How should I clean the ribbed filter? Can I rinse it under a tap?

The filter is usually replaced or washed.

Not picking up? Usually caused by a clogged vacuum line/filter or full bag. First, check your filters/bag for capacity. Next, inspect the ribbed hose. If it's heavier than normal, your clog is probably in there. You can clear it by gently squeezing to find the foreign body that has likely become wedged into the ribbing, and while squeezing, apply a twist to dislodged it from the ribs. Then shake it gently to allow the clog to fall out into a dust pan or trash can. If the hose is lite, it's likely a foreign body lodged into the tube of the lower housing where the wheel brush forces it up the curved tube with the air vacuum before it reaches the flexible hose. You should be able to clear this by disconnecting the hose from the lower housing, possibly removing a lower faceplate from the wheel brush area, and fish a coat hanger or other flexible but rigid object through the tube to dislodge the debris.

Hi there! If the filter is clogged this will cause the vacuum to lose suction and possibly shut-off. Below are instructions to checking and cleaning your filters.

1. Remove the dirt cup. Twist off the dirt cup lid.
2. Remove the filter cartridge from dirt cup.
3. Separate the foam and cartridge filters. Wash foam filter under running. Allow 24 hours to air dry outside the vacuum.
4. Tap the excess dirt out of Hepa filter. Hepa filter may also be washed. Allow 24 hours to air dry.
5. Check the secondary filter by removing the filter cover from base. Rinse the foam filter under running water until it runs clear. Allow 24 hours to air dry.
6. The red baffle tube inside of the dirt cup is apart of the filtration of the vacuum and needs to be cleaned as well. Twist out the baffle tube by turning 1/4 turn clockwise. Remove any hair or debris wrapped around baffle tube. Baffle tube can be rinsed if needed. Allow to dry thoroughly.

If the filters are too dirty they may need to be replaced. With regular maintenance the filters should be replaced about once a year. Follow the links below to order replacement filters for your UH20020.

Primary Filter
Exhaust Foam Filter

Hope this helps!

Hello! Sounds like your vacuum may be overheating. This is usually caused by either a clog or a filter that needs to be cleaned. Please try the steps below to get your vacuum back up and running.

1. Remove the hose from both ends by pressing the release buttons.
2. Use a broom stick or something similar to gently loosen and remove any clogs from the hose.
3. Remove the nozzle from the cleaner by pressing the release button and pulling the nozzle from the body.
4. Use a wooden spoon or something similar to loosen up and remove any clogs from the nozzle or the lower tube.
5. Remove the dirt cup. Lift open the lid to the dirt cup.
6. Remove the filter from dirt cup. Remove the filter frame from dirt cup. Hold filter under running water to rinse. Allow 24 hours to air dry before replacing.
7. Check the exhaust filter by twisting off the filter cover.
8. If dirty, the exhaust filter can be washed as well. Hold filter under running water to rinse. Allow 24 hours to air dry.

This should stop the vacuum from overheating. If not please reach out to us here on Fixya, Facebook.com/dirtdevil or Twitter @DirtDevil. Thanks!

Hello! It sounds like your vacuum has lost suction. This is caused by either a clog or a filter that needs to be cleaned or replaced. Please try these brief trouble-shooting steps.

1. Remove the dirt cup. Twist off the dirt cup lid.
2. Remove the filter cartridge from dirt cup.
3. Separate the foam and cartridge filters. Wash foam filter under running. Allow 24 hours to air dry outside the vacuum.
4. Tap the excess dirt out of Hepa filter. Hepa filter may also be washed. Allow 24 hours to air dry.
5. Check the secondary filter by removing the filter cover from base. Rinse the foam filter under running water until it runs clear. Allow 24 hours to air dry.
6. The red baffle tube inside of the dirt cup is apart of the filtration of the vacuum and needs to be cleaned as well. Twist out the baffle tube by turning 1/4 turn clockwise. Remove any hair or debris wrapped around baffle tube. Baffle tube can be rinsed if needed. Allow to dry thoroughly.
7. Remove the hose from both ends. Use a broom stick to loosen and remove any clogs from the main hose.
8. Remove the bottom plate and the brushes as instructed in the owner's manual. Use a wooden spoon or something similar to gently break up and remove any clogs from the lower hose.

If the filters are too dirty they may need to be replaced. With regular maintenance the filters should be replaced about once a year. Follow the links below to order replacement filters for your UH20020.

Exhaust Foam Filter
Primary Filter

Hope this was helpful!

Hello! The vacuum will reset itself, you only need to allow it time to cool off.This can take up to an hour. Overheating is usually caused by a clog or a filter that needs to be cleaned or replaced. Below are simple instructions for checking your vacuum for clogs.

1. Remove the dirt cup. Twist off the dirt cup lid.
2. Remove the filter cartridge from dirt cup.
3. Separate the foam and cartridge filters. Wash foam filter under running. Allow 24 hours to air dry outside the vacuum.
4. Tap the excess dirt out of Hepa filter. Hepa filter may also be washed. Allow 24 hours to air dry.
5. Check the secondary filter by removing the filter cover from base. Rinse the foam filter under running water until it runs clear. Allow 24 hours to air dry.
6. The red baffle tube inside of the dirt cup is apart of the filtration of the vacuum and needs to be cleaned as well. Twist out the baffle tube by turning 1/4 turn clockwise. Remove any hair or debris wrapped around baffle tube. Baffle tube can be rinsed if needed. Allow to dry thoroughly.
7. Remove the hose from both ends. Use a broom stick to loosen and remove any clogs from the main hose.
8. Remove the bottom plate and the brushes as instructed in the owner's manual. Use a wooden spoon or something similar to gently break up and remove any clogs from the lower hose.

If the filters are too dirty they may need to be replaced. With regular maintenance the filters should be replaced about once a year. Follow the links below to order replacement filters for your UH20020.

Hope this was helpful!

Primary Filter
Exhaust Foam Filter

Hello, this is Ava with Think Crucial.

If the dust cup is too full, there is no space for the dirt to go when you are vacuuming. To fix this, remove the dust cup and empty the it. If your vacuum is still not picking up dirt after emptying the dust cup, there may be something blocking the airway. There are two places where you can check for a blockage: the dust cup air duct and the intake opening behind the brush roll. To check for a blockage in the dust cup air duct stand the vacuum upright and remove the dust cup. Now you can disconnect the super stretch hose and check for clogs in the air duct behind the dust cup. If that is not the case, to check for a clog near the roller brush lay the vacuum down. Next check the opening behind the brush roll for clogs. If there is debris, clean the opening with scissors, carefully cutting away any debris.
Uncleaned filters may also the reason why your vacuum has lost suction. To clean the foam and felt filters, remove the dust cup and pull out the two filters that are on the top of the motor base. Rinse the filters with lukewarm water until the water is running clear. Let the filters dry fully before putting them back into the vacuum. If your vacuum is still not picking up dirt, you may need to replace it.
Unfortunately, if none of the other solutions worked, your motor is going bad. Most of the time a new motor costs as much as the vacuum itself and it is not easy to replace the motor. It may be time for a new vacuum.

You can purchase a wide variety of high quality Dyson replacement parts for your Dyson Vacuum direct from Think Crucial with free shipping and an exclusive 10% coupon for Fixya.com readers, use code: FIXYA10

https://www.thinkcrucial.com/search?type=product&q=dyson

I hope this was helpful.

Ava B.
Think Crucial Customer Care
http://www.thinkcrucial.com/

You might want to check three things. First, is the washable filter under the dust bin clean. Take off the dust bin, open the filter cover and check the washable filter. Wash it while you are at it, let it dry 12 hours. Next, make sure the gasket that seals the flip open door to the center of the dust bin is on correctly. Owner's manual shows the correct way and you want to be sure the ribs on the gasket are seated in the grooves on the center tube in the dust bin (this will also cause your washable filter to clog really badly if not on correctly. Third, your cyclone could be plugged with hair or something. This will happen if you pick up something wet, or damp or clean up lots of pet hair. Here's a good site on how to take your cyclone apart and clean it. http://www.exonotes.com/content/node/4

The Flange in question is about one inch tall and and approx 4 inches circular ..... When you pull the canister (container to empty) off and empty the contents in the trash .... some of us tap it to get the excess out or off the sides ..... That Flange is the rubber piece attached to the bottom of the darker gray cylinder inside the canister you are emptying. When you tap the canister or after dumping it numerous times that flange can work itself (slide) up the darker gray cylinder ...... it needs to be slid downward and overlap the bottom when you close the canister from dumping it. You can remove the flange and see the grooves .... replace it back on with it hanging off a little to allow for overlap. That should decrease the amount of excess being trapped in the filter. Hope this helps.

1. Make sure the hose attachment is pushed all the way down into its receptacle. It will click softly when it's all the way down.

2. Detach the hose from the machine. Do this by twisting the grey fitting on the back of the machine. (Note: leave the attachment end of the hose plugged into the machine) Turn the machine on. Hold your hand over the hose fitting. If there's strong suction then there is a blockage in the hose.

3. If not, check in the fitting to see if something is stuck in there. On the back of the machine there is a long clear tube that travels down the back of the machine. Sometimes larger peices of paper get stuck in there. If something is in this tube, take a phillips screwdrive, remove the 7 black screws off and remove the blockage. Reassemble and try the machine.

4. There are two filters on this machine. The one that may be clogged and affecting the suction is located below the canister in the front of the machine. Simply pull ouot the tray and reomve the grey foam filter to clean. Rinse it out with warm water then allow it to dry. Replace in its tray then slide the tray back into the machine. The other filter is the HEPA filter and has nothing to do with the suction of the unit. It is an exhaust filter and does need to be changed at least once a year. It filters the air coming out of the machine. The first few times we used ours the whole house smelled "clean". Whne a new filter is placed in the machine that "clean" snmell returns. The filters are $25 apiece at Amazon.com.

5. As a maintainence item, remove the canister as though you were going to empty it. Place it on the ground, locate the two buttons (one clear plastic/one blue) on the front and back of the canister and remove the clear plasctic housing. This will allow you to clean the hundreds of little holes on the grey surface of the top of this section. (This looks like a circular colender.) To clean this, use an old toothbrush and scrub the dust and stuff into your grabage can. I do this once or twice a year. (Since I have a Shop Vac in the garage, I use this instead of a toothbrush.)

Hope this helps.