Dyson V15 Detect Review

Our Dyson V15 Detect Experience

Sure, vacuuming is a chore. But, we thoroughly enjoyed it with the Dyson V15 Detect. This vacuum is very easy to get going with, which is perfect for a quick clean up, like dirt tracked in by the dog or a snack spilled by a toddler.

The vacuum comes with two primary brush heads, one for carpet (Motorbar) and one for hardwood (Fluffy Optic). We didn't mind switching out these brush heads, but we also used it with the Motorbar head on multiple surfaces with great results. So, in a pinch on hardwood, the brush head doesn't need to be changed. The Fluffy Optic brush head is one of our favorite features of the vacuum though. It made our hardwood flooring almost appear polished. The Fluffy Optic laser light lit up tiny dust particles that would have otherwise been left behind.

We were also impressed by the additional attachments, which are meant to be used while the vacuum is in handheld mode. The “stick” portion of the vacuum easily clicks off and the three additional attachments can be clicked on. We used this function to clean out our car and along the windowsills in our home.

The best attachment is the awesome hair screw tool, which is like a mini motorized cleaner head.

As its name implies, the V15 Detect is able to change its suction power based on the flooring and mess. We tested this out and saw impressive results. As we vacuumed around our table, we could see the vacuum kick up the power as we passed over larger sections of crumbs, and it backed off when less of a mess was present. This effectively cleaned up large and small debris, but kept the power reserved. In fact, our tester could vacuum their 4-bedroom house before running out of battery.

While easy to turn on, we didn't love the trigger-on function. The trigger must be held for the entirety of the clean, which left our hands fatigued during longer cleans.

Still, we were happy to vacuum with the V15 Detect, whether is be a quick cleanup or a full home clean. It remains one of the easiest to maneuver around tight corners, and it even makes trips up and down the stairs much easier.

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Our Analysis and Test Results

Carpet Performance

The V15 Detect thrives on carpet, thanks to its powerful suction and stiff bristles, which help lift even the most stubborn dirt that lies beneath.

However, the relatively low headgate design tends to push around large, lightweight debris. It's a tradeoff. Bigger bits like bark or rocks might need another pass to make it through the gate of the head, but in return, you get a deep cleaning powerhouse that sucks up dirt you didn't even know was there.

On the fluffier, high-pile carpet, the suction power pulled its cleaner head down into the deeper carpet, which meant the lighter Cheerios often hit the head and plowed even more than they did on low-pile carpet.

Its 49% pick-up was above average in this test, showing strong deep-cleaning performance that reached further into the carpet weave than most. If you regularly deal with dirt tracked in by cleats or furry paws, this model remains a strong choice for grabbing that tougher debris. Just keep in mind it may require a bit more effort to push due to its powerful suction.

Hardwood Performance

All of the Dyson cordless vacuums we've tested that use the specialized hard surface cleaner head have performed well during our hardwood stress tests, and this model is no exception.

One feature we love is the cool green laser light on the head. Its ultra-low angle highlights dust by casting shadows from tiny debris, making it easy to spot dirt that's invisible to the naked eye when you're standing overhead.

For people who are obsessed with getting a floor clean, the Dyson makes it so easy to see where the messes are and to confirm that you've got every speck.

With this vacuum, we never had to worry about tight areas or switch tools midway through cleaning. It consistently sucked up debris right along the wall, no matter the angle, and handled those hard-to-reach spots with ease.

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Pet Hair

Even though we're big fans of our four-legged companions, we're not thrilled about the constant shedding, so we love any vacuum that makes cleaning up pet hair less of a chore.

For households with lots of pet hair to vacuum up, this vacuum was a pet-hair-eating beast!

We loved running this vacuum, as it easily sucked up 88% of debris on low-pile carpets and 60% on high-pile carpets. For at-home cleanup, we're confident you'll achieve even better results with a few extra passes.

One drawback was its long-hair performance. Despite having a “detangling” roller design that Dyson says can “automatically clear wrapped hair from the brush bar as you clean,” long hair is still wrapped in our tests. To be fair, we haven't seen a stick vacuum yet that could suck up long hair extensions without tangling. Don't believe the marketing hype.

Filtration

This Dyson successfully sucked up the flour without excessively spiking room particulate measurements, making it a great choice for anyone who is sensitive to pet dander or allergens.

Dylos ranks an increase in particulate measurements between 0 and 75 as excellent, with anything over 1,050 indicating poor air quality. Interestingly, this Dyson recorded only 55 small particles, demonstrating outstanding filtration performance without the use of a HEPA filter. This suggests that vacuum manufacturers don't necessarily need to license HEPA technology to achieve highly effective filtration.

Ease of Use

This model scores poorly in our key maneuverability metric primarily because its intense suction makes it harder to turn and push on the carpet. Even with the head gates open to reduce suction and the vacuum on the lowest suction mode, we found it challenging to get the head to swivel around our test cones on the carpet. In Turbo Mode, which creates more suction, this vacuum was downright frustrating.

In contrast to the effort required to push on carpet, it glides much more smoothly on hardwood and navigates around obstacles with ease, thanks to its great turning radius. At a handheld weight of 4 pounds and 8 ounces, though, it's on the heavier side, and after cleaning the whole house, we definitely felt it in our forearms.

The vacuum comes with three additional tools: crevice, hair screw, and combination, along with a wand clip for convenient tool storage. It also includes the two cleaner heads we've already talked about. Changing attachments is very easy. They can also be used at the base of the rod and directly at the handheld for added versatility.

For those looking for the right device to tidy couch cushions or any other upholstery, this model's attachments will do it without fuss.

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Battery

Battery life is strong on the low setting, lasting 64 minutes in our test. Because the suction power is so high, most household cleaning can be done on low, giving you more usable time than vacuums that need full power more often.

If you do want to go into a deep cleaning session, just know that we only got 9 minutes of run time on the highest setting.