On Sept. 12, Dyson launched its cordless stick vacuum-and-mop combo, the V15s Detect Submarine. For Dyson enthusiasts and people looking to streamline floor cleaning, this is big news: The V15s Detect Submarine is Dyson’s first-ever vacuum with a wet component.
We got our hands on a test model in advance of the launch and spent a week testing it on hardwood, tile and marble flooring.
Dyson's first foray into attaching a mop to its cult-favorite cordless vacuums, the Submarine adds a wet element to an already powerful cleaning machine. It isn't perfect, occasionally leaving streaks behind during our early testing, and it's not compatible with Dyson's previous cordless vacs.
First, some specs: The Dyson Submarine wet roller head attachment, which is available with the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine, has two water tanks: one to hold clean water and the other for dirty water, both of which are contained in the roller head. The roller itself is made of dense microfiber, which is able to pick up more soil than other types of cloth; the microfiber roller is washable and can be removed for cleaning. The clean water tank holds up to 300 milliliters of water, which Dyson says is enough to clean a 1,200-square-foot space.
The Submarine works by saturating the soft roller head with clean water through an “eight-point hydration system” that ensures even water distribution and prevents oversaturation. Dirty water is extracted from the microfiber roller and deposited into the waste water tank, keeping dirt and debris from being redistributed onto the floor.
The Dyson Submarine wet roller head is compatible with Dyson’s new V15s Detect Submarine cordless vacuums; it is not compatible with other Dyson cordless vacuums, including the existing V15.
What we liked about it
It practically runs itself
This is one of those things that you have to experience to truly understand: When it’s in mopping mode (i.e., when the Dyson Submarine wet roller head attachment is engaged), the machine practically runs itself. That sounds unlikely, if not downright impossible, but truly, the first thing I noticed after moving from vacuum mode to mopping mode by switching out the Fluffy Optic head designed for use on hard flooring for the Submarine wet roller head was how the machine glided across the floors with virtually no effort on my part. It’s like a driverless car, but for floor care.
Cleanup is a breeze
After use, the Submarine wet roller head will have a chamber full of dirty floor water that needs to be dumped out; the microfiber roller — which is designed to pick up dirt and debris, and which does that job very well — needs to be rinsed; and the extraction plate needs to be wiped clean.
The process of removing the wet roller, dumping the dirty water and wiping dirt and debris from the extraction plate was incredibly simple and, more importantly, not gross at all. OK, it was maybe a little gross, but compared to the process for emptying the wash water and cleaning the dirty, wet roller on other comparable floor care tools, this is one area where Dyson truly got it right.
The mop head’s docking station is simple perfection
After emptying the dirty water from the collection tank, rinsing the roller and wiping the extraction plate clean, the Submarine wet roller head can be reassembled and placed in the docking station, which is included. Because the dock is made of plastic, it allows users to put the roller head attachment away immediately after emptying and cleaning it; you do not have to wait for the roller to dry, because the dock will keep the wet microfiber from coming into contact with your floors.
It cleans with just water, but the use of non-sudsing cleaning agents is an option
The Submarine is designed to clean floors with just water, and it does an excellent job because of the microfiber roller, which picks up dirt and debris without requiring additional cleaning agents. But should you want or need to use a cleaning agent more powerful than water, the Submarine’s clean water chamber can be filled with a non-sudsing cleaner of your choice.
Dyson advises that you follow the manufacturer’s dilution ratio instructions to determine how much water to cleaner to use.
It has all the features of the V15 Detect, including the excellent battery life
We have loved Dyson’s V15 Detect vacuum, particularly the Fluffy Optic roller head attachment. Designed for use on hard flooring, the roller head has an angled laser that illuminates floors while vacuuming, revealing dirt, dust and debris that may not otherwise be visible, allowing users to ensure floors are as clean as possible.
Another thing we appreciated about the V15 Detect, which carries through to the V15s Detect Submarine, is the long-lasting battery life.
What we didn’t like about it
The price
As is true of most of Dyson’s products, all that innovation and futuristic design comes at a cost: This is an expensive mop! The V15s Detect Submarine is $949.
However, Dyson is known for iterating — and price reductions usually come along with newer models of existing machines. And, because Dyson does a robust refurbishing business, you can also expect refurbished older models of the Submarine to hit the market at some point, giving buyers another option when it comes to lower-priced versions of the Submarine.
The Submarine wet roller head attachment is not compatible with older Dyson stick vacuums
Because the V15s Detect Submarine is so similar in design and function to the V15 Detect, it feels like a no-brainer that owners of the older model should be able to purchase the Submarine wet roller head to use with their existing vacuum. Unfortunately, the mopping head is not compatible with any older Dyson stick vacuums and can only be used with the new V15s Detect Submarine. Basically: If you want a Dyson stick that vacuums and mops, you’ll need to shell out the $949.
There isn’t an option for damp mopping
Most floor care experts, including yours truly, will tell you that damp mopping is the best choice for most flooring materials, and that is especially true of hardwood, including engineered hardwood, and laminate flooring. So it is disappointing that the Submarine has only one setting, so to speak, when it comes to the amount of water that is introduced to the floor.
The Submarine wet roller head very definitely delivers a wet-mopping experience that offers no control over how much water is used for cleaning. It left the floors quite wet, and even in the desert climate I live in, drying time was longer than it usually is after using a traditional string mop, a Swiffer WetJet or an electric mop.
It left streaks, and mopping “sludge” was a problem
As a result of the oversaturation of the wet roller head, and the long drying time, after mopping my floors for the first time using the Submarine, there were visible streaks left behind on the floors. The floors were fairly clean prior to that first run — I had mopped with a traditional spin mop four days before testing the Submarine for the first time (I had company coming over, and also I was testing a different floor care product for work!), so it wasn’t an issue with my floors being overly dirty, which may have required a second pass with the Submarine.
Similarly, when mopping my marble bathroom floors, there was a distinct presence of what I call “mopping sludge,” that small line of wet dirt that is often left behind after mopping. If the roller head had not been quite so wet, I believe it would have been better able to pick up that sludge; as it was, it took several passes over the same area for the microfiber roller to pick up the dirt it deposited onto the floor.
Lack of storage for attachments
A perpetual problem with Dyson’s stick vacuums, that persists with the V15s Detect Submarine, is that there is no accommodation for storing all of the included attachments. It’s not a deal breaker, but it is a strange oversight for a company that prides itself on its thoughtful and highly considered design.
Instructions for setup and use were sparse
Get ready to figure out setup and usage using your intuition, because the instructions Dyson provides are quite sparse. One tester remarked, “I guess they think we’re smart?” We are smart, and we figured it all out, but the lack of instructions was a surprising oversight. This is especially true of the absence of information about using a non-sudsing cleaner, which Dyson shared with us during press briefings but which is not mentioned anywhere in the setup or usage guide.
Bottom line
While we found some significant performance issues with the V15s Detect Submarine, overall this is a truly impressive piece of machinery that we recommend, with reservations, for most homes.
People who love Dyson products and who are ready to upgrade their existing vacuum will be the ideal buyers for this particular machine, as will people looking for a next-level vacuum-mop combo. The V15s Detect Submarine was better than any wet-dry floor care tool I’ve tried.
However, the performance problems — notably, the oversaturation issues that deposited dirt back on the floor and left the floors streaky after they dried — have us recommending the V15s Detect Submarine with reservations. Given Dyson’s willingness to iterate, improving performance with each upgrade, we would expect the next generation of the Submarine to address those issues.