Dreame has been pushing boundaries in the robot vacuum space for a while now. One of its robvacs has tiny little feet that launch it over tall room thresholds, plus a retractable navigation puck that lets it sneak under low furniture. In its most recent launch, the brand has focused its attention on improving the mop setup. And it hasn’t done it by half-measures. In TechRadar’s Dreame Matrix10 Ultra review, our tester called it “probably the most advanced hybrid robot floor cleaner [he’d] ever reviewed”.
The Matrix10 uses dual, spinning mop pads to mop floors. Nothing new so far (although, for the record, that is my preferred robovac mop style – in my experience testing today’s best robot vacuums, it tends to deliver a more thorough clean than a D-shaped pad, and have fewer irritating issues than a roller mop… but maybe that’s a separate article). What is new is that Dreame has decided that one pair of mop pads isn’t enough.
Dreame has deemed this unacceptable, so the Matrix10 Ultra comes with three sets of mop pads. What’s more, each pair has a different design, suited to a slightly different kind of mopping task.
One set has nylon bristle strips amongst the softer loops, to deep-clean especially dirty floors and tackle grease. One set is thicker and more absorbent, for areas where there might be water spillages on the floor – such as in your bathroom. And then there’s a general-purpose set for everything else.
A hands-free helper
‘What am I meant to do, swap over out the mop pads manually?’ I hear you ask. No, no, no. This is meant to be a hands-free helper, so Dreame has built you your own mop-dispensing dock.
The spare pads slot into the back of the door, and a little trolley picks up the appropriate set for the task at hand and delivers it to the bottom of the robot vacuum’s hutch area. The bot reverses in and picks them up, using magnetic connections. It’s rather like a vending machine for mop pads, or a jukebox if you prefer.
That’s just the start of it, though. If you’re going to have different mop pads, why not also have different cleaning solutions? Here there are three: a general-purpose one, another that’s specialized for tackling pet odors, and another for wooden floors (which need delicate treatment). Again, the dock handles the dispensing for you – the three solutions are hidden inside and the machine will add the correct one to the bot’s cleaning reservoir as required.
Oh, and on top of that the dock will still clean your mop pads for you, using hot water to cut through any grease and grime, and dry them with hot air, so each set is fresh, clean and ready to be called on at all times.
Is it necessary? I’m on the fence. I wouldn’t use a bathroom-cleaning cloth to also wipe down my kitchen surfaces, but when I test wet-and-dry vacuums I will happily use the same roller on any of the floors that are in need of a mop.
I can see the benefit for those concerned about cross-contamination though, or anyone with particularly challenging mopping needs (let’s say you’re house-training a puppy, for instance, and it’s still at the ‘sometimes pees on the floor’ stage).
The intricacy of the mopping setup does mean the Dreame Matrix10 Ultra won’t be for everyone. It’ll be overkill for owners of small homes – who would probably have to rule it out based on the proportions of the dock anyway (it’s about the size of an under-counter fridge). However, if you have complex mopping needs, lots of different hard flooring areas, or even a small commercial space that needs a serious robovac to stay on top of the upkeep, it could be a game-changer.
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