Dyson’s V15s Detect Submarine is the company’s first vacuum cleaner with mopping capabilities. It’s the most versatile stick vacuum in Dyson’s range and being able to mop and vacuum, will be a gamechanger for some.
This is essentially the V15, which is a very good vacuum that can pickup almost anything you throw at it, however now it can mop hard floors with the Submarine wet roller head, and the Dusting and Crevice tool is built-in, like the Dyson Gen5Detect. But there’s room for improvement here.
The Submarine head isn’t compatible with other Dyson vacuums meaning you’ll have to buy a completely new vacuum in order to use it, you have to manually clean the roller as opposed to throwing it in the washing machine, the V15s uses the trigger mechanism of the V15 instead of the on/off button of the Gen5Detect and the mopping – while easy – doesn’t quite have the oomph I would’ve liked.
If you’re new to the stick vacuum market or you haven’t upgraded your vacuum in the last 5 years, then the V15s Detect Submarine is the vacuum cleaner I would recommend, the added versatility of being able to mop as well as vacuum puts it at the top of the list, however, it doesn’t bring enough to the table to warrant an upgrade if you already own a Dyson stick vacuum cleaner that’s less than five years old.
Pro
- Powerful suction
- Mopping capabilities adds versatility
- Easy to use
- Great design
- Dustin & Crevice tool built-in
Cons
- Submarine attachment not compatible with other Dyson vacuums
- Trigger mechanism
- Need to clean mopping head by hand
Price
The V15s Detect Submarine comes in two packages, Standard and Complete. The standard package costs $1,599 and comes with the vacuum, two cleaner heads – the Submarine wet roller and the Digital Motorbar – and six tools and accessories.
The Complete package costs $1,699 and comes with three cleaner heads – the Fluffy Optic cleaner (that’s the one with the lasers), the Submarine wet roller and the Digital Motorbar – six tools and accessories and the Floor Dok Multi, which is a free-standing dock for the vacuum. For an extra $100, the Complete package is the best option here.
Compared to other vacuum/mop hybrids this is a good price. The Kobold VK7 costs $2,500.

Design
The V15s Detect Submarine is essentially the V15. The only difference is that it’s been reprogrammed to recognise the Submarine wet roller head mopping attachment.
Like the V15 it’s lightweight and easy to handle, boasting a variety of specialised heads, most notably the Submarine wet roller (more on that below), the Fluffy Optic cleaner which houses a laser to help with hard-wood cleaning, the Hair Screw Tool which is used for removing long hairs like pet hair, the Combination Tool which allows for quickly switching between cleaning and dusting tasks, and the Digital Motorbar which houses de-tangling vanes to automatically clear wrapped hair from the brush.
It utilises the easy to use emptying mechanism and the clip on/clip off interchangeable attachments we’ve become accustomed to with Dyson vacuums. It also has the same LCD screen that shows information about what you’re picking up and comes with either a wall-mounted charging dock or a free standing Floor Dok Multi.
It’s compatible with older V15 attachments; however the Submarine wet roller head is not backwards-compatible. It only works with the V15s. This is because older models don’t have the software to recognise when the device changes from vacuum mode to wet clean mode. This is very disappointing. If you already have a Dyson stick vacuum, you need to buy a completely new vacuum cleaner if you want mopping functionality.
Similarly, the Submarine isn’t compatible with the newer, better Dyson Gen5Detect. The V15s uses a trigger which was replaced with an on/off button on the Gen5Detect, and it feels like a step backwards. However, the V15s has the built-in Dusting and Crevice tool, a feature introduced with Dyson’s latest vacuums and one that isn’t found on the standard V15, which is a n ice touch.
Performance
Just like the V15, the V15s is a very-good vacuum cleaner. It will pick up anything you throw at it, and emptying the vacuum is a doddle. It’s the best design on the market. It comes with all the same heads as the base V15.
The main attraction here though is the Submarine wet roller head. This is designed to tackle liquids, debris, and stains on hard floors. As the motorised mop rotates, it takes clean water and wets the head, simultaneously picking up dirt and grime, extracting it from the roller and depositing dirty water into a separate container. This container is easy to take off and empty. It all works well.
It puts down just enough water so there aren’t puddles everywhere and it was effective at removing grime and stains on my kitchen floor and bathroom. I even tested it in the shower, and it worked well. However, I never felt like I was giving my floor a good scrubbing, instead just pushing water over my hard surfaces. As a comparison the Kobold VK7 oscillates as it mops and you can feel it scrubbing the floor, providing a much deeper clean. With that said, the V15s is very good for a quick mop of stains or spills.
It holds 300ml of water which Dyson says will cover up to 110m2 of floor. We found that it lasted around 20 minutes of mopping before needing a refill. This isn’t great, but it’s very easy to fill it back up again.
It’s crucial to know that although the V15s Detect Submarine is marketed as a mop/vacuum hybrid, this doesn’t happen simultaneously. You’ll have to vacuum the floor first and then mop it with the Submarine.
A big downside here is the mop needs to be cleaned by hand. This means you have to touch the tool when it’s covered in grime, dirt, stains and more. With other mopping systems like steam cleaners, you simply take the mopping head off and chuck it in the washing machine. Here you have to get down and dirty, which isn’t ideal.

Battery
The V15s boasts a respectable battery life with up to 60 minutes of run time, although heavy usage in ‘boost’ mode will shorten this duration significantly.
A full charge takes 4.5 hours, which could be a concern for larger homes or office spaces. To mitigate this, the vacuum’s battery is removable, allowing the option to use a spare for continuous cleaning.
Verdict
There’s no denying Dyson’s V15s Detect Submarine is a very capable and – with its mopping capabilities – an even more versatile vacuum cleaner. Compatible with the Submarine wet roller head, it not only sucks up anything you throw at it, but also gives hard floors a decent mopping as well.
But it’s a bit bland. It’s just the V15 Dyson vacuum cleaner, which was released in 2021, only now you can mop with it.
There’s room for improvement here. Having to clean the mop by hand isn’t ideal and if you want to give your hard floors a good scrubbing it might struggle. It also uses the trigger mechanism which has already been replaced in Dysons’s Gen5Detect range and it feels like a step backwards.
The biggest disappointment is the Submarine attachment won’t work with other Dyson vacuums. This means if you already own a Dyson vacuum cleaner, you’ll have to purchase a whole new vacuum in order to get mopping capabilities.
Being able to switch between vacuuming and mopping will be a gamechanger for some, and if you haven’t upgraded your stick vacuum in the last 5 years, then the V15s Detect Submarine is the one I’d recommend. But if you already have a Dyson vacuum cleaner from the V11 onwards, there isn’t a lot here for you and I’m not convinced the Submarine wet roller head is so good that it demands an upgrade.