I'm having the same problem. What do you do if the water bottle is still over half full, but collapsing? I've tried lifting the bottle, but it's being held in by the same vacuum that is collapsing the bottle. I hate to ruin the bottle by drilling a hole in the top, but unless you have a different solution, that is probably what I will have to do. At least now, once I get the bottle off, I'll know how to clean out the air vent--thank you.
You'll need to empty the bottle. Get some pitchers to empty the water into. If the water won't drain because of the vacuum created by the collapsed bottle, you can puncture the blastic bottle with an awl or something sharp. Once the water is removed you can take the dispenser apart and clean the vacuum relief valve.
@@satreguitars7946 Yes, I ended up drilling a hole to release the vacuum. I was hoping someone would have some ingenious hack, but guess not. At least I know what to do next, so thank you for that. .
