Dyson Gen5detect Review

One feature we appreciate in the Gen5 that doesn't show up in cleaning performance metrics is its low-angle green LED light in the Fluffy Optic cleaner head. This light does an outstanding job of illuminating tiny dust particles that are hard to spot with the naked eye. “I loved how the Fluffy Optic's light showed me tiny bits of dirt I didn't otherwise notice on my hardwood,” noted one tester. “And when I vacuumed up the dust, the light revealed it was truly gone. So satisfying.”

Performance Comparison

Carpet Performance

When paired with its included carpet-specific Digital Motorbar cleaning head, this model has so much suction power on low pile carpet that we briefly wondered if the company behind it was somehow the beneficiary of alien technology.

While our impressions are strong with this technological wonder, we didn't let it off the hook. We tested it just like every other stick vacuum. We spread 1.5 cups of sand, rice, and Cheerios on 9' x 3' sections of low and high pile carpets, then tried to suck up as much debris as possible in just 24 seconds. We repeated the test again, measuring the results of each run for our report. If there was a large difference between the first two test runs, we added a third to ensure an accurate average.

In our tests, we use a mix of three debris types—sand, rice, and Cheerios—to uncover performance differences between vacuums. The design of the cleaner head and the suction power often determine how well a vacuum handles specific materials. For example, cleaner heads with taller front gates excel at picking up larger debris, like Cheerios, by allowing them to pass through more easily. However, this design can sometimes reduce suction efficiency for finer debris, such as sand.

We expanded our testing to larger 27-square-foot sections of carpet, better representing real-life vacuuming scenarios. Our 24-second time limit highlights performance differences, offering insights into how quickly a vacuum can clean a typical area in your home.

Low Pile

When I ran this vacuum during our low pile carpet test, it successfully collected 96% of the 1.5 cups of sand, rice, and Cheerios used. This result topped our charts even with the most competitive products to rival this cordless vacuum.

The Digital Motorhead has fairly low head gates, so it sometimes plowed Cheerios off to the edges rather than rolling over them. However, because this vacuum is so powerful, I could work faster and have more time to deal with leftover larger debris than others.

“The suction on this bad boy is crazy,” noted another tester. “I started by systematically attacking the mess, repeating my 'up, down, and over' pattern. But this Dyson crushed the smaller debris so quickly I also had time to turn around and hit the edges of the carpet.”

For those who have low pile carpets and are obsessed with sucking out every bit of sand or embedded piece of dirt, the Gen5detect is the most effective vacuum for this purpose. The drawback is the cost. For less than half the cost of this vacuum, the Shark Vertex Pro Lightweight was able to suck up 90% of the debris in our low pile test, just 6% less. Those willing to push and pull the Shark for an extra minute or two while cleaning could get very good results and bank the cost savings.

High Pile

For our high-pile carpet test, we use the same amount of sand, rice, and Cheerios spread over the same square footage as our low pile test. However, the collection rates are generally much lower because thick, shaggy carpets are much harder to clean than shorter, shallower carpets.

Interestingly, this vacuum didn't take the lead in our high pile test like it did in our low pile test. Its strong suction is biased toward small debris penetrating deep into carpet fibers. It's not as effective with larger debris, likely because its suction pulls the head down deep into the carpet, not giving much clearance for bigger material. That being said, it still posted an average pick-up of 46%.

The Digital Motorbar cleaner head has two red gates that you can open or close. The closed position creates a stronger seal on the carpet, which pulls the head down into the fibers. With the gates open, the suction is reduced, letting the cleaner head ride higher and let debris through to the roller. We kept the gates open on high pile carpet to help increase performance while also making it easier to push around.

On the forward pass, the Digital Motorbar tended to bump some of the Cheerios forward or off to the side, but I was better able to corral the errant Cheerios on the back pass, sort of shoving them under where they could be sucked up.

Overall Carpet Cleaning Performance

While the Gen5 easily topped our charts on low pile carpet, its stellar suction power reduced its effectiveness in our high pile tests. However, these numbers bear a closer look because the results speak to the type of debris more than deep-cleaning ability.

If you have high pile carpet or rugs, you may need to hit large, lightweight debris like leaves, grass, popcorn, or chips with multiple passes or angles to get the Digital Motorhead to pass over it. However, this vacuum's strong suction is a superstar at pulling up small debris that can become deeply embedded in carpet fibers. It's a winner for anyone who plays outside and tends to track in dirt or sand.

Hardwood Performance

We were left with almost nothing but positive notes on this model's ability to clean all debris on hardwood surfaces. We conducted our hardwood tests with the purposefully-built Fluffy Optic head, setting this test up like our carpet tests. We spread 1/2 cup each of sand, rice, and Cheerios over a 27-square foot test section of hardwood, then gave each machine just 24 seconds to do its best. We conduct 2-3 trials to ensure an accurate average.

Again, we combine our three types of debris to determine whether a vacuum is better for certain materials than others. The Fluffy Optic brush roll consistently delivers a stellar performance on all debris. I was amazed at how easily it rolls over any mess on a hard floor, and the sheer suction power makes tiny crumbs disappear on the first pass.

Cleaning Performance

Wow. The difference between this Dyson and a typical vacuum is huge. In 24 seconds, it seems more magical than real, easily collecting 99% of all debris.

When the Gen5detect missed something, it only seemed to occur when I happened to push a stray Cheerio or grain of rice off to the side on a glancing reverse blow.

Crevice

To assess the ability of a vacuum to tackle deep grouted areas, we first measured a set amount of sand and dumped it between bamboo slats. Then, we ran the vacuum over the slats, passing it methodically back and forth four times each way. We weighed the sand to see what percentage each vacuum could collect. Because the fibers on the brush roller can't reach all the sand in these deep crevices, vacuums that succeed need excellent suction power to lift the sand up.

This model easily outperformed other non-Dyson vacuums in this test, plus its 100% crevice clean rate was the best of any stick vacuum we tested. Those who have tile floors with grouted lines can trust this machine to keep tile clean.

Edges

For near-wall evaluation, we spread coffee grounds onto the floor along a baseboard for our edge test. Vacuums that excel in this test let you avoid attaching a crevice tool for every hard-to-reach corner or edge.

Because of its excellent edge performance, this vacuum is easily recommended for homes with many hard-floor rooms and hallways. It can also be helpful for stairs and tight areas that require a vacuum to pick up debris along edges.

Overall Hardwood Cleaning Performance

When we tallied our test results to create our hardwood ratings, the Gen5 easily topped the charts, collecting nearly every bit of rice, sand, or Cheerios in its path.

The key to this vacuum's ability to shine on hardwood seems to be a combination of its outstanding suction paired with the Fluffy Optic cleaner head. It's my favorite brush roller because it works so effectively. For top-tier performance on hardwood, this cordless stick vacuum stands out for its speed and effectiveness, making it hard to beat if price isn't a concern.

Pet Hair

For households with dogs or cats that shed constantly, the Gen5detect is a game-changer for tackling the endless shedding seasons. In our pet hair test, we spread 4 grams of pet hair across a 13-square-foot carpet section, added 1 gram of long hair extensions to mimic human hair shedding, and pressed it all into the carpet to simulate the effects of foot traffic. Each vacuum was given just 12 seconds to clean, and the collection total was measured to evaluate performance.

I was pleased to see this vacuum perform equally well on low and high pile carpets. I was impressed by how well this Dyson grabbed dog hair and sent it to the dustbin. It left a few fuzzy clumps behind, but I believe an extra pass would have grabbed the rest up completely.

When one of our dog-owning editors saw the performance of this vacuum on high pile carpet, his mouth fell open, and he instantly double-checked the price of the Gen5detect, feverishly calculating the cost against the time he previously wasted running his old vacuum back and forth. We're not sure what his calculations revealed or if he will pull the trigger on a new Dyson, but our recommendation is pretty clear: If you can afford the high price, we're confident it'll be able to suck up more pet hair than any other stick vacuum currently on the market.

Filtration & Suction

If all the stellar test results for this vacuum are starting to seem repetitive, buckle up because we've got more. Again, this one keeps blowing by the competition, not only delivering one of the best filtration scores but also the most recorded suction of every stick vacuum we tested.

Filtration

To measure filtration, we vacuum 1/3 cup of household flour in a clean room environment with two Dylos air quality sensors that measure fine particulate matter in the air. If any tiny flour particles escape or get stirred up by a vacuum, they'll spike the particulate air quality sensors.

We recorded no remarkable spike from the room's baseline, and Dylos considers any reading increase by the air quality monitors from 0 to 75 to be excellent. Why is this important? For those with household members who are sensitive to allergens or pet dander, a vacuum with a good filtration system can help maintain a healthy environment. Incidentally, while the Gen5detect has a true HEPA filter, other Dyson vacs without HEPA-certified filters were also excellent in our tests.

Suction

Often, vacuums with excellent filtration suffer from lower suction power. That's not the case here. In fact, this unit's recorded suction power measurement of 2,388 pascals is freakishly good.

With this much suction power--recorded at the Digital Motobar's cleaner head--its overall awesome performance in our debris tests should come as no surprise.

Ease of Use

With great power comes great responsibility, and unfortunately, the user is responsible for pushing this vacuum around. The powerful suction makes it difficult for this model to glide over surfaces like area rugs or transition to different terrains.

Other lighter vacuums with weaker suction tend to be easier to navigate on the carpet, sometimes at the cost of performance. Let's take a closer look at what's going on here with our Ease of Use scores to help reveal how this vacuum might work in homes.

Maneuverability

The key problem with this Dyson occurs primarily on the carpet with its Digital Motorbar head. Because it has so much suction — even in low-power modes — it creates a lot of push-resistance force. This means that we had to work harder to move the head with every stroke compared to vacuums that have less suction.

Another review analyst mentioned, “The Gen5detect would easily be my favorite vacuum if not for the weight.” Because the Dyson is harder to push and struggled in our obstacle course test, it scored below average, and we don't recommend it for elderly adults or children who might lack strength.

While this vacuum is hard to push on the carpet, it's a breeze on hardwood. However, the handheld weight still makes it cumbersome for longer cleaning sessions. Even sticking to cleaning hard surfaces, I easily got fatigued after a short time.

Maintenance

Cleaning this model isn't exactly hard, but it's not as easy as some other vacuums. Still, the manufacturer provides a lot of thorough media on their website for easy reference for those who get stuck. I appreciated how easy it was to remove the fine particle filter from the top of the handheld unit. All I had to do was tap and shake it to remove dust, then rinse it with water and let it dry overnight. I really like the built-in pictograms that show how to orient and connect the parts. However, I wish I could rinse the dustbin and not have to wipe out all the crevices by hand.

Because this vacuum is such a powerful workhorse, I wish it had a larger dustbin that better matched its high-end performance. With a capacity of 0.75L, I often needed to empty it multiple times throughout my cleaning routine.

Uphostery & Attachments

Dyson includes a handy built-in dusting and crevice tool that stays inside the main wand.

While the hidden crevice tool is cool, we fell in love with the mini motorized hair screw tool. It worked well on furniture, and it sucked up pet hair on stairs and pet beds. For jobs on softer materials like throw pillows, the combination tool has both a wide nozzle and a brush.

Battery

The Achilles heel of cordless vacuums is battery life, but this cordless machine delivers a respectable 66 minutes on its lowest power setting.

Its relatively short 7 minutes of runtime on high might be a bit disappointing. However, this vacuum is so effective in its lower settings few people will likely experience runtime issues for typical household cleaning sessions.

Should You Buy the Dyson Gen5detect?

The Dyson Gen5detect is in a long line of Dyson vacuums being marketed as a vacuum that can handle larger jobs with its increased motor size and battery life. If you want a luxury vacuum that has the power to suck sand from deep within your carpet, this is a great choice. The product is the most powerful cordless vacuum we've tested, but its raw power and weight might not necessarily be for everyone.

What Other Stick Vacuums Should You Consider?