Dyson warns vacuum owners not to try viral dryer sheet cleaning hack

Dyson has been forced to alert customers to the dangers of a viral cleaning hack using its vacuums after it went viral online. Photo / Facebook

Don't try this at home.

That's the message Dyson wants to hammer home after a "hack" went viral suggesting users of its vacuums place a dryer sheet inside its bin to make it release a "lovely smell" when using.

Despite its online popularity, Dyson has urged people not to place "foreign objects" in the bin of its vacuums as it can damage the expensive home appliances.

"While we love the idea of finding ways to reduce bad odours in your home, we would never recommend intentionally including large foreign objects in the bin of a Dyson vacuum as it could reduce the functionality of the primary cyclone and cause a loss of suction power," the brand's lead separation systems engineer Jonathan McGaughey told news.com.au.

Dyson has warned against a viral hack that involves putting dryer sheets in the barrel. Photo / Facebook

"We do not recommend that owners expose their machines to any liquid including water, or essential oils," he said.

"Owners should refer to the instructions in the manual provided with the machine upon purchase, as usage of their machine outside of what it's designed to do may void their guarantee."

The official statement follows a woman's viral post in the Mums Who Clean Facebook page that attracted more than 700 likes and over 200 comments.

In it she explained she'd been using Fluffy dryer sheets inside the barrel of her vacuum to leave her home smelling fresh while she cleaned.

"Not sure if anyone has done it but I love putting the fluffy drying sheets in my Dyson vac barrel," she wrote.

"Let's out a lovely smell while I'm vacuuming."

The trick was met with praise from fellow users who were keen to try it for themselves using the popular sheets.

Many had been impressed with the potentially dangerous cleaning trick. Photo / Facebook

"So you just pop it in the barrel? This is genius!" one person wrote.

"This is so clever as my Dyson always smells of our fur babies," another said.

"I shall try this, thank you. My vac smells like dirt when I use it no matter how clean the filter is," commented a third.

The post prompted other users to reveal they used similar tricks to make the device smell nice, including adding drops of essential oil to the vacuum bins.

A few sensible social media users warned against it, claiming it could be damaging for the motor and could affect warranties.