The Dreame H15 Pro Heat Vacuum-Mop's Hot Water Feature Is a Game-Changer for Floors, but the 'AI' Arm Didn't Impress

The Dreame team has steadily been releasing floorcare innovations since its relatively recent inception, spanning vacuum-mop combos and robot vacuums that have introduced firsts to their respective markets.

The Dreame H15 Pro Heat is one of the brand's latest vacuum-mop combos, and the first to have hot water cleaning and the AI DescendReach robotic arm for edge cleaning.

As their previous model has topped our best vacuum-mop combos guide for some time now, I was excited to test the new and improved version. Here's what I learned after rigorously testing.

My One-Minute Verdict

The Dreame H15 Pro Heat introduces some new features, notably an AI robotic arm and hot water cleaning, but they work to varying effects. The AI robotic arm certainly cleans edges more effectively than vacuum-mop combos without it, but the 'AI' software isn't quite there, as it drops randomly and often, stopping the vacuum from gliding and getting in the way when vacuuming solids.

But generally, this is a strong cleaner that can deep clean your floors in two or three passes, and leave them dry within 3-10 minutes (depending on cleaning mode). It automatically detects dirt and can adjust on the fly, and it self-cleans and self-dries to avoid bacteria build-up.

But it costs $899.99 at full price (though it is sometimes discounted to around $599.99), and honestly, having tested its predecessor, the Dreame H14 Pro cleans faster, is easier to use, and costs just $399.99 at Dreame.

My advice: Unless you specifically need hot water cleaning for old, stubborn stains and frequently heavily-soiled floors, go for the H14 Pro. It's better and cheaper.

Dreame H15 Pro Heat: Specifications

Dreame H15 Pro Heat: Setup

The instructions to assemble the Dreame H15 Pro Heat were helpfully printed on the packaging. All that's involved is slotting the handle into the vacuum, then inserting the deodorizer into the dirty water tank.

After that, I charged it to full before using it (this is always recommended with new appliances to promote and preserve battery health), which took around two hours to go from 49% to 100%.

I always like to see brands' efforts to keep packaging sustainable (the best Dyson vacuums always do well here), so it's a shame how much excessive plastic was used in the Dreame. Everything was plastic wrapped, then underneath the plastic was plastic film stuck to almost every surface. I know this prevents scratching, but cardboard molds would have been a more eco-conscious alternative.

There's the option to connect to the Dreamehome app so you can set your own moisture and suction levels for the 'Custom' cleaning mode, but the app wouldn't let me connect after repeated attempts. Without it, Custom mode is automatically set as Turbo mode, with maximum suction and moisture (but not hot water).

Dreame H15 Pro Heat: Design and Features

A major upgrade compared to the Dreame H14 Pro (our long-time best vacuum for wet floor cleaning) is hot water cleaning. It can heat water to 185°F, which helps break down bacteria and really stubborn stains that cold or room temperature water can't clean as effectively.

When you select hot water mode, it takes under a minute for the water to heat up, and the percentage is shown on the screen as it quickly rises (as seen in the photo above).

In this mode, the runtime is cut down to 20 minutes, compared to a maximum of 72 minutes when using less intensive settings. When I use vacuum-mop combos at home, I tend to keep it on auto as it detects the dirt levels and adjusts by itself (it's called 'Smart' mode on the Dreame H15 Pro Heat), but as I often have to switch to turbo mode when cleaning more stubborn stains, having a heated setting takes things up a notch.

Suction mode doesn't refresh the roller with any moisture, useful at the end of a clean to remove that last bit of moisture (it dries by itself in 3-5 minutes, anyway). Custom mode is useful if you prefer a specific moisture-to-suction ratio – like if you're cleaning hardwood floors or other delicate surfaces and want to limit moisture exposure, for example.

Another key upgrade from Dreame is the introduction of 'AI' cleaning and drying, including a robotic arm that lowers when the vacuum nears a wall edge to catch the remaining bits of dirt that the roller can't reach. I go into how well this works in more detail below, but I'm not convinced that the AI mentioned has any sophisticated learning capabilities.

It's easy for tech brands to insert the term 'AI' when describing any smart or innovative feature, but often it's just a bit of coding, rather than software that is actually learning and adapting. Dreame has also mentioned how the self-drying function is 'AI Drying', but it seems to take a standard 30 minutes every time. Really, using innovative AI at home involves systems that respond and adapt to our behavior and improve user experience.

Regardless, it's great that the dock has self-cleaning and self-drying. It's essential to avoid mold growth, bacteria, and nasty smells from emanating from the roller. It washes the roller at 212°F, taking around five minutes, and dries the roller at 194°F, taking around 30 minutes.

For comparison, one of our best robot vacuums from eufy takes up to three hours on average to self-dry its roller, so Dreame's timing on this feature is fast.

What Is the Dreame H15 Pro Heat Like to Use?

I was excited to try out the Dreame H15 Pro Heat, as I've enjoyed using the H14 Pro in my home for almost a year. But after using it around the test center and running our standardized cleaning tests, I was disappointed that it wasn't as effortless to use as its predecessor, and didn't clean as effectively.

My main gripe is with the AI robotic arm. It doesn't feel to me that the software is quite ready – it's designed to descend when it reaches wall edges to capture that tricky dirt, but in reality, it drops very frequently and at random points. It's made of a gripped rubber or silicone material, and every time it drops to the floor, it stops you from smoothly gliding the vacuum forward.

This becomes frustrating quickly. Every vacuum-mop combo I've tested, even cheaper picks like the Bissell CrossWave OmniForce Edge have smooth gliding, and it's one of the reasons why they're such satisfying hard floor cleaners.

When the Dreame H15 Pro Heat does get to the edges, it reaches more than what other models can, but it's not a total clean:

And as I found out later in the cleaning tests, the arm being there makes the vacuum less able to vacuum large debris. As a trade-off for cleaning capability, I'm not sure that bit of 'AI' is worth it for most homes.

Otherwise, the Dreame H15 Pro Heat is still a straightforward cleaner. It cleans hard floors quickly, removing new and old stains with a fresh-smelling cleaning solution that's safe across different floor types.

It lies completely flat, making it easy to clean under furniture without having to move heavy items. It's easy to fill up, needing just half a bottle cap of the cleaning solution and water. When you place it on the dock, it cleans and dries itself automatically and prompts you to empty the dirty tank once done.

Unlike the Tineco Floor One Stretch S6, which can be messy to empty, no debris is stuck to the dirty water tank when emptying, and as it has moving parts, you can rinse each surface more carefully.

However, a load of murky water started dripping out when I removed the dirty water tank from the Dreame H14 Pro Vacuum Mop – so it's best to do this step once you're next to wherever you're disposing it.

It also has a deodorizer, which I haven't seen before in these appliances, consisting of a long black cylinder that stays in the dirty water tank. While cleaning, I noticed that I never smelled any nasty odors, but it didn't do much when it came to the heated self-drying, as the roller odors still seeped into the room.

Floor dries within 3-5 mins, or about 8-10 minutes when using the maximum moisture level. I noticed there were occasionally a few tiny puddles, as when you leave it still on the floor, a thin layer of water will seep from the roller. It might be useful to do a suction pass after cleaning to make sure everything’s been removed.

It will alert you if there’s a blockage of any kind, and there’s a brush included to get into the pipes.

Dreame H15 Pro Heat: Cleaning Tests

I tested the Dreame H15 Pro Heat using our standardized vacuum-mop tests, covering substances with different properties and consistencies:

• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 2 tablespoons lumpy tomato and vegetable pasta sauce
• 1 egg, dropped from 5 feet
• 1 cup of cereal and milk

Overall, the Dreame H15 Pro Heat demonstrated strong performance cleaning these different substances, but I've seen better.

The ketchup and mustard stains were cleaned quickly in one pass, but because of the AI robotic arm, a tiny amount was pushed forward. The roller was great at leaving the floor completely free of residue, though, and it managed to clear the sauce from between the wooden panels.

I found the same with the pasta sauce, too. As it's mostly a wet consistency but with a few lumps, the chunks of vegetables carried the sauce forward, meaning it wasn't all able to be vacuumed in one. When I ran these tests with the older and more affordable Dreame H14 Pro, they were vacuumed in one.

And again, the same results with the egg. The vacuum-mop combo managed the white and yolk, but couldn't really tackle any of the shell pieces as the floorhead opening is quite narrow.

But when vacuuming milk and cereal, the H15 Pro Heat rolled over the pieces and had no issues vacuuming almost all of it in one, highlighting that it does actually have strong suction and a robust roller, but it is let down by the AI robotic arm getting in the way.

How Does the Dreame H15 Pro Heat Compare?

The Dreame H15 Pro Heat is a relatively new release, and $899.99 at Dreame at full price, but I've seen it discounted to as low as $569.99 (as it is at the time of writing).

That's more expensive than the other vacuum-mops we've tested. The Dreame H14 Pro, our best on test, costs around $399.99 at Dreame, depending on promotions. It doesn't have hot water cleaning, so if you often need to clean heavily soiled floors, the H15 Pro Heat is probably still for you. But otherwise, the H14 Pro cleans faster, especially large debris, as there's no robotic arm in the way.

If you're on a tighter budget, the Bissell CrossWave OmniForce Edge costs $299.99 at Bissell. It's not the most efficient, taking a few passes to clean rather than the one or two from Dreame's models, but it also has a dry suction setting for cleaning area rugs.

The Tineco Floor One Stretch S6 and Tineco Floor One S7 Pro are also excellent cleaners, and if your floors are more sensitive to moisture, the Tineco vacuum mops leave surfaces drier a minute or two faster. They cost $379.99 at Tineco and $699 at Tineco, respectively.

How I Tested the Dreame H15 Pro Heat

I tested the Dreame H15 Pro Heat in our dedicated test center, using it to clean the floors generally and assess its maneuverability, its ease of use, and how effective every feature is.

I then run standardized tests that we perform on every vacuum-mop combo to judge them all under the same criteria. These tests span substances with different consistencies and staining properties, with a variety of debris sizes to find out how strong each model's suction and roller is.

I measure noise levels using the Decibel X app, I note the charge time from out of the box to 100%, and I evaluate how easy and mess-free it is to fill and empty the water tanks.

For more floorcare inspiration, see the stand-out vacuums from our tests that top our guides of the best vacuums for pet hair and the best robot vacuums.