Fix a Dyson Vacuum Hose

Intro: Fix a Dyson Vacuum Hose

This will show you how to fix a tear near the end of a Dyson vacuum hose.  I have the Dyson DC07 and it developed a tear near the business end of the hose after about 3 years.  The tear was so close to the end, I hated the thought of throwing the whole thing out when it looked like it should be really easy to fix.

The Dyson hose, when stored, hides up under a plastic sheath.  To remove it, you have to pull on the hose, which puts added stress on the hose and can result in tears as the hose ages.

I made a slight improvement as well.  Although it is a trade off, I also shortened the hose by a few inches so you can pull it out by grabbing the plastic end, instead of pulling the hose.

STEP 1: Tools

You will need a flat head screwdriver, utility knife, super glue (epoxy, or other very strong plastic glue), and wire cutters.

STEP 2: Take the End of the Hose Assembly Apart

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This step is the most challenging, and based on others' experiences, the tabs are prone to breaking before coming off.  Others have overcome this using different techniques.  I've included some tips from the comments, but read through them below to get additional thoughts.
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We need to disassemble the hose end first, to cut out the bad part of the hose.

Before you gather your tools, put some water on to boil, to help make this step easier.

First, submerge the hose end in hot water, up to and including the tabs, to soften the plastic and make everything a bit more flexible and workable.  Take a quick break, and let the hose soak for about 5-10 minutes.

Now, start by releasing the two black tabs on each side to release the hose.   Hold the hose end with the lock button on top and squeeze the sides to relieve pressure on the two black tabs.  Using the screw driver, push hard in on the first black tab, then rotate the screwdriver handle towards the open end of the hose, prying the tab out of the hole, until it clicks.  Turn the hose end over and repeat for the other side.  When the 2nd tab clicks out, the hose will easily release from the hose end.

Be very careful with the gray plastic business end.  There are two small springs that are used for putting tension on the yellow lock button.  With the hose separated, these springs are lose and can easily come out if you're not careful.  They are easy to put back in place if they do come out, but they're small and could easily be lost if you don't keep a close eye on them.

STEP 3: Remove the Black Plastic End of the Hose

Using a combination of wire cutters and brute force, remove the black plastic piece from the end of the hose.  You will be left with something that looks like this.

STEP 4: (Optional) Shorten Hose Slightly

This step is to make it easier to remove the hose from its hiding place and put less stress on the hose end when pulling it out.

I selected about 1.5" of hose to remove, based on a quick and rough measurement when my vacuum was fully assembled.

Using the wire cutters and the utility knife, clip the hose wire at your selected spot and then finish by cutting through the plastic hose until you have completely removed the extra section of hose.

STEP 5: Cleanup Hose End

We want to cleanup and prepare the end of the hose for re-attaching.

First thing is snipping up the end to make it fit the black plastic piece again.  Make a clean cut on the end of the wire, then cut a V into the plastic hose to remove some excess so the wire fits snugly together.

When all cuts are made, wipe down the inside of the hose to remove all the years of dust accumulation.  This will help the glue stick to the hose.

STEP 6: Cleanup Black Plastic End

When we removed the hose from the black plastic piece, chances are the black plastic was pretty messy with hose scraps and old glue.

This is the tedious part of cleaning all the glue and glued on rubber hose bits from the black plastic end of the hose.  This is also an important step to make sure the clean hose end fits back inside the gray business end of the hose.  It's important to make sure the glue has nice surface to stick to.

Use the utility knife to CAREFULLY scrape away anything that's not black plastic.    Wear gloves if you have to.  Maybe use a vice.

I'll let you determine when it's clean enough since the last two pictures are too blurry to really see.

STEP 7: Reconstruct the Hose

You are now ready to put everything back together.

First test the fitting of the black plastic piece and the hose.  Make sure they fit together well, and if necessary, clean up any extra glue, or shave off some extra plastic hose.  You want this to be snug and close fitting, and also secure so you have as much strength as possible when everything is put back together.

With everything looking good, place a good amount of super glue around the edges of the black plastic piece where it will make contact with the hose.  If you use too much, like I did, you'll end up with some on your hands.  If you use too little, you won't have a strong hold.  I prefer to err on the side of too much, but be careful to keep the glue off your fingers.

Now wait for the glue to dry.  Follow the instructions on the glue that you have chosen and wait as long as you can to make sure everything is secure.  I ended up waiting overnight because I had the time, but you don't want to test your connection before everything is dry, or you'll have wasted all your work.

STEP 8: Continue Reconstruction

Once you glue is dry, make sure your work is awesome.

If everything looks good, proceed to put the gray plastic piece back on the hose end.

Line up the tabs on the black plastic piece with the holes in the gray plastic piece.  With everything lined up, push the two pieces together until you hear both sides click into place.  I chose to put the gray piece on the floor and push down hard on the hose.

With everything in place, you should have a good-as-new hose.

If you chose to shorten the hose to make it easier to pull out, when you stow the hose and clip the hose/tube assembly back into the main vacuum, you may encounter a slight bit of resistance the last few inches before everything clicks into place.  I believe the vacuum is designed to push the hose end up into the plastic sheath, but with just a bit of an angle adjustment, you should be able to easily put everything back into place without the hose end going back into its hiding place.

Comments

[pondy]

I could not budge the tabs and the screwdriver just damaged them. I decided on immersion in boiling water for 10 minutes before I broke them. And I succeeded with Step 1. So boil a kettle. In a heavy pan on a wide heat-resistant shelf pour in 3+ inches of boiling water and immerse the hose end. Ensure the whole thing is stable to avoid accident, and ensure the hose doesn't twist itself and flick scalding water. After 10 minutes take it out. Then with the screwdriver (avoid those with interchangeable heads, and select a smaller head rather than larger). Press on the part of the tab that is furthest from the hose. Once that end is below the plastic end the screwdriver is eased into the hole and the locking part of the tab follows. The opposite tab will just pop out as the hose is withdrawn. Dispose of the hot water safely. Keep children and pets away.

[horatio_g]

I was following these instructions but for a DC04. The tabs on the DC04 are the same colour as the body of the cuff (purple in my case). Also, to release the cuff, you also have to press in the suction decrease button at the same time as pushing in the tab on the same side as this button. (I'm taking about the cicrcular suction reduction button here, not the semi-circular wand release button further down the cuff.) Its easiest to first press in the tab on the other side and work this tab slightly up the cuff towards the hose end. Then go back to the tab on the button side. Press the button and tab at same time before working tab, again, towards the hose end. The button is on the component that slides out of cuff with the hose. Hope that helps DC04 folks!

[Jo6]

Thanks for the advice. I've modified two steps.

Step 2 - to get the grey end off the hose/black plastic piece, just insert your flat-bladewd screwdriver parallel to the hose between the hose and the grey end. Then a gentle push towards the centre will release the black tab easily. Same the other side.

In Step 6, I've soaked the plastic end in the sticker removing liquid that you can buy (e.g. made by HG at £3.50 per bottle). This has made it easier to remove the glue without damaging the plastic end or myself too much. Be sure to wash it thoroughly after this before trying to use the superglue.

Once again- thanks.

[espydell]

Thanks a bunch! This gave me the confidence to fix something that looked fixable. Like a previous commenter I was unable to pop the tabs in on the grey assembly. I tried to squeeze it in a table vise, but ended up submerging the whole business in boiling water for 5 minutes, squeezing it some more with no luck. Once it was hot though I was able to pry up the outside plastic from the bottom... sort of destroyed the tabs and their slots so once the glue dries I may be using some duct tape around the outside. Maybe the hot water trick from the start would have solved my problems.... I think in the end it will be fine. I included some pictures of what over worked tab slots look like

[JennieTom]

Thank you|! A new lease of life for my 20+ year-old DC04, after having duct tape around the split for many years! I would echo @horatio_g about the circular button in the middle of the assembly (yellow on mine) that also needs to be pushed in with the tabs.

[nikmoto]

I just used a heat gun to soften the plastic on my DC04 Absolute+ and it worked a treat. Approx 20-30 seconds heat on each side was enough to soften the black plastic tabs, and depress them into the outer housing. I held my hand around the area I was directing the hot air, in order that I could ensure I wasn't heating it excessively - I didn't want to burn or melt the plastic.

Once the black tabs were pushed inside the housing I then used a screwdriver down the inside of the outer housing to push the black piece out. It came out undamaged, and ready to be repaired.

I cut the damaged section of hose off, and trimmed away what remained bonded to the black plastic using a sharp knife.

I've now ordered some epoxy glue so I can bond the cut-down hose back on. Hopefully my 20+ year old Dyson will live to fight another day!

I suspect that in ten years time my Dyson hose will end up so short that I can't use it - perhaps I'll feel ok about replacing it by then! In the meantime, my search continues for flexible corrugated plastic hose, so that I can one day completely replace the original Dyson one.

[howy61]

Just did it on an older DC14. not sure how long it will last given the age of the hose. There is a small leak but it will put off buying a new hose for a while

[Fixedmything]

To get this off or use a hair dryer and 91% rubbing alcohol. I warmed up the silicone sleeve and plastic adapter with the hairdryer. Next I scored a bit of rubbing alcohol in the entire thing and I rolled the sleeve up close to the top. when I couldn’t get it to roll any higher I was able to just peel The gray silicone cover off with my hands. Then upon reassembly With my cleaned out hose adapter I twisted the coil of the hose back on The black adapter peace. Next poured a bit of rubbing alcohol to the grey sleave and pushed it back down over the black clips and then rolled the rest of it down. I didn’t need to use any glue because the silicone sleeve is airtight.

[meowsqueak]

Thanks for the guide - still relevant at the end of 2019!

[ScottS506]

I used a hair dryer on HIGH setting, blew the hot air through the end of the hose for a couple of minutes, then aimed the hot air at the tabs. Then the black tabs came loose with a slotted screwdriver. I also used 5-minute epoxy instead of Super Glue. Thanks for the instructable!

[mcgary911]

Thanks for this. I was on the right track, but that grey thing is a beotch to remove. Your heat idea helped a ton. As some others mentioned, I went the heat guy route. It still wasn't easy, but I got it out. We'll see how the glue holds. If the crazy glue doesn't do it, I'll break out the high temp hot glue gun.

[joanne.mckinnon.75]

Great instructions and pics. I have a problem of the hose being split at the opposite
end - where it comes OUT of the machine - any ideas for that?

[David Solberg]

They're not good machines, far too much design over basic functionality. Nice instruction

[KaitlinH5]

Thanks for these instructions, the hose is now successfully repaired after years of being duct taped! I have a couple tips for anyone else getting ready to attempt this. First, instead of boiling water, I used a heat gun to soften the plastic and get the black tabs out. Instead of 10 min in a water bath, it was about 20 seconds per tab with the heat gun.

Second, I lost my springs on the dusty garage floor. Just one at first, but then when I was putting it back together I lost the second one as well. I found a #1 spring at ACE Hardware for $0.69, trimmed it to the correct length, and it works wonderfully. So if you lose a spring, there is still hope!

I've had my dyson for 9 years, and I'm hoping this will get me some more life out of it!

[MarkF185]

It looks easy but it's not. Deffo soak items i hot water first, makes the job easier and also gets rid of all the goo. The problems i found was getting the new piece of hose back onto the black ring...PAIN, covered in superglue...nightmare!! Second problem was getting the 2 springs back into place on the purple release clip, searching on my hands and knees many times when the springs pinged out but managed to get there in the end. It's certainly not an easy job and i tip my hat to those guys who do these repairs for a living, i think i'll just cheat next time and buy a hose from eBay...difficult job but do-able.

[SusanR74]

This was awesome, thank you! Saved my Dyson for a bit longer. Im completely not handy and I had no issues. Thanks again!

[aruns77]

[BobF11]

Thank you very much. Worked well!

[Colin Bee]

Whoa! What a superb "instructable"! Brilliant text guidance and clear pics made this job a piece of cake! Thanks hugely to bluesky, and thanks to others who added suggestions on getting those dratted tabs released! As it happens, dunking in hot water (as per bluesky's advice) allowed easy release of the tabs!

Please pay attention to his/her advice re. the two little springs that control the catch mechanism: I didn't, one sprang out and bizarrely I found it eventually right ontop of one of the kitchen wall cupboards (after I'd searched every inch of the floor and kitchen work surfaces!!).

I took the suggestion and shortened the hose, and now it is much easier to pull out - very good tip!

What can I say: saved myself a good few £££, didn't have to wait for a replacement hose to arrive, and had the satisfaction of a job well done. Many, many thanks to blueky, and Instructables of course!

[Dsibb1962]

Thanks for the great instructions. You saved me cost of new vac. I was done in under an hour.