Dyson DC17 Absolute Animal has clogged cyclones?

We have 3 dogs and ended up with the same problem...the "cyclone" sections of the vaccuum were totally impacted with pet hair. We had to completely disassemble the unit (which was a nightmare..tons of screws and awkward parts). Unfortunately, this needed to be repeated every month or so and when I mentioned this to the company they said that really should not happen and perhaps I wasn't cleaning the filter/canister often enough. Not true, with 3 dogs, the canister NEEDS to be emptied every other day or so. Very unhappy that we need to perform this level of maintenance on a product that is so expensive as it is.

Michelle
October 2012

We have purchased three DC Cyclone vacs over the past few years but never again! Our DC 17 is hopelessly clogged with hair inside the tiny holes of the cyclone, and even after hours of poking and plucking, it is still impacted. My calls to Dyson are met with an "I'm sorry, but you may just have to purchase a new Cyclone!" Are you kidding?!?! I spent a fortune with this company, and they won't stand behind what is clearly a flaw in the design. I should be able to take the cyclone apart to clear debris, but it is fused together. Bad rap for this company.

Rebecca
April 2011

I have the same problem and what i do is to take apart the canister where it doesn't come apart for us anyways! There are 3 clips inside holding it together but if you carelfully pry a screwdrive between the two part you can take them apart. Then there are about 6 or 8 screws that you have to take out and you will see al of the dog hair clogged up inside it. Just clean it out and put back together. I am finding I have to do this every month or more often and its getting to be a pain in the butt and its eventually going to break something.

Larry
October 2010

I had a clog on in the bottom of the u trap of the hose. I took it off and now it will not go back on. I have done this in the past and had no problem. Is there a picture I can look at to see what the problem is?

Susan
August 2010

My wife had put the 3 1/2" diameter rubber gasket ring on upside down so that the washable filter got clogged with every use and the "cyclone tower" was a mess! I applied suction to the top of the cyclone unit with my 5 HP Shop Vac and poked a coat hanger down each hole. Then I blew it out and repeated this cycle several times. Finally all the small holes were clear and the unit works great again.

fix-it husband
December 2009

IMHO, DC17 Animal has a flawed design with the sealed canister (at least as purchased in December 2006 purpotedly has been corrected at this time).

The rubber gasket (where you close the bin at the bottom) is so delicate, that even the routine maintenance of emptying the bin can dislodge it (or even crimp it) so that debris (carpet lint, pet hair, etc) enters the cyclone itself eventually clogging it.

Same experience as Mark A with customer service, but with persistence in explaining their faulty design to them (particularly with regard to the fact that it's caused by routine maintenance), they'll break down and send you a new cylone unit - from there on out ensure that the thing is sealed.

Although the original question is somewhat dated, hopefully this will save others some aggravation in dealing with the problem.

Grumpy old guy that doesn't take no for an answer...
October 2009

Mine did the same thing after about a year. It was full of carpet lint and dog hair. I took a coat hanger and straightened it out , put a 1/8th inch hook on the end and through the bottom of the canister I kept pushing it in each hole twisting it around and pulling it out. After an hour of this I ran water through it and flushed more chunks out by pounding it againts the groung carfully and also using the coat hanger followed by rinsing. I then shook the water out the best I could, sprayed lysal inside and let it dry out for 2 days. I think I will call dyson to complain, my Rainbo is 16 years old and does not reqire this kind of rediculous maintanance.

Greg
December 2008

I had the same problem. When I called the Dyson Service Department, the worthless rep told me this shouldn't happen, and all but told me I was a liar. She pointed to everything I could have done wrong. She finally sent me a replacement o-ring for the canister part, which didn't help. I've never been so disappointed in a company.

Mark A
August 2008