Dreame Z30 stick vacuum cleaner review: Dyson design at half the price

Price When Reviewed

$499.99

Best Prices Today: Dreame Z30

When it comes to quick, easy cleaning, a stick vacuum cleaner is a fantastic solution, and the Dreame Z30 is a good option. It’s half the price of the flagship cordless Dyson, the Piston Animal, and it comes with armful of accessories that can handle every surface in your home – and even brush your pets.

Design and Build

• Battery life display
• HEPA filter
• Huge number of accessories

As I was unpacking the Dreame Z30, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, tearing through the packaging. I pulled out accessory after accessory, and between the cardboard separators found all kinds of gadgets to use. I’m not exaggerating. Each and every one of them has a well-defined purpose, and you’ll enjoy the versatility.

The handheld vacuum feels sturdy and looks good too – you won’t be ashamed to have this thing in plain view in your home. There’s an extension wand you can use when vacuuming the floor, as well as a multi-surface brush with a blue-ish light that will make all the dust, hair, and debris stand out. There’s also a base you can use to stand the vacuum and store accessories when not in use.

That’s all pretty standard stuff, right? Well, let’s get on to the rest of the list. The package also includes an illuminated soft roller brush for carpets. There’s also a flexible adapter to add a joint to the wand so you can easily vacuum under couches and beds, for instance.

I used it to dust off my botanical LEGO sets, my keyboard, and my son’s Hogwarts LEGO sets, and not one piece was brushed out of place

But that’s not all. There’s a soft dusting brush for furniture; there’s a motorised mini brush that’s ideal for your couch cushions; there’s a combination tool for narrow spots like in-between said couch cushions and down the side of the fridge.

And now come the surprises. There’s an extension hose for vacuuming in handheld mode. You can attach to the end a really useful rotating soft dusting brush. I used it to dust off my botanical LEGO sets, my keyboard, and my son’s Hogwarts LEGO sets, and not one piece was brushed out of place.

Another accessory (and this is the last one I’ll effuse over) that’s designed to be used with the extension hose is the pet deshedding tool, for brushing your pets. Well, it’s good in theory, anyway. The problem was, my two dogs and one cat refused to remain near the working vacuum, no matter how silent it was in that particular moment. They enjoyed the brush used separately, though… But if your pets don’t go ballistic when they see a vacuum, this accessory could work for you.

The vacuum features HEPA H14 filtration that locks in bacteria and viruses, trapping particles as tiny as 0.1μm. The dust compartment only needs a button press to empty, while another button on the side can be pushed to remove the entire segment from its slot. All the dust cup components can be hand-washed.

The vacuum’s buttons are on the top of the handle, by a display that shows the battery level, the mode you’re using (which you can cycle through with one of the buttons), as well as real-time stats about the cleaning job.

The vacuum weighs only 2.2kg/4.85lbs, so it’s definitely not too heavy for the daily cleaning job or for days when you’re lifting it all over the place, hunting spider webs.

Performance and Features

• Comfortable to use
• 90-minute battery life
• 4-hour charging time

The Dreame Z30 has definitely learnt some tricks from Dyson. The result is a well-thought-out vacuum that’s easy to use and has an accessory for every situation. I’ve used it to vacuum hard floors, carpets, stairs, my desk, peripherals, monitors, desktop tower, LEGO, the car, couches, and ceilings – there’s nothing it can’t do.

It’s easy to hold and easy to manoeuvre into any spot, and the battery life is more than enough for a thorough house cleaning. A single charge gives you about 90 minutes of runtime (on the lowest power setting, of course), and it takes about four hours to recharge completely – which can be done overnight.

I particularly liked the way that its sensors would switch up the power when it hit an area with more dust bunnies and push the brush into overdrive to pick everything up.

The jointed attachment makes it possible to reach under couches and beds, but I still felt that you need to stoop too low. Another model I reviewed a while back had a built-in bend that was a bit lower and made using that particular feature easier.

I also wished it would stand on its own, as finding somewhere to prop it when you’re vacuuming is a bit of a pain.

Otherwise, this is a great model to have at home, offering you something for any cleaning situation.

Price and Availability

Dreame’s Z30 cordless stick vacuum has an RRP of £349 in the UK and, at the time of writing, that’s what you’ll pay if you buy it from retailers including AO.com, Argos and from the Dreame website. This compares extremely favourably to the latest Dyson flagship cordless, the Piston Animal, which retails for £749.99.

In the US, the Z30 has an MSRP of $499.99, but at the time of writing, you can buy it from Amazon US for only $299.99, which is most definitely a fair price for all that it can do, the long runtime, and its overall build and vacuuming efficiency.

You can compare it to our other top picks in our round-up of the best vacuums we’ve tested. We also have recommendations for the best wet vacuums for hard flooring.

Should you buy the Dreame Z30?

After weeks of using the Dreame Z30, I would happily recommend it. It’s easy to use, easy to maintain, and extremely versatile. Considering everything it comes with, it’s great value, especially if you find it on sale.

I particularly liked the 90-minute runtime, which means you can use it for multiple cleaning jobs before it needs to recharge.