Dreame H11 Max

In the midst of Dreame's plethora of brush and robot vacuums, there are also scrubber vacuums that clean up on hard floors. With its H11 Max, the Chinese manufacturer is hunting on the lands of Kärcher or Bissell.

 

Presentation

Dreame's catalog is well stocked with upright and robot vacuums, but it's expanding with a new category represented by the H11 Max floor scrubber-vacuum. Launched at €599.99, this device is supposed to vacuum and mop at the same time thanks to the roller that rotates up to 560 times per minute. To do this, it has two water tanks; one of 900 ml for clean water and another of 500 ml to collect dirty water. Unlike the H11 (not Max), this version has an automatic mode that adjusts the suction power according to the dirt detected by the sensors located at the brush.

 

Convenience

While the Kärcher FC 7, FC 5 and FC 3 were particularly light floor scrubbers, the Dreame H11 Max is a large machine weighing 4.66 kg that is admittedly rather difficult to handle. It is true that the two small wheels installed under the brush make it possible to move the scrubber from one room to another without too much trouble and the roller drive makes it easier to handle the machine when it is in operation. Still, over time, the H11 Dreame Max does weigh down your arm. The body of the device and its head do not really show an extreme agility. It's hard for it to get into nooks and crannies and tight corners.

Inherited from the manufacturer's upright vacuums (including the Dreame T30), the H11 Max is equipped with a display that allows you to see the battery level and percentage of charge in real time. This display also indicates the operating mode of the device: automatic (which adapts the cleaning power according to the state of the dirt on the floor) or water absorption (which will be used to clean liquids). When the automatic mode is activated and the H11 Max has detected a significant level of dirt, a light ring lights up in red to warn that it is necessary to specifically insist on this area of the floor.

There are three buttons on the handle of the floor scrubber. Naturally, one is used to activate the device, the other to start the automatic mode or the water absorption mode. The third, located at the very top of the handle, starts an automatic cleaning of the scrubbing roller.

The structure of the device is such that it is equipped with a 900 ml (clean) water tank and a 500 ml waste water recovery tank. The two tanks fit together, fill and empty without any difficulty. There is no play when you fit these removable parts of their structure. The design is well made and the overall ergonomics of the H11 Max inspire confidence.

For storage or to take a break from cleaning, we appreciate that the cleaner stands on its own in the parked position: simply push the handle forward until it locks into place and the unit stands upright.

The H11 Max comes with a docking station that not only allows you to store the floor scrubber after use - which is good for preventing the wet roller from damaging the floor - but also to charge it. It is also from this base that it is possible to activate the self-cleaning system.

 

 

Maintenance

As mentioned earlier, the dirty water collection tray is very easy to remove from its location. Note, however, that since the H11 Max is not considered a wet vacuum, it is not supposed to pick up large, heavy waste, but rather liquids, food residues, or at most, fine dust.

The brush of the machine is equipped with a 24 cm wide roller that can be easily dislodged from its place to clean it.

And to limit the chore of washing the roller, the H11 Max has an automatic cleaning mode that can be activated easily by pressing the appropriate button. This system consists of rotating the roller on its base while moistening it to remove the dirt. Two levels of intensity can be set according to the state of dirt of the soft roller. After our numerous tests, we found that while this feature was very useful for rough cleaning the roller, it was no substitute for machine washing.

 

Washing

Our protocol is to try to remove four types of stains: oil, sweet drink, lipstick, carbon mixed with water (to simulate soot, a black, greasy stain that clings). And the results obtained with the H11 Max were a little more disappointing than those of a Kärcher FC 5.

In particular, it took three trips to completely erase the dried soda stains embedded in the floor, whereas the Kärcher only needed one. The oil stain proved to be less stubborn, as it completely disappeared after "only" two trips.

As was the case with the Polti Vaporetto 3 Clean, the carbon mixed with water leaves a very unobtrusive trail, but it disappears after 6 trips. As for the lipstick marks, they are still slightly visible after more than 20 passes of the rollers and we had to rub the floor energetically with our hands to erase them completely.

The cleaning performance is therefore decent, but it is still a step below that of Kärcher's motorized floor cleaners. On the other hand, we found nothing to complain about when it came to absorbing liquids, sauces or eggs. It was able to clean floors without any difficulty, provided that the stains had not had time to dry - and thus become embedded - in the floor.

 

 

Battery life

We measured the battery life of the Dreame H11 Max Cordless at 41 min, which is equivalent to those of the Kärcher FC 5 and FC 7. This should be enough to cover large areas. Fully recharging the battery takes a little time. It takes 5 h 30 min, which is still quite long.

 

Noise

The noise level of the Dreame H11 MAX is among the lowest in our comparison. We measured it at 62 dB(A) in normal mode and 65 dB(A) when it is used on a dirtier surface and when it is cleaning harder. On the other hand, when the automatic cleaning system starts to activate, it emits up to 67 dB(A) for about 1 minute, which can quickly become annoying.

 

Conclusion

With its H11 Max, Dreame is giving this new playground a try. Even if it lacks agility - mainly due to its weight - its cleaning performance is decent, provided that you don't let the marks dry for too long. Its design, its automatic cleaning system, its double tank - which avoids washing surfaces with dirty water - and its screen make it an attractive product.