One of the most reliable robot vacuums I've tested isn't a Roomba or Roborock

Pet hair is one of my biggest grievances at home. I have a mixed-breed dog whose DNA test confirmed that he's a mutt (not a border collie, as most people believe) made up of mostly high-shedding breeds. This makes it fun to test robot vacuums on their power to tackle pet hair effectively, which is pesky and easily flies to corners where robot vacuums don't always reach.

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The Dreame L40 Ultra robot vacuum and mop is the latest to tackle my home's pet hair piles, and I'm glad to say it's done so successfully. 

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Dreame L40 Ultra

The Dreame L40 Ultra is a great robot vacuum and mop with suction that rivals a traditional upright vacuum and reliable performance that has kept my floors free of pet hair. 

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Sweet Luca's black-and-white coloring means I must vacuum every day to avoid seeing gray clumps of hair everywhere. The Dreame L40 Ultra expertly tackles even the corners other robot vacuums don't reach with a side brush and mop pad extending up to 20mm outward. 

This allows the L40 Ultra's side brush to reach corners and wall edges and sweep them towards the robot's nozzle. 

I did controlled testing with the Dreame L40 Ultra before unleashing it to clean my entire home's floors. 

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In my tests, the Dreame L40 Ultra picked up 94.5% of debris, a great score that few models can beat. It stuck to its map about 85% of the time, which is likely why it can maintain such a high cleaning efficacy. Other models I've tested average between 65-75% in navigation, so 85% is pretty impressive.

The Dreame L40 Ultra successfully avoided obstacles like socks, my desk's panel legs, and charging cables. I realized it's so good at cleaning thoroughly while avoiding cables that I gave it the toughest job: cleaning my office daily. 

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My home office is where I keep all sorts of review units, from portable power stations to smart home devices. It's also where my dog sleeps, naps, eats, and drinks water. While different items always come in and out of my home office, two things are constant: pet hair and chargers. 

I've never been able to run a robot vacuum daily in the home office because the floor is always strewn with charging cables, my dog's chewed-up toys, and random kibble. Robot vacuums typically get stuck on these items, so while I run my vacuum daily in the living room, I make a virtual boundary to keep the vacuum out of the home office, which I then have to vacuum and mop manually. 

The Dreame L40 Ultra robot vacuum and mop has been running on a daily schedule in the home office for almost a month, keeping the 300-square-foot space clean and free of pet hair with no effort on my end. This helps my allergies immensely, as even the air purifier in the office runs less often because the room has less pet hair and dust. 

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The L40 Ultra's biggest fail in my tests has been pet waste. I have fake pet waste that is visually accurate for testing robot vacuums' obstacle avoidance capacity. The Dreame L40 Ultra has AI-powered visual recognition to identify obstacles like paper, cables, socks, shoes, and pet waste. 

The robot scored 65% in the pet waste test, mostly because it kept pushing the prop pet waste around, which would be disastrous if it were real. It did vacuum up one of the props and destroyed it with its roller brush. The vacuum kept running and finished its full cleaning cycle, so you can imagine the shocking abstract painting you'd find on your floors if it were an actual pile of pet waste.

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That said, the 65% score isn't dire compared to other models I've tested, as the Dreame L40 Ultra tries its best to avoid pet waste and even takes photos of it for you to view in the app. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The Dreame L40 Ultra is one of the smartest robot vacuums and mops I've seen, but the brains will cost you a pretty penny. At the $1,500 retail price, this isn't an entry- or mid-level robot vacuum but an investment in your home's cleanliness and personal convenience -- and it delivers on both ends.

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I'd recommend the Dreame L40 Ultra for anyone looking for a high-end alternative to a Roomba that'll keep your floors clean, down to every edge and corner, and offer a reliable mopping solution for hard floors – all with a hands-free cleaning experience.