After 'fake' mop head attachments for Dyson vacuum cleaners became a viral hit as a supposed cleaning hack, the British tech company is finally releasing its own official wet vacuum cleaner head.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine is an all-in-one wet-and-dry cordless vacuum that will be released in New Zealand in July.
It features the laser and dust measurement tool of the original V15 that was released in 2021 as well as the water cleaning attachment which "takes hard floors to the next level of clean", the company promises.
Eight water jets around the unit's motor-driven microfibre roller squirt out 18ml of water per minute to clean up spills, stains and messes from hard floors, but it also picks up small dry debris like food crumbs as it goes.
The clean water tank on the Submarine holds 300ml and Dyson says that will cover flooring up to 110m2.
How easy it is to clean the other tank - the bigger, 360ml dirty water one - is one of the main things that sets this device apart, according to Dyson global category director for environmental care Charlie Park.
"We've been working to ensure that we came up with a solution that firstly performed well as a wet floor cleaner - something that actually removes dirt from the floor, not just smears it around," Park told Newshub.
"But we also wanted something that solved some of the traditional problems people have with wet floor cleaners. The biggest feedback we had around wet floor cleaners is their maintenance - you use them once, they're great, then they're filled with this mixture of water and dirt and they only get worse from there.
"So we've spent time really trying to come up with a solution that allowed us to ensure that it was easy to clean, but it was still effective floor cleaning."
Park said that's why the Submarine is an attachment, rather than a standalone device without standard vacuuming functionality. With the wet cleaner head attached, the vacuum doesn't do any sucking and will only use the water and microfibre roller.
That is also what Dyson blames perhaps the most annoying aspect of the Submarine attachment on: it won't work on any older models as those don't have the software to recognise when the device is in wet clean mode and to then turn the suction off.
Not being compatible with previous models is the 'catch' with the Submarine, but Dyson said it will be compatible with more future models.
Park lives in Singapore with hard floors throughout his home which he uses the Submarine on at least once per week, as well as more frequently to clean up after his young children when they have messy dinner times.
Even though the self-confessed "clean freak" dry vacuums most days, that weekly wet clean is still surprisingly necessary, he said.
"Considering I don't really see any dirt on the floor, the colour of the water that comes out of the Submarine after a clean is pretty disgusting," Park said.
"That comes back to the importance of being able to clean that thing easily. The bit you remove, you can dunk that completely underwater. Admitedly, I don't - I put it under the tap and just use that to blast out any debris that's in the dirty tray, then do the same thing with the roller and again to the motor housing and that blade which interacts with the microfibre, and you're done."
Wet head vacuums have long been offered by competitors to Dyson and indeed, cheap attachments have been on sale for Dyson products from unofficial sellers.
Last year an unofficial wet mop attachment for Dyson stick vacuums became a hit online, with a TikTok clip showcasing it racking up over 35,000 likes.
Commenters warned against the unofficial attachments and Dyson said any damage caused by "third party, non-genuine tool attachments" would not be covered by warranties, but it obviously took notice of the demand.
Park said strong demand from the Chinese market in particular has pushed the company to finaly get into the wet head cleaner trade.
"This is a new, interesting area we're starting to build expertise in with things that we just didn't have before, because we haven't really been dealing with water and the impact that it has," he said.
The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine will be available in New Zealand from July 6 and is launching at $1649.
Newshub travelled to Singapore courtesy of Dyson for this article.
