Dyson V15 Detect vacuum – sees dust you can’t (cleaning review)

The Dyson V15 Detect vacuum sees dust that you can’t. Why? Because it laser lights up dirt and detritus that you never knew is there. It can turn you into a compulsive cleaner whether you like vacuuming or not.

Best of all, the ‘Mr Fluffy’ Laser-lit rotating powerhead exposes dirt and detritus that other stick and robovacs don’t. The Dyson V15 detect, on average, finds way more than the best robovac. It works on stairs, under edges, and is perfect for long pile carpet and feature rugs.

And it has a very educational readout that tells me that I vacuumed up 626,613,348  <10um particles, not to mention the 871,000 dust mites (or it could be fine sand – I prefer to believe the latter).

Dyson V15 Detect

Website	Dyson Australia Product page
Manual	Here
Price	V15 Detect total clean $1499 The is a V12 Detect and often specific accessory packages at different retailers.
Warranty	2-years ACL
Country of Manufacture	Malaysia
Company	British engineer Sir James Dyson founded Dyson in 1991. It designs and manufactures household appliances such as vacuum cleaners, air purifiers, hand dryers, bladeless fans, heaters, beauty appliances, and lights.
More	CyberShack Dyson news and reviews

First impression

The concept builds on Dyson’s patented cyclone bagless technology and adds

• Laser lit Mr Fluffy head to see the dust on hard floors
• 125,000 RPM Hyperdymium miniature DC motor
• Cyclone air system that maintains vacuum pressure regardless of how full the dustbin is.
• Filtration – the air it expels is clean – no redistributing dust.
• Battery technology – electronic monitoring and auto adjustment to maximise time.
• Brush technology and the use of carbon fibres (expensive but more effective and longer wearing).
• High technology that monitors and counts dust particle sizes
• Removable battery (around $199)
• Larger .76l dust bin
• Intelligent suction power adapts to different surfaces
• New anti-tangle conical brush for hair and mattresses (quickly sucks up dust mites and hair).

It makes you wonder what’s next in 2022?

Get started

No app – charge and go.

Select Eco, Auto, or Boost from the colour readout. Auto is the default moving between Eco and Boost based on required suction. This works with motorised brushes. All other tools require manual power selection. The screen gives a real-time estimate of the battery minutes left.

Power

Few vacuums advertise the air-watt power – Dyson included. This is capable of 230 Air-watts on Boost mode. The V11 Outsize has 220AW, V11 has 185AW, and the LG A9 has 175AW. Frankly, it is hard to see the difference except on our shaggy feature rug.

Battery Life

The battery is a complex Dyson-engineered electronic device with considerable electronic smarts to get the most run-time and care for the battery.

The 45V/1.1A/50W charger feeds a 25.2V/3.6A/91W battery. It plugs directly into the battery – no need to use the dock. You can also charge the battery outside the vacuum.

Battery life depends on your floor and vacuum strength. Dyson claims up to 60 minutes on Eco/hard floor. Let’s say that a 75m2 with a mix of sisal carpet, ceramic tiles, feature rugs, and bamboo hardwood flooring takes about 35-40 minutes, and there is 30-35% remaining.

We tested Boost on the feature rug and got around 9 minutes.

Battery charge from 0-100% is just over four hours. You could buy another battery if your home is larger.

Dustbin

The 770ml fills in the 75m2 test area. It is about twice as efficient as a robovac. It has a single red push-down lever to release the load over a waste bin. Unless it is over-full, the detritus comes out easily or repeat a few times to shake out dirt.

Accessories

Depending on the retail package, it can come with:

• Laser Slim Fluffy 25cm motorised head for hard floors
• High torque motorised head with anti-tangle comb – for carpets, but it is OK on all floors
• Hair screw motorised too for mattresses, pet bedding, and upholstery – works like an Archimedes screw.
• Extension wand (pipe)
• Crevice tool for edges
• Mini soft brush for dusting – no scratches
• Stubborn dust brush – stiffer bristles and perfect for cars, carpet etc.
• Combo tool with pop-out mid-hard bristles and wider crevice tool
• Wall mount (screw to the wall) docking station
• Wand storage clip holds two tools on the extension wand

I am not too keen on screwing the docking station to the wall (you never know when you will sell the home).

How does it clean?

We use a 100g test mix of detritus, including fines, long hair and rice bubbles. We measure the amount picked up in one pass on the default setting.

• Hard floor – recovers 100%
• Sisal short pile carpet – 99%
• Longer pile carpet – 95%

Even the best robovac takes two passes to get over 90% across the board.

The readout shows collection by dust size. But the most exciting thing for obsessive-compulsive cleaners is that the readout makes you want to clean all over again and again! Yes, you can achieve no detritus!

Hair

My wife has longish. The hair screw is 100% effective with no hair in the brush. The Torque drive is 100% effective, but a few strands wrap around the brush.

Noise

It ranges from 70-75dB at 1m – not intrusive.

Maintenance

The dustbin is removable and washable. The fine steel filter inside the dustbin can be wiped clean.

The top filter is washable – excellent – and, in theory, lasts forever. It needs to dry for at least 24 hours, so it may pay to buy a spare. In fact, there are no running costs for replaceable items, so it’s a keeper.

Mr Fluffy’s brush is removable from the motorised head and washable. Ditto to drying, and you can wipe clean the rest of the head assembly.

The High torque brush and Hair Brush are removable, and their head assembly and wiped clean. You can’t wash these.

The other tools can be wiped clean or, if necessary, washed.

Observations

The slimline laser Mr Fluffy head fits better under cupboard overhangs, especially those with timber overlay on the previous surface and lost 10-15mm clearance.

The laser works best in-office light <500 lumens or less. But even in bright sunlight, it still shows up larger detritus. You are going to be amazed when you see how much dust there is, even in an apparently clean home.

Manoeuvrability is quite good as the vacuum head can turn sideways to get under low furniture as long as you crouch down!

There is quite some head resistance when vacuuming the feature rug, but it is worth the effort to get a deep clean.

The hand vac section is 2.07kg, plus any wand or tools. It is comfortable enough as a floor vac but can get heavy when using it as a hand vac in the car. Those with weak wrists should consider this.

Competition

Its main competition is the price – $1399/$1449 for a stick vac!

LG and Samsung have stick vacs at similar prices. Each in its way has strengths and weaknesses. Dyson Dyson V15 Detect is the undisputed clean king.

When you see the amount of Dyson design and engineering, you will begin to appreciate the cost. Sydney-siders can pop out to the Dyson Experience store, Level 1, Shop 16B, Hills Super Centre, 16-18 Victoria Avenue, Castle Hill, NSW 2154 (Seven-day opening hours are 9-5 pm except to 9 pm on Thursdays and Fridays).

Or it is off to Godfreys to buy a simple stick vac that ranges from an on-off switch to a mild degree of auto-sensing – this is light years ahead. Even the Chinese knockoffs claiming to do all for half the price don’t!

Dyson has a 45-day, no-questions, free-of-charge return policy. That is confidence.

Grey Market and parallel imports

Dyson is a desirable brand and attracts its share of counterfeiters and parallel importers. The approved retailers are Harvey Norman, Bing Lee, The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi, Big W, Costco, Shaver Shop, David Jones and Myer. Occasionally retailers use Catch.com.au to move superseded stock.

Do not buy from Kogan, Dick Smith, Matt Blatt (all Kogan fronts), or other dodgy online merchants. You may get international or refurbished models with no Australian Dyson guarantee.

CyberShack’s view –  Dyson V15 Detect has won another convert

The Dyson V15 Detect is at the leading edge of a new breed of vacuum that focuses on both a clean home and a healthy home. While I thought my home was clean (enough), it is a real eye-opener to see how much detritus traditional vacuums and robovacs leave behind.

This is for you if you are an allergy, hay fever, or a person living with asthma. In fact, get a Dyson air purifier if you want a healthy home.

It is capable of whole-of-home cleaning on any surface. Well done, Sir James Dyson.

Rating

Given that there are few serious competitors, it is the class leader in many areas.