The Dyson is sorted

It was all too easy. A very heavy wrapping of hair etc. round the brush had minimised its ability to lift dirt from the carpet, as well as partially blocking the suction inlet.

It's easiest to remove all those hairs by taking off the bottom cover. Just lay the Dyson down, upside down, with the foot lowered as if for vacuuming a floor. There are three large slotted screwheads which can be undone by turning anticlockwise a quarter of a turn; the flat edge of a 20p coin is just about perfect for this.

The brush itself will (or should) turn fairly easily. Use a pair of scissors to cut the hairs across the width of the brush, before pulling them out (a bit of winding / unwinding of the brush often helps here). Be careful not to cut any of the bristles of the brush itself, and don't nick the rubber drive belts which are at each end of the brush roller.

The photo shows what it looks like after it had been cleaned. I put this photo up to show where the suction hose runs out from the foot, in the upper right-hand corner as you look at the picture. Turning the Dyson on and checking the suction at the end of that hose is the best way to confirm that there is no blockage higher up inside.

When you've finished, just refit the cover and you're done. I'm going to empty and clean the main dust chamber now, just to get it back to full 100% suction.

It's worth pointing out that if your accessory tube has suction when a Dyson is vertical, then loss of suction at the foot has a simple cause; if the suction has gone on both the problem may well be with the motor, although a careful clean is the first solution to explore.