review with features, price and specifications

This season Dyson has decided to expand its portfolio of floor cleaning products: in addition to a very light handheld vacuum cleaner (which we have tried) and a new robot vacuum cleanerhas also launched an electric mop that impresses: it is practically a stick. But this ode to minimalism It has a very competent technical sheet, so we have thoroughly tested the Dyson Pencilwash to verify it.

Dyson Pencilwash technical sheet

I can’t believe so much technology fits in that stick.

When I took it out of the box, the first thing I thought was that there were pieces missing. It can’t be that minimalist… and it is: the Dyson PencilWash is an electric mop and on the surface it’s little more than a stick. It comes with a plastic cap to cover the roller when not in use and a stand to keep the stick upright and carry it. If you want to scrub, remove the roller protector, take out the stick and put them together with the brand’s typical assembly that sounds like a clack when you put them together and has a red button to release them. The fit is perfect.

My first impression was that it’s crazy that fits all the electronics in a cylinder less than four centimeters in diameter. It may not be as much as in a vacuum cleaner, but at least it has a battery and a motor. Unlike the mop, with a stick that more or less reaches your shoulders, mop and bucket, here we have a stick that reaches my hips (I’m 1.70 m tall), the roller area and little else.

On the handle, the brand’s characteristic aluminum in a vibrant color and matte finish is transformed into a plastic cover to improve grip and immediately below, a couple of buttons to start it and choose if you want more or less water and a couple of LEDs that light up when the battery runs out, it is charging or there is a problem. All very intuitive, no need to read instructions.

As always, the most interesting thing is in that roller: it is made of an absorbent microfiber (according to the firm, with 64,000 filaments) and has eight hydration points to always be moist. A surprisingly small tank is also integrated into that area for everything it does: provide mopping water and also clean the roller.

Everyone knows the scrubbing process, but here it is much simpler, more comfortable and ergonomic: between the light weight being concentrated on the base and the roller practically sliding on its own because it is motorized, with the Dyson PencilWash the effort is limited to minimally holding and directing the handle. It can be done by (almost) anyone and here I’m also talking about accessibility: if for whatever reason you find it difficult to wring the mop or press, here you could scrub using just two fingers.

This must be thanked to a format reduced to the minimum, good distribution of the elements and that it barely weighs. In terms of design and ergonomics, Dyson has given a master class.

A week scrubbing with the Dyson PencilWash

After the first full charge and filling the tank (as easy as lifting the tab and putting the base under the tap), I got ready for my first house cleaning. As I mentioned in the design section, there is no type of power control because the motorized roller goes alone and it is not an exaggeration: if you do not hold it, it pulls forward until it hits something.

What you can choose is whether you want to scrub with a normal or high amount of water. With the normal level it is more than enough for standard cleanings. Something that I have noticed and appreciated about the classic mop is that the dosage is so good that moisten the entire soil with a thin uniform layerbut it doesn’t get puddled (something that happens with a mop if you don’t drain it well). So you wet everything but it dries moderately quickly.

To properly clean the floor with water is not enough, so even if it is not included (it must be buy it separatelyit is a probiotic cleaner with low foam and it is not exactly cheap), Dyson allows you to add a little cleaning product to the tank. My apartment is 70 square meters and in less than 10 minutes I had cleaned the floor from top to bottom. I go faster than with the mop and I work half as much.

By the way, Dyson talks about a half-hour autonomy that is enough to cover 100 square meters and the truth is, I think it has been conservative: I have been able to clean my house twice without the alarm going off, so the battery is not a problem. What you will have to do if you have a larger house is refill the tank: with its capacity I have barely managed to clean my entire house in normal mode with a certain intensity.

The elbow between the base and the handle allows the roller head to be placed almost horizontally, which is great for cleaning under furniture, so that in practice at heights it practically competes with a mop. But since it is wider than the mocho, there are places where it doesn’t fit. An example: in the space between the toilet and the bathtub. Here it’s time to grab the mop from time to time.

But it’s not only time to recover the mop to deal with dirt in places where the roller does not fit, there are also some chiaroscuro in cleaning and they are not a surprise. First of all, it is a common truism when it comes to mopping: before mopping, you have to sweep or vacuum. So far, everything is normal. It is true that at the end of the roller there is a kind of plastic stop that retains the dirt and transfers it to a small tank, but if the floor is dirty, you will drag the dirt and dirty the roller as well.

As to scrubbing qualitythe typical dry stains that remain in places like the kitchen or bathroom are removed without much effort, just a couple of passes are enough to remove dry soda. Now from time to time things happenlike dropping a coffee or shooting ketchup: the paths of accidents are inscrutable. And here the experience is still less hygienic than the mop: as you go through it you manage to remove the dirt, although not as fast or as well as the traditional method. It does the trick for small spills, but if you spill a whole cup, forget about it and grab the mop.

There is a topic that we have touched on in passing but for which it is worth stopping: maintenance. The electric mop cleans the floor, but who cleans it? Well, halfway. It is true that the head scrapes away dirt and that it washes itself with water and detergent, but you have to put in a little effort. In short, it stays wet and half clean.

That’s why when you finish scrubbing, you just have to remove the roller and wash it well and then let it dry for the next use. If you don’t do this and take the unhygienic solution of putting the cover on when it’s damp and half-clean, it’s going to smell bad sooner rather than later.

Technical sheet of the Dyson Pencilwash, Xataka’s opinion

In a predominantly Chinese market, the British Dyson continues to demonstrate that it has a lot of personality, a desire to innovate and that its devices are a reference. And although the firm is an authority in aspiration, this foray into the world of scrubbing aims to excel, as long as it is very clear what we are buying. Simply put, the Dyson PencilWash is the best electric mop I have ever tried.

Thus, it is a solvent for cleaning floors with water, dosing it well so that it dries quickly and its roller is quite effective on stains. If you already put product on it, even better for hygienic cleaning. But if there is something truly different, it is how light and manageable it is, making it a gem for those who cannot make efforts. And it has merit, because it has enough battery to clean large houses. In fact, after seeing everything this mop does, I thought how good this engineering work would be for Dyson to continue slimming down centimeters and grams from its vacuum cleaners.

Of course, it suffers from the same endemic problem as the rest, that is, it neither fits as well as a regular mop in corners nor is it as solvent for solving large spills (if you drop an espresso it will do the trick). And maintenance, although easy, is much more uncomfortable. In a nutshell: still can’t completely retire the mopbut you can leave it at the back of the closet because you are going to use it very little.

Images | Xataka

This device has been provided for testing by Dyson. You can consult how we do reviews on Xataka and our relations policy with companies.

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