Dreame L9 Washer Dryer Review

The Dreame L9 is the brand's first move into laundry appliances, and it arrives determined to make an impression by piling on technology: an automatic detergent dispenser, a foam wash system, an inverter motor and software automation are all part of the package.

Dreame signalled its intention to enter large domestic appliances in Europe some time ago, and this 11 kg washer dryer is the bridgehead. Its inverter motor, promised as more durable, more economical and quieter than a conventional motor, drives the drum to a maximum of 1,400 rpm.

Alongside the automatic detergent dispenser sits the more unusual MousseBloom function, which generates a very fine foam by injecting air into the water and detergent mixture so the solution soaks deep into the fibres and lifts dirt from within the fabric. Textile care does not stop at the wash either: the machine promises to keep laundry fresh and odour-free for up to 12 hours after a cycle ends through the Plasma FreshLoop option, which combines drum movement, a plasma stage and air circulation inside the tub. The absence of a steam function, common on machines of this type, is a shame.

One important note on scope: the recorded test covers the washing side of the Dreame L9 only. Its performance as a tumble dryer was not assessed.

In a category where the overwhelming majority of machines wear white, the L9's metallic livery brings a welcome touch of design to the utility room. The appliance has no visible control panel, and its very large black door surround pulls the whole thing together. The result is a genuinely handsome washing machine, which is not something that can be said often.

Construction feels serious too. The door seems capable of surviving countless openings and closings without weakening, the detergent drawer opens and closes without effort, the metal dial, a rare enough detail to be worth noting, has no play in it, and the touch controls respond well even to wet fingers. Switch it on and the wow factor continues: the centre of the dial lights up to reveal a small touchscreen used to programme the appliance.

Attractive as it is, that dial-screen combination is not necessarily the most practical interface in daily use. Selecting the basic programme, from a very wide choice, is done by the conventional route of rotating the ring, and cycle names are spelled out in full, which promises easy handling.

The doubts arrive when programme parameters need changing. Adjusting water temperature or spin speed mixes dial rotation with taps on the touchscreen in ways that are not always logical, and it is easy to get tangled up even after many uses. Matters are complicated further because the on-screen buttons are genuinely small and sometimes need a firm second attempt before an instruction registers. The DreameHome app avoids some of that by offering remote control, where the steps feel more intuitive and the phone screen, larger than the inside of the dial, prevents mis-taps. Pairing a phone with the machine is straightforward.

Against rivals, though, DreameHome offers only the bare minimum. Beyond remote programming there are notifications at key points in the cycle, a digital manual and a handful of very specific downloadable cycles, and that is about it. There is no consumption monitoring and no guidance on treating stains before a wash, both of which are widespread elsewhere.

The specification sheet gives an 11 kg wash capacity. In practice, 8.8 kg of laundry, or 80 per cent of the maximum recommended load, went in without much difficulty; loading a full 11 kg calls for more care. The lamp inside the drum is a good touch, making the lone sock easier to find. It is not indispensable, but it is handy.

The detergent drawer houses the automatic dispenser, and despite that feature it can still be filled for each individual programme if preferred. It pulls out of its housing easily so dried detergent residue can be cleared, and slots back just as easily.

The L9 is very effective at removing stains. It can do nothing about make-up, which remains as merciless as ever, and ink is still clearly visible. Blood does not come out especially well, although the L9 removes it better than many machines in the comparison set.

Powdered carbon is still visible, though considerably faded. The other marks are dealt with perfectly, and wine and coffee are almost invisible afterwards, which is rare enough to be worth pointing out. Stage blood, ketchup and carrot, all simple stains to remove, disappear entirely.

As is usually the case, the household linen cycle at 60 °C proved the most effective, largely because of the water temperature and the small load involved at 1.95 kg. Next came the standard cotton programme with a 3 kg load. The least effective cycle run was the cotton programme at 30 °C loaded to 80 per cent of maximum capacity.

The consumption sub-score flatters the L9, and it does not really reflect the full picture, because the machine uses a great deal of water. The standard cotton programme with a 3 kg load takes 21.6 litres per kilogram of laundry to complete, which is on average 5.5 l/kg more than the same cycle on the other machines in the comparison set. The same tendency shows on that programme at 80 per cent load, at 15.3 l/kg against 11.4 l/kg elsewhere, and on the express cycle, at 15.9 l/kg against 10.6 l/kg. Only the household linen cycle at 19.9 l/kg and the eco programme at 5.2 l/kg are less thirsty than average.

It is on the electricity side that the L9 earns its top mark, with extremely well contained demand. Recorded consumption sits below 0.20 kWh and in places below 0.15 kWh, well under the average of the other machines in the comparison set. Even the household linen cycle needs just 0.73 kWh.

Effective as it is at washing, the L9 is far less accomplished at rinsing. At the end of that phase a great deal of detergent remains in the heart of the fibres. The machine does at least offer a reinforced rinse system adjustable across five levels. With the most intense setting selected and the rinse efficiency test repeated, results improved a little, but not enough to justify the extra water: 25.4 l/kg of laundry with the option active, against 15.3 l/kg without it.

The 1,400 rpm spin could have been exploited better, although there is no cause for alarm. It removes enough water from the fibres not to extend line-drying times, but plenty of machines with comparable spin speeds have extracted more moisture from clothes than the Dreame L9 manages.

Sound levels reach 42 dB(A) during the wash phases and 62 dB(A) when spinning at full speed. That makes it viable to install near a living space without much apprehension, even if some machines keep spin noise under 60 dB(A), roughly the level of normal conversation.