KIRBY Vacuum?

I used to have a Kirby Vaccum that my mom had when I was a kid. I loved it. Then it died and I didn't have the money to get it replaced with a Kirby.
S.

I hate the Kirby we had!! it was to heavy and cost way too damn much!!! I was much happier with my very light Dyson (also expensive) but much happier!!!

I did this many years ago, so I don't remember how much I paid. Unfortunately, I did not find it to be worth the money. Very heavy and unwieldy, very expensive. Did not truly do a better job than my Kenmore. I hate the job of vacuuming in the best of situations and the Kirby did not alleviate this. If anything, it made it worse. Sorry.

Return it. Heavy and suction is very poor. Mine was ready to throw out in a year.

I have two of them. One for upstairs and one for downstairs! So naturally, I think Kirby is great. It's a great shampooer, too. I've had mine for quite a few years so don't remember what I paid for them.

Someone mentioned CR already, but I was curious since nobody said anything about the Dyson. I have the Dyson Animal (bought it at Costco a few years ago), and love it. According to CR the Kirby has the lowest repair rate, and the Dyson is 2nd lowest. Ironically, both the Kirby and the Dyson are given mediocre reveiws for noise and handling. I would agree that my Dyson is noisy and not the greatest for tight spaces. The Kirby supposedly is worse. The Kenmore Progressive seems to be their favorite, the Hoover WindTunnel their 2nd fav.

I guess I'm not a fan of anything sold at my door, only because I know that the commissions are huge.

We bought a Kirby about 4 1/2 years ago, I can't remember what we paid for it. I have really loved using it, it does work very well, esspecially compared to the hoovers and other cheap brands that I used to use. We have never had any trouble with our Kirby, we have had to replace the bags and the rubber belt to keep it in good shape but that is it. The only bad part about a Kirby is how much it weighs, it is not so bad for a one story house (the kind of house we had when we bought it) but now I have to carry it upstairs to vaccume and that is not fun. It is also hard to use on our carpeted stairs, I am thinking of getting a smaller hand held vaccume for that purpose. Overall though I think that Kirbys are good vaccumes, you will not need to replace them nearly as often as the cheaper brands and they work very well. Good luck!

Hi C.,

I bought a Kirby when I lived with my sister about 14 years ago. I think that it cost about 700 bucks then. I liked the Kirby, but left it with my sister when I moved out. She still has it and still really likes it. My husband and I put laminate flooring in our previous home, and did a lot of research on vacuums before purchasing a Miele. The Miele is a canister vacuum that has a separate motor in the rug attachment that makes it work like magic. It is also an expensive machine, our cost about 800 bucks six years ago. It is lighter weight than the Kirby, easy to switch attachments, and vacuums better than the Kirby in my opinion. I think the Miele works better on picking up pet hair. We had a Border collie with long hair who shed ALL year long! Loved him to pieces, but hated cleaning up that hair from the carpet until we got the Miele.

I don't think you'll be unhappy with the Kirby. It is a good machine and works well. Just think of this regarding the cost.... you've probably already spent a few hundred dollars in "throw away" vacuums like Hoover that you bought at Target. I know we did. We purchased three different vacuums from Target prior to buying the Miele, and they were all a waste of money.

So, basically, I think that investing in a well made vacuum will definately pay off in the long run. I just like the Miele because I've had both. But the Kirby was great!

Good luck.

I bought a Kirby in 2000 for $1000 including all the attachments. I love it. Yeah it is a bit heavy but that just gives my muscles more of a workout and less time at the gym. I use my kirby to suck up everything including crumbs inside the fridge, hair on the counters, etc. I have never personally used it to paint and don't think anyone ever does so forget about that feature.

I thought my husband was daft when he said he wanted to get the kirby I could not imagine spending that much on a vacuum but he never gets as adamant as he was, and he doesn't go for sales pitches so I caved. I'm SO glad I did. I have bad allergies and used to have to take allergy medication daily, well the kirby with it's hepafilter bags makes it so that my home is a place without allergens for me. I vacuum the bed top ever couple of months, I don't have a dustpan I sweep up and then use the vacuum to suck up the crumbs. My friend just vacuums her kitchen with the kitchen floor attachement but I find the sweeping theraputic so haven't replaced that/:) keep all the attachments in the attachment case and you never have to worry about finding parts--I've never had problems with that in the 6 yrs. we've had ours. we got it right after we moved into the house we are in. I like that it weighs 23 pounds and that I get a good arm workout when I vacuum my stairs--I get a kick out of my mom when she visits and wants to vacuum she says its SO heavy and then I go over and flip the switch so that it has the self propel on...I do it without that on days I have more energy and want a bit more of a workout with my vacuuming. I use one of the rubber attachments to vacuum my dogs. it helps keep the shedding down--we have 2 dogs and a cat. I have 3 boys here during the school year and a 3 yr. old my dh and I both come from large families and our home is a revolving door for people. I'm really happy we bought the Kirby it's paid for itself over and over. I am always thinking I need to hire out and get the carpets done and dh will do it with the kirby and I remember oh yeah, it really does do a good job check of $300 saved again. it had paid for itself in the first couple of years. online I can always find free shipping so I love that I don't have to go into a vacuum store to buy bags/belts and I stock up when they are on sale. we got the pet hair roller and I would recommend it to anyone with multiple pets.
I would go with a dyson if I didn't have my kiryb--but I really am happy with the purchase. I have a feeling it will be around after I'm not!!

I've had mine for almost 20 years and I still love it. I took it in for it's first tune-up last year and the technician said that he wishes he had mine cause it was in such good condition. I still love it despite it's weight and it's paid for itself twice over now. Now, I don't have much to compare it to since it's the only vacuum I've ever owned, but the other models I've used haven't compared to my Kirby (mostly the Target Hoover of the week special). I do love the way my Kirby edges compared to other vacuums. I don't think you'll be sorry if you keep it but plan on having it for a long time if you do!

I bought a Kirby many years ago with the carpet cleaning attachment. The vacuum was too heavy for me and it hurt my back to push it and it had a self-propel feature and when I put that on I would run into the furniture. We paid way too much for it and I don't feel that it picked up near as well as the Dyson that I have now. When they come to my house, I just tell them that I am a previous customer who was not very pleased. The people in the demonstration could always get it to do more than I ever could.

Hi,
I have to admit, I fell for a the high pressure sales pitch from the Kirby salesman.
I purchased the Kirby Sentra, and tried it for 2 days. I borrowed my neighbors Miele vacuum and the Miele worked better, it was less expensive, and not nearly as heavy as the Kirby. I returned mine the next day.
In my opinion, I can't see that any vacuum is worth $1000. Consumer Reports rates the Kirby Sentra at a 67. The Hoover Wind-tunnel was rated at a 73, and it's only $250. The Kenmore progressive was rated that and is CR best buy. (its $350)

Good luck.

We LOVE our Kirby! We paid 1000 for it. The carpet shampooer is so good, we used it on the lanolium in the kitchen before we took it out and it worked so well I don't think that floor ever looked so good. Plus the lifetime warrenty can't be beat! We used to go through a Vacumn a year so it is paid for in 10 years. But all the others features it is paid for sooner. After the mattress demo I had to buy it so I could sleep at night!

I have a Kirby & have had for years. I do think it's worth the price. I purchased this over 25 years ago & it cost me about $800, it has all the extra attachments several of those I never really used. The thing with Kirby's is they last forever! You can also find places that service them, that is if they need it (mine hasn't). The only problem is you must either find a store that sells Kirby accessories or order online for the belts & bags. Other than that I can't say anything bad about it. I have looked at the bagless vacuums and may go that route next time but my Kirby just keeps on going, so no need to buy another one.

i agree that the kirby is really expensive... but ours lasted us 10 years before we got it reconditioned and that is because the cord got freyed. i would look into a reconditioned model at the vacuum shops. you would only pay $150 or so. and it should be as good as new. we paid around $1200 and that was in 1998. good luck and god bless!!

C.,
My ex-husband had purchased a Kirby right before we had initially met and paid some outrageous amount of money for it over $2K. He always talked about how great it was and that he "loved it" well he wasn't the one using it. I hated the thing, it was not user friendly at all. None of the attachments are easy to put on or take off and as a mom of 2 the last thing I want to do is spend for ever trying to get the attachments on to clean up a fairly easy mess, i.e spilt cereal (dry) on the floor and some of them crushed. We are recently divorced and he insisted on taking the POS, I was very delighted and have since gotten a new vac that only cost a couple hundred dollars but takes me less time to get done what I want it to do. My opinion NOT worth the money or time! Best of luck.

Yikes. Kirby's are the WORST! I used to own one and work for them as well when I was really young. I ended up getting a rainbow that was worth the money. I also have a hoover that rocks as well. I have spent hundreds of dollars on muliple vacuums with cyclone hepa filters and the thrift store hoover worked better than all of them. Then I tried the rainbow which was even better. No dust!

Don't buy it. While I like some aspects of it, I really don't like how heavy it is, or the trouble you have to go through to change attachments. Finding parts is also next to impossible. I don't have a Kirby dealer any where near me, so I have to buy bags, belts and heads online.
The Kirby I currently have was my husbands grandmothers, and his mom gave it to us after Grandma went to a nursing home. If we had bought a new one several years ago, it would have cost us around $1200, not including the carpet shampooer, and a couple other attachments. My mother in law recently picked up a Dyson, and she loves it. Dad has COPD complicated by emphysema and the Dyson has an even better HEPA filter than the Kirby does. I would suggest dropping the dough on a Dyson, save half the cost, and get half the weight. It really comes down to you though. Kirby is a big name in vacuums, but there are many that cost a quarter of the Kirby, and work just as well.

We purchased one about eight years ago and absolutely love it! We replaced the belt for the first time last fall and haven't had any other repairs. I love that it picks up everything, and is adjustable in height. Ours is a bit heavy, but it really does the job better than any other that we have. Our selling point was that it picked up pine needles, which were everywhere when we bought it.

In my opinion, the question isn't whether people love their kirbys. The questions are 1. Were you in the market for a vacuum before some salesman knocked on your door? 2. Have you been working on setting aside money for this vacuum? 3. Is this in your budget and affordable?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you cannot afford a vacuum, especially in this economy. $1000+ buys a lot of groceries if or when DH gets laid off at work, and if that were to happen, I know that I would be much happier with money in the bank rather than a new vacuum I am making payments on. Hope that makes sense.

Now, if you were planning on buying the vacuum, had money set aside for it, and can buy it without taking any money from your emergency fund (where you hopefully have 3-6 months living expenses stashed), then great--buy it and enjoy it. Otherwise, return it and get your money back!

We bought a Kirby system in April and I LOVE it. I did feel guilty for quite awhile over the cost (we paid about $1000), but I have since gotten over it. We bought ours from an in home demo as well....I know, I know they are pushy and annoying, but we actually were in the market for a new vacuum. Ours had just broken and it was a real cheapo anyways. I am pregnant and was having major sinus problems. My son has some seasonal allergies as well. I have since vacuumed all of the mattresses and couches in the house and noticed a MAJOR difference in my sinus comfort, as well as my son's. I just used it to vacuum out the car today and it was great! I know a lot of people say they never use the attachments, but I'm not one of those people. We have a cat and a dog that shed horribly and the attachments are my favorite part. It IS a bit heavy and cumbersome, but I don't mind too much since we have a one level house. My mother-in-law has had her Kirby for 30 years and still LOVES it. She says she'll never own another brand. For me, the job it does and the fact that it has a lifetime warranty is enough to make it worth it. If you can really afford it, then I say stick with it. Hope this helps!
K.

We have a Kirby vacuum, which we purchased 2 years ago and LOVE it! Yes, it was very expensive ($2500) but it's worth the money. We bought one because we have two dogs that shed a lot and at that time a crawling baby. I have always been concerned about my infant swallowing dog hair and developing allergies. Kirby has been the only vacuum that picks up all the dog hair a leaves our shaggy carpet looking like new. We have been really pleased with our expensive vacuum!

My parents just sold theirs after 20+ years. In those years, it needed belts no more often than any other vacuum, had the fan replaced once (I sucked up a penny & cracked it) & I don't think it had more than routine maintenance done besides that. My only problems growing up w/it were that it was HEAVY & a pain in the butt to change attachments. They've never used several of the attachments too. Never used the carpet shampooing stuff, or the extras that didn't need to come out for carpet or vehicle cleaning (I don't remember specifically, but I remember it coming w/a big kit of stuff).
I got a Dyson for Christmas a couple of years ago. To me, it cleans as well as my friend's Kirby (she said it actually picked up her pet hair-2 dogs, 2 cats-better than her Kirby) & it's less than 1/3 of the cost. I have the yellow Dyson, not the purple "pet" one.
I'd say if you can afford the Kirby, then do it. But did you buy it because the guy was persuasive or because you'll actually use all of it's parts & pieces? They last for a dang long time, but I wouldn't want to spend that much on a vacuum. My parents paid over $1000 for theirs-I just can't see making monthly payments for a vacuum.
Oh & I went to the initial training stuff to be a Kirby girl-they make so much money on those things it's ridiculous, so you're not "getting it for below cost" or anything. The training-as little as I went to-was about making quota at pretty much any cost.

Almost bought a kirby as the salesman was at our door and in my house for 2 hours with pressure but ultimately, we didn't get it and got a dyson animal which I love and cost $500 instead of $1500 as he tried to sell it to me 4 yrs ago. Their commission is huge and he got all mad when I suggested I find one on ksl.com or ebay or craiglist and he said those were stolen. That told me right there he was paid way too big of a commission. That being said, you do have the right to rescind your purchase.... this I know as I have purchased a timeshare and thought it over with my spouse for 2 days and got all the money back and are we ever glad!!!! I find that if I buy without thinking about it for at least a week, I regret it. You still can take it back and then think it over and research it... then if you still realy want one, shop around and get the best deal possible. There can't be regrets with that right?
good luck

My parents have a Kirby and paid a ton for it (they live in Hawai'i, so everything is far more expensive there). I don't think they use all the features that come with it, and when I was there and vacuumed for them, I found it really quite heavy.
We have central vac in our house, which I really love, and we also have a Bissell carpet cleaner, which does the job for me, cleaning up after three boys, a big dog, a cat and a pet bird. . . and my hubby. ;)
Remember, Kirby vacuums have been around forever and aren't going anywhere. This is good if you decide you want to keep it, because you could always have it serviced. It's also good if you decide you don't need it right now, because you can decide in a year or so that you really do want one, and in the meantime use something cheaper. Buy it because you love it and you have the money for it, not because you are feeling pressured.

Well, my mother and my mother in law have both owned their Kirby vacuums for about 20 years, and they swear by them. So I broke down and bought one a few months ago for about $850 (after a lot of bargaining). So far, it's great - and I'm hoping it will last for as long as it's lasted for my mom and mother-in-law.

Hi C.,

I've had my Kirby for somewhere around 12-15 years. I love it! I can't really say how much we paid because we owned a Rainbow before that (I got over the dumping water thing very quickly) and exchanged it. I think the going rate was around $1200 with a carpet cleaner attachment, etc. Of course, with the "trade-in" we didn't pay that much. I love my Kirby! The only drawback is it's heavy and I now live in a 3-story home, but it's worth it. It's never been in the shop and does a great job. Love the carpet cleaner part, too!

L.

I just have a grudge against Kirby because they knocked on my door one afternoon when my husband had just put the baby down for his nap (I was at work), and needed to get some work done while the baby slept. The sales guy promised it would only be 15 minutes and said he got paid $20 just for doing the pitch, so my nice husband let him in, but the guy stayed for an hour and a half, woke up the baby with the vacuuming, and didn't apologize for it at all. My husband didn't get his work done, and the guy even talked him into keeping the vacuum overnight so that I could try it out! Needless to say, I didn't try it out, and the guy got a bit of a lecture when he returned the next day to pick up the vacuum. Ooh, I'm still mad.

We have a Kirby and love it--well my hubby does, honestly I can't run the thing. He does the vacuuming so that works out. I refused to let him pay the amount they were asking at the in home demonstration so he found one for half as much on ebay. 4 years later still works great. ksl.com would be another good place to check. Good luck!

The Kirby is expensive, but we really liked ours. It worked really well and we loved all the attachments. Our new house has central vac. We use the built-in system rather than lugging the Kirby from floor to floor. But we still use the attachments on our central vac. If we were to move to a house without central vac, I would definitely pull the Kirby back out and be so happy I have it.

Our family has a nice new self propelled kirby I bought about 7 years ago and we love love love it!!! It still works really well and if it does have any problems you can have it rebuilt by the factory for less than it costs to get a good midline vacuum (that has never lasted our family this long) It has an attachment that shampoos up the babys mess abd the dogs too in a jiff and the spot doesnt stay wet as long as most shampooers. Just a thought for you. Most people that are dissatisfied with the kirby name haven't taken the time to learn how to use theirs or they owned a really old model in the past like grandma had. I would reccomend a kirby over any vacuum out there!!! we paid $1200 i think For vacuum shampooer and attachments.