Dyson V15 Detect Total Clean REVIEW

Sharks with lasers just seem so passe now that Dyson has finally dropped its V15 Detect Total Clean on an unsuspecting market. It’s a laser-equipped vacuum cleaner and, being from Dyson, there’s little doubt it’s a good ‘un. But the million-dollar question is this: can its laser zap dust bunnies and Cylons?

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I’ve reviewed more than a few Dyson vaccies in the past. It’d be fair to say that the V15 Detect Total Clean must be one of the suckiest I’ve tested. (That’s a good thing when it comes to being a vacuum cleaner, by the way). Dyson has long made vaccies with a herculean ability to lift dust and cruft off floors and other surfaces. But how do they improve on what is already a darned good vacuum cleaner?

Their answer comes in the form of several quirky yet surprisingly useful features. These range from a fluffy cleaning head – with a built-in laser – through to a new anti-tangle brush head and the ability to tell you what sort of dust is being vacuumed up.

I must admit upfront that when Dyson announced the laser cleaning head, I thought it was gimmicky. The thing is, it makes dust more visible, and while this made me want to mop after I’ve vacuumed, it highlighted where the was dust on my floors. So, while dust bunnies don’t get vapourised by the laser, they were gone burgers.

If a laser wasn’t enough, the engineering team at Dyson decided that this model should be able to tell you what sort of dust it is picking up. Incredibly, the dust gets classified into four categories – pollen, microscopic dust, skin flakes/dust mites and fine particles. The V15’s screen shows vacuum/battery time, but it also shows how much dust in each category is hoovered up.

As you’d expect from Dyson, the tech that makes this work is ingenious. A piezo mic system listens for dust impacting the cleaning bin. Then, using AI smarts, it can tell what size each bit of dust is. If you suffer from allergies or hay fever, this function alone makes the V15 an absolute godsend. At a glance, you can see the dust particles decreasing as you vacuum, which means you know how many times to go over an area until it’s dust-free.

My long-suffering wife loves it when I review vacuum cleaners because the floors get a good working over. That said, I’m generally a bit of a lazy bastard when it comes to vacuuming. However, that’s changed for the better, thanks to the V15’s laser and particle measurement capabilities. Because of these, I’m finding that I vacuum more, and when I do, it’s done more thoroughly.

With pets and my wife, a common annoyance is that vacuums equipped with a spinning brush cleaning head will pick up their hair/fur. This mightn’t sound like a biggie, but over time, the spinning brush gets transformed into a captain caveman lookalike, becoming less efficient. Because of this, it requires a tedious hair/fur removal process. However, with the anti-tangle brush cleaning head, I not only got a good deep clean on the many rugs scattered around our house but also on our wooden floors. Best of all, there’s no farting about removing hair or fur.

So, are these new bells and whistles just gimmicks, or are they genuinely useful? Aside from the fact that a laser-equipped vacuum cleaner is way cooler than sharks with fricken lasers, the V15’s goodies make it insanely useful. While testing it, I found myself feeling a little shocked at just how much it sucked up. Seeing where the dust is and what sort of dust I’m dealing with also proved far more helpful than I’d initially thought. Add the hair tangling solution, and there’s a lot to like with the V15.

Fancy pants features haven’t come at the expense of what sets Dyson apart from the pack, either. The V15 is still balanced, so it isn’t a strain to vacuum with. There’s still a HEPA filter that ensures no dust or allergens are blown about while you clean. Like its upsized sibling, the V11 Outsize, it also sports a detachable battery, which handily means that batteries can be swapped out to extend the V15’s run time. Once a battery wears out, you don’t need to bin the vacuum. Dyson maximises battery life using three power modes (eco, auto and boost). Eco offers less suction but is the least draining on the battery. Auto adjusts the suction intensity depending on what sort of surface you’re vacuuming. Boost offers up suction so powerful it can lift large rugs (but at the expense of battery life).

Last but by no means least is the LCD screen. Aside from telling you about the dust being picked up, it’ll also tell you how many minutes of use you have left before the battery needs to be charged/swapped out.

If all that wasn’t enough, the whole shebang comes in eco-friendly cardboard packaging that contains an unbelievable number of accessories. These include the laser head as well as the anti-tangle head, plus smaller brush heads for awkward to reach spots and vacuuming the car. There’s also a wall mount, which allows the V15 to sit out of the way and recharge.

While there’s a lot to like, there is one small gotcha. The price. It is a budget bruising $1499. That said, the V15 Detect Total Clean will most probably outlast its owners and is likely to be the only vacuum you’ll ever need. Besides, it has lasers, so what’s not to like?

www.dyson.co.nz