Honestly, if you're confused about the Dyson all in one floor cleaning lineup, you aren't alone. James Dyson’s engineers have a habit of releasing three things that look identical but do completely different jobs, leaving the rest of us staring at a $700 price tag wondering if it actually mops or just spits water. For years, Dyson stayed away from wet cleaning. They said vacuums shouldn't mix dust and water because it creates a "mucky slurry" that clogs filters and smells like a wet dog.
Then everything changed.
Suddenly, we have the V15 Detect Submarine and the WashG1. Both get called a Dyson all in one by shoppers, but they aren't even in the same zip code technologically. One is a vacuum with a wet attachment; the other is a dedicated floor washer that doesn't even have a suction motor. It's weird. It's confusing. But if you're trying to figure out which one won't leave streaks on your expensive engineered hardwoods, you have to look at the mechanics, not just the marketing.
The Big Split: Submarine vs. WashG1
The V15 Detect Submarine was Dyson’s first real dip into the "all in one" pool. It uses a motorized wet roller head. But here is the kicker: the suction is actually blocked off when you click that head on. Why? Because water in a vacuum motor is a death sentence. The Submarine head uses a pressurized chamber to soak the roller, while a scavenger plate squeegees the dirty water into a tiny internal reservoir. It’s a clever workaround, but it’s still a "stick vacuum first" tool.
Then there is the WashG1.
This is the "true" Dyson all in one floor washer, but strangely, it doesn't vacuum dry carpet. At all. It uses two counter-rotating microfiber rollers that are constantly hydrated. It flings large debris into a removable tray while soaking up spills. It’s designed for the person who has 2,000 square feet of tile and wants to stop using a Swiffer. It feels heavy in the hand—about 10.8 pounds—but the way those rollers spin makes it feel like it's hovering across the floor.
Why the "Mucky Slurry" Problem Matters
Most floor cleaners on the market, like the Tineco Floor One or the Bissell CrossWave, suck up water and air together. Dyson spent a decade complaining that this is a hygiene nightmare. When you mix air and dirty water, you get odors.
The WashG1 tries to solve this by separating solids from liquids.
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Inside the machine, there’s a mesh that catches hair and crumbs, keeping them out of the dirty water tank. This makes emptying it less of a "don't breathe through your nose" experience. It’s not perfect—wet hair still sticks to things—but it’s a massive improvement over the older tech. If you’ve ever had to clean the filter on a traditional wet-dry vac, you know the pain. Dyson basically deleted the filter entirely in the WashG1. No filter, no clogs, no loss of "suction" because, well, there isn't any suction to begin with.
The Real-World Performance Gap
Let's talk about dried-on stains. You know, the coffee ring from three days ago or the mud the dog tracked in.
The Dyson all in one Submarine head is great for light duty. It’s fine for a quick kitchen refresh. But because it relies on that scavenger plate, it can sometimes leave a bit of a damp trail if you move too fast. It's a "vacuum that can mop."
The WashG1 is a "mop that can handle debris."
Because it has dual rollers spinning in opposite directions, it agitates the floor way more effectively. It’s got three hydration levels and a "max" mode for the really sticky stuff. In testing by various tech reviewers, the WashG1 consistently picks up things like spilled cereal and milk in one pass, whereas the Submarine might need two or three goes to get the floor feeling "squeaky" clean.
But there’s a catch.
The WashG1 cannot go on your rugs. If you have a home that's a mix of area rugs and hardwood, the WashG1 is a specialized tool that stays in the closet until it's time for the hard floors. The Submarine, being a V15 Detect at its core, just needs a head swap to go from mopping the kitchen to deep-cleaning the high-pile rug in the living room.
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Battery Life and the "Big House" Problem
Range anxiety is real with cordless tools.
The WashG1 claims about 35 minutes of runtime. That sounds like plenty until you realize you're moving slower because you're mopping, not just zipping around with a vacuum. It covers about 3,100 square feet on a single charge. If your house is bigger than that, you're looking at a mid-clean recharge, which takes about four hours.
The Submarine is different because it uses the V15's swappable batteries. If you run out of juice, you just click in a fresh pack and keep going. This makes the Submarine a more versatile Dyson all in one solution for people who don't want to wait half a day to finish their chores.
Maintenance: The Part Nobody Tells You
Every "all in one" device is a lie if it claims to be "self-cleaning."
Yes, the WashG1 has a self-cleaning cycle. You put it on the dock, hit a button, and it flushes itself out. It takes about 140 seconds. But you still have to:
- Empty the dirty water tank (unless you want it to smell like a swamp).
- Dump the solid waste tray.
- Occasionally pull the rollers off to get the hair wrap out of the ends.
It's easier than a bucket and mop, but it's not "zero effort." The Submarine head is actually easier to clean because it's smaller, but the reservoir is so tiny you'll be filling and emptying it every five minutes if you're doing a large room.
What Most People Get Wrong About Dyson's Approach
People assume that because it’s Dyson, it has to be the most powerful vacuum. With the Dyson all in one WashG1, the power isn't in the air watts. It's in the pump. The machine uses a highly regulated pulse-modulated pump to deliver exactly the right amount of water to the rollers.
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Too much water? You warp your floors.
Too little? You're just dragging a dry rag.
This precision is why Dyson is charging a premium. They’re betting that you care more about floor preservation and "clean water constant contact" than you do about raw suction numbers.
The Price vs. Value Reality Check
You're looking at spending between $700 and $950 depending on the model and the sales cycle. That is a lot of money for a mop. For that price, you could buy a high-end robot mop and a decent stick vacuum.
So why get a Dyson all in one?
It's for the person who wants total control. Robots get stuck. They miss corners. They smear dog poop (usually). A manual machine like the WashG1 or the Submarine lets you scrub that one spot until it's actually gone. It's also built with the typical Dyson repairability in mind—you can buy replacement rollers, batteries, and chargers easily, which isn't always true for the cheaper "no-name" brands flooding Amazon.
Actionable Steps for Choosing Your Machine
If you are currently standing in an aisle or staring at a cart, here is how you actually decide:
- Check your flooring ratios. If your home is 70% carpet and 30% hard floor, do not buy the WashG1. You will hate having a second giant machine. Get the V15 Detect Submarine. It’s a world-class vacuum that happens to mop.
- Evaluate your "mess type." Do you have toddlers who drop spaghetti? Or do you just have dusty floors? The WashG1 is the "spaghetti killer." The Submarine is the "dust polisher."
- Think about the weight. If you have arthritis or struggle with heavy uprights, the Submarine is lighter and more maneuverable. The WashG1 is a beast to carry up stairs.
- Look at your sink. The WashG1 tanks are long. Make sure you have a faucet high enough to fill the clean tank comfortably. It sounds stupid until you're trying to fill a 1-liter tank in a shallow bathroom sink.
- Skip the chemicals. Dyson recommends just plain water or a very specific, low-sudsing solution. If you're a "I need my floor to smell like Pine-Sol" person, these machines might frustrate you, as heavy detergents can gum up the internal pumps and void the warranty.
Ultimately, the Dyson all in one market is finally maturing. We are moving away from the "one tool does everything poorly" era and into a "specialized tools for specific problems" phase. If you want the best version of this tech, you have to be honest about whether you're actually cleaning up spills or just pretending to. For most, the Submarine offers the best balance, but for the hard-floor purist, the WashG1 is the first time Dyson has truly challenged the status quo of the bucket and mop.