi Home app.

On the main screen you can see the map of the area (of course, before the vacuum cleaner makes it, it is empty), the battery charge as a %, the area and time of the previous cleaning, as well as the controls of the vacuum cleaner. Right from here you can start normal cleaning, cleaning a selected room or a specified area on the map (for the last two options, of course, you need the map itself). In addition to this manual launch, it is possible to schedule a scheduled cleaning.

For each scheduled cleaning, you can set the time, area and number of repetitions, as well as select the intensity and amount of water used, if the cleaning will be wet. These cleanings will even be done in "Do Not Disturb" mode, so you'll want to make sure these settings don't override each other.

I recommend turning on the "HIGH PRECISION 3D obstacle avoidance system" and "Carpet booster" functions. Everything is clear with the first one, it's not for nothing that we have chosen the vacuum cleaner with the smart sensors, but the second one, despite the fact that it is marked as experimental, works very confidently. It makes so that when the vacuum cleaner drives into the carpeted area, it increases the suction power compared to a smooth floor (the manufacturer promises up to 4000 Pa, that's a lot).

And the vacuum cleaner also has a remote control function, you can "run" it with your own hands.

The Vacuum Cleaner Work with Maps

Mapping is a feature that distinguishes advanced vacuum cleaners from more budget-friendly ones. Instead of getting to know your surroundings for the first time each time, the Dreame Bot L10 Pro remembers the area and builds a map of it. This map can then be divided into parts (rooms) and indicate exactly where to clean.

The map is made right during the first cleaning, so you don't need to do anything separately. As the robot works, its position is plotted almost in real time (sometimes with a slight delay) and the path it has traveled is also shown on the map. You can see that in most cases the robot is moving in a zigzag pattern, but sometimes it stops in one area and makes several passes, cleaning the dirty area more thoroughly.

When you start cleaning, you can manually highlight the area you want to clean on the map. This is useful when you want to clean not the whole room, but only part of it, or touch half of one room and half of the next. You can also mark on the map a no-go zone, which the vacuum cleaner can't enter.

Integration of Dreame Bot L10 Pro into Smart Home

Dreame Bot L10 Pro can become a full-fledged part of a smart home in the Mi Home environment. Integration follows the same principle as with other compatible devices: create a scenario, select a condition (trigger) and the necessary action. In scenarios, the vacuum cleaner supports 3 actions (start cleaning, pause, charge) and is able to be a trigger itself upon the completion of cleaning. For example, you can create a scenario where the end of cleaning with the vacuum cleaner will trigger some action in the house: turning on or off lights, activation of sockets, relays, and so on. Or vice versa, when some other triggers are activated (from pushing a hardware button to the detection of a motion sensor) the vacuum cleaner will start cleaning, pause it, or go on charging.

Of course, the vacuum cleaner needs Internet access to run the scenarios, just like other elements of the Mi Home smart home. Since the Dreame Bot L10 Pro is equipped with a Wi-Fi module, a special gateway is not necessary for its work in the smart home system.

Consumables and Maintenance 

Unfortunately, modern robotic vacuum cleaners cannot exist absolutely independently, some actions from the user are still required. Here's what you need to do to support Dreame Bot L10 Pro.

• Clean the dust container. Its volume is not so small by the standards of this class (570 ml), but the frequency of cleaning depends on the pollution in its path. If you vacuum once a day on an already not very dusty parquet, you can empty the trash container once a month. And if you don't live in a private art gallery, but in a house with kids, pets, and a variety of flooring, you may find the tank full literally every other day.

• Clean the main brush. The orange one. Hair collection can wind up on it, and it can reduce the effectiveness of cleaning. In general, as with conventional vacuum cleaners. To effectively clean the brush, the kit includes a special tool with a small safety blade. Very convenient and fast.

• Change the wet cleaning pad. It comes with only one, so by "change" we mean "remove, rinse, dry and put back in place". To me, this seems like the least optimized part of the service, too much action. Buying a couple of replacement wipes is a great idea, and they are very easy to change.

• Fill the wet cleaning tank with water. Both this point and the previous one are only relevant if you use wet cleaning. If you have carpeting everywhere, and you do not need it at all, you can buy a simple vacuum cleaner without washing functions. But if the robot will wash something, it needs water, and it can't get it by itself, it will need your help. The tank holds up to 270 ml, the intensity of water flow can be set in the settings.

• Wipe the sensors from dust. We recommend to do it every 30 hours of operation, the vacuum cleaner will remind you that it's time. There is no need to disassemble anything, just wipe the body with a cloth for all navigation stuffing to work effectively.

• Change the HEPA filter. The protocol says to change it every 150 hours. Depending on the area to be cleaned and frequency of cleaning, the filter will last from six months to a year. Probably less if you clean very often. The vacuum cleaner monitors the mileage of this part on its own, too.

• Change the brushes: the main and side brushes. Their service life is 300 and 200 hours, respectively, but, of course, if there is no damage, you can use them further.

There are no special mileage gauges for all the consumables described. You just change something and specify it in the settings of the vacuum cleaner, and then the counter is reset at your responsibility. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Dreame Bot L10 Pro in Operation

Dreame Bot L10 Pro is especially good for versatile everyday cleaning. Neither the small tank volume, nor the cleaning algorithms dispose to clean very dirty rooms on a daily basis. According to my observations, this vacuum cleaner is designed for speed of cleaning, not for its thoroughness. Sometimes it feels as if it rushes briskly through the area and quickly reports on the work done. And at the same time, it leaves some untouched areas. However, this problem is solved by cleaning in several steps, after which the result is significantly improved.

This device does not know how to pick up the spilled liquids yet. The hair of the animals is all right, it cleans well. The main brush can get hair on it, but it can be cleaned very quickly and easily with the included tool.

Advanced navigation system allows L10 Pro to bypass obstacles and plan ahead up to 8 meters. The design of the wheels provides overcoming of obstacles up to 2 cm in height, small door thresholds are passed without problems.

The vacuum cleaner also knows how to talk in human language.

Speed of operation

Figures, of course, vary greatly depending on the working conditions, but on average we can say that cleaning one square meter takes 1 to 3 minutes and consumes from 1 to 5 percent of the battery charge.

On smooth surfaces, the vacuum moves predictably faster than on carpeting, and the speed of cleaning may also depend on how dirty the floor is from the vacuum cleaner's point of view.

Charging

The robot will ask for a charge at 15% of the remaining battery capacity. It takes about an hour to get 50% of the battery charge, while the remaining half of the capacity takes less time, about two hours. According to the specifications, a full battery should be enough for 150 minutes of work, but in reality it all depends on the conditions of cleaning. And this is with a capacity of 5200 mAh, like a smartphone, not bad.

4 Things to Know about Dreame Bot L10 Pro

• It is a versatile wet and dry robot vacuum cleaner
• It has a high suction power - up to 4000 Pa
• The cleaner knows how to build room maps
• It can be controlled using Xiaomi Mi Home app