It was only 2021 when Dreame launched its first floor cleaner, the H11, and since then, as with robot vacuum cleaners, it has never stopped evolving its cleaning tools, although the H14 is already available on the market and the H14 Pro presentation will not be long away, I had the opportunity to try what I currently believe is the best quality/price choice on the market and I will try to let you know about it in the following lines.
For those who still don’t know what a floor cleaner is, it is a device designed to combine the vacuuming and washing of floors in a single tool, not only halving cleaning times but allowing, unlike the traditional mop, to always wash with clean water and detergent, thanks to the self-cleaning roller it can vacuum both solids and liquids leaving only a thin layer of water on the floor which dries very quickly, and in the case of the H13 Pro it can also reduce maintenance to a minimum and add some very interesting features.
UNBOXING, EQUIPMENT AND QUALITY
Once the package has been opened we will find ourselves in front of the main body of cylindrical shape which maintains the family feeling started with H11, the only operation to do will be to insert the handle into the appropriate slot and remove the protections, continuing the unboxing we find the base of charging, washing and drying, a roller and a spare HEPA filter, a cleaning brush, a bottle of multi-surface cleaner and the inevitable use and maintenance manual (which I always recommend to read carefully). The charging base, now streamlined and reduced in size, unfortunately loses the possibility of storing spare parts, only the space for the brush remains. The H13 Pro stands out for the high quality of its materials and assembly, a quality that can be perceived both by touching it and listening to it during its use, I didn’t expect anything less from Dreame.
TECHNICAL FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS
Although the operation remains the same as the previous versions, there is now a 300W, 100.000 rpm, 18.000PA suction motor inside, assisted by the roller capable of rotating up to 520 rpm, this translates into surprising performance.
The continuous flow of fresh water and detergent from the 900ml tank ensures that you always wash with a clean roller, everything is then conveyed by the powerful suction motor into the 700ml dirt tank which integrates a separator for solid dirt, as an interesting engineering note on contacts that detect when the tank is full, there are two rubber protections to avoid the problem common to many floor cleaners that get dirty and incorrectly indicate the tank is full when it is actually not.
When holding the floor cleaner you immediately notice the three function buttons, from the bottom the on/off button, the mode selection button and the self-cleaning button, from here your gaze immediately falls on the large circular display which indicates the 4 cleaning modes:
AUTO which automatically adjusts suction, brush rotation and quantity of water based on the dirt detected and signals it in real time on the screen with a crown which gradually turns green, yellow and red and immediately makes you understand the extent of the dirt with the which one you are dealing with.
TURBO that pushes capabilities to the maximum for the most complicated situations
ULTRA which adds water treatment to the turbo mode to create a sterilizing and sanitizing solution and which, unlike the classic electrolysis function present in other products, also allows it to be used together with the detergent.
LIQUID SUCTION which, as the name suggests, allows you to vacuum any liquid that has been spilled on the ground, water, milk, juice, etc. In this mode, no water is introduced but only liquid on the floor is sucked up. As always, I would like to point out that this mode in the H13 Pro, as in other floor cleaners, should absolutely not be used dry like a common vacuum cleaner.
Looking down at the brush we find the two most fascinating innovations. The brush cover integrates a transparent section with a powerful LED strip which helps to clearly see dirt in poorly lit areas.
By removing the brush cover we can observe the soft microfibre roller that runs along the entire length of the floor cleaner, managing to clean practically up to the edges of the skirting boards and furniture on both sides.
By easily releasing the brush thanks to a button and the quick release we can observe the “Distinct Resilient Scraper” technology, a flexible scraper with a series of teeth designed to comb the brush and remove not only debris and dirt but also animal and human hair, which makes this floor cleaner the ideal choice for those who have pets.
The time has come to fill the water tank, add the detergent and start cleaning, a feature that is immediately noticeable, in addition to the low noise level which makes its use not at all annoying to the ears, the wheels integrate the “GlideWheel Power” technology. System”, the wheels are moved back and forth by two motors positioned in the wheels, which precisely follow the user’s movements and eliminate the effort needed to make it move, the system has been significantly improved compared to H12 Pro and truly H13 Pro it can be moved with one finger.
Once the cleaning session is over, it’s time to put it back on the base for self-cleaning, drying and charging and this is where, in my opinion, the H13 Pro amazes the most.
First of all, self-cleaning can be selected on two levels, standard and intensive, to start the intensive one just press the self-cleaning button a second time, but the most interesting feature is undoubtedly the washing with hot water at 60° and with double rotation , the roller is in fact rotated dynamically clockwise and anti-clockwise at different speeds to maximize cleaning and when the wash is finished, “wring” the roller well, it is the first floor cleaner that succeeds in giving an almost perfect roller wash and in a month of I have never had the need to manually wash the roller.
Drying follows automatically (which can be activated and deactivated manually by holding down the self-cleaning button for a long time) which also takes place at 60° by rotating the roller alternately slowly and like a centrifuge and returns almost always perfect drying in 30 minutes , I say almost because being a fixed setting it does not take into account external temperatures and there is no humidity sensor that regulates drying accordingly. However, the system works very well and I have never smelled bad odors coming from the floor cleaner.
CLEANING AND USE EXPERIENCE
The performance is remarkable, no matter if you are dealing with daily dirt, coffee stains, jam, hair tangles, milk, animal food, crumbs, mud or if you want to spill a plate of spaghetti as seen in usual presentations, H13 Pro, especially in turbo and ultra modes, is an unstoppable bulldozer, very few things are capable of putting it in difficulty and in truly disastrous situations it will be enough to make more passes, moving it around the house is really simple and its 5.6kg is almost not noticeable.
The declared autonomy of the 6X4900mAh cells is 40 minutes, a value that is reached in rather clean environments, in the most energy-intensive modes or with the automatic mode indicator constantly on red, the hand stops at around 20 minutes, then the quick recharge fills the batteries completely in 4 hours. Too bad the charging doesn’t work together with the self-cleaning, so if you put the floor cleaner on the base with a battery below 15% you will have to wait a while to start the self-cleaning, and please always check that there is enough water left in the tank.
Maintenance is truly reduced to a minimum, just empty and wash the dirt container and refill the water and detergent, self-cleaning is so efficient that you won’t have to carry out maintenance and cleaning of the roller for weeks or even months.
THE GOOD
- Brush that washes from edge to edge and useful LED light
- Solid waste separator and contacts protection
- The traction wheels make it maneuverable and light
- Few like it can handle animal hair so well
- The self-cleaning and hot drying functions are amazing but…
THE BAD
- A humidity sensor would have been useful to regulate drying
- The charging base does not have enough space for the included accessories and spare parts
- Self-cleaning does not start with battery power lower than 15%.
- It is still a device without a replaceable battery
CONCLUSIONS
It’s difficult to draw conclusions with the H14 already on sale and the H14 Pro just around the corner, I’ll just point out what makes it better than the H12 Pro… everything. More powerful and manoeuvrable, even in extreme situations it provides impeccable cleaning, intelligent and safe to use lightly even on the most delicate floors and absolutely recommended for those who have animals. The positive side of already having a subsequent product and one soon to be presented is which is already at an excellent price and the purchase is even more justified if on promotion, and we should wait for the H14 Pro to see innovations that will convince us to postpone the purchase.
I save for last the personal considerations which are more inherent to the characteristics that I look for in the perfect floor cleaner, the H13 Pro does not tilt to 180° and is difficult if not impossible to wash under furniture, the battery is not yet replaceable like on vacuum cleaners and this castrates a little continuity of cleaning in large environments, it is not a combo model so it does not replace a vacuum cleaner if you just want to vacuum.
Having rattled off these last considerations which are more of a “I wish” than real defects, I can only recommend the H13 Pro to anyone looking for a top of the range floor cleaner at a more than affordable price, complete with all the functions and with self-cleaning among the best seen until today, if you have animals then perhaps it is among the few that I would recommend with my eyes closed.
LINK AMAZON
If you want to follow the evolution of these products or receive assistance, I will link you to my Italian communities:
DREAME ROBOTS ITALIA
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