This series will hardly be glamorous, but I am creating it in the hopes that you will have the source of information that I wish I had been able to find on the Internet as a reference ever since my husband and I became homeowners in 2013. Everything we know now we’ve had to research and figure out through trial and error on our own over the past five years. As a Millennial woman, I feel like the information available online is either written in industry-specific terms that are difficult to follow or the directions are incomplete and it seems as though major steps are unexplained throughout the process. I’m honestly not sure which one has been more frustrating for us. I consider it my pleasure to share everything that I have learned with you guys! Keep reading to learn how to deep clean your Dyson vacuum.
I’m sure that the majority of you have at least heard of Dyson products. The brand has truly become a household name because its designer, James Dyson, revolutionized the entire vacuum experience! (If you’re interested, there’s an amazing interview with Mr. Dyson on this podcast and it’s totally worth a listen! Additionally, I keep seeing ads for their new line of hair care tools and I’m super intrigued!) I truly feel that Dyson has created THE superior products on the market that are not only intuitive to use, but they make the task of vacuuming your home a much less frustrating experience. The suction from this amazing machine continues to blow me away (Mr. Dyson harnessed cyclone technology; seriously, you should listen to the podcast!) which is why I am writing this post to begin with! I always want to keep our vacuum’s suction at its optimal level to keep our house free of dirt, but the machine can only do so much on its own… it will need a little help from you periodically so that it can keep working to its full potential!
Items you will need:
– Phillips head screwdriver
– cleaning wipes (such as Lysol or Clorox brands)
– a razor blade or sharp scissors
– a dry cloth or rag
We have an upright Dyson Ball Multi Floor DC65 model. Now, because this vacuum is five years old the newer model may look a little different than mine, but I highly doubt that Dyson has changed all that much with the overall exterior design. I am confident that the information in this guide will still be applicable now with only minor changes.
This is our beloved vacuum cleaner that has helped us to keep our house free of fur, hair, dirt, and dust for the past five years!
The first step is to make sure that your vacuum is unplugged and the cord is coiled up on the mounted brackets on the back of the vacuum. At the back of the rotating brush cover there are two little knobs to turn that release the lower brush cover portion and allow it to be removed from the unit.
Next, tilt the vacuum all the way back so that the bristles on the roll brush are exposed and accessible.
The brush head can be removed for easier access by simply pulling the red clip which keeps it attached to the base.
At this point the lower brush cover can be removed to allow access to the rotating brush. This brush is removable and is actually two pieces!
Use your Phillips head screwdriver to remove the screws securing the cylinder brush head pieces.
The cylinder pieces can be removed by lifting each by the end and pulling away from the rotating motor.
Yuck! Look at all of that nasty stuff! 😖 Once you have removed both brush pieces, carefully use your sharp tool (I used a box cutter) to cut through the hair that has tightly wound itself around the brush cylinders.
My husband and I both have longer dark hair, so we’re both to blame for this super gross collection. Once you have removed all of the trapped hair, the grime accumulation (oils, dirt, dust, etc.) is accessible to scrub off of the cylinder! I ended up using every inch of about 1 Clorox wipe per cylinder… they sure needed it! 🤭
Now, to clean the brush cover, use as many sanitizing wipes as necessary to remove any built-up grime. A more eco-friendly way to clean this would be with a damp rag and a little bit of dish soap, but I love the scrubbing texture of the Clorox wipes.
Once the shield is clean, go ahead and reattach the brush cylinders in the reverse of how you removed them, replace the lower brush cover and reinsert the screws. Stand the vacuum back up to its upright position. At this point you will twist those little silver knobs back into their original position, locking everything back into place.
You’re halfway done! Great job! 💪🏼
Now it’s time to clean the canister and filters.
Go ahead and press the release button on the canister to remove it from its holder.
Over the kitchen sink or garbage can, press the release button again so that any excess dirt and dust can fall out.
To access the exterior filter, press the silver release button at the seam between the clear canister and the suction cyclone portion.
Clearing this filter up really maximizes the suction of your vacuum. In addition to (a) wiping down the exterior with a dry cloth/rag and (b) shimmying a bent fuzzy pipecleaner between the outer filter and core cylinder to remove trapped dirt and dust, I pat this whole filter core down which usually knocks a ton of dirt/dust out of the bottom of the canister. (Again, so gross – but in a weird way I also love seeing all of the junk that is no longer on my floors being sucked up and contained in the vacuum’s canister)
In order to clean the inner filter, pull on the clear handle where it meets the top of the canister lid.
Grab the cloth filter and pull it out from the inner core.
This inner cloth filter can be run under water, squeezed to remove excess moisture and left out for a minimum of 24 hours to air dry. While this filter is drying out, I usually take the opportunity to scrub the interior of the canister.
*Please note that our back yard used to be filled with tiny pebbles that our dog would inevitably track inside. Those pebbles would then get sucked up into this canister and bounce around thus causing miniscule scratches which, over time, gave my canister this permanent “frosted” look. 🤷🏼♀️
Admittedly, I recently discovered another filter. 😳 I have had this vacuum for five years and have never cleaned this filter once, and it’s supposed to be cleaned every three months! 🙈 I hope this tutorial helps you avoid making the same mistake! Who would have thought that some genius engineer at Dyson would have been able to add an additional filter cleverly hidden IN THE BALL.
Just like the filter in the core of the cyclone canister, this filter is to be run under water to rinse away captured particles and then left out to dry for 24 hours.
Once everything has dried thoroughly, replace and reattach everything as it was. Now your Dyson will be as good as new and ready to help you clean your home!!
I love seeing my vacuum all squeaky clean and sparkly! ✨
If you guys have any questions on details that I may have missed or have any other Maintenance Monday requests, feel free to leave me comment below!
xx, Natalie
Thank you! I never thought about cleaning a vacuum before! The house we just bought has an electric fireplace in it. Is there any maintenance that you have to do with a permanent, built-in electric fireplace?
I’m glad you found this guide helpful and thanks for your question, Nicole! Luckily, electric fireplaces are super low-maintenance because there’s no soot to clean! If you have any smudges or dust accumulation that you’d like to remove, just be sure that the unit is turned off (or better yet, unplugged!) and has cooled down if you’ve used it recently. Use a clean, dry cloth to remove any dust. You may use glass cleaner for any exterior smudges/fingerprints.
Hope this helps! xx, Natalie