Has your Dyson lost its suction power? Observing that it’s taking the vacuum more time than normal to remove dirt and pollutants? Then it’s time for you to clean its filter.
Dyson is of the opinion that as long as you properly maintain the machine – which, in simple words, that means regularly cleaning the vacuum’s filters – its vacuums will never lose their suction power. Now that your machine is showing such signs, it’s time for you to roll up your sleeves.
That said, not all filters who need cleaning affect a model’s suction power.
Instead, in the worst-case scenario, filters which dirty require the vacuum in which they’re residing to work harder to suck-in and eliminate dirt and pollutants from your home. That, in turn, might decrease the shelf-life of your vacuum’s motor since it will be the one bearing the brunt of more demand for power.
So it is imperative for you to clean the filter of your Dyson regularly.
How to Clean a Dyson Filter
Follow the following steps to clean the filter of your Dyson vacuum
Step #1: Identify Your Vacuum’s Model Number
Regardless of which model you might be used, all Dyson vacuums have a sticker on their body. Written on top of this sticker are three digits which are your unit’s model number. In case you can’t find it on the top of the body, look behind the hose or the base which separates the two wheels.
Conversely, if you’re still having trouble finding your unit’s serial number, Dyson’s website has the necessary help to guide you towards your cordless vacuum’s serial number.
Step #2: Enter your serial number on Dyson’s site
One of the reasons why Dyson has built a $3 billion empire is because it keeps its customers happy. You’ll be able to verify this claim once you visit Dyson’s support site. Once there, enter your model’s serial number and a number of images with captioned descriptions will appear on your screen.
Regardless of whether you own a canister vacuum, an upright vacuum or a cordless stick vacuum, you’ll be able to find an image that matches your machine. Click on the image, and a new webpage would appear. Select “Wash the filter” option and follow the instructions.
Step #3: Remove the filter
Unplug your vacuum, and turn to its user-manual to identify the location of the filter, as not all Dyson models have their filters in the same place. For instance, while Dyson Ball vacuums have their filter inside the ball, traditional Dyson vacuums store the filter inside the main casing.
Assuming that you have a Dyson Ball model, pushing a button will open up the housing and you should easily be able to pull out the filter. However, if your model doesn’t have a ball, all you’d need to do to reveal the filter is to press a button lying on the vacuum’s body.
Tip: Some Dyson vacuums have two filters, with the second filter lying above the canister. You can remove the 2nd filter by first removing the canister, and then pushing a button to detach the filter’s housing from the vacuum’s body.
Step #4: Washing the filter
Provided you don’t have a very old Dyson model, its filter would most definitely be washable. Once you have removed it, rinse the filter with cold running water. Keep on doing it until you’re sure about the filter being dirt-free.
Most people think that cleaning their vacuum’s filter with soap would result in better cleaning. Dyson disagrees. It is of the view that all you need to wash your vacuum’s filter is cold water. Even hot water isn’t recommended by the manufacturer to clean its model’s filters.
Step #5: Reinstalling the filter
If your model has only one filter, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to place the filter back in its original place. However, if your model comes with two filters, you might be confused about the exact location of each of them.
Remember, almost all Dyson vacuums, which have two filters, have both of them with a separate design. For instance, while it’s common for the post-motor filter to be HEPA, the pre-motor filters are mostly non-HEPA. Hence the reason why you need to place each filter back exactly from where you removed it.
Step #6: Checking filters (optional)
As you might have guessed, the filter cleaning process involved the first five steps only. This sixth step, therefore, is concerned with how you can maintain the optimum performance of your filter and clean it before it gets so clogged as to affect your model’s suction power.
Filters which are brown or black are a telltale sign that dust has impregnated them, so you don’t have any choice but to clean them. Conversely, if you don’t want to open your machine every few weeks to check the color of its filter, we recommend that you clean the filter once every six months.
Summary
Regardless of whether you have a corded or cordless vacuum cleaner, the abovementioned steps would come handy in cleaning both. Provided you can follow them to the letter, your vacuum would get back its original suction power.
