I thought robot vacuums were a silly (and expensive) fad – until I tried one that changed my mind. Here’s why I’m telling EVERYONE I know about it

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You can’t put a price on time.

And this is why robot vacuum cleaners are now more popular than ever before – despite Australia facing a worsening cost of living crisis.

For years I was skeptical about the expensive little bots. I had no interest in investing; As someone who really enjoys cleaning, I certainly didn’t think this would make a noticeable difference in my daily life, especially in a small apartment.

Then the Dreame x40 Ultra robot vacuum cleaner came sliding into my world and it took five minutes for my (somewhat fairly staid) opinion to be turned upside down.

This spicy but quiet piece of brilliance does it all: it has extendable and liftable side brushes, a smart mop with removable washing pads, incredibly powerful suction and accurate mapping in both 2D and 3D.

It automatically detects carpet and floorboards, can be manually controlled via an app on your phone, has an automatic emptying/water filling station and identifies each room and hazards itself using a camera (and a small flashlight if cleaning at night) .

I also get regular app updates on how things are going, can manually choose where I want it to be cleaned and can trust it to fix any leaks or glass breakage within seconds.

I can do it now vacuum cleaner and mop my house of my desk many kilometers away. It all takes 45 minutes and I can keep an eye on where it is via the camera function. The best part? I come home to a room that looks and smells professionally cleaned.

I have now canceled my monthly cleaning service and am saving an average of – I estimate – two hours per week. That’s me 104 hours a year not cleaning my house. 104 hours of precious free time.

That to me, and it seems to many others, is worth the initial $2,499 ($2,298 on Amazon currently) investments. And I’m notoriously frugal with cash, especially in the current climate.

It would be right easier to justify whether I had kids or pets in the mix. Many fans of the bot since its launch are regular moms and dads who rave endlessly about how useful it has been in their households.

The only downside I’ve noticed so far is the inability to register mirrors – the Dream x40 registers them as additional rooms on the map, but this does not affect performance.

Dream is currently working on an upgrade to resolve the issue. In the meantime, I can manually hide the virtual rooms by using the map editing feature in the app.

I spoke to Michael Eagle, Regional Manager, ANZ at Dreame Technology, about how they managed to break through such an oversaturated market so quickly – and what he believes are their standout features compared to rivals.

‘The X40Ultra is our most advanced robot vacuum cleaner, developed after thorough research into consumer needs,” he says.

‘Our customers are looking for a vacuum cleaner that excels at cleaning corners and edges, requires minimal maintenance after use and uses intelligent technology for effortless home navigation.

‘This latest model is equipped with bionic robot arm technology and an autonomous self-cleaning base station, which can automatically remove, wash and dry the oscillating mop pads, refill the water tank, empty the bin and reattach the clean mop pads when necessary.

‘This innovative feature reduces the need for manual maintenance, ensuring the vacuum is always ready for the next cleaning. Furthermore, the self-cleaning base station ensures optimal performance and hygiene, making it a very convenient and efficient choice.”

He mentioned the standout features as the three-piece anti-tangle brush, which improves cleaning performance by cutting tangled hair and placing it in the dust bag, and the MopExtend™ RoboSwing technology that provides effective cleaning of hidden dirt under low-profile furniture. .

Other standout features include the intelligent RGB camera and cloudiness sensor that accurately detect and tackle stubborn stains, and the fully automated cleaning station that performs washing, drying and refilling tasks.

You also only need to empty the vacuum cleaner’s 3.2 liter dust bag every 75 days.

‘The Dreame X40 Ultra is now available at major retailers and beyond Amazon and has received excellent positive feedback and notable sales,” says Michael.

“Overall, feedback indicates that the Dreame X40 Ultra is exceeding user expectations and emerging as a leading choice for those looking for a high-quality, advanced robot vacuum.

‘The strong praise and enthusiasm from users underline the effectiveness of the vacuum cleaner in meeting their needs and preferences.’

And he’s right: hundreds of rave reviews are already flooding the Amazon store from Australians from all walks of life.

“The best purchase I’ve ever made as it has made my life so much easier, especially with a little kid crawling around,” one woman wrote.

‘This robot works flawlessly and leaves no crumbs, dirt or dust on the carpet or floor, freeing up time to spend with my child instead of vacuuming and mopping. well worth the price. I give it more than five stars.’

Another wrote: ‘This vacuum cleaner is great. It does our entire house (vacuuming followed by mopping hard surfaces) and really does an incredible job.

‘We hardly ever use our hand vacuum cleaner anymore. The app has so many different options that you can use it to clean just one room or to clean the entire house.

‘The mapping and avoiding obstacles is also incredible. We can perform it even when there are quite a few obstacles, and it takes no effort to avoid them.”

“You won’t regret it,” another added. ‘The best thing you’ll ever buy.’

And I have to say: they’re not wrong.