Second Chance Dreame X40 Master

The Dreame X40 Ultra Complete is a robot with many smart functions and an extensive base station. The robot vacuum cleaner thoroughly cleans my floor and does this without me helping.

Independent robot
I'm struck by how independent the robot is. I almost never help when he cleans. This is due to all the smart functions of the robot. For example, in the base station the robot does everything itself. He empties his dust bin, fills his water tank and washes and dries his mop pads. The robot measures how dirty the water is, so that it only stops washing the mop pads when they are really clean. The base station also cleans itself, so no bad odors remain in my house. In addition, the robot is independent, because it cleans my entire floor. So I don't help with the corners and edges myself. The robot has a moving side brush and a moving mop brush. This means that they stick out when they run along skirting boards or corners. I notice that the robot does not skip any areas on my floor. When the robot is in mopping mode, it lifts its center brush and side brush. This prevents the brush from dragging on the wet floor. When he vacuums carpet, the mop actually lifts. This way my carpet doesn't get wet.

Extensive settings
I adjust the robot's settings via the extensive app. The app gives me a lot of options for cleaning routines. For example, I choose an intensive carpet cleaning program. The robot then drives over carpet twice and also drives slower. This way it sucks up dirt better. I also set the water level of the mopping function very precisely. I choose a cleaning routine per floor or per room. As the robot drives through my house, it also recognizes objects. This means it doesn't run over my stuff and I don't have to empty my floor. The LED on the front of the robot turns on when it drives into a dark place. This way he can also see the stuff under my couch. If I want to watch the robot remotely, I can do this via a video connection in the app. All these functions are very useful, but I can also imagine that all the settings are a bit overwhelming. Especially if you have never used a robot vacuum cleaner before. Fortunately, the app is user-friendly, but may take some getting used to.

Thorough cleaning result
I notice that the robot really cleans the floor thoroughly. The robot easily sucks up dirt with high suction power and the rotating mop pads remove stains well. Because the robot recognizes dirt, it adapts its cleaning to the type of dirt. I notice that this makes it clean neatly.

Accessories for 1 year
The Complete model comes with a large stock of accessories. Handy, because I use the robot for about a year without buying filters, brushes or mopping pads. The mopping function cleans even better with the included cleaning agent.

This is my second robot vacuum cleaner. The first one dates back 3.5 years, cost half of this one, different brand and annoyed me endlessly (lost plan, forgot places, did not vacuum properly and did not empty the robot at the end). Time for a new one.
After many comparisons I chose the Dreame X40. The biggest stumbling block was of course the price! But to meet all my requirements I realized that I had to go for the higher price range (fully autonomous, good suction power, compatible with Siri, quiet, smart, thin because it has to be able to go under the seats and cupboards and recognize different floors and certainly be able to go over thick carpets).
Initially the robot did not want to go under my seats (while the first one did and was even a few millimeters thicker). So I raised the seats by 1.8 cm but it still did not work. The cause was the cloth under the seats that was sagging too much. So I tightened that cloth and that was it. The robot automatically changed its route, now that it knew it could go via the seats. Crazy!
I'm not going to turn off all the programs here, but I find a few things remarkable. With one of the programs, it first vacuums the carpets, then the tiles and then mop. It goes directly and really quickly and without hesitation to the furthest carpet. It vacuums it with maximum suction power and then moves on to the next carpet. Maintenance, I replaced the first door carpet with a larger one and the robot saw it immediately and also adjusted it directly to the plan.
After vacuuming, it drives back to the base station to hang the mops on the device, wet them and then mop the tiles. Completely automatic, I don't have to intervene. It also knows whether it needs to mop a second time if the dirty water is too dirty!
A nice option is that it extends its brush to go into the corners (including the mop). If he sees that there is a little space between the tiles and the furniture (such as a refrigerator), he will swing his butt to mop as far as possible under the refrigerator. Very amusing to watch:)
After mopping, he drives back to the base station to rinse the mops (with warm water!) and then dries the mops with warm air. I have turned that option off because the drying time is at least two hours (to save electricity). I let him vacuum and mop every day, so I don't find it necessary to dry the mops.
Oh yes, almost forgot, he does his job every day when we go to sleep. He is so quiet that we don't hear him, a tiny bit when he cleans the carpets, but it is really doable. We sleep on the upper floor and the door to the upper floor is closed.
I had to search for a while, but it is possible to ask him via Siri to only clean the kitchen. I wanted to tell as much as possible because I also had questions. And since the price is quite high, people often have doubts.
Well, if your budget allows it, DO IT! You don't have to look at it (except emptying/filling the reservoirs of course) I think there is also a possibility to connect the base station to the utilities by purchasing a module, but at the time of writing I am not 100% sure.
One thing I know: we get up every morning and walk into a clean house. Our tiles are black!

I hesitated for a long time about purchasing a robot vacuum cleaner. Is such a device really worth it? In terms of unburdening, yes! We have a Maine Coon who makes it snow inside (with tufts of hair) and a 4-year-old son. This in combination with a dark tiled floor is the recipe for vacuuming once or twice a day and mopping at least weekly. That is no longer necessary!
As for the price, yes it is hefty. But the above situation and Dreame's reputation in the field of obstacle detection convinced me.
And, the Dreame X40 does not disappoint! The cleaning result is excellent. And yes, you really have to do the difficult corners - and the toy corner - manually once a week. This also applies to our carpet, which does not become completely hair-free, although I do not let the vacuum cleaner suck over it for a maximum of 3 cycles because that takes too long for me.

Explanation of the plus points:
- Vacuum cleaner works surprisingly quietly (in standard mode, which is sufficient for us).
- Avoid obstacles very well (furniture, cables, cat supplies and toys, etc.), sometimes the Dreame is even too careful, but better that than accidents (the cat sometimes leaves a vomited hairball behind...).
- The cloud of cat hair is no problem at all. Everything is sucked in. Not much hair remains on the brush. I clean it once a week and I think even once every two weeks is enough.
- Really positively surprised by the low noise the vacuum cleaner makes (in standard mode). Except on the carpet, where it goes in turbo mode (you can set it yourself).

Explanation of the negative points
- Base station is relatively large and high. Fortunately, the station looks relatively luxurious.
- The settings to really customize cleaning to your liking can be taken even further. It is mainly about being able to combine different options. The possibilities are already very extensive (to put it into perspective), but some combinations cannot be made, which I think is only due to the software.

Other points I would like to add:
- App is sometimes inconsistent in the interface. The app is further extended and stable.
- You can hear the mops drying (at least 2 hours), but it is not disturbing. However, I wouldn't put the base station next to your sofa.
- The Dreame sometimes chooses an illogical way to drive to the area it has to clean. In our case, he insists on going under the dining table to go to the kitchen. The map also neatly indicates that there is a dining table, but he insists on making his way through the 6 chairs and therefore 24 legs.
- Pay attention to your map. This takes some time, but really helps with performance. Map also improves as you let the Dreame clean a few times. The AR function to scan furniture with your phone (in the app) is a real invention!