[Review] Dyson V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA) cordless vacuum

While I love the feel of a clean house, I confess that I simply don’t have it in me to vacuum every day.

But with a busy road just outside, and a cat that sheds fur quite a bit and tracks litter all over inside, my house gets dusty and dirty quite fast.

When it comes time to clean, I’m not particularly picky about my cleaning tools, but I do appreciate a good vacuum. 

At Vulcan Post, we’ve had the opportunity to try several of Dyson’s vacuums, from the Dyson Cyclone V10 Absolute+ to, most recently, the Dyson V12 Detect Slim Total Clean.

We’ve always been impressed, but the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA) takes the cake for being the most powerful vacuum the brand has ever put forth, at least on paper.

Its 240AW suction power is a huge leap from its predecessor, the Dyson V12 Detect Slim Total Clean, which is capped at 150AW.

With such power, surely there would be some drawbacks elsewhere, right? We tested it for ourselves.

When sucking hard is a good thing

Modern vacuums coming with 101 attachments seem to be the norm nowadays, but I still think it’s a little overkill. Who really bothers to switch between more than three attachments, honestly?

Although, I can’t deny that opening a box to see many attachments provided fills me with glee. The V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA) comes with two cleaner heads and seven tools and accessories:

• Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head
• Digital Motorbar cleaner head
• Comb crevice tool
• Built-in crevice tool
• Hair screw tool
• Fabric and mattress tool
• Mini soft dusting brush
• Up-top adapter
• Docking station
• Charger

For those who want to do even more than just clean their house, there’s the Detail cleaning kit (RM399) and Pet grooming kit (RM399). The Detail cleaning kit is for delicate or hard-to-reach surfaces and is ideal for homes and cars. The Pet grooming kit is for, well, pets, but more on that later.

The Laser Slim Fluffy cleaner head is the same one on the V12 Detect Slim Total Clean, with a soft nylon covering and anti-static carbon fibre filaments that are tailored to easily extract dust from hard floors. 

Its laser lighting helps highlight smaller particles on the floor that are harder to see from standing height, and ensures that you get every last bit. This was my most commonly used cleaner head since my house is tiled everywhere, and the carpets I have aren’t the fluffy kind.

For fluffy, thicker carpets, the Digital Motorbar cleaner head would probably do a better job since it has a detangling comb that automatically clears hair and long fur from the brush bar.

Meanwhile, the Hair screw tool was most useful for smaller surface areas that were covered in fabric, such as an older sofa in my home (now the designated cat sofa) and a cat tree.

These were the three main heads I would swap around, and though I found little use for the other accessories for my own home cleaning, I’m sure they would come in handy for other people.

Coming back to the V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA)’s suction power, you have the option to toggle between three power settings: Eco, Medium, and Boost, which go from least to most powerful, at the cost of battery life.

You can get about an hour’s worth of cleaning on Eco (this might still differ a bit depending on what surfaces you’re cleaning), and just eleven minutes out of Boost.

These settings are the same as other Dyson cordless vacuums, with the exception of being much stronger on the V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA).

I can’t quite compare as I didn’t have the V12 Detect Slim Total Clean on hand at home, but I will say that the V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA) was able to clean my fur-lined cat tree with ease. 

Something that’s unique to the V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA), for now, is its acoustic dust sensor and particle analyser. 

Basically, it tells you what the four different categories of dust sizes it can pick up are, and how much of each one it’s picking up throughout your cleaning session. It does this by “listening” to dust particles as they bounce off as they pass through the vacuum.

Honestly, I can’t see who would actually need something like this, unless they’re a paranoid neat freak. 

Most people (myself included) would be pretty at ease just seeing all the dust being picked up with the help of the laser, and filling up the collection chamber.

What I think users would value more is the HEPA filter, which locks in all the trapped particles and expels cleaner air.

This lets me be more at ease while vacuuming since I’m extremely prone to sneezing bouts triggered by dust and generally dislike how vacuums tend to blow air back out into my face.

Speaking of sneezing bouts, though I have a furbaby of my own, Pepper, I sadly cannot snuggle with him because I’m allergic to him.

Did you know: Pet allergies aren’t really due to their fur. Instead, they’re an allergic reaction to proteins found in an animal’s skin cells, saliva, or urine, which are often found on the animal’s fur.

He sheds quite a bit too, which means his fine fur is often floating through the air or collecting on surfaces I frequent, which leads to me sneezing and my eyes watering.

Other than just vacuuming my home, the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA) can be used with the Pet grooming tool to clean up Pepper’s loose fur before he even sheds all over.

Made for medium- and long-haired pets, Dyson’s Pet grooming tool has angled slicker bristles meant to grab loose hairs deep under the fur coat, which will then be immediately sucked up by the vacuum.

Supposedly, the tool is “acoustically engineered to keep things more peaceful” for my pet, so I was already fantasising about hassle-free grooming at home with Pepper…

Until the “expectations VS reality” moment hit me. Try as I might, Pepper was freaked out by the noise of the vacuum and wouldn’t stay still enough to let me groom him. He would only go near it when it was off and unmoving. 

Perhaps a large, mature dog would be a better candidate for the Pet grooming tool, but I can’t imagine that my two 4-year-old dogs would be brave enough to face the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA) either.

Any pet you wish to use it on will have to have a calm temperament, that’s for sure.

Verdict

The Dyson V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA) is a very powerful vacuum, and I’d liken it to a luxury sports car or gaming phone in vacuum form.

Does everyone who wants a clean house need it? No. But I’ll say this: it does make cleaning very, very fun. 

It is not the perfect vacuum, though, because it’s quite heavy (2.61kg base weight, maybe more with attachments), and it’s rather loud, probably due to the sheer power it packs.

Noodle arms (like mine) will tire fast, and pets will run and hide. Still, it’s so satisfying how it just sucks up every piece of loose dirt in sight, and with so many attachments to play around with, there won’t be a corner of your house you cannot reach.

The Dyson V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA) can be purchased from Dyson’s website for RM4,999, while the non-HEPA version is RM4,799 with slightly different accessories. For convenient storage and charging, there’s the Dyson V11 Dok vacuum stand for purchase at RM699.

Pros	Cons
Very strong 240AW suction power and HEPA filter	Loud noise that can scare pets
Many attachments for cleaning different surfaces and hard-to-reach areas	Heavy to hold, making it tiring to use for longer sessions
Smart dust chamber clearing mechanism

• Learn more about the Dyson V15 Detect Absolute (HEPA) here.
• Read other VP Verdicts we’ve written here.

VP Verdict is a series where we personally try and test out products, services, fads, and apps. Want to suggest something else for us to try? Leave a comment here or send the suggestion to our Facebook page.