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Kirby Vacuum Cleaner (Comments please)
QUESTION: Message for anyone with a Kirby Vacuum cleaner:
If so could you tell me how long you have had the product and any problems
you have had or comments you would like to make. My wife and I had a
demonstration of the G5 and are very interested but would like to here from
people who actually own a Kirby vacuum cleaner.
ANSWER: I have a Kirby I inherited from my mother; I've been using it off and on
for about 3 years. She had it for about 3-4 years. For the too-limited
amount of vacuuming I do (i.e. not often enough), it's really not worth
the money.
It's a great vacuum cleaner; the power drive is wonderful, and the
carpet shampooer does a pretty good job. But I can rent a carpet
shampooer that does a real steam cleaning (this one scrubs foam in and
replaces it, which is better for surface problems). But no way is it
worth $1600. She bought it used for about $800; that's still too much
for my book.
Six bucks at flea market. Another ten-twelve to round up all the
attachments. We have all kinds of more modern plastic vacs for home,
shop, and quick-picker ups. A well tended Kirby will require a new bag
every five years or so, and a new roller brush. Rubber band usually
lasts a year. Every so often I take it out on the deck and disassemble
so I can lubricate anything needing it, blow out the dust from the
motor, and polish the metal parts.
Mine is old enough to have a dime handle. Does anyone remember those?
The whole rod from grip to motor was hollow, and just large enough to
pop a dime into. I heard from a VERY unreliable source that this was how
the vacuum was supposed to be paid off. I found about $20 worth of
dimes, all silver.
This old Kirby is rather noisy compared to contemporary vacs, but it is
made of metal so it doesn't crack if I should accidentally hit a corner.
I use an Orek (all brittle plastic, designed by someone who never had to
figure out where to put the accessories) for general carpet and tile; a
wee Bissel for the small stuff; a wet-dry Orek Shop for the garage and
around the wood stove. Carpet shampooing is best done by someone who
drives up, does it, and leaves.
For really vacuuming, the old Kirby is slow but reliable and strong. I
got an extremely irritating "in-home demo" of a newer Kirby several
years ago, but it was just another plastic canister.
We had a Kirby Heritage at the small-town movie theater where I work. Granted,
this was a commercial setting, which results in more wear-and-tear than home
use, but the thing was horrible. We probably spent as much money on repairs
over about a 6 year period as what was initially paid for it. Never again.
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