Please can you help me? I want to cry/vomit!

[ArgyMargy]

Sorry for the dramatic title. I turned on my cylinder Dyson on Sunday and noticed a horrendous faeces-like smell. On inspecting the contents of the cylinder there was dark grey/black stuff and a bit of liquid. I spent half an hour cleaning it out with disinfectant as best I could given the design of the cylinder. I came to the conclusion that something must have died in there (I can only recall hoovering up a spider). Anyway it still smells totally vile and I would like advice on how to get rid of the smell - I tried to find some Shake & Vac yesterday but Sainsburys don't stock it (who knew?)! I am seriously contemplating getting a replacement and I haven't budgeted for a Dyson as my Christmas present!!

[Fugghetaboutit]

My mums cleaner once hoovered up dried cat shit. The smell it emitted from her dyson was rank.

Boiling water and bleach sorted it

[ArgyMargy]

In case anyone's interested, I followed the advice to soak the canister in water with vinegar and bicarb and changed the filter. The smell is pretty much gone so thank you! Mind you, having looked at getting a new one I am seriously tempted !!

[TotalConfucius]

Is it an upright?
If you have the washable filters, I'd put them in a sink of water and squidge up and down with an old utensil for a while, then do it under running water, then pop the filters into a water/zoflora solution for a little while before squeezing gently and drying them on a radiator. Fill the canister with strong zoflora solution and leave it till the filters are dry. There are very few parts of a Dyson that aren't accessible via the big coloured bolts, so you can take most of it apart - just take pictures on your phone as you go along to help with putting it back together. With a sponge and a pair of tongs you can get virtually everywhere (ooo-er missus).

[Adarajames]

You can take them apart and was more or less every part of a dyson, ive done that before, including washing the filters, and they clean up really well, including getting rid of nasty smells

Dead mice STINK! I had one that got into bck workings of fridge, took couple days to work out where coming from, and cleaning it up, including black sludge like you mentioned, is one of the worst cleaning jobs ive ever had to do!

[cozietoesie]

Oh I can imagine the 'orrible meatballs right enough. It was just the managing to get them inside the hoover that stumped me.

[ArgyMargy]

Well I'm just delighted that a thread of mine has extended to 2 pages (ok so I contributed heavily).

I can imagine the meatballs thing - when you wonder whether you bought dog food by mistake..?!

[StoptheRavelry]

Oh it wasn't - it was jettisoned from on high due to extreme pungence.

I'd have hoovered it up if I'd thought it would get rid of it quicker though.

[cozietoesie]

On second thoughts, don't tell me. It may be something I'm not prepared for!

[cozietoesie]

Stop

You must have some household! Just how do you go about getting a meatball inside the hoover?

[StoptheRavelry]

It was probably just an apple core or something.

It can't smell as bad as the microwave meatballs I cooked last night. They left the building via the balcony.

Seriously maybe it's a meatball in your hoover, too

[ArgyMargy]

Oh, I found that thread - horrible. Now I regret looking. I will return to my housework. Thanks everyone.

[ArgyMargy]

Maryz - I went to find the "is this shit" thread (Mumsnet is soooo distracting) but couldn't.

[ArgyMargy]

Lol Maryz!! No, I know puke too well and anyway DS always uses the downstairs loo for that . But actually DS has no reason to lie, as he knows I wouldn't get mad anyway. These things happen.

Cozie - not really due a new one but of course I would love one! Maybe it's for the best...

[cozietoesie]

Ach - he's 19 and they're not always unnervingly truthful at that age, especially if there's an element of embarrassment. I've seen people come up with sone truly weird and wonderful 'solutions' to problems in my time.

I'd be thinking about the sales, I reckon. You might well have been due a new one in any case? They're not the longest lived of implements these days.

[ArgyMargy]

Yes, cozie, I agree - which is why I accosted DS in the first instance! His girlfriend does stay over and it could potentially have been her I suppose. But she's the kind who would immediately clean everything up and I can't see her using the hoover on a poo accident (basically she is very sensible). Well, I might ask her - if only to solve the mystery. The cylinder is currently soaking in a bucket of hot water, bicarb and vinegar. If that doesn't work I will give up and hope the January sales are good!

[Doublebubblebubble]

I know i/you probably shouldn't but if I run out of shake and vac I do use a wee bit of laundry detergent (powder).

I agree though if you can afford a new one its probably prudent to x

[cozietoesie]

The trouble is that - just maybe ( and that's a very big just) - a mouse could have got inside and died but mouse decomposition doesn't smell anything like that. It's more a smell of - how to describe it - bad sardines/gas/something like that. (I've had mousers living with me and the dratted things don't always get eaten.)

Really, the only thing that smells like faeces is - well - faeces. If I had to guess, it would be that 'someone', in a moment of embarrassment, has used the Dyson to shift a recalcitrant solid object from the loo when you weren't around. (Do you have any awkward toilets in the house?) Or, if you had animals, I might be thinking clearing up an accident on a carpet or rug. People are daft at times.

If you can conceivably afford it, I'd get a new one. You're never going to feel good about the smelly one again, are you? (Even if you can get the odour out properly which is debatable.)

[ArgyMargy]

Well, cozie that was my first thought, however it's currently only me and 19 yr old DS here - and he wouldn't know how to turn it on!! It's really had me stumped. I thought of the spider as I don't normally hoover them up but to be honest I couldn't really see how a spider could cause such mayhem. I've been hoovering for about 40 years and never had anything like it. I suspect it will remain a mystery.

[cozietoesie]

PS - who else might have used the thing? That doesn't sound like any household decomposition I've ever come across.

[ArgyMargy]

Ah! You learn something every day . Yes, good call about the filter too. Thanks again.

[cozietoesie]

Usually anyway. Maybe not in this case.

[cozietoesie]

Bricks & Mortar, OP.