While this isn't the cheapest robot vacuum out there, it has the features, reliability, and convenience to make it a great choice.

Specifications
  • Weight: 8.15lb
  • Collection Capacity: 570ml
  • Wattage: 46W
  • Brand: Dreametech
Pros
  • 4000Pa Suction
  • Packed with smart features
  • Create custom cleaning schedule
  • Excellent floor mapping features
  • Long battery life
Cons
  • Mopping doesn't auto avoid carpets
  • Small water tank
Buy This Product
Dreame Bot L10 Pro

If you’re interested in having your floors regularly cleaned but either don’t have the motivation or time to do so, a smart robot with a mop attachment like the Dreame Bot L10 Pro is ready to help. Combined with an accurate LiDAR sensor, powerful motors to collect even larger debris, and an easy setup mop module, your house will thank you for getting this.

With its small size and sleek all-black design, the L10 Pro can be placed into any corner of a room without drawing unwanted attention or looking out of place. I now have mine tucked away behind a dining table where it's completely hidden from sight but can still easily travel out of to begin its automated cleaning cycles.

Having recently moved into a new house, I’ve been dealing with really dirty floors for the past few weeks, perfect for testing out this new vacuum’s performance. We’ve had everything from mud, dirt, sand, sawdust, larger pieces of plastic, and debris littering our floors. With smart features and autonomous cleaning, the Dreame Bot pretty much handled everything we threw at it.

Why You Need a Good Robot Vacuum

At the end of the day, you want a robot that effectively cleans your floors so you don't have to, not one that requires you to constantly monitor it to make sure it gets the job done right and stays out of trouble.

dreametch bot l10 pro vacuum top cover

I’ve tested and owned a number of other robot vacuums and actually still use the Roborock V1, one of the earlier models also made by a Xiaomi subsidiary. Despite being much newer, the Dreame Bot still looks largely the same and has many of the same parts, core functions, and smart app features. The most noticeable improvements include the addition of the mop module, a much better LiDAR system for navigating, as well as a built-in comb to prevent hair and other long pieces of debris from getting tangled in the main brush. Together, this has allowed the vacuum to clean better as well as knock into or get caught in fewer things.

Beyond the robot itself performing well, it integrates with the feature-packed Mi Home app that helps you really customize your clean and help keep tabs on its performance and maintenance. While the vacuum can just be plugged in and left to run, taking a few minutes to fine-tune its settings in the app will help you really take advantage of all its advanced options including power modes, cleaning schedules, and automation, as well as setting virtual boundaries and zones to clean or avoid.

While the L10 Pro likely won’t be able to completely eliminate the need for a deeper or more specific clean from a dedicated manual vacuum, especially in spaces with smaller or more awkward corners or gaps, it will greatly reduce the frequency of you needing to do so. Compared to their older versions and many competing models as well, the Dreame Bot is a more reliable cleaning tool that can run on a user-defined schedule or automated routine and needs minimal maintenance.

dreametech bot l10 pro front sensors

Since setting a routine cleaning schedule of three days a week at midnight, I've only needed to manually vacuum or sweep once every few weeks. In those times, I'm usually only focused on a few awkward corners or in areas that the robot couldn't quite reach. Other than that, it's still easier to grab the handheld vacuum for any small spillages.

Reliability and Maintenance

Smart home gadgets tend to be a mixed bag. They either promise big but underdeliver; require more effort to get them working than they're intended to actually help you save; or cost an arm and a leg in upfront costs and maintenance.

With the exception of a premium price tag, the Dreame Bot L10 pro doesn't have those other issues. Everything you'll need to get this running is included in the box. And when the time comes, replacement brushes can be found for as little as $10 via their official Amazon storefront. Based on my five years of experience owning a very similar model to it, I have high hopes for the L10.

dreametech bot l10 pro brush

Setup, Capacity, and Run Time

The initial setup is straightforward and helped by picture diagrams on the protective foam packaging pads that you need to remove before your first clean. The only part required is to snap the side brush onto the bottom of the vacuum.

dreametech bot l10 pro charging dock

In a few simple guided steps within the Mi Home app, you'll quickly get the L10 Pro connected to your Wi-Fi network. You may also need to update the firmware, which takes about 5 minutes.

The dock can be placed and plugged into any outlet of your choice provided the vacuum has enough space to freely leave and return.

Mapping

I'd recommend choosing an area that will remain relatively clutter-free and consistent in terms of furniture and obstructions. Doing so will allow the vacuum to use its saved LiDAR created map of your floor plan. I found that if you change up the area, even slightly, say putting a box or chair in the nearby vicinity of the dock where it first starts by positioning itself, it will say "positioning failed" and will then need to do a brand new mapping of the floor, which does take more time as it re-learns the areas and boundaries. In this step, it's determining the most efficient way to clean your floor as well as breaking it down into logical zones or rooms. Through the Mi Home app you can later adjust, merge, delete and rename these zones as you see fit.

Provided you can keep your floors' layout relatively consistent, which granted I had difficulty doing during my first few weeks, it will allow you to define specific zones or boundaries within the app that either need specific cleaning instructions or need to be avoided completely.

While the vacuum is smart enough to recognize and save multiple floor maps within the app, I found it too much of a hassle to physically move the robot and the dock to a different floor. This largely takes away from the whole automation benefit that these robots offer. If your other floors are large enough or have enough foot traffic that it warrants having automated cleaning, I'd recommend getting a second unit just for that floor. I have my older Roborock V1 on our first floor for an area just like that.

Run Time

Run time is rated for up to 150 minutes on its standard power cleaning mode. Based on its consistency of cleaning my 33m² floor area in about 30min or less, it has never come close to needing a recharge during a cycle.

I've been able to regularly do two full vacuum cycles followed by two mop cycles in this same space on a single charge. For larger floors or areas that need even more attention, in the case that the battery does get low, you have the option to toggle the Resume Cleaning Mode option in the app. This will have the Robot return to charge and resume the cleaning cycle afterward.

Capacity

The waste bin holds up to 570ml, meaning I only need to clean it out once every two weeks. It's big enough that it can house those larger pieces of debris too without issue.

dreametech bot l10 pro dustbin

The water tank is 270ml, which in my experience is good enough for two full cleans on standard water flow with my roughly 33m² floor. If you have a larger single floor that needs to be mopped, this may not be a large enough capacity to complete the job in one run.

dreametech bot l10 pro water tank

Unfortunately, however, the water tank does not seem to have a sensor to identify if it needs to be refilled. In the case that the robot runs out of water during a mop cycle, you'll have no way of knowing unless you actually pay attention. With that, for larger floors where you know the tank is not large enough, I'd recommend using the app to break cleaning cycles down into rooms or zones to ensure it has enough water for a thorough clean.

The LiDAR consists of two lasers that help the robot actually navigate cleverly throughout your space, rather than just bump into and detect obstacles. This helps keep your furniture, walls, and things from getting banged up against by the robot, something my older model was notorious for. In fact, for objects it detects, it comes very close up to them, but never actually comes in contact with them. It will still occasionally give the legs of my chairs and sofa a light tap, but for these larger obstacles, it mostly does well here. More importantly, and another big improvement compared to my older model, is that it does a great job at detecting edges and drops. It cleans the top of my staircase well while still maintaining its balance and never tipping over.

I would still recommend keeping your floors as clear as possible before beginning a clean cycle. It's supposed to plan its path 8m ahead. While their site claims "putting stuff away before cleanup is no longer a must", in practice I found it best at detecting larger objects while still often missing smaller ones. Tools, toys, papers, bags, cables, and other small objects are still susceptible to getting pushed around and potentially caught on the brushes.

Cleaning Power

Most impressive with this robot, is its max suction of 4000Pa in turbo mode, while much of the competition tops off at just 2000Pa.

dreametech bot l10 pro underside

There are four cleaning modes; Quiet, Standard, Strong, and Turbo. Switching to Turbo will give you that stronger suction, but with that comes higher noise levels and less battery life.

Another option that can be toggled in the app is Carpet Boost which will have the robot automatically switch to Turbo suction when it detects that it's on a carpet, and resume its normal suction when it leaves. As carpets tend to need a deeper clean, it's great that the L10 Pro can automatically adjust. This a great addition that is absent from my older model.

Even with the robot in standard mode, it managed to collect a variety of debris, even the much larger and heavier pieces that I was almost certain it would leave behind. Balled-up tape, paper, wrappers, uncooked pasta, and pieces of zip ties were some of the many larger unwanted items on my floors. It has a big enough clearing from the front that allows it to ride over and suck up these pieces rather than just push them around.

It's actually the smaller and sand-like debris that can be more problematic for the vacuum. The side brush tends to sometimes throw these smaller grains to the side if they make direct contact with that brush; this is true of almost all robot vacuums on the market today. But generally, if the brush didn't fling it aside, the vacuum ends up collecting everything on one of its return trips.

Vacuuming Limitations

Another area the L10 struggles with is level changes. Although it handles up to 0.78in of height difference, which is impressive, it tends to get small pieces of debris wedged up against the lower level For me, this resulted in cat litter building up along a door threshold.

While the brush height is controlled by a spring that automatically responds to the level traversal, it doesn't appear to be maintaining a close enough contact. If there is a mess or a consolidation of debris in this area, there is a good chance that the L10 will miss it.

Mopping

Mopping performance is good although not nearly as impressive or effective as its vacuuming. The wet mop module has a removable microfiber cloth that you dampen, wring out, and then slide under its water tank. When attached, the robot automatically recognizes the water tank and knows to run in mopping mode during its next clean.

Official documentation recommends doing three vacuum cycles before mopping. I'm not too sure if this means before each time you want to mop or just the initial mop. Regardless, provided your floors are relatively well-vacuumed, you should be able to get good results with the mop. It's best for wiping lighter surface grime and spots, but anything stickier or deeper will still require a dedicated mopping. That said, regular light mopping is still useful.

Mopping Limitations

In addition to the previously discussed capacity and sensor limitations of the mop tank, the more important issue in my experience is that the robot is not smart enough on its own to stay on hard surfaces for mopping. While it can auto-detect when it moves to carpet and provide a deeper clean while in vacuum mode, it doesn't know to avoid these areas completely when mopping.

Where we chose to locate the L10 is thankfully all wood. For those who have a mix of carpet and hard floors, you'll need to define the zones you want to be mopped in the app.

Final Thoughts

There are a number of much-needed improvements and upgrades that the Dreame Bot L10 Pro has introduced that allow it to clean better, run more reliably, and as I found, get into less trouble.

Its vacuuming performance is impressive and will likely handle most challenges. You'll still want to keep a dedicated handheld vacuum and mop on hand for those deeper cleans and hard-to-reach spots though.

With just a few quick settings in the app, this is a powerful automated cleaning tool that will keep your floors clean almost autonomously. Tinkering with its advanced features as well as keeping a few things in mind will help you get the most performance and value out of this.

While this isn't the cheapest robot vacuum out there, it has the features, reliability, and convenience to make it a great choice.