This tutorial will help those of you who have a Dyson clean out the cyclone tubes at the top of the Dyson canister after they become clogged. Cleaning the cyclone tubes involves taking the entire canister apart and it is not an easy process. Proceed with the repair at your own risk; it worked perfectly for my canister.
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25 Comments
I agree with the above poster craimak, this video is a horrible idea!!! just run the thing under water until all is clean dont take it apart…
thank you very much for posting this with pictures and great explanations. My Dyson smelled so horribly and come to find out 6 of the 8 tubes were blocked with dog hair and dirt. Your posting was a life saver!
This is really good info thanks. I just spent hours with a coat hanger and a bucket of water… mine’s stuffed with pillow batting and cat hair. 2 questions, has anyone tried Drain-o? AND is there some way to correct the seal?
i clean it using a hacksaw blade duct-taped to a straightened wire coat hanger – blade points pointing back towards the coat hanger.
fish the blade into each of the turbine holes, turn it around a few times to spool the cat hair around the blade, then carefully pull it out. sometimes it takes a few tries. also, a little water inside the turbines can help – turns the hair into wet slugs that hold together better.
@craigmak Thanks so much for this suggestion! I was able to get all the crud out of my vacuum. I didn’t know that it was so plugged! I had 5 or 6 long “slugs” of wet fuzz come out. Disgusting, but glad to get them out easily.
Thanks for all the good suggestions. I’ve done both the water rinse and tearing the cyclone assembly apart at different times. The water rinse should be tried first–I’ve had pretty good success with that. (Actually C4 should be tried first)! That “Star” screwdriver everyone refers to is a Torx T-15 . Buy one with at least a 6 inch length and magnetize the tip before using it. (Sears, OSH, Home Depot all carry them for <$8).
Good tutorial, I just did it & fixed my back to new. But one small correction I would make. You don’t need to plague yourself getting the first 2 screws out in step 3. You can wait and remove them when you remove the next 4.
I spent as much time trying to get those 2 out as I did with the entire rest of it. Pull the grey cylinder loose and then do it. Makes your life MUCH easier!
@ialso No, you don’t need to do it in step 3. I just found that out the hard way
Thank you! We had 5 cyclones clogged – what a mess! Feels so good to have a fully functional vacuum again
Thanks for the slide show buddy. It came in handy when I had to unclog my vaccum. I can see why you did a slide show rather than a true video though… separating the two halves with the tabs is akward and embarassing. =) ….. but you were right, it can be done with effort and slight of hand. thanks again.
Good idea, water should get most of the blockages out, but if there are long carpet strings in there (like in mine) they won’t come through the small holes at the top. But it would definitely be an improvement and may solve the problem completely. And comment501 is right too, you don’t need to remove the screws in step 3 before separating the canister, but I wrote down what I did and took pictures at the same time and since this was the only time I’ve done it and it worked, I went with it.
I have a MUCH BETTER IDEA!! Which I just performed after watching your video. Since there are no electrical components in this region of the vacuum, simply put it upside down and spray inside with a hose until the water coming out the other end is clear instead of brown. No need to take the whole thing apart!! After drying for a bit it works perfectly!!!
Thanks for the video. Your instructions were great. My only changes are as follows: 1. There is no need to remove the two screws in step 3 before pulling the canister apart (step 4). Neither of these holds the canister together. It is easier to unscrew these after the canister is apart when the other screws are removed (step 5). 2. At step 5, my star bit would not reach the screw so just used a small jewelers type flat head screwdriver to remove it no problem.
boy the vacuum that never clogs needs an instructional on HOW TO UNCLOG IT. I think dyson should keep his crapy vacuums and his lies to himself and let vacuums be made the way they are supposed to
I’ve been looking for a guide to this for a LONG time. I just wish I had a star bit screwdriver.
But now I know what to do when I get one. Thank you for uploading!
ok i have found an easier way to seperate the 2 main canister pieces if i get a chance i will do a video, you want to release the front tab first so you take a block of wood and place it under the upper part (that has the clear handle) be careful that the block is not against the bin door release now with the upper part supported there should be enough room under the lower part to push down when you see a gap place a flat blade, then rotate and do the same thing if should pull apart
do you have to take the 2 screws out in step 3 before seperating the 2 pieces it would appear that those 2 screws could be taken out with the 4 screws in step 5
It worked!!! Thanx!
Thank you very much for this video. I had 5 of the 8 cylinder’s clogged. Was a bit of a pain to get the cylinder part separated, but like you said with some frustration and time, they finally free’d. Thanks again for this video.
Long Claw Pick Up Tool reached inside the holes and plucked out six of the hole only accessable. on Wife’s Dyson DC17 Animal. I had the first two screws removed. Tool designed to retrieve drop nuts and bolts I picked up at the hardware store (Harbor Freight) that extends out with a claw and retracts (like one of those arcade games where you try to grab a prize and drop it down the chute. My air hose kept blowing dirt out??? I only got to six of the holes and pulled out most the fuzz.
i agree with the video poster — this is a difficult repair that is certain to cause at least some damage to your dyson. my full explanation is in the amazon dc17 discussion forum. google ” amazon dyson dc17 clogging problems “
If your Dyson is still under warranty you should be able to get the canister replaced. Call the Dyson service center and tell them the “design flaw” in the canister caused it to clog up, if the technician tells you they will “sell” you a new one be persistent and ask to talk to their manager. My philosophy is that for $500 the vacuum should not clog up like that, especially since there are no instructions to make sure you check that the seal is in place and no way to clean it out.
Nice video ! I needed this. I tried everyway to clean this and finally figured out through your video that the rubber lower seal had moved. Does Dyson sell or warrarnty the updated lower seal or do you recommend we rubber or silicone epoxy the seal in place.?
I don’t think so, the tabs are sealed up inside the cannister and the only way to get to them is through the side of the cannister.
If you figure something out, please let everyone know. Thanks.
Is there a way to create your own tools to remove the tabs angled in a certain manner? I hope that made sense
Coat hanger could work? or some other type of thin, round steel extensions?