kirby vacuum's... do you own one?

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nancy2394

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I remember when I was a kid we had this kirby vacuum that scared me to even look at. It was so industrial looking and weighed a ton. I hated that thing. Then I grew up and several vacuume's later I've decided to get a kirby.

I have literally replaced my vacuum every other year or so in the past 20 years. I've had the worst luck with them. I always burn the motor up or they just fizzle out and don't suck up hardly anything.

I really wanted the new model of the kirby but it's over 2000 with all the attachments with it. So, we opted to go the cheap route and looked on craig's list and I found a G4 model (not sure how old that model is). I got it for 75 bucks!! This lady was cleaning out her bacement and just wanted to get rid of it. It doesn't have any of the attachments, but I already have a shampooer so I wouldn't need any of those attachments. I'd like to get the hose and upholstery cleaner attachment.. but that's probably all I'd need.

I know they make kirby vacuum's to last a lifetime. And I've seen how well they work. I am looking forward to some deep vacuum cleaning power.. woo hoo!!
 
We have a Kirby. I'm in love with it. We've had it for 15 or so years and it's only had to have one repair when my brother sucked up a whole bunch of coins and cracked the fan blade.

It is a little heavy but the quality cannot be matched imo.
 
I'm wondering how old the G4 model is... maybe if I get ambitious enough I might google it..lol I think we got a really good deal on it because I did look to see how much a reburbished one goes for and with no attachments they were several hundred dollars. I hope the bags aren't going to cost me a fortune. I'm used to canister style vacuum's that u just empty and rinse off. So, it will be an adjustment to go back to a bag style vacuum. I can't wait to vacuum my mattresses.

We had a kirby person come to our house one day a while back when they were going door to door selling their vacuum's and I about died when he started this speech about how bed mattresses accumulate skin dander, mites, and fecal matter. I looked at him and said "I don't know about you, but I don't crap in my bed" He smiled and then went on to tell me that you don't have to deficate in your bed to have fecal matter in it. I was so grossed out when he told me about the studies they had done with mattresses and what they found in them... ewwwww.

Anyway, he had me pull up my bed spread and proceeded to put the hand held attachment onto the head of the vacuum and then vacuumed right through my sheets and it was sooooo gross when he showed me what was in the canister when he got done. Most of it looked like dirty powder. I'd hate to see what it looked like under a microscope.
 
For 75 its worth it. But Kirby's really don't rate that high on performance in consumer reports. (I would like to find a dyson on craigs list for 75 lol) But for 75 that is a great find.

The prattle the do is really impressive, but any vacuum will do what their will, if you had it set up to show with those little filtery things. (there is no resistance when those filtery things are on. Have them do a spot with the Kirby (that wasn't pre cleaned by your old vacuum first) and then have them do it with the little filters. If you have a half way decent machine already the results will be the same.

(hehe some salesmen are learning NOT to do that *snicker)
 
A lot of that gray stuff is dead mites -- a huge cause of allergies.

I've got my dad's mother's old Kirby -- circa 1945. It still outcleans everything else. :) I've also got a newer, one, maybe a mid 80s model, I think? Fantastic machine. I have all the hoses and attachments to that one. It was $200, refurbed, at a vacuum cleaner repair shop.
 
Ewww. Nancy, I wish you hadn't mentioned that. Now I'm eyeing my bed very suspiciously...
 
I wanted a Kirby like the one my mom has.
I LOVE hers.
But our vacuum cleaner was found to be crap, and I was talking to my mother-in-law, and she advised against it because she knows my back is not the greatest.

Instead we got a Dyson Animal (the latest model), and I don't think I'll ever look back.
It's AMAZING so far.
And it comes with a 5 year warranty.
 
The prattle the do is really impressive, but any vacuum will do what their will, if you had it set up to show with those little filtery things. (there is no resistance when those filtery things are on. Have them do a spot with the Kirby (that wasn't pre cleaned by your old vacuum first) and then have them do it with the little filters. If you have a half way decent machine already the results will be the same.
Click to expand...

That's the way I showed them :) And yes, there was a HUGE difference in cleaning behind the Kirby and cleaning behind whatever else, especially if I was lucky enough to have a customer who had a Rainbow :rofl1:

I've never trusted Consumer Reports on anything.

EDIT: If you set the Kirby properly, it's not heavy to push. Most people set the head down too low for the surface, making it difficult to use and hampering the suction and beater brushes as well.
 
MPP said:
Ewww. Nancy, I wish you hadn't mentioned that. Now I'm eyeing my bed very suspiciously...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm looking at my bed very suspiciously as well...lol. I change my sheets regularly and never climb into the bed all nasty and dirty. But, as the guy pointed out... people fart in bed. I know TJ farts in his sleep all the time, I probably do in my sleep as well...lol And when u fart, u most definately have the chance to expell little tiny fragments of fecal matter with that gust of air. That is such a gross thought..ewwww.
 
Dekka, I sold my Dyson for $100 in a garage sale (it was approx. $600 new...but was a wedding gift from someone). To be honest, we had 14 dogs at the time and that vacuum wasn't near what they were/are hyped up to be. I was sorely disappointed.

I have a Rainbow and I LOVE it. Yes, the water is a pain at times, but the fact that dust doesn't escape (and you can vacuum up and drown spiders :D ) is a major plus along with its major suction power.
 
Chewbecca said:
Instead we got a Dyson Animal (the latest model), and I don't think I'll ever look back.
It's AMAZING so far.
And it comes with a 5 year warranty.
Click to expand...

That's the one we have ... and same result. We love it, have never had a vacuum work this well and all the pet-hair-specific attachments really help. :)

Riley (Westie) doesn't shed, but Buddy (Golden Retriever) does ... not as much as other breeds, but dog hair around kinda bugs me sometimes. HowEVER, we have a Himalayan cat and a Turkish Angora ... both cats shed BUCKETS. The Dyson Animal really helps there, especially since cat hair tends to be harder to get rid of that dog hair. Some vacuums just can't handle it.

Miakoda said:
Dekka, I sold my Dyson for $100 in a garage sale (it was approx. $600 new...but was a wedding gift from someone). To be honest, we had 14 dogs at the time and that vacuum wasn't near what they were/are hyped up to be. I was sorely disappointed.

I have a Rainbow and I LOVE it. Yes, the water is a pain at times, but the fact that dust doesn't escape (and you can vacuum up and drown spiders :D ) is a major plus along with its major suction power.
Click to expand...

See, now that's strange. What model Dyson did you have? Because the vacuum I had right before the Dyson Animal was a Rainbow. I loved it and thought it was the greatest vacuum ever, even with the PITA of emptying and cleaning the water tank each time.

But then stepson used my Rainbow and never bothered even emptying the water tank ... just put the whole thing back in the closet with the tank overful with dirty water after he (finally) cleaned and vacuumed his room. End result was parts that had connected with the wet dirt in the water tank actually started to rust. Tried to save it but it was a no-go, the Rainbow just didn't work right after that. (And yes, I coulda strangled stepson.)

We weren't able to get another Rainbow in this area, so got the Dyson Animal to replace it. I was not pleased at having to get a substitute, but honestly the Dyson Animal works much better than the Rainbow ever did. Works better and SO much easier to empty.

Side Note: But yes, stepson has managed to mess up the Dyson Animal too ... just so far nothing that affects its performance. (But I swear the kid breaks everything he touches.) The clip that holds the dirt tank on is chipped, and he bent the wand so that I can't get it to push back in anymore after taking it apart. Needs more hand strength than I have, so his father always needs to put it back together.

After he broke my Rainbow, I WANTED to keep an old Eureka upright we had in the closet and rarely used .. and that would be for his exclusive use on the rare occassion he vacuums his room. But no, his father insisted the Eureka was just taking up space and that the kid had "learned his lesson" since breaking the Rainbow. :rolleyes:
 
Never mind. I Googled it. Sounds OK for dust, but I really need something that will pick up A LOT of dog hair and also sand. I go through vacuums like money through a gambler's hands, seems like. Be interested to know how the Kirby handles the pet hair problem.
 
Trust me, my Rainbow has gotten and still gets a workout from dog hair! If it couldn't handle it, I would've euthanized it by now. :D
 
my parents have a rainbow because my mom has awful allergies. it works fine, but just the fact of the stupid water tank aggrivation was enough to make me never want to buy one..lol I love the rainbow shampoo... it smells sooooo good.
 
Miakoda said:
Dekka, I sold my Dyson for $100 in a garage sale (it was approx. $600 new...but was a wedding gift from someone). To be honest, we had 14 dogs at the time and that vacuum wasn't near what they were/are hyped up to be. I was sorely disappointed.

I have a Rainbow and I LOVE it. Yes, the water is a pain at times, but the fact that dust doesn't escape (and you can vacuum up and drown spiders :D ) is a major plus along with its major suction power.
Click to expand...

Sounds about right to me, LOL

Last year I was in the market for a vacuum.......we only have carpeting upstairs, but we still have two dogs in the house. I thought DYSON because that's all the hub bub. I was still working (not laid off yet) and spoke with a few of the engineers to see what they had at home. One indeed had a dyson, he said they used it for a month or two and now it sits in the closet because they switched back to their Kirby.

Another engineer was ALSO in the market for a vacuum and ran me off copies of the consumer report magazine he happened to have. Dyson wasn't even rated in the top 5 for performance! :eek: That really surprised me, I was under the impression (through clever marketing and the high price I guess) that it was right up there with the big boys but indeed it was NOT.

The report was also broken down into canister and upright, of course the canisters 'normally' do a better job, but lots of people don't care are to lug them around, lol

Kevin's ex mother in law is a CLEAN FREAK.......I mean I have never met anyone more ANAL about it, OCD about it actually. She also swears by her Rainbow and doesn't understand how anyone could use anything else and get the floors clean, LOL.

Anyway, we ended up getting a cheap Bissel Pet Hair eraser. For the price, it rated decent on the list and it had a stair tool (our stairs are carpeted) so that was good enough since it's only used upstairs. If we had all carpeting, or more of it downstairs in heavy traffic areas, I would DEFINITELY have a Kirby or Rainbow..........I mean, 5 kids and two dogs? Oh ya! LOL
 
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