I've spent over 100 hours testing vacuums – and the Dreame H14 Pro is truly the most impressive vacuum-mop I've ever used

Vacuuming and mopping is an arduous double task but the latest high performance vacuum mops can make it quick and effortless. The best tech combines suction and cleaning prowess across hard floors to remove debris and stains thoroughly in one go.

I was excited to get my hands on the Dreame H14 Pro to see if it lives up to the hype, and spoiler alert – it did! Dreame is a relatively new but up-and-coming brand in the floorcare market and their visually-premium range combines smart features and intuitive designs, and this vacuum mop is no exception.

I'm Homes & Gardens' home tech editor and my team of testers and I have reviewed 65 of the world's best vacuums. I put the Dreame H14 Pro through its paces in our dedicated center with a battery of tests to find out if it's a good fit for your home and I genuinely was thoroughly impressed. It's the best vacuum mop I've ever used.

Dreame H14 Pro: Specifications

Dreame H14 Pro: Setup

Putting the Dreame H14 Pro together is as straightforward as with most wet vacuums. Attach the handle to the main vacuum unit, then all you have to do is wait for it to fully charge before it's ready to be filled with the cleaning solution. My model arrived with 52% battery and took around two hours to fully charge, then I was ready to start cleaning the hard floors.

Included with the Dreame H14 Pro is a spare filter and roller, cleaning solution, cleaning brush and charging base. You can also connect the vacuum to a smartphone app using your home's WiFi to make use of extra control features.

Dreame H14 Pro: Design and features

The Dreame H14 Pro's feature set ticks a lot of boxes. It can vacuum solids and liquids, mop your floors and remove stains with very little effort needed from yourself.

You can choose between four cleaning modes: auto, suction, ultra and custom. Auto is the preferred mode, detecting how messy your floor is to optimize the right amount of cleaning solution and suction to use, just like the best Dyson vacuums' detection technology.

But you can switch to ultra if you need a boost to clean particularly messy floors, and suction mode is great if you ever need to treat it like a normal cordless vacuum without using any cleaning solution.

Something I love about this vacuum is its ability to distribute the cleaning solution evenly and efficiently, or 'intelligently' as Dreame describes. Unlike other vacuum-mops, the H14 Pro has a separate tank for cleaning solution and clean water, and filling the cleaning solution tank once can last for up to a month. As it detects what mess is on your floor, it makes sure to use enough solution without being excessive.

The vacuum can also lay flat at 180 degrees. This is a huge help when doing those hard cleaning tasks like reaching under furniture, and from my experience, it makes all the difference not having to move the room around each time you're tackling the floors.

The motor spins at 125,000RPM to generate 18,000Pa suction power, which isn't at all close to what you'd expect from the best upright vacuums, but more than enough when cleaning hard floors with the help of a fast-spinning roller and cleaning solution. The floorhead also has LED headlights.

You can also connect the H14 Pro to the Dreamehome app. I personally don't find this that useful as the cleaning modes available on the vacuum have always done the trick, but through it you can set your own custom suction/moisture level ratio and remotely schedule the vacuum's self-cleaning features. Again, I don't see this as a useful feature as the vacuum should be cleaned after each use, but it makes sense that Dreame would utilize their app that already exists (thanks to the Dreame robot vacuums) to add in some extra customization features.

Dreame H14 Pro: Cleaning tests

I tested the Dreame H14 Pro using five spilled substances with different properties in our dedicated test center, a standardized process across all of our vacuum mop testing.

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

The Dreame H14 Pro had a strong performance in every test. When cleaning the ketchup, mustard and pasta sauce, it took one pass forward and back for the mess to be completely cleared.

However, the mustard stained the roller instantly, and despite how much use it got from the rest of the testing and the self-cleaning and drying cycles, the stain remains on the roller to this day. I haven't had this stain removal issue with any of the other vacuum-mops I've tested.

The good news is you can buy replacement roller mops for a small cost when needed.

The Dreame H14 Pro took a few more passes to completely clean the broken egg, but it did so quickly and without anything leaking out. When cleaning the milk and cereal, the H14 Pro vacuumed up the entire mess faster than any other wet vacuum that I've used. This is one of the hardest things a wet vacuum can clean as the high volume of small pieces can get flung around, but the H14 Pro had no issue clearing it all in two passes.

During my review and testing of the Dyson WashG1, its first ever vacuum mop, the appliance starkly failed to cope with egg.

What is the Dreame H14 Pro like to use?

Overall, the H14 Pro is an absolute breeze to use. It glides across the floors with little resistance, almost propelling itself forward but without making you lose control while you're cleaning. Its controls are as straightforward as any other cordless vacuum-mop and it doesn't take long to figure out what you're doing.

I like how clear the display screen is, with different icons for the cleaning modes and a visually-appealing graphic that changes shape depending on the floor's dirt volume while you clean.

Being able to lie completely flat is super useful for cleaning trickier areas, and I appreciate that Dreame added a small ball, similar to an old-school computer mouse that can roll as you clean at this angle. It means you can lightly hold the top of the handle, which is angled to be able to clean easily at 180 degrees, without having to carry the weight the entire time. It also avoids scratching the vacuum's exterior when bringing it down to the floor.

The LED headlights are a welcomed feature, and one that you surprisingly won't find in a lot of vacuum-mops. It's great to have that extra bit of visibility to know if you've really deep cleaned your home.

Both the cleaning solution and clean water tanks are easy to fill up, and the water tank slots out so you can fill it under the faucet. There's only one self-cleaning mode, compared to others that have options that take different amounts of time depending on if you're in a rush or not. It reaches 73 decibels at its loudest, which is similar to a cordless vacuum but thankfully much quieter than the almost-jet engine volumes of the best robot vacuums self-cleaning.

The self-drying is just as important as the self-cleaning, as it prevents the growth of mold and mildew and unwanted odors. It takes an hour to fully dry, which is great to know that it's doing it thoroughly, but can pose problems if you ever need to use the vacuum quickly after the last time. Luckily, it's barely audible during the drying cycle.

My main issue with the H14 Pro however is how noticeably slippy the floor is after you clean. All other vacuum-mops I've tested leave the floors dry within 5-10 minutes, but the Dreame's layer of moisture lingers for almost twice that long, and I'd advise to be careful to not slip over during or after cleaning as I almost did!

How does the Dreame H14 Pro compare?

I tested the Dreame H14 Pro at the same time as the Dyson WashG1, the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro and the Tineco Floor One Stretch S6. The H14 Pro costs $699.99 at Dreame, but I've often found it discounted to as low as $549.99.

The Tineco Floor One S7 Pro and the Dreame H14 Pro are the two best cleaners out of the bunch. Their cleaning abilities are almost identical, both handling all the different types of mess quickly and without any issues. The Tineco produces drier floors sooner, but doesn't lay completely flat like the Dreame does. The Tineco also doesn't have app control, but as I've said, I don't think this is essential. The Tineco is $100 more, and while they're both great cleaners, I found the Dreame cleaned slightly quicker, so it gets my vote.

The Tineco Floor One Stretch S6 is $100 cheaper than the H14 Pro and is also able to lay flat, but doesn't clean floors as thoroughly or efficiently. It's a great alternative if the H14 Pro is slightly outside of your budget, but if you're ok spending a little extra, the Dreame can do everything the Stretch S6 can but better.

The Dyson WashG1 is more expensive than the H14 Pro, and surprisingly, doesn't clean remotely as well. It's still a decent model if you're looking for something lightweight (it's 2 lbs lighter) and has great edge cleaning, but if you're spending that much I would absolutely recommend the Dreame instead.

Should you buy the Dreame H14 Pro?

When it comes to cleaning ability alone, the Dreame H14 Pro is the best I've ever tested. It sucked up every mess in no more than two passes, and is also easy to fill up, empty, and self-clean and dry.

But it does unfortunately leave a lot more water on the floor after it's cleaned, which can be slippery. If you need faster drying you can adjust the moisture levels but this comes with a sacrifice of cleaning power. Still, it's not as wet as if you'd used a normal mop.

At the time of writing, the H14 Pro is the best vacuum-mop I could recommend for the home, followed closely by the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro.

How I tested the Dreame H14 Pro

You can find out more about our exact methodology at our dedicate how we test vacuums but briefly, I tested the Dreame H14 Pro using five standardized substances (outlined above) in our test center, on wooden floors and linoleum.

I tested the different cleaning modes, all smart features available and took note of how easy it is to fill up, empty and generally use.

Still undecided? Compare mopping vs wet vacuuming to find out which is best for you, or consider one of the best vacuums for hardwood floors.