Cleaning a Clogged Dyson DC17 Animal - Cleaning Clogged Cyclone Tubes in Canister 

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!

Used this video as a guide and now my 5 year old DC17 works like brand new again - cleaned it out completely washed everything let it dry used a hair dryer to speed things up and reassembled everything and WOW its like new again...Thanks a million times over for taking the time to upload this video!!!!

thanks so so much. When bikeriding with my family I found set out with the trash a Dyson DC animal 17. I told my husband they were very expensive and I wanted it. He carried it home on the bike for me. :) I first just blew it out with the air compressor but it still smelled. I then contacted Dyson and found out about the hepa filter and the other filter (forgot name) and purchased at local vacuum store. They suggested getting it cleaned for $70. I tried the water and its great with new filters

Thank you for posting this. This worked great. I found that you do not have to undo the 2 screws in the middle before taking the bottom part off. once the bottom piece is off then all the screws need to come out. Amazing how much crap was in there.

The BEST vacuum I've ever had. I'm a mother of 32 years, have 4 kids and many pets. So a vacuum is as important to me than a car. I would not trade my dyson for any other, even if offered money to do so. But I don't know how to take it apart...YET!

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.

I got mine out of a dumpster and flushed it both ways with water, helped a lot but there is still some restriction. I was going to disassemble but thought I would check it out on youtube first. Thanks for the demo. They are "Torx" bits, by the way. If I remember right a T-15.

Thank you! We had 5 cyclones clogged - what a mess! Feels so good to have a fully functional vacuum again :-)

Thanks for posting this. All 8 cyclones in my parents DC17 were jam packed. Now that the bottom seal is realigned this shouldn't happen again.

Thanks for posting this video. We now have a fully functioning vacuum. THANK YOU

Was ready to buy a new Dyson when I read this, worked great, thanks for saving me hundreds

I spent most of the weekend trying to flush out the cyclone chambers, using a coat hanger, long screwdrive, and anything I could find. Not knowing what it looks like in there was driving me crazy. Now I know, but I am not going to try to take it apart. I am hoping that once it dries out, it will work a little better. Mine is out of warranty unfortunately, but thanks for posting this.

GREAT GREAT GREAT Video ! Worked perfectly ! It was difficult to pry the two part apart but it finally did. Thank you for the step by step !

Thanks, great movie! I just took ours apart (running water through it, did not help). I might have an older or newer model than yours, mine did not have the tabs! (we bought it in 2007). I will probably just end up gluing the part that keeps moving on. Thanks again!

@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.

This is awesome...our DC17 has been RIP for the last 6 months (went back to using daughter's Shark...eh). This took some time but my vac runs like it did when it was new. Replaced the two filters at the same time just to finish the deep cleaning. I'm confident that 4 daughters using the vac without emptying the cannister created the problem. My only disappointment is that Dyson did the bad deed by making their product that allows dust in places it shouldn't be and didn' t make the cleaning process customer friendly...shame on you! Thank you pdkf816 for a very helpful post!

I did the same thing, and I finally just took it apart. There is no way I could have ever cleaned it out any other way. All of the chambers were clogged with hair. I'm amazed it was still sucking anything up.

The screws are all Torx T15 in size. I am thinking if you get a Torx T15 long screw driver you could get them all very easy. The other guys comment is spot on about not taking out the first two screws that are in the video - you can just pull the bottom off then it is much easier to get to the rest of the screws.

video is very good ,but you need to show how to separate tube after taking out your first 2 screws,a photo of you doing this would be very helpful. it acts like you need to know what tools were used and how. thank you

i bought a used one. just noticed its missing the gasket on the bottom. how can i tell if i already have the newer model? how can i get just the gasket? is there any other changes internally between the old gasket and new gasket model?

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 "

It worked!!! Thanx! :)

I have same concern as recruiting did. After 4 Lo''''''' employees we still did not get apart. Then I noticed the silacone seal. I have the 28. Looks just like this.

what is the part number of the seal at bottom of canister..cant seem to find it.

Is there a part number for the new gasket.

Where can I buy the new version canister with the 1/8" rubber lip?

What about the gasket that looks like clear silicone where the "hidden clips" are? No one addresses that in these videos? Once it's pried off and separates there is a clear silicone type gasket that look like it was put there to seal it. I see the gaskets in all the videos but no one mentions it upon re-assembly. What did you do for this issue? Use new silicone for a gasket? Thanks!

Rotate the canister which way (clockwise or counterclockwise)? Apply pressure where? I've spent over 2 hours trying to separate these two halves and have made zero progress! Do you need tools or can you just use your hands? Since I don't know where to pry, I am just using my hands.

search for 'Dyson animal's clogged filter solved' for a related issue solution. It's a must see simple fix!

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.?

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 have Videos on the newest Dyson upright clogging

Dyson is also sending me a new cyclone. If you are within warranty, it's worth it to give me a call.

Is there a way to create your own tools to remove the tabs angled in a certain manner? I hope that made sense :D Coat hanger could work? or some other type of thin, round steel extensions?

Dyson is sending me a new, modified cyclone at no charge since my vacuum cleaner is still under warranty. I just quits working altogether now, and the filter is clogged with dog hair and fine dust from each use. It's a mess. Wish I had known about this issue long ago as I have been dissing dyson on facebook for months now.

i found the part number for the seal alone. not sure if its for the old or new seal. i think old since its not in stock anywhere. its called the FDC seal DY-91229901

I have no freaking idea to remove the top part from the inside tabs. I would pay somebody to do this for me because I can't do it all. I don't even know where to begin.

THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! pdkf816

OMG THE DYSON CLOGED

Call them, not me. :)

Solution, get a Kirby and you won't have to deal with clogged cyclones.

use a screw driver

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...

PS all the tunnels were clogged with dog hair and other randomness - pretty disgusting

Took one apart and soooo apparent was the shitiness of dyson products. Just an observation about dyson; not a comparison.

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

People should empty there Dyson s popular OK clowns