Dyson has announced its new floor cleaner, WashG1. As the name suggests, it is a wet floor cleaner. This is the first dedicated cleaner of its kind produced by Dyson, although there is a wet cleaning head on the V15s sub (read our review to find out more).
For the first time in its floor care range, Dyson is moving away from cyclone technology. Or, as Dyson’s press office puts it (cruelly anticipating similar puns from journalists), WashG1 is “a wet floor cleaner that doesn’t suck.”
The 4.5 kg WashG1 has a simple, minimalist design. Its color scheme is a little more muted than other Dyson cleaners, with a black floor head, handle and accessories, and a simple angled metallic blue wand. One liter clean and dirty water tanks are mounted at the front.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
The controls and display are also uncluttered, with an LCD display showing water level and remaining time, and just three buttons. One is for power, the other alternates between low, medium and high water usage – and there’s also a boost button if you really need to really soak the floor.
I was one of the lucky few allowed to try it out at Dyson’s Malmesbury campus before it was officially announced. We’ll give it a full review as soon as we’re able to properly test it – but after a short test drive, I can say there’s a lot to like about it.
It is light and handy, its display is clear and it is intuitive and easy to use. When it comes to emptying and refilling, the clean and dirty water tanks come off together, making the task much less complicated.
But there is one design element that I don’t like at all…
Dyson is very keen to display the effectiveness of its cleaners. All of its vacuums feature clear dustbins, and its newest models (including the V15 Detect and Gen5detect) feature a piezoelectric sensor and LCD display that work together to show you the volume and type of dust and dirt particles that you have vacuumed up. The message is as clear as the trash: these vacuums may be expensive but they are effective.
The WashG1 is no different. Unlike many other wet floor cleaners, which have dirty water tanks that are smoked, frosted or colored to hide the mess inside, the WashG1 has a perfectly clear, highly visible tank – because Dyson wants you to see all the dirt you removed from your hard drive. floors.
And you’ll see it, because thanks to the WashG1’s simple and elegant design, it’s right in front and impossible to ignore. Personally, I found it a little nerve-racking as it filled up.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
It’s understandable that Dyson wants you to see how much better the WashG1 is than your regular old mop. But if you spilled half a can of soup on the floor, it’ll be pretty obvious once it’s gone, so do you really need to look at a tank full of orange watery mess?
It doesn’t use suction in the traditional sense, in the sense that it doesn’t suck water out of the floor, like most competing wet floor cleaners.
How the WashG1 works
Charlie Park, Vice President of Dyson Home Engineering, said: “Dyson engineers solve problems that others ignore and we succeed in the challenge of creating better technology. The Dyson WashG1 is the result; our first wet machine dedicated to washing hard floors, correctly and hygienically.
Dyson’s approach was characteristic. The floor care industry has three standardized tests for wet floor cleaners: dried drops of tartar sauce, mustard and coffee. Dyson felt this wasn’t enough for the scale of problems a cleaner would need to solve, so it developed its own tests for more types of likely spills. These included wet spills, makeup, hand sanitizer and more, with the idea that it’s not just what’s in the pantry but what’s in the pantry. has in the bathroom which will need to be cleaned.
It has developed a complete wet floor cleaning system for all types of hard floors, capable of handling both wet and dry debris. Plus, it separates the wet from the dry, so you won’t have to go through the inconvenience of removing a handful of hair from the dirty water tank before emptying it. (I was here.)
It doesn’t use suction in the traditional sense, in the sense that it doesn’t suck water out of the floor, like most competing wet floor cleaners. Instead, it disperses water via 26 points along the cleaning head and uses two counter-rotating rollers covered in microfibers to pick up dirty water and debris. One of the benefits of twin rollers is that the WashG1 cleans by moving forward and backward, unlike its single roller competitors.
However, he do use suction in the form of a small pump that draws air from the water tank. As the pump never comes into contact with water, thanks to a tap that closes the air valve, there is no need for a filter to protect the motor from liquid. This allowed Dyson to ban the replaceable filter you’ll find in most competing wet vacuums, which captures odors and bacteria.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Clean water tank and battery life will give you up to 290m2 cleaning time, approximately 45 minutes of cleaning time. The WashG1’s limiting factor is not battery life, but water consumption. So if you use the highest water level, you will only have 7-8 minutes of cleaning time before the water runs out and the dirty tank is about to fill up.
Like any wet floor cleaner, you’ll get the best results by using a regular vacuum first, as there’s less chance of clogging the system. However, Dyson reassured me that shorter hairs, such as pet hair, won’t be a problem thanks to the secondary brush bar. The microfiber on the cleaning rollers will grip pet hair until it comes into contact with the bristle bar, designed to throw hair and debris into the debris bin, which can be emptied separately.
The WashG1 sits in a charging dock, and after use you can start the self-cleaning mode, which is another thing you won’t have to worry about. However, there is no hot air drying for the rollers and long hair may need to be removed from the bristle bars by hand.
Dyson WashG1 price and availability
The WashG1 costs £599 in the UK and $699 in the US.
It will be available for purchase later this year but, as of yet, no specific launch date has been confirmed. You can sign up on Dyson US or Dyson UK to find out more and other upcoming launches.
In the meantime, if you’re tired of cleaning by hand, take a look at our roundup of the best wet and dry vacuum cleaners to find the model that suits you best.
