The Kirby vacuum has been around a long time. More people coming into our store in Wooster Ohio have a Kirby, than any other premium brand. Here is what we find with the Kirby vacuum cleaner.
The Kirby vacuum cleaner is the vacuum people think of most when you say "door to door".
The vacuum cleaner itself has many good features that create a valuable vacuum package, But it isn't perfect. Here are the pluses and the minuses.
The Kirby is a brilliant piece of engineering. Every vacuum cleaner store owner I've ever talked to says that the Kirby is very well made. The motor is mostly metal, and there are many metal components that are high quality and will provide decades of service. The fan is made from LEXAN and is very durable. It takes a lot to break a fan, and they are easy to change, if you take the machine to an authorized dealer for service. The motor isn't very powerful, but it spins the air through the motor very quickly. And it is the speed of the airflow, not the amount of raw power, that determines how well a vacuum cleaner picks up the dirt.
The nozzle has eight height adjustments. That is the most number of height adjustments of any vacuum cleaner we have seen. This way you can get the nozzle very close to the correct height no matter what kind of carpet you have. The brush roller is wood and flutters the carpet well when the nozzle is at the correct height.
The cord is 32 feet in length. Except for commercial vacuums, the longest cord available is only a few feet longer.
The Kirby has the best transmission made so that the Kirby will be self-propelled. These transmissions last for decades. I almost never see a transmission that needs service.
The filtration is accomplished by a HEPA filter liner in the cloth outer bag. The filtration is excellent, but any pet odors end up getting trapped in the cloth outer bag, and need to be laundered out.
The Kirby factory is located in Cleveland Ohio. They are legendary for their complete rebuilding of a Kirby vacuum cleaner. There is a fee, but it is well worth it. The company buffs the metal casing to a mirror finish, and replaces all worn parts for one low fee. The fee involved changes depending on when you bought the Kirby.
There are only a few negatives. The machine is very heavy. Since it is self-propelled, it bushes very easily. So if you have one floor to clean, it's a plus. But it is a bear to carry up and down stairs. The Kirby has many useful attachments, but you must dis-assemble the nozzle from the main unit to install the hose. It is harder than most other vacuums. The tools are varied and useful
But here is the main flaw with the Kirby (if you can call it a flaw), the motor is built to create immense volume of airflow. But on the attachments, suction, or raw pulling power is what is needed. So the attachments, are weak when compared to any canister vacuum. The shampooer you can get with the Kirby is not a great shampooer. It leaves about 20% of the foam it produces in the carpet to dry. This creates a slightly sticky residue in the carpet. It is also a chore to change the Kirby from a vacuum cleaner to a shampooer. Most people use the shampooer once, and never take it out of the box again.
So our review of the Kirby can be summed up as follows; We love it as an upright vacuum cleaner for vacuuming carpets. Even at it's price (over $1,00 even for just the basic package), we feel it's a great investment. But as a canister, to use the straight suction tools, and as a shampooer, we feel it is seriously lacking. That's what our customers tell us.
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