Dyson V15s Detect Submarine​ Vacuum Review

This vacuum's build quality is only okay. It's identical to the standard Dyson V15 Detect in this respect, with a sleek all-plastic chassis. While its overall structure feels fairly rigid, it does creak somewhat while in use. Its transparent dirt compartment also feels as though it could crack if you were to drop it. The new Submarine floorhead is a bit of a letdown from a build quality perspective, too; it isn't very well-sealed, and water can easily leak out of its internal reservoir if you were to tip the floorhead sideways or flip it upside down.

Thankfully, out-of-the-box assembly is very easy, thanks to the prevalence of easy-clip mechanisms.

The Dyson Submarine has somewhat high-maintenance requirements, though aside from its new mopping head, it's all but identical to the standard Dyson V15 Detect.

• Dirt compartment: The dirt compartment is connected to the main body of the vacuum. You can empty it by pressing the release button, but you must remove its wand before doing so. You can also detach the dustbin by pressing the red release button on the spine of the main body. It lets you clean the lint screen, which you should wipe periodically with a damp cloth to clear any stuck-on debris. Note that emptying the dustbin can release a cloud of dust and debris.
• Fluffy Optic floorhead: You can rotate the indentation on the left side of the Fluffy Optic vacuum head to release the fluffy brush roll from its housing. You should regularly clean it under cold water when needed, but you should remove the bearings inside first. Regardless, it's very easy to clear away any stuck-on dirt or tangled hair. You can wipe down the built-in LED with a clean, soft, lint-free cloth periodically, too.
• Digital Motorbar floorhead: You can access the brushroll by using a coin to remove the side cover on the side of the motorized vacuum head and then sliding the part out. While this floorhead has built-in teeth to trap hair, some can still get stuck inside. Still, once you remove the brushroll, it isn't all that hard to clean.
• Submarine floorhead: You can slide the release latch on the floorhead to gain access to both the internal compartments for clean and dirty water as well as the wet roller, which you can simply slide free. The clean reservoir holds 300 ml of clean water, enough for 16 minutes of use, and has a separate 300 ml tank for dirty water. The entire floorhead can be disassembled, and as per the manufacturer, cleaned with diluted household antimicrobial solution, as seen here. That said, you should be careful not to get the neck of the floorhead wet since that's where all the electrical contacts are.
• Turbo brushroll: You can access this part by pulling a release latch on the back of the turbo brush and clearing it of stuck-on debris when needed.
• Exhaust Filter: The filter is placed near the top of the vacuum and can be removed by twisting it counterclockwise to release it from its housing. You should wash it under cold water at least once a month or whenever the maintenance light indicates that it needs cleaning. Be aware that the vacuum doesn't turn on if the filter isn't mounted in place.

Any parts that you wash under cold water should be left to dry for at least 24 hours before being re-installed.

The Dyson Submarine incurs low recurring costs.

• Filter: Just like the standard Dyson V15 Detect, and for that matter most other Dyson models, the exhaust filter should last the lifetime of the vacuum if it's cleaned according to manufacturer recommendations. That said, you can still buy a replacement here if it gets damaged.
• Submarine Head Wet Roller: As per the manufacturer, the wet roller in the Submarine floorhead needs to be replaced after six months of normal use. Generally speaking, it's best practice to replace this roller whenever you notice significant wear and tear. You can find a replacement here.

This vacuum is easy to store. The standard V15s Detect Submarine variant comes with a wand clip for on-board mounting of two attachments, though the V15s Detect Submarine Absolute model doesn't come with the wand clip. Both variants come with a wall-mounted storage rack with slots for two extra tools. This vacuum also comes with a drip tray that you can slide underneath the Submarine floorhead so that it doesn't get your floors wet when it isn't in use.

The Dyson Submarine's dirt compartment is alright. It's a little on the small side for a cordless stick vacuum and is likely to need emptying somewhat frequently. However, its horizontal orientation makes it a little easier to empty compared to older stick vacuums with smaller vertically oriented dustbins. Since it's made of clear plastic, you can check roughly how full it is at all times.

• Dyson V15s Detect Submarine vacuum
• Vacuum body/dirt compartment
• Exhaust filter
• Fluffy Optic™ vacuum head
• Digital Motorbar™ vacuum head
• Submarine™ wet roller head
• Wand
• 1x Battery
• User Guide
• Various tools and brushes
  • Soft bristle brush
  • Stiff bristle brush
  • Upholstery brush/Hard bristle brush combination tool
  • Conical turbo brush
  • Crevice tool
  • Wand clip
• Docking station
  • Docking station
  • Drip tray
  • Installation manual with mounting screws
  • Charging cable

Since this is a cordless vacuum, the Dyson Submarine's range is limited only by the remaining battery life and room left in its dirt compartment.

The Dyson V15s is quite portable. Its Submarine head is a little heavier than the standard multi-surface Digital Motorbar multi-surface head, but not enough to be a significant impediment while using the vacuum, which is still reasonably lightweight and easy to carry around. In more specific terms, by itself, the Submarine head weighs:

• Empty: 3.09 lbs (1.4 kg)
• With full clean water reservoir: 3.75 lbs (1.7 kg)
• With full clean water and dirty water reservoirs: 4.52 lbs (2.05 kg)

The Dyson Submarine's battery performance is alright. It supplies more than 70 minutes of runtime if you use it in its 'Eco' power mode with no attachments. However, this drops to under 10 minutes if you run it continuously in its high-power 'Boost' mode with the Digital Motorbar head or 15 minutes if you use it in the same setting with the Fluffy Optic head. In any case, this means you need to work fast when dealing with stubborn messes. That said, it's worth noting that battery life can vary drastically in its self-adjusting 'Auto' mode depending on the surface you're cleaning. The LED display on top of the vacuum gives you a rough estimate of the remaining battery life. Unfortunately, this vacuum takes quite a long time to charge, at just under four hours.

The Dyson Submarine has quite a few quality-of-life features. Its Fluffy Optic cleaner head features a built-in LED to help you see fine debris on hard floors. You can also choose between three different power modes: the energy-efficient 'Eco' mode, the high-suction 'Boost' mode, and the default 'Med/Auto' mode, which automatically adjusts the suction power depending on the surface you're cleaning as well as the amount of debris being sucked up. A suction gate on its Digital Motorbar head helps you further tweak its suction force on different surfaces. It also has an LED display that gives you a rough estimate of particle quantities being sucked into the dustbin, the current cleaning mode, and a live countdown of the estimated runtime.

The Submarine head doesn't have a suction inlet, so no debris is actually sucked up. When you connect this head to the wand, the vacuum will automatically recognize it and go into its mopping mode, in which water is dispensed from the clean water reservoir, and the wet roller spins.

It's noteworthy that older versions of this vacuum had a floorhead with a laser light, not an LED. This Laser Fluffy Optic head would get noticeably brighter than the Laser Slim Fluffy head that also used to be bundled with the Dyson V15 Detect; newer versions of both models are now bundled with Fluffy optic heads with LEDs instead. You can see how the two lights compare here and here.

The Dyson Submarine has a broad selection of tools and accessories. Most notably, there's the Submarine head, a mopping floorhead that's similar in purpose to the Samsung Spinning Sweeper attachment, as it's only meant to scrub away debris and has no inlet to allow debris to enter the vacuum. It's quite different in design, however. Unlike the Samsung vacuum's twin rotating pads, it has a single roller with separate water tanks for clean and dirty water instead of a smaller single clean water tank for dispensing water. As per the manufacturer, the clean tank can hold enough water to mop 110 square meters of space or 16 minutes of use; in practice, it has a measured capacity of 300 ml. It's also recommended that you only use the Submarine head when its water reservoir is filled since running it when it's empty can burn out the motor. You can pour detergent into the clean water tank, but make sure to dilute it first. It's important to note that his tool is only compatible with the V15s Submarine. While you can physically mount the Submarine head on a standard Dyson V15 Detect, the vacuum won't recognize the attachment.

The Dyson has other tools, like its Fluffy Optic head, which has an integrated LED light to help you see small particles on hard floors. There's also its conical turbo brush, which can clean pet hair from fabric-lined surfaces while resisting hair wraps, as well as a combination tool that features an upholstery tool and a sliding hard bristle brush. It also comes with a crevice tool for cleaning tight spots.

You can reconfigure the Dyson Submarine into a handheld vacuum by removing its wand.

This vacuum delivers great performance on hard floors with its Fluffy Optic cleaner head. The soft roller collects a wide mix of debris on flat surfaces without issue, though it's worth noting that finer material like sand can be caught at the back of the head and dragged around when pulling the head backward. You'll also need to clean up some leftover debris along walls and in corners.

This vacuum delivers decent performance on high-pile carpet. It does a fantastic job of dealing with bulky material like cereal and clears the majority of medium-sized material like rice. However, compared to the similar Dyson V15 Detect, it's noticeably inferior when dealing with finer debris like sand embedded within deeper carpet fibers.

Performance on low-pile carpet is satisfactory. This vacuum can clear away the majority of large debris like cereal and medium-sized material like rice within a single pass. However, you might have to do another go-around to collect a few pulverized remains. As with its performance on high-pile carpet, this vacuum does a slightly worse job of collecting finer debris than the similar Dyson V15 Detect.

When fitted with its Digital Motorbar floorhead, this vacuum's pet hair pickup performance on low-pile carpet is fantastic. This attachment's brushroll has stiff enough bristles to thoroughly agitate carpet fibers and lift away both long and short strands of hair.

The Dyson V15s delivers very good suction force. The manufacturer advertises the motor to provide 240 AW of suction power, which is slightly more than the manufacturer's advertised 230 AW output of the Dyson V15 Detect. In the real world, however, you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference in power between the two. In any case, this is a remarkably potent cordless vacuum, and it won't have much trouble sucking up debris on carpets or in deep crevices.

Like the standard Dyson V15 Detect, the Dyson Submarine is one of the most powerful cordless stick vacuums on the market, though the newer Dyson Gen5detect does put out a little more power. It'll have no trouble lifting away all kinds of debris.

This vacuum isn't too loud. When used with its soft roller floorhead on bare floors, it won't cause much of a disturbance. However, it is a little bit louder when used with its multi-surface brushroll, especially on carpets, where it automatically ramps up its suction power to the highest level when used in its 'Auto' mode.

The Dyson Submarine is rather quiet in its 'Mop' configuration, with a peak volume of 66.8 dBa on hard floors.

The Dyson Submarine is quite maneuverable, which isn't surprising considering it's all but identical to the Dyson V15 Detect. It can easily navigate cluttered spaces thanks to its rotating head. Due to its lightweight construction, you can maneuver over or around obstructions like electrical cords. Removing and attaching different tools and accessories is simple, and cleaning on top of furniture in its handheld configuration is simple. You need to crouch fairly low to the ground to clean under couches, tables, and other low-lying furniture thanks to its bottom-mounted handle and slightly protruding filter. Unfortunately, it could be hard to clean high-pile rugs due to the high suction power, which makes it hard to push around and can drag smaller carpets around if you don't stand on them to keep them in place. It's worth noting that its Submarine head exerts a noticeable amount of forward pull. However, it isn't especially fatiguing, considering you can only use this head in roughly 15-minute increments before refilling its water tank.

This vacuum does an excellent job of dealing with pet hair on upholstered furniture when used with its Hair Screw Tool in its 'Auto' power mode. It clears away the vast majority of hair within one or two passes, though some shorter strands might be left behind. If you want to get everything, you can always use the straight suction upholstery nozzle and set the vacuum to its high-power 'Boost' mode.

This vacuum's whole-machine filtration system results in good air filtration performance. That said, while the base V15s Detect Submarine does have a whole machine filtration system, only the V15s Detect Submarine Absolute model boasts a HEPA rating.

With its soft roller head, this vacuum does a great job of clearing away debris in crevices on hard floors. Its powerful motor and low-sitting floorhead allow it to remove debris in shallow and deep cracks slightly better than the Dyson V15 Detect when used with the older Laser Slim head. That said, if your floors are slightly uneven, you might have to use the edge for the floorhead to achieve a tight seal with the ground and clear away debris in cracks.

This vacuum's Submarine head does a good job of dealing with stains, even when using just clean water and no detergent. It'll clear away the vast majority of dried-on stains within two or three back-and-forth passes. However, you'll need to make slight lateral adjustments while going over the stain, as the roller doesn't seem to apply a consistent level of surface agitation across its width. You'll probably need to go over it a few more times to clear away everything. Thankfully, there isn't much water left behind after mopping, though the surface remains a little damp to the touch.

Unlike a true hybrid vacuum/mop like the BISSELL CrossWave Cordless Max, this vacuum can't suck up liquids into its dustbin. Instead, dirty water is pulled into a separate reservoir inside the floorhead through the rotation of its wet roller, with no actual suction. As such, it spreads a small amount of water around and leaves behind streaks, especially when pulling the vacuum backward instead of pushing it forward. The dirty water tank's small capacity and poor sealing are significant annoyances, too, since some water can spill out while you're on your way to empty it, as seen here.