Dyson PencilWash test. The wife won’t get a pencil

A stick, a rag and a bucket of water – this was the mop I used to wash floors for most of my life and which I honestly hated. Well, it’s 2026 and modern technology has become a permanent presence even in this area. For some time now I have had the opportunity to wash the floors with a new electric mop Dyson PencilWash and right from the beginning I must admit that it aroused much more positive emotions in me than its “analog” predecessors.

But before we move on to why I liked this equipment so much and why it will not work in every situation, it would be worth saying in two words what we are dealing with. Dyson PencilWash is electric mop intended only for wet cleaning. This is not a hybrid with a vacuum cleaner, but equipment with a clear specialization. At the same time, it is probably the lightest equipment of this type on the market at the moment, and its official price in Polish stores is PLN 1,449.

What do we get for this money? Not much, really the box only contains space for the mop and the charging station. The set is very modest, although it must be admitted that it contains everything necessary to use the equipment.

However, moving on to the star of the program, it must be admitted that The Dyson PencilWash is completely unlike what we usually associate with electric mops. There is no large, gigantic water tank, no profiled handle, and even the head itself, with an electric brush, does not seem overly massive. Comparisons with traditional “analog” mops seem to be justified.

At the same time, the Dyson PencilWash doesn’t look too much like… a Dyson. The manufacturer is famous for its flashy style combining unusual shapes with characteristic purple and orange colors. However, the test hero does not leave much room for such excesses, therefore the only typically “Dyson” element is a copper-colored pipe.

Well, speaking of which, then the pipe only serves as a handle. There are power buttons and buttons for the amount of water dispensed, diodes indicating the device’s operating status, and a battery that can be removed and easily replaced.

The entire mop mechanism is actually concentrated in the head, where we find the motor, washing roller and tanks for clean and dirty water. Of course, the construction here has its limitations, which is especially noticeable in the case of the latter. Their capacity is very modest, because it amounts to 300 and 340 ml.

What I must praise is this easy access to all operating elements. Just slide the housing off the brush and you can easily dismantle the roller and replace the water. Fortunately, there are no delicate latches or hard-to-reach nooks along the way.

And actually, at this point it would be worth mentioning in two words about the workmanship very high level. The vacuum cleaner tube is metal and solid, while the remaining elements are mostly made of high-quality materials. The whole thing is well put together and makes a solid impression.

I would also like to write something about docking station, except there’s not much to say here. Maybe it’s just that for me it’s probably the biggest disappointment of the set. Generally, it takes the form of a small cone with a permanently attached power cable. We can attach a vacuum cleaner tube to this cone for charging and place the set somewhere in the corner.

But that’s right – a pipe. What about the rest? We have to dismantle the brush to store the mop and keep it somewhere nearby. It’s true that the manufacturer didn’t leave us completely in the lurch, because he provided a plastic drip tray for it. However, this does not change the fact that for a product of this class it was all solved rather inelegantly.

As I mentioned earlier, Dyson PencilWash is a product intended strictly for wet cleaning of floors. There is no vacuuming function here, and mopping is done using motorized roller regularly rinsed with water.

It is a very simple structure, as evidenced by the fact that there are no additional functions such as built-in backlight, and the device itself theoretically offers three but in practice, only two cleaning modes differing in the amount of water dispensed (MAX 1 and MAX 2 differ only in the working time with greater intensity).

It is worth noting that even in this more economical setting, the mop does not skimp on it at all. Even after a single ride, the floor remains visibly wet, and the moisture is not sucked out 100% effectively.

In general, however, in terms of everyday cleaning, the Dyson PencilWash performed fully satisfactorily during the tests. The mop is good at removing current dirt from hard surfaces. Of course, the condition for effective cleaning in this type of structures is to dry vacuum the given area first, but even if this step was omitted, the test hero performed better than most mops I have ever used.

Dried dirt turned out to be a challenge, which the soft roller could not effectively scrub. Disappointing, although unfortunately quite typical for this type of solutions.

What must be admitted is the Dyson PencilWash drives like gold. This is probably the most comfortable vacuum cleaner equipment I have ever used. The brush moves effortlessly, turns in any direction practically on the spot, and we can get under a large part of the furniture because the tube can be tilted almost flat. From this point of view, the test hero made a huge impression on me In my opinion, this is its greatest advantage.

The test hero can wash the surface once up to 100 m², which results from the capacity of the water container. Alternatively, the second limitation is the battery, which has to last as long as possible 30 minutes of work. These values ​​are provided by the manufacturer and they roughly coincide with what I observed during tests. This means that despite its compact dimensions, the device should work successfully in most apartments, although it may be different in larger areas and in single-family houses.

Dyson PencilWash is a very good mop. It can clean the floor effectively, is extremely comfortable and, despite its small size, is enough to clean the entire apartment. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do and does it very well.

The problem is that it doesn’t actually do much more than my old mop that I wrote about in the introduction. Sure, I use it much more pleasantly, but here we come to an important difference: the former cost me about PLN 20, and the Dyson costs PLN 1,449. This is a much exaggerated comparison, but the fact remains that for a mop that, apart from wet cleaning, does not really offer us anything more, this is a very excessive amount.

Of course we pay extra for high-quality workmanship, great ergonomics and a well-known brand – I suspect that for many people this will be enough of an argument to reach deeper into their wallets. However, I think that for most users, a better solution will be to choose more universal equipment (e.g. a wet & dry vacuum cleaner) or simply cheaper one.