Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine Review – An Awesomely Whole Way of Cleaning?

Dyson has a knack for creating the right tool for the job and their latest variant of their popular V12 series cordless vacuums dubbed the Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine has been custom designed to meet the needs of homeowners in Asia who both mop and vacuum their floors. After putting it through its paces, here’s our Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine review where we share if it’s really worth the money!

Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine Review – What is it exactly and what’s in the box?

Dyson’s cordless vacuums have certainly made vacuuming a lot easier in recent years with their powerful suction power that is able to pick up even the tiniest motes of dust and dirt while their sealed dust container design allows for a sneeze-free, hygienic clean-up later after you’re done with the job. However, the task of mopping the floor however remains a tedious drudgery that hasn’t improved in decades beyond the use of a bucket and strips of recycled fabric stuck on a cheap wooden stick.

Until now that is as Dyson is aiming to make this age-old tedious chore a lot easier through superior technology. Enter the Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine cordless vacuum and mop combo that combines the best of both worlds in one man-portable design without the need to haul around a bucket of water around in your wake.

In essence an improved variant of the current generation Dyson V12 Detect Slim cordless vacuum with its more powerful Hyperdymium engine and dust detecting green laser, the Dyson V12S Detect Slim Submarine features a new detachable Submarine wet roller head that enables users to mop a good section of floor without having to drag a bucket around their wake. 

In Malaysia, the vacuum comes in two variants differentiated by what attachments they come with and their paint job with a mainline version coming in a bright yellow with nickel trim finish with three powered cleaning attachments and two unpowered attachments for RM4,499.

You can also acquire a Dyson V12s Detect Slim Complete version that comes in a more posh looking gold on gold colourway that has everything the standard version has but adds in an additional powered cleaning attachment dubbed the Motorbar cleaner head for RM4,999.

On closer inspection, our Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine review sample is the mainline gold and nickel version which features a charger cable, a wand clip to store extra attachments, a wall mounting dock, a crevice tool for tight spaces, a combination tool that combines a nozzle and brush for dusting work, a hair screw tool to deal with long strands of hair on furniture, car seats and the like as well as its signature Fluffy Optic cleaner head and the titular Submarine wet roller head. 

For RM400 more, you can get the more premium complete version that has everything in the standard gold/nickel version but adds in a posher gold on gold finish as well as the special motorbar powered cleaner head with special hair detangling vanes in its design to remove dirt and hair from all manner of floors.

Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine Specifications

Here’s how the Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine stacks up on paper

Price RM4,499 (w/ Submarine and Fluffy optic cleaner head), RM4,899 (+ Motorbar cleaner head)
Engine Dyson Hyperdymium motor, 125,000rpm
Power 140AW with 11 root cyclones
Attachments: Fluffy Optic cleaner head, Submarine wet roller head, combination tool, crevice tool, hair screw tool, charger, wand clip, wall dock [Yellow/Nickel deluxe kit] Everything in deluxe kit + 1 Motorbar cleaner head [Gold/gold complete kit]
Bin size 0.35L
Battery Up to 60 min (eco  mode – quoted), 20 minutes (turbo mode)
Size/Weight 1247 x 257 x 253mm / 1.8kg [full water tank], 1.5kg [dry weight]

Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine Review – Build and Design

In terms of build and design, our Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine review sample has a similar silhouette and similar specifications as the V12 Detect Slim cordless vacuum with a pistol-shaped trigger grip that also mounts a swappable battery pack that is quoted to offer about two hours of standard use of the wet roller head attachment.

While the pistol grip is intended for a comfier grip, activating the vacuum is done via a top-mounted red button that makes it easier to use for extended cleaning sessions without having to constantly hold down the trigger.

Located on the rear is an LCD readout with a single control button for diagnostics along with a twistable HEPA filter on the rear for vented air outflow after cleaning. Much like the Dyson V12, the V12s has a piezo sensor that gamifies cleaning by detecting the number and size of picked up dust particles to see how clean a given surface is. 

The body itself also hosts a compact 350ml dust bin just ahead of its Hyperdymium engine which is Dyson’s secret sauce to achieving its class-leading suction power. Mounted in front of the dust bin itself is an attachment point that lets you either use the provided extension rod that lets you vacuum at waist height or allows you to simply plug a cleaner head straight in for up-close work in tight quarters. 

The biggest draw to Dyson’s new design, the Submarine wet roller head has a very innovative design that features a 300ml clean water tank and a slide-out 360ml dirty water receptacle at the base of the attachment along with a special wet roller head.

According to the official literature, the built-in water tank stores just enough water for about 16 minutes of cleaning or about 100 square metres floor space, give or take a few metres and can accept third party floor cleaning detergents though seeing as the design is made primarily of tough polycarbonate, it can’t use bleach which may damage it in the long term. 

The wet roller head itself spins on its own, drawing power from the Hyperdymium motor and sucks water from the clean tank before spraying it out via a series of nozzles to wet the floor with a precise amount of fluid before the roller sops crud and the dirty water itself into the aforementioned dirty water receptacle.

On paper, this mechanism looks brilliant and removes the need to tote around a bucket to store dirty water and the need to squeeze the mop dry ever so often as needed in a traditional mop, ensuring that it always uses clean water when cleaning. The attachment itself is also quite flexible and can work in tight spaces to some degree such as under beds and cabinets.

One interesting feature to note is that the Submarine attachment itself is specific to the Dyson V12s with a proprietary connector so it won’t work with other Dyson vacuums, even its sibling the V12 Detect Slim.

It would have been nice if it was reverse compatible with existing Dyson vacuums so that I needn’t have to buy an entirely new vacuum to take advantage of the new Submarine attachment and hopefully they enable this option in subsequent designs.

For vacuuming duties, the Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine primarily relies on its Fluffy Optic Cleaner head that has been upgraded from the one featured on the prior V12 with a brighter laser capable of projecting out twice as far to detect tiny motes of dust invisible to the naked eye.

Of note here is that the attachment is intelligent enough to dynamically rev up and spin faster when encountering high concentrations of dust for a more effective clean and revving down when the job is done.

Befitting their typical slavish attention to quality, our Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine review sample is built like a tank with solid construction all around and the distinctive aesthetic that is unmistakably Dyson issued hardware.

Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine Review – Performance

Setting up our Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine review unit is a relatively easy affair though the provided wall dock needs to be drilled into the wall  to properly hold the weight of the vacuum itself and allowed me to keep it neatly out of the way rather than having it lie about the floor or in the store room.

The gadget clip and dock itself also made organising the various cleaner heads a neater affair rather than having them all tossed into a bag which also inevitably gets lost over time. 

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After getting a full charge, I loaded up the Submarine cleaning attachment with tap water to the brim and then went to town on a variety of floored surfaces ranging from hardwood planks to tiles and slabs of concrete for my customary weekly mop down and it proved to be more efficient than a regular mop, saving time having to swap buckets of clean and dirty water and cleaner too as I didn’t have to squeeze the mop and wash it ever so often. 

On paper, the Submarine attachment is capable of mopping up tough stains, spills like coffee and sauces, footprints and tracked grime across the floor as well as small grains of debris like rice, pepper and the like.

Tougher stains with more chunks of material in time like spilled food or vomit will likely need a wipedown first before the Submarine tackles it though. In this regard, our Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine review sample did not disappoint and it was able to save a few minutes of time and labour having to lug buckets of water around and cleaning it with enough water in the built-in reservoir for the living room, the kitchen and several other living areas in one pass. 

While the design is otherwise sound, the dirty water tray isn’t sealed and can possibly spill if you’re not careful. Hopefully future designs make it more spill proof while keeping it easy to clean.

Fortunately, cleaning the roller head and the dirty water receptacle is a simple task as all you need is to rinse it in a sink though it would be nice if Dyson provided a squeegee or some cleaning tool rather than having to resort to using my hands to squeeze the roller head dry after rinsing it with some house detergent. 

For the most part, the Submarine attachment makes mopping around the house a simpler, more efficient affair though it is on the heavy side especially when it’s fully loaded with water.

The signature Fluffy Optic cleaner head did not disappoint and swapping it out is a simple matter with the head securely clicking into place on the main handpiece. It has similar performance as its predecessor the V12 with the ability to suck up impressive amounts of fine dust.

The addition of the piezo sensor and the dust detecting laser somewhat triggers the obsessive compulsive disorder in me to ensure everything is spotlessly clean though it does give an effective indicator that a given area is thoroughly clean of dust and dirt.

In terms of battery life, our Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine review sample offers about 60 minutes of run time on Eco mode that’s enough for a general spot clean every couple of days around the house for well travelled areas while mopping on the weekends offers enough endurance to go through the house on a full charge. While charging does take a couple of hours, it doesn’t interfere with my cleaning routine as I don’t mop and vacuum at the same time.

Should you buy the Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine?

The Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine is an interesting design that builds on their proven cordless vacuums with the addition of a hybrid mop attachment to simplify and make the task of mopping floors a bit easier and more convenient. 

While the vacuum portion performs well, the mop attachment works best for simple spills and quick cleans with larger, chunkier messes still requiring you to manually wipe it down first.

Hopefully the next generation model improves on this model’s shortcomings. Even so, it’s still well worth a look especially for those looking to save time and space for the usual mopping and vacuuming chores at home.

Dyson V12s Detect Slim Submarine review sample courtesy of Dyson Malaysia. For more details and to purchase please visit https://www.dyson.my/products/vacuum-cleaners/dyson-v12s-detect-slim-submarine/shop-all