Wet and dry vacuums are a niche product. In theory, they’re great because you can use them to mop a hard floor and vacuum a carpet without having to switch devices. However, the wet and dry vacuums I’ve tested tend to offer mediocre carpet performance and weigh too much to be easy to use. The Dreame H15 Pro CarpetFlex, which I got hands-on with at a Dreame event in August, might be an exception to this. I found it easy to use and maneuver, which isn't something you always find in a wet and dry vacuum.
It's also loaded with a variety of cleaning and sanitizing features, including a unique one that the company claims can help reduce allergies by misting your carpets while vacuuming. Here's what else is new.
Easier to maneuver
We’re still testing its performance capabilities at our lab in Louisville, Kentucky, but using it on different floor types in Dreame’s demo area impressed me with its ability to clean wet messes off hard flooring. I was able to easily roll it back and forth across the hardwood, sucking up a clumpy mess of what looked like congealed milk from the floor.
Aside from cleaning the mess effectively in just a few passes, what struck me the most was how relatively lightweight the H15 Pro CarpetFlex felt to use and maneuver compared with other wet and dry vacuums I’ve tested. Despite weighing 12.8 pounds, making it heavier than the Roborock F25 Ace Combo, I didn’t have any problems moving it back and forth across the different flooring types Dreame had in its test area or moving it back to the self-cleaning docking station.
I tried the H15 on several flooring types in the demo area, including hardwood and vinyl. Ajay Kumar/CNET
Part of the easy maneuverability seems to come from the SmoothGlide System, which Dreame describes as two different assist modes that adapt the wheels to move more easily on the surface it's on. During my brief usage, it seemed to work well, moving smoothly across the different test surfaces, though it remains to be seen how this translates to real-world use. Ultimately, it likely won't be as easy to use as a regular cordless vacuum, but it's still a significant improvement over others I've tested.
Loaded with cleaning features
“For years, wet dry vacuums were limited to hard floors, leaving carpets neglected,” said Judy Shi, product strategy manager at Dreame. “With the H15 Pro CarpetFlex, we’re breaking new ground. This machine delivers true all-in-one cleaning, tackling any mess on any surface with ease and intelligence.”
As Shi indicates, the H15 Pro CarpetFlex works on all flooring types. It has 23,000 pascals of suction for carpet and comes with a 780-milliliter tank for clean water and a 700-milliliter tank for used water that you can empty after your cleaning session. It also has various smart features and sensors that have become increasingly common on vacuums, with automatic suction adjustment and RGB detection for liquid spills and pet messes.
I used it on hardwood to clean up what looked like congealed milk. It mopped it up effectively with a few swipes. Ajay Kumar/CNET
Like most other wet and dry vacuums, it also supports hot water mopping. To clean thicker grease and grime, it’ll flush the roller with water heated to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. When you dock it in the self-cleaning station, it’ll rinse the full system and use hot air drying up to 194 degrees Farneheit to circulate air through the entire machine, including the brush, pipes and filters. According to Dreame, this should help prevent moisture, odors and mildew.
It also has a unique feature, MistLock Dust Control, which Dreame says is designed to reduce allergies and eliminate secondary dust pollution caused during emptying the dustbin.
The display shows a variety of settings and the vacuum boasts automatic suction adjustment and spill detection. Ajay Kumar/CNET
“Over 20 million Americans suffer from dust mite allergies, and traditional vacuums worsen the issue by releasing dust during disposal,” Shi said. “Our MistLock system captures dust particles with ultra-fine water droplets, transforming them into damp clusters that stay safely in the waste water tank.”
I wasn’t able to try this out myself, but we’ll be testing this feature during our testing in the Louisville lab to see how effective it is.
Price and availability
The Dreame H15 Pro CarpetFlex is on sale now on Amazon and Dreame for $699, though it appears to be currently out of stock on Amazon. We’re continuing to test it in our lab and will have results shortly.