how come I can barley push it on my carpet null

Question

wb407 · Accepted Answer

I just received my vacuum. It came having this issue. Found tons of comments and reviews that make it sound as though this behavior is a feature (of improved suction) and not a bug. I already filed a warranty claim. THEN.. I found a video on youtube that everyone on this thread needs to see. I'll summarize the takeaway.. the filter on the side of the ball is not installed correctly; there are two arrows that need to be aligned perfectly. In his video, his was off by a small fraction of an inch. When I unscrewed the filter housing, I saw that mine also came pre-installed misaligned by a small fraction of an inch. I twisted the filter slightly so the arrows lined up, then screwed the filter housing back into place. Turned the vacuum on and.. suddenly it works correctly.. without any drag on either bare floor or carpet. Amazing.. such a simple fix isn't better known.. either in owner comments/discussions or by Dyson's customer service agents.. who were extremely nice and did their best to be helpful.. but they need to be trained about such issues. On the one hand, I'm disappointed that I wasted so much time today on this. On the other hand, I'm happy that my new vacuum is now working perfectly.. and amazed that such a simple fix did the trick. To others.. please spread this info. No silly hacks are needed. Original video showing this solution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3a8Y6MsHAw

Answered by wb407 5 years ago

Aimee · Answer

I had the same problem and when I called Dyson support they had me remove the black sponge liner on the inside of the roller. It was creating too much suction (according to the rep). I did that, reluctantly, since I had just paid full price out of the box. It did solve the problem, but really!

Answered by Aimee 8 years ago

Libby · Answer

I just got my Dyson and it worked perfectly on my old, thin carpeting. It picked up dirt that had been there since the 1800’s. But I had, or have the same problem when I use the vacuum on my new plush carpeting. I read all the advice and watched video, went in and lined up arrows, although they seemed to be lined up, and it didn’t help. So I tried taking the bottom plate off and it works. Not sure it has the great suction anymore, time will tell as the carpet is brand new so didn’t really need vacuuming yet. Kinda bummed I have to put on and take off depending on which carpet I’m vacuuming.

Answered by Libby 5 years ago

Answer

For those who find it very difficult to push the Dyson Ball Animal 2 through the carpet, this is an easy fix that only takes less than 5 minutes, using just 2 "O" rings.

Here is a youtube showing the fix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1GyfsXYXEE

ZiggyRules · Answer

Answer by Ziggy is the only thing that worked for me. Lining up the arrows on the filter didn’t work. Removing the bottom plate works. This vacuum worked fine on my wall-to-wall carpeting but it’s impossible to move on my area rugs over wood floor without removing the bottom plate. Two levers and it pops on and off very easily.

Answered by ZiggyRules 5 years ago

ZIGGY · Answer

its really quick and easy ro remove the black OR grey cover and the unit works quite well on shag without it. an easy fix

Memyselfi · Answer

I’ve got an animal. It too suddenly started becoming impossible to run over a carpet. I tried many things Including cleaning emptying etc. etc. I even used some WD-40 on the spindles. None of it worked. But if you look where the roller brush is there is a red plastic line on edge of roller compartment and what had happened was a black stretch of plastic had partly come out. With a screwdriver I managed to lever it back into place and it’s now perfect

Answer

My Dyson was horrible to use on carpets, too much suction and not enough muscle. I removed the face plate on the bottom as was suggested here and it works, although I had to have lost suction power. At least I can use it now. Thanks Ziggy for the tip.

Answered by Anonymous 4 years ago

Randr · Answer

Cutting two small windows into the flexible rubber gasket on the face plate vents the suction zone slightly and solves the problem. Cut a 1 inch by 1/4 inch horizontal rectangular window in the left and right sides of the gasket to perform this fix.

Answered by Randr 4 years ago

Roeming · Answer

Just replaced my carpet and then had the same problem. Dyson V7 has a removable rear sole plate (Part Number 966164-01) on the power head, oddly not mentioned in the manual. While I suspect its purpose is to facilitate cleaning, removing it solves the problem of sticking to deep pile carpet. Don't know if Dyson agrees with this solution, however removing the plate does not affect the height of the head above the carpet, as that is controlled by the odd-looking wheels on the steering knuckle (they look like Roman gladiator shields). Consequently it appears that using the power head with the rear sole plate removed is unlikely to damage anything. I found that pushing the vacuum cleaner was very difficult, but pulling it was easy. The explanation is that pushing it drives the back of it down into the carpet, whereas pulling it actually lifts the back of the head a little, thereby providing a vent to relieve the suction, which is the cause of the problem. Dyson is aware of the problem arising from new carpets, possibly due to the new carpet backing which is now used. I suspect the problem/solution applies to the V6 and V8 as well.

Answered by Roeming 5 years ago

SorinC · Answer

The best solution is to remove the black sealing gasket installed on the top part of the cleaner head. Removing the gasket creates a small gap between the top and the bottom parts of the cleaner head, sufficient to allow some air to pass through and to prevent the cleaner head to get stuck on the carpet. This also allows a free movement of the bottom part of the cleaner head so it will operate without restrictions, as originally intended. This seems to be an over-engineering error from Dyson that created a perfect vacuum chamber on the cleaner head, instead of a working vacuum cleaner.

Dman · Answer

Just got off the phone with Dyson, and they said because the suction is so strong, it’s the problem. So a $450 vacuum cleaner doesn’t work on all carpets. What a piece of CRAP. It’s going back in the box.

BillM · Answer

To fix the Animal 2 to push and pull easier on carpet, cut the rubber seal off with a razor blade on the 2 end sides of the brush bar plate. This will let a little air in and totally fix it and this is best fix so its easier to push and pull on all types of carpet. i haven't noticed any reduction of performance from doing this. Highly recommend this fix, because Dyson support will not tell you this fix because it voids the warrantee on the brush bar part.

Answer

I would try quinoa instead of barley...

Colehour7 · Answer

Because it keeps jumping from deep to bare floor!!!

Lovemydyson · Answer

After reading other answers, I cut out pieces of rubber gaskets until I got my Dyson Multifunction Ball 2 easy enough to push. Judging from amount it’s still picking up it’s fine. You would think Dyson would just make an attachment that would work on higher pile carpet.

BenM · Answer

When I line up the arrows for the side filter, the vacuum pushes and pulls easily, BUT now the vacuum screams like a Banshee. Any suggestions?

Cchrunch · Answer

Where is the video?

Oatwilli · Answer

I have a 10 year old ac powered upright that has been to it and through it. Love that vacuum. But because I have used it like a shop vac, my wife would like to replace it with a newer model. Enter the animal ball 2. Could not wait to use it. But hold on! After cleaning the hardwood floors, it came time to do the carpet. Oh no! Am stuck. Wont move. So much suction I can't move it. This cant be right. This is a space age vacuum. Made by Dyson. I must be doing something wrong. Took it apart, inspected. Put back together. No change. When in doudt, google it. HS! People have been having this problem for a long time. There are all sorts of "fixes". So I called Dyson. He said it was the first time he has heard of that problem. I asked him what I should do. He said take it back. Sign me a very disappointed Dyson fan.

DysonProductExpert · Answer

Hi Bren, this is Krystal with Dyson. We are sorry to hear your vacuum is hard to push. We would like to address this and ensure your vacuum is working as intended. Please contact us at askdysonUS@dyson.com with your serial number, description of issue or concern and your contact information and we will be happy to help.

Best Wishes,
Krystal
Dyson Customer Service

mikenart · Answer

Can confirm the solution to remove the bottom plate to address suction being too strong on low surfaces works. I have an area rug that would cause the Dyson (right out of the box, mind you - the first vacuuming) roller to simply stop due to the resistance being too strong. Setting it from carpet to hardwood floor (no roller) just made it worse. 

By flipping the two little red tab/levers the entire bottom plate just pops off. It increases air flow and then worked like a dream. I cannot verify how much suction is lost by doing this, but it seemed to pick up dirt well enough. Afterward, I just popped it back on and clicked the red levers and it was good to go. A minor inconvenience for the overall power, but I can understand why this might be too much of a hassle for some.

ChaoticK · Answer

If it has a small ball with filter, it can be that the arrows inside are not matched up exactly, follow days on support to open ball, align the arrows, put together and hey presto it is all fine again

Zippydidodah · Answer

Because of the incredible suction of the vacuum. Do you have a longer nap carpet? That’s my guess.

AHardin · Answer

When switching from hardwood to carpet, make sure you press the silver button next to the on/off switch. That will raise the bar on the head and make it easier to transfer to carpet flooring

Ralph · Answer

Try pulling it, if to weak to push.

Shag from the 70's should be thrown outside.

“how come I can barley push it on my carpet”

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