What Our Research Found
Dyson entering wet floor care felt inevitable and overdue. The Submarine system, here in the V9 Extra configuration, straps a motorized wet roller with its own water supply onto proven stick-vacuum bones. The result cleans floors well and reviews badly, and both halves of that sentence deserve explanation.
The 3.0-star pattern is familiar from every wet-category product we've covered: love for the clean, frustration with the aftercare. Dyson buyers seem particularly ambushed, because nothing else the brand sells asks you to disassemble and dry components after each use.
In use, the wet head genuinely washes: a hydrated roller applies clean water, a plate scrapes the dirty film into a separate tray, and hard floors come up washed rather than damp-wiped. Swapping between wet and dry heads is toolless. Then the session ends and the real product begins: tray emptying, roller rinsing, air drying, every time, or the assembly develops the smell that fills critical reviews. Add complaints about the wet head's limited water capacity per fill and a battery shared across both duties, and the picture completes: premium hardware, category-standard chores, expectations pricing neither.
Bottom line
Against dedicated wet-dry washers like the roborock F25 GT we reviewed, the Dyson is better built and better rated, which says more about the category than the score. Against a good stick plus a $40 spin mop, it's convenience versus considerable money.
It earns a place in tidy, hard-floor, Dyson-loyal homes that will honor the drying ritual. Everyone else should read our wet-dry category warnings twice before spending $500 here.
Can any wet-roller vacuum escape the maintenance trap?
The physics say mostly no. Washing floors means moving soil into water and water into a container; biology takes over from there unless the wet chain dries. Dyson's design manages the problem better than most, with a separable tray and roller intended for fast rinsing, but management isn't elimination. The critical reviews here match the category's universal signature, tuned louder by premium expectations.
The Good & The Bad
thumb_up What We Loved
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Actually washes, doesn't wipe
The roller-and-scraper design lifts dried spills and film that spray mops smear, visibly.
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One-body wet and dry
Toolless head swaps make the two-machine premise practical, and storage is one slim footprint.
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Dyson service reality
Parts, batteries, and support infrastructure that the budget wet-dry brands can't match, which matters more in a maintenance-heavy category.
thumb_down Honest Drawbacks
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The aftercare ritual is mandatory
Tray, rinse, dry, every session. The brand's plug-and-play reputation sets up exactly the disappointment the reviews describe.
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Priced against better-rated setups
$499.99 buys a strong stick and a dedicated mop with change, or approaches discounted flagship sticks. The combo premium is steep.
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Small water tank, big floors lose
Refills interrupt whole-home wet cleans. Kitchen-and-entryway homes fit; open-plan tile empires don't.
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The 3.0 is earned, contextually
Not by breakage, but by the gap between Dyson expectations and wet-category reality. Buying informed closes most of it.
Technical Breakdown
Submarine wet head
Roller + scraper + tray
Dyson stick platform
Dry vacuum duty
Water capacity
Kitchen-scale per fill
Owner rating
3.0/5 currently
How It Works
Two machines sharing one body, with the wet one demanding aftercare.
Vacuum first with the dry head
Wet rollers and dry debris don't mix. A quick dry pass first is how the system is meant to run.
Swap to the Submarine head
Fill its clean-water tank and wash in steady passes. Coverage per fill favors kitchens over whole floors.
Empty the dirty tray promptly
The scraped film collects in the head's tray. Emptying it while wet is a five-second job; forgotten, it's the smell factory.
Rinse and air-dry the roller
Pull the roller, rinse, and dry it outside the head. The non-negotiable step behind most 1-star reviews' origin story.
How It Compares
| Feature | Dyson V9 Submarine Extra | Good stick + spin mop separates |
|---|---|---|
| Wet cleaning quality | Mechanical wash, strong | Manual, workout included |
| Per-session aftercare | Tray + roller drying | Wring and hang a mop |
| Cost currently | $499.99 | Often under $350 combined |
| Storage | One slim unit | Two items |
| Owner rating | 3.0 stars | cancelN/A, but nobody returns a spin mop |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Dyson Submarine head actually mop well?
Yes, and better than spray-and-pad mopping: the hydrated roller washes while a scraper strips the dirty film into a tray, so dried spills lift instead of smearing. The mechanism is the strong half of the product. The aftercare it demands is the half the rating reflects.
Why is the V9 Submarine rated so low for a Dyson?
Expectations, mostly. Wet floor care universally requires per-session rinsing and drying of the wet components, or smells develop. Dyson buyers accustomed to empty-and-forget dry sticks meet that reality at $500, and the 3.0-star aggregate today is the sound of that collision, more than of hardware failing.
How much floor can it wash per water fill?
One kitchen, an entryway, and a bathroom per fill is the realistic coverage, not a whole open-plan main floor. Owners with large tiled areas report mid-clean refills as routine. If your wet-clean zone is big, weigh that friction honestly against a dedicated washer or robot mop.
Is the V9 Submarine better than cheap wet-dry vacuums like the roborock F25?
On build, service, and owner-score comparison, clearly: this rates 3.0 where the F25 GT sits at 2.9 with more failure reports, and Dyson's parts ecosystem is real. Neither escapes the category's maintenance tax. The Dyson is the safer version of a demanding idea, at twice the caution money.
V9 Submarine or a robot vacuum-mop combo instead?
If your goal is minimum personal effort, a self-maintaining robot like the Qrevo class we've reviewed wins outright: it washes its own pads and asks for attention weekly, not per session. The Submarine's case is control and cordless-stick versatility in one hand, for someone who doesn't mind the sink time.
library_booksReferences & Further Reading
Our reviews are informed by peer-reviewed research and authoritative health organizations. These sources provided context for this review:
Editorial note: Links to external sources are provided for informational purposes. ReviewHubNow is not affiliated with these organizations and does not receive compensation for linking to them.
The Submarine Extra is Dyson's build quality negotiating with wet floor care's stubborn chores, and the chores mostly wi...
Based on our research and analysis, Dyson V9 Submarine Extra Wet and Dry Vacuum scored 5.9/10. See the full verdict above for who it suits — and who should pass.
View Price on Amazon Canadaarrow_forwardVerify official availabilityWhat Owners Report
Recurring themes we found across public owner reviews.
Hard-floor perfectionists who accepted the ritual describe genuinely washed floors and appreciate one machine replacing two, with the dry-vacuum side performing exactly as Dysons do.
The drying routine dominates negatives, followed by tank refills on larger floors and a general note that nothing warned them wet Dyson meant homework.
Comparisons to robot mops recur: several owners concluded a self-maintaining robot suits their laziness better, and said so while awarding three stars to a machine that worked.
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