Kirby Vacuums? Opinion

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My husband and I just purchased a Kirby vacuum from a dealer. It seems like a great deal (Sentria model) we got it for $900, with a three year warentee and a lifetime rebuild for $175. I especially like it’s cleaning abilities (allergies run in my family, and I want to provide a healthy environment). We are still in our two day period (until the 4th), but I wanted to get some opinions from those who have used them, or have friends who have…I don’t mind the cost because I see it as an investment (my MIL has had hers for 25yrs). I just want to make sure it’s all it’s cracked up to be 🙂

Help 😃 Please
 
my friend sells kirby so i have to say all the nice things 😃

well kirby is okay but i would like to paraphrase my mother " Kirby or any other, nothing works as good as when I kneel down and scrub "

(i think “scrub” is the word for taking a mop and using it to energetically clean stuff :confused: )
 
My parents used a Kirby for YEARS! I think they got it when they 1st got married and used it until I was about 16 or so it was used for about 20 years or so. But of course no one makes things like they used to, but I’d say it was a good brand.

I myself have a Bissell.
 
I’m going to be in the market for a new one myself soon. My extremely trusty Kenmore tank vac has served me very well for about 12 years, but I’m just getting tired of dragging the tank around. I was thinking about a Dyson, but my mom hates them, so maybe a Kirby for us too…🤷

~Liza
 
mahalia said:
my friend sells kirby so i have to say all the nice things 😃

well kirby is okay but i would like to paraphrase my mother " Kirby or any other, nothing works as good as when I kneel down and scrub "

(i think “scrub” is the word for taking a mop and using it to energetically clean stuff :confused: )
Click to expand...
Scrub is getting down on your knees with a brush. Using a mop is just mopping.
 
oh that’s right.
well, the brush and the scrubbing then 😃
not the mop
(who ever cleaned a carpet with a mop 😃 )
 
We bought ours about 4 years ago and have been quite pleased. I got the deluxe model with the shampooer attachments and used that twice. It was easy and did a good job. Don’t think it’s as good as a professional, of course, but I do like it better than the soaking and sucking machines one can rent at the stores. I ran out of the shampoo though and haven’t re-ordered. I think that’s my only complaint. Since it was sold door-to-door I don’t have a place to get some extras and such. I have an order form, of course, but I want a website or a person.
 
I’ve been in the cleaning business for 25 years. Nothing beats an Oreck. It weighs 8 lbs. has incredible suction capabiities, it has a nice long cord, you can get them with hypoalergenic bags. They are much less in cost than a kirby. Maintenance is a breeze. IMO I would return the kirby and get an Oreck.
 
I LOVE my kirby. I’ve had it for about 10 years and it is going strong. Call around to supply shops by you, you’ll probably find someone who services them (they hardly ever need it) and sells supplies. I like the shampoo attachment very much also.
 
I know they don’t make these anymore but my mom has her Electrolux that she had from probably before I was born and I’m 35! It’s canister vac and I think they’ve replaced the foot and the hose once or twice but the darn thing still works. My mom has an Oreck but she likes her Electrolux better.😃 Man I wish they made things like they used to.
I currently have a Hoover -it’s a canister vac, the only canister vac I could find. It does ok. I grew up with canister vacs (the trusty Electrolux) so I hate uprights.
 
I have had a Kirby vaccuum since the seventies and it is still the only vaccuum I ever use. Never had any trouble with it. I had to replace the motor brushes a couple of times and the drive belt for the carpet brush once though. I have no idea whether the new models live up to the standards of the old ones! :rolleyes:

In Christ - J.M.J.
Mapleoak
 
Thanks so much for all the responses! I’m wondering if anyone had an older model and ended up getting a newer one, and how they compare…do they seem the same build, have the same durability? Thanks again!!
 
My mother has used a Kirby for about 20 years now. She loves it, and it has never needed any repairs. She uses it weekly.
 
$1000 :eek:

No thank you, we don’t have that kind of cash! For $1000, it better have a transmission and get 35 MPG.
 
For $1000 you can buy 4 vacuums over the next 20 years that work just as well

Think about it… virtually all the vacuum are 12 amps… all work on the same principle… vibrate the carpet and suck up some of the dirt.

I love the Kirby demo that uses your vacuum first… then shows how much “more” dirt the Kirby can capture… ever ask the demonstrator to then go back to your vacuum and repeat… use their white tissue-thing, and see that your vacuum again gets more dirt. 🤷

Anyway, we have a Kirby … my late mother in law wanted it. But my mom’s old panasonic did just as good a job.

Go on the consumer reports site and get their opinion… usually the vacuum in the $250 range gets the best overall.
]

consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/vacuum-cleaners/reports/index.htm

.
 
My mother-in-law hates her Kirby. She’s been using it for a number of years, and although she’s reasonably happy with its cleaning ability, the thing is so heavy and the attachments so difficult to use that she usually pulls out her generic $200 department store unit instead.

My wife and I bought a Dyson about a year ago, and it was one of the best household purchases we’ve ever made.
 
Thanks all,

I have been to consumer report, and one of the things that attracted me was their repetitive statement that Kirby’s are incredibly reliable, as well as the fact that they have the lowest repair rate. I do see that there are other, less expensive vacs that appear to perform as well, my interest is largely in the longgevity of the Kirby…I realize that I can buy more vacuums for the same price, but I don’t really see spending the same amount of money on 5 vacuums over the same time period.

One of the things that my MIL said about her old Kirby is that it is heavy. The model I am looking at weighs almost the same as Dyson and the like. The attachments are also simple (although I haven’t used quite all of them yet, I ran through a good part of them yesterday, plan to finish them up today, so I will keep that in mind)

Thanks all!
But thanks all, I really do appreciate the imput!
 
As for repair issues, I’m over 40. In my mom’s house growing up and my house since being and adult, repair amouts to a belt.

For those with plenty of disposable income, a $1000 sweeper might be cool. Again, we don’t fall in that income bracket and if we did, I’d just hire someone to clean for me 🙂
 
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