Dreame L40: 13,000 Pa, object avoidance system and wet cleaning with scrolling along walls

The Dreame L40 robot vacuum cleaner is a new product for 2025, boasting 13,000 Pa of suction power, a lidar/object detection system, a silicone brush, and two round rotating pads for wet cleaning. The pads are designed to lift up on carpets and rotate at the back when cleaning around the perimeter. The robot doesn't have a docking station; it comes with a standard charging base, which remains popular when choosing a robot vacuum for small spaces and on a budget. As for price, at the time of writing, the Dreame L40 can be ordered for $300-350. Below, I'll thoroughly test the robot, highlight its pros and cons based on my test results, and then express my opinion. So, let's get started!

Equipment

The robot vacuum cleaner arrived in a branded box like this:

The package includes a charging base, a power adapter, two cleaning cloths on holders, and an instruction manual translated into Russian.

Appearance

Let's take a look at the robot vacuum cleaner's design. It comes in white, has a round body, and is 97 mm high.

A wall sensor is installed on the right. An object detection system is located in the center.

There's no active home surveillance camera or object recognition feature. Only obstacle avoidance is implemented, which will be tested.

The lidar is equipped with a spring-loaded cover to prevent it from getting stuck under furniture. Three mechanical control buttons are located next to it.

The 470 ml dust container is located under the top cover, along with the water tank. Next to the dust container is a QR code for connecting the robot to the Wi-Fi network.

The filtration system features a washable HEPA filter and mesh. The water tank holds 300 ml. The robot is equipped with a pump for electronically controlling the flow of liquid.

There are four fall protection sensors in total. A carpet sensor is also included. The side brush is three-beam, quick-release, and does not extend into corners.

The central brush unit is floating. The central brush is made of silicone. This design makes it easier to clean tangled hair and fur. The brush can be disassembled on both sides for this purpose. If desired, you can purchase a branded turbo brush with blades and install it in this robot, as indicated by the manufacturer on the box.

Two round cloths for wet cleaning are installed behind the brush. They are of the standard design, attached to holders with Velcro. There's no mechanism for sliding the cloth to the edge of the housing, but there is a mode that allows the rear part to scroll as it moves around the perimeter, which partially solves the problem of blind spots.

When entering carpets, in dry cleaning mode, as well as when returning to the base and when moving to the cleaning area, the robot can automatically lift the cloths up by 7 mm.

The pros and cons of this design will be discussed during the final review. Let's move on!

Technical specifications

The main characteristics of the Dreame L40, as declared by the manufacturer:

• Li-Ion battery 5200 mAh.
• Suction power up to 13000 Pa.
• Operating time up to 150 min.
• Dust collector 470 ml.
• Water tank 300 ml.
• Obstacle clearance 2 cm.
• Robot dimensions: 350*97 mm.

Among its features, the increased suction power stands out, which will be verified in tests. The remaining characteristics are in line with similar devices.

Functional capabilities

Speaking of features, the Dreame L40 is controlled via the Dreamehome app. It's available in Russian and is intuitive and easy to use.

Main functions:

• Identifying objects on the floor.
• Saving multiple cleaning maps in memory.
• Automatic zoning of premises into rooms.
• Selecting areas and rooms for cleaning.
• Virtual walls and no-go zones (and for wet cleaning mode).
• Suction power adjustment.
• Adjusting the degree of wetting of the napkin.
• User mode.
• Scrolling backwards while walking around the perimeter.
• Cleaning log.
• Setting up cleaning according to a schedule.
• Voice notifications in Russian.
• Automatic power increase on carpet.
• Carpet cleaning in wet cleaning mode.
• Yandex.Alice support.

In general, there are all the basic options for flexible adjustment of cleaning parameters.

Testing

A detailed video review of the Dreame L40, including all tests, has already been prepared and published on the channel:

Navigation

Finally, let's move on to the tests. First, we'll test the robot's navigation in a room with obstacles. After leaving the base, the robot begins cleaning the perimeter of the room, rotating its rear end along the perimeter. The mirror introduced errors in the map, a typical feature of most lidar robots. The robot attempted to move over the legs of a clothes dryer but couldn't, so it steered around them, displacing the dryer in the process. After that, it began cleaning the entire available area in a serpentine pattern, specifically around the box and the table legs.

Speaking of navigation within the home, the robot vacuum cleans room by room, following the perimeter, then in a serpentine pattern. There are no uncleaned areas; this model has excellent navigation!

Autonomy

I also tested how long the battery lasted when running the robot at maximum power with wet cleaning enabled. It lasted 159 minutes, cleaning 75 square meters of usable space. In reality, that's just under twice the cleaning time of a two-bedroom apartment. And that's a typical result.

However, I would like to point out that there is a cleaning resume mode after charging at the base, so this model is capable of cleaning an area twice as large.

It's worth noting that the battery life itself is longer than many similar models, but the cleaning speed is slower because the robot spends a lot of time scrolling as it navigates the perimeter. When using the baseboard cleaning mode, robots clean my apartment in an average of 45-50 minutes, while this model took 85 minutes. I think it makes sense to use the baseboard cleaning mode every few cleanings, rather than every time, if you want the robot to clean more square meters on a single charge or do it faster.

Definition of objects

Regarding the object avoidance system, in good lighting, of the six household items tested, the robot was only able to identify and accurately avoid a stuffed animal and a shoe. It ran over a bathroom scale, chewed a cord, and displaced a sock and a dummy pet surprise.

Of the three socks, the black one first tried to go around—then it got chewed up, but then it was discarded. The white one also got chewed up, and then it made a mistake. The colored one was completely bypassed.

Of the four wires, two were chewed, one was displaced, and one thick wire in the bundle was driven around. Towards the end of the cleaning, I made a mistake because the wound wires still blocked the central brush.

Well, and from 6 traps in the form of pet surprises.

In the dark, there was no point in further testing the object detection system, as it was primitively designed. However, to be fair, the robot is more accurate than its counterparts without this system at all.

Passing under low furniture

The minimum height the robot can pass was also tested. Considering the robot itself is 9.7 cm tall, I created a 10 cm clearance under the furniture, and it fits through it without a problem. That's good!

Suction power

One of the most important tests was to check the robot's actual suction power on a test bench with crevices of varying depths. In "Quiet" mode, the robot partially cleaned a 2 mm deep crevice; in "Standard" mode, it cleaned the 2 mm crevice well and partially reached the 4 mm mark. In "Turbo" mode, the 2 mm crevice was completely cleaned, and the 4 mm crevice was significantly improved. In "Maximum" mode, the robot partially cleaned the 6, 8, and 10 mm marks.

I didn't get 12 mm on the updated test bench, but even that result is very good. This is truly a powerful robot vacuum.

Dry cleaning

The collection quality of various types of debris on laminate flooring is good. Only a small amount of debris remains in corners, where round robotic vacuums are unable to sweep. A small blind spot also remains near the outer corners, which is also the case with most competitors.

It's important to note that the central brush picks up minimal amounts of hair and fur. This is the main advantage of silicone brushes! All debris is collected in the dust collector.

Anti-tangle Hair Protection

I also tested how the brushes handled self-cleaning of hair and pet hair. I laid hair of varying lengths on the floor. The robot picked it up, and we saw that both the side and center brushes had tangled up hair. Fortunately, cleaning it out shouldn't be difficult.

In everyday life, after a week of use in an apartment with a shedding pet, the brushes are clean. So, if you have pets in the house and need to collect hair from the floor, these brushes are preferable to regular bristle-and-petal brushes.

Carpet cleaning

Additionally, debris was scattered on the low-pile carpet. I can say that the Dreame L40 thoroughly cleaned the carpet. It can also thoroughly clean medium-pile carpet, but some debris can get stuck in the pile.

This is the problem with silicone brushes – they are a little worse at cleaning fluffy carpets than bristle-petal brushes.

Wet cleaning and carpets

When wet cleaning on carpets, the robot has several options. It can automatically avoid them during wet cleaning, automatically raise the cleaning cloth holders to avoid wetting the carpets, or ignore them and drive over them as if they were hard surfaces if the carpet detection feature is disabled.

Wet cleaning

As for the wet cleaning performance, this model is primitive by the standards of 2025. However, the robot is capable of removing light stains from the floor. For comparison, I ran the robot in normal mode the first time to evaluate the width of the blind spot along the baseboard. On the second and third runs, I switched to a mode for wider edge and corner coverage. We see that this mode is actually effective and minimizes the blind spot along the walls.

I'll just add that round rotating cloths do remove dirt more effectively than regular cloths fixed to the central brush. However, when dirt is present, these cloths don't absorb it, leaving some on the floor or creating circular streaks, which isn't ideal. With a cloth washing station, the robot could be run two or three times on the stand, and then, with an intermediate wash, it would completely clean the floor without leaving streaks. However, the Dreame L40 doesn't have a station, so its effectiveness in such conditions is significantly reduced.

Under normal household conditions, the wet cleaning performance is truly superior to that of similar robots using conventional pads. It doesn't leave streaks, the floor is thoroughly wetted when the water flow is set to maximum, and most importantly, the pad lift function. The pads lift not only on carpets but also when the robot vacuum finishes a cleaning cycle or, conversely, when it's moving from the base to a designated cleaning spot. So, the Dreame L40 cleans a room, but the pads become dirty. When it returns to the base, it lifts them up and doesn't dirty the floors in other rooms while returning to charge. Alternatively, when it leaves the base to clean a separate room, it won't dirty the pads or waste water until it reaches the designated area. This, in my opinion, is a significant advantage compared to many similar robots.

Obstacle clearance

The robot vacuum cleaner can move over 2 cm high thresholds. That's a plus!

Driving on black surfaces

It's also not afraid of black surfaces, easily driving on completely black carpet. This is another advantage of the robot!

Noise level

As for the noise level, it ranges from 55 to 69 dB. The noise level is quite standard for this model, considering its high suction power.

Personal opinion

The Dreame L40 robot vacuum cleaner has been thoroughly reviewed and tested. our evaluation system he managed to gain 150 pointsThis is the best result in the Dreame line of dockless robot vacuum cleaners. Overall, it's one of the best among all the dockless robot vacuum cleaners tested.

Overall rating of tested robot vacuum cleaners: https://robovac.washerhouse.com/en/rejtingi/robovac-obshhij-rejting-robotov-pylesosov-robo.html.

First, I'll highlight the pros and cons of the tested robot vacuum cleaner, after which I'll express my own opinion about it.

I liked the following:

1. In reality, the suction power is very high.
2. Automatic lifting of napkins when driving onto carpets.
3. The body scrolls along the perimeter during wet cleaning, which minimizes unwashed blind spots along walls and furniture.
4. High-quality dry and wet cleaning on hard surfaces.
5. The silicone brush is easier to clean from hair and fur.
6. Complete Russification.
7. A large number of functions for flexible adjustment of cleaning parameters.
8. Good cross-country ability.
9. The robot vacuum cleaner is not afraid of black floor coverings.
10. A floor detection system. Although primitive, the robot cleans more accurately than its counterparts without a camera or sensors on the front bumper.
11. Availability of warranty and service.

There are also some comments about the robot, the main ones are:

1. The system for identifying objects requires improvement.
2. There is no active camera to monitor the house.
3. Doesn't sweep out debris in the corners.
4. Scrolling the body while walking around the perimeter takes a long time, and as a result, in this mode the robot cleans longer than its counterparts with a retractable cloth.
5. Round cloths without a station and periodic washing during cleaning can leave circular streaks.
6. And, of course, there's no station. Robots in the $300 price range can already be equipped with a station for washing cloths or at least self-cleaning the dust container. In these cases, the containers will have to be maintained manually.

In my opinion, the Dreame L40 will be of interest to those looking for a robot vacuum cleaner without a docking station, capable of simultaneously vacuuming and mopping carpeted floors. This model is suitable for cleaning small areas, or if you don't prioritize floor cleaning but want a robot that vacuums well and performs gentle damp mopping. Plus, don't forget the silicone turbo brush, which is easier to clean from hair and is suitable for apartments and homes with pets. Based on its capabilities and test results, I can say that this is essentially an upgrade. Dreame L10s Pro Gen 2The new product features improved perimeter mopping and slightly increased power. Otherwise, the robot remains the same in design and functionality, and was rightfully recommended in the updated rating. The best robot vacuum cleaners without a dock as of the end of 2025.

I'd like to end this review on that note. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments below the video. Happy shopping, everyone. Bye!