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- The Dyson PencilWash (AUD$499) is the brand’s most affordable new product.
- It uses a filter-free design to prevent sludge, blockages, and odours.
- A 300mL tank cleans up to 100m² of hard flooring.
- The ultra-slim mop head allows cleaning under low furniture (15 cm).
- It will be available for purchase starting March 5, 2026.
The vacuum and mop industry is at a turning point, and it’s your fault. With an influx of Chinese brands and products from the likes of Shark Ninja, Dreame, Roborock, and about 20 others, consumers are voting with their wallets, and heritage brands like Dyson have felt the brunt financially. Like DJI did to GoPro, and BYD did to Mazda, the industry shake-ups that we’re seeing are forcing brands to innovate (and sell) better products at more affordable prices.
Enter the Dyson PencilWash (AUD$499), which is the brand’s most affordable new product in years. We had to double-check the price point at first because the hard-floor mop is cheaper than Dyson’s OnTrac headphones were before they went on a permanent 50% off sale ($400 is a bargain).
Released soon after the brand’s PenvilVac entered the market, it swaps out suction power for hydration, agitation, and extraction, to deliver a hygienic clean with fresh water only. This is smart because Dyson’s new consumers don’t own large family homes. The new Dyson buyer probably owns small apartments with hard floors, and a hard-floor mopping routine has most likely replaced a traditional vacuum cleaner in these circumstances.
It’s why we’re not particularly concerned about the 30 minutes of runtime (3.5 hours for a full charge) the brand claims. This isn’t a product designed to clean your entire house in one swoop, it’s designed to clean up a mess that your animal (or your mate) left on the floor the night before. With two customisable hydration modes to adjust water flow, you can decide which to use for different floor types, light spills, or stubborn stains.
The other concern from the spec sheet was the measly 300mL clean-water tank and the 360mL dirty-water tank. However, we’ve never maxxed out a water tank before, and Dyson says this water tank capacity would allow you to clean up to 100 m² of flooring on a single clean-water tank (about the size of an average four-room apartment in Sydney). That’s if you use the low-hydration mode based on a single clean-water tank fill, and we’d expect actual coverage to vary considerably based on our past testing.
Like the PencilVac, the PencilWash uses a completely filter-free design, which means sludge, blockages, trapped dirt, bacteria, and odour are eliminated, and we wouldn’t expect a drop in performance either, if the PencilVac is anything to go by.
| Dyson PencilVac™ | Dyson PencilWash™ | |
| Primary Function | Dry vacuuming | Wet washing & spill pickup |
| Cleaning Method | Suction (140,000 RPM motor) | Hydration, agitation, and extraction |
| Floorhead Tech | Fluffycones™ (hair detangling) | High-density microfibre wet roller |
| Debris Storage | 0.08L dustbin (with air compression) | 300mL clean tank / 360mL dirty tank |
| Weight | ~1.8kg | 2.2kg |
| Filtration | Dual-stage sealed filtration | Filter-free design |
| Runtime | Up to 30 mins | Up to 30 mins |
Cleaning power comes from a high-density microfibre roller with 64,000 filaments per cm². The roller then spins at 650 RPM to rapidly remove both wet and dry debris, continuously extracting it from the roller on every rotation. The hydration system is precision-engineered with an 8-point design that delivers a consistent supply of fresh water to the roller.
We haven’t had a chance to hold it in hand just yet, but based on our prior testing of the PencilVac, the 2.2kg weight should really feel more like a few hundred grams in the hand (Dyson says 380g). It measures 266.5mm (L) x 198.3mm (W) x 1,158mm (H). Maneuverability is key to the device, lying flat to 170º to clean tight spaces, and cleaning under low furniture with just a 15cm clearance. It sounds like the perfect addition to any city apartment.
“We’re keen on making machines smaller and lighter while dramatically improving performance,” said John Churchill, Chief Technology Officer at Dyson. “PencilWash applies that thinking to wet cleaning: our slimmest, ultra-light format that glides effortlessly and reaches where others can’t. Using hydration, agitation and extraction, it delivers a hygienic clean with fresh water only, supported by our filter-free system. It brings the simplicity of a broom together with the precision and power from Dyson engineering.”
The Dyson PencilWash (AUD$499) will be available to buy directly from Dyson starting March 5th, 2026.
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