Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review

Dyson V15s Detect Submarine: Introduction

• Type: Handheld cleaning, wet and dry
• Docking: Wall charging dock and wet tray for Submarine head

Dyson has entered the ever expanding wet-and-dry vacuum cleaner market, with the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine set to take on the likes of Roborock’s Dyad (and the forthcoming Flex Series), SharkNinja’s HydroVac and the Dreametech H12 Pro.

Available now in the UK and the US, the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is designed to offer a multifunctional and efficient cleaning experience, with one device able to tackle dust, spills, and stains rather than having to dig out separate cleaning tools such as a regular vacuum cleaner and a mop.

This being Dyson, the new V15s doesn’t come cheap, but Dyson is one of those brands that has built a premium reputation to a loyal user base and the higher-than-the-competition price-tags don’t ever seem to quell the demand. Plus, we’ve yet to review a Dyson product yet that doesn’t highly impress.

The likes of the Dyson Vis Nav 360 and the Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde are testament to that legacy.

So does the V15s Detect Submarine continue that trend. Read on for my full review to find out.

Design and components

• Multiple accessories in the box
• Charging block is easy to install
• Plethora of configurations possible

Once you’ve unboxed all of the boxes your originally unbox from the main box, you are left with all the various pieces of the puzzle that make the V15s a complete cleaning solution.

As well as the main body of the newest Dyson in town, which is practically identical to the existing V15, you’ll find a long pole and the new Submarine head.

Dig deeper and you’ll also find Dyson’s High Torque head, the Fluffy Optic head, a dusting brush, a stubborn dirt brush, and a smaller Hair Screw Tool, which is designed with furniture, stairs and pet hair in mind.

Obviously, the USP of the new V15s is that Submarine head and its wet cleaning skills but it is a regular, high-end, Dyson handheld cleaner too, with all of the functionalities you’d expect – but I’ll come back to that in a bit.

Like other machines in the Dyson handheld range, you’ll get a handy clip that attaches to the pole, allowing you to carry a couple of the accessories around with you, and the the charging dock, which attaches to a wall using the provided screws, also has a pair of slots for accessories too.

You don’t need to use the charging bracket if you don’t want to as the power cable just plugs straight into the base of the V15s, but it does make it neat and tidy to wall mount the machine.

If you’re thinking of upgrading to the V15s from an older Dyson handheld then you’ll be pleased to know that, despite the charging base being larger than the likes of the V12, V11 and V8, Dyson has, once again, left the holes for the mounting screws in the same positions, making it super simple to switch out old for new.

You’ll only get one battery in the box, but it is removable, you simply slide it out the bottom of the handle.

You can charge a spare in the dock or even directly from the power adaptor, so you can have one battery running and one on charge at any point.

The exact weight of the V15s is dependent on what head you are using but it’s around 3.8-4kg, which is pretty heavy for a handheld but kind of needs to be with all the power it packs.

The bin size is 750ml, meaning you shouldn’t have to empty it all that often but you probably should because you don’t want mould growing inside.

The Dyson filter pops off at the top with ease and and can be washed under a tap.

The V15s’ LCD display, which sits right up top, will tell you when it’s time to clean the filter and will also show you how to clean it. The LCD display also gives instructions on how to clear faults and blockages.

Features

• Submarine wet roller head for spills
• Powerful dust detection and suction
• Different modes for different cleans

Obviously the stand out inclusion in the V15s in that Submarine wet roller head, which makes the wet and dry clean possible.

The idea isn’t to keep that head on all of the time; it’s designed to help out when there has been a wet spill (or a wet and dry spill such as saucy pasta or breakfast cereal) on a hard floor area.

In that scenario you simply pop whatever head you regularly have attached and put the Submarine head on its place.

The Submarine wet roller has been precision-engineered and designed to deliver the precise amount of water for specific spill and stain removals, and is also capable of picking up small dry debris such as food crumbs.

Dyson tells us that this combination of hydration, absorption, and extraction technologies take hard floor cleaning to new heights without over-saturating.

The Dyson Submarine uses an eight-point hydration system to ensure even water distribution, with eight strategically placed water jets releasing exactly 18ml of water per minute across the full width of the roller so no chance of any puddles on your floor.

Meanwhile, the motor-driven microfiber roller removes spills, tough stains, and debris across a total of 110m2, pulling water from the 300ml clean water tank.

Other key features include the Optic Fluffy Cleaner Head, utilizing illuminating dust technology introduced on the original V15, and Acoustic Dust Sensing for real-time proof of a deep clean.

The Hyperdymium motor delivers a powerful suction of 240 air watts, while Dyson’s HEPA filtration system claims to captures 99.99 per cent of particles as small as 0.1 microns to leave your home fresh as a daisy.

In use and performance

I’ll get to all the usual Dyson bells and whistles in a bit but if you’re reading this review then you’ll no doubt be mostly interested in how the wet cleaning works.

It works well. Really well.

I’ve used a few wet and dry cleaners and in my opinion it’s only really the Roborock Dyad that comes close to the performance of the V15s Submarine.

It effortlessly picks up wet and dry spills and, rather than sucking all that gunk up into hard-to-clean tanks, it keeps everything localised in the head itself.

The first thing you do when you want to tackle a spill is to pop your ‘normal’ Dyson head off and get the Submarine ready for action. This simply means pulling it apart and filling up the water tank.

Dyson does say you can add some cleaning product to the water too but always make sure you dillute.

You then pop it all back together and simply vacuum over the spill as normal. On the LCD on the top you’ll notice that a water icon shows up, making it clear that you’re in wet cleaning mode.

You can see from the video below that it does take a few passes to fully suck up both wet and dry mess, with a bit of smear action at the rear; but once you fully pass over an area a couple of times – and give the wet roller a full rotation – everything is sucked up and the floor looks clean.

If you’re worried that you’d simply be rolling a dirty wet roller over your floor then don’t be – a durable plate extracts contaminated water and moves it into the separate, 360ml dirty water tank to prevent any dirt or debris transferring back onto the floor.

When you’re done, you simply pull it all apart and pour the dirty water down the drain. You’ll obviously need to clean the head and the roller a bit too, depending on the mess you’ve tackled; I’d suggest using an antibacterial cleaning solution on the roller to prevent mould or smells.

Unlike the Dyad Pro, there’s no fancy heating dock for the V15s; you’ll simply have to dry it naturally.

I mentioned its similarity in looks with the non-Submarine V15 and it’s actually the same motor and machine, but with new software on board to enable it to handle wet cleaning too.

That’s why you can’t just buy the Submarine head and stick it on your existing V15, as the machine wouldn’t read what adapter is in use and would suck up all the wet mess into the dustbin and motor head, causing absolute carnage, and resulting in a dead V15.

Instead, with the V15s, power is automatically diverted from the Hyperdymium motor when the Submarine head is put on, so there is no vacuum suction.

This stops liquid entering the motor and instead all contaminated water and debris is, as mentioned, collected in the tray inside the Dyson Submarine wet roller head.

Onto regular ‘dry’ cleaning and the Hyperdymium motor delivers a powerful suction of 240 air watts, while Dyson’s HEPA filtration system claims to captures 99.99 per cent of particles as small as 0.1 microns to leave your home fresh as a daisy.

As with the original V15 the LCD screen up top gives you a visual on the types and sizes of particles it is tackling, displaying real-time proof of a deep clean.

It measures all of this microscopic dust thanks to a built-in piezo sensor, which automatically increases suction power across different floor types and dust amounts when used with the two main floor heads, the Fluffy Optic and the High Torque cleaner head, to automatically adjust the vacuum cleaner’s power according to the level of dirt. 

If you do want to override the Auto setting, then you simply tap the button up top to change to Eco or Boost modes.

On the LCD display, you get battery life displayed. This adjusts based on the power mode you have set and the tools attached, so you can always see how much more cleaning time you have left. The maximum run time, on eco-mode, is around 60 mins but on auto you can at least half that and it’s less than 10 minutes on Boost mode.

If you’ve not already used a V15 then you’re in for a shock with the green laser of the Fluffy Optic head, which highlights dirt that you can’t otherwise see.

It’s both shocking and satisfying using the Fluffy Optic head; I love how much extra dirt I know I’m vacuuming up, even after the robot vacuums (yes, multiple) have done their rounds. But I’m also amazed just how many fine hairs and particles the cat sheds as she wanders around the house.

Talking pets, and it’s also great that the V15s can be configured as a regular, small-sized, handheld cleaner; I’ve found that the smaller Hair Screw Tool does a great job of eliminating cat hairs on whatever piece of furniture our fat feline friend has spent time lazing about.

Final thoughts

Dyson already raised the bar with the original V15 and the V15s Detect Submarine ups it further by adding wet cleaning to the mix.

The good news is that it works extremely well, without causing much fuss to the user; the Submarine head is easy to use and easy to clean after as well.

The other Dyson highlights are all on board too, making the V15s the ultimate handheld cleaning machine.

How we test

When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.

Vacuum cleaners usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. They are designed to offer a range of different cleaning options. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a vacuum cleaner for a week and deliver a verdict.

Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular smart cleaning machine compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide on how we test vacuum cleaners to learn more.

FAQs

Dyson V15s Detect Submarine: Specifications