Have any of you had a newer Kirby vacuum cleaner (the one the representatives say cleans all the way to the bare floor) and could you compare it's performance to other quot;storebrands? I'm not really interested in value (I know they are terribly expensive) but want to know if they really do clean as advertised. I moved into a new house with some dirty carpets and a friend of mine offered to let me borrow her Kirby vacuum cleaner with built in carpet shampooer and I want to know how well it will clean. Is the shampooer equal to one I could rent at Wal-Mart or another store? Thanks for the help!
They are a good vacuum cleaner, but if a sales person does the test with the white filter and runs it over your carpet to show how much more the Kirby will pick up, you could put a white filter on your sweepe and still pick up dirt reguardless of what kind of sweeper it is. Kirby does hold up well and the belts are fairly easy to change, but I'm sure you can find other brands that are alot cheaper that will also do a good job. I have four pets, two great danes and two dachshuncs and I have a Phantom Thunder that does a good job. I have also heard that Dyson is a great vac too and I think that if my Phantom ever wears out that is what I will get....I like to use the rug doctor to shampoo carpets with as they do a great job and the carpets dry quickly. You could probably purchas a rug doctor on line and buy a Dyson and still be ahead cash wise as rug doctor sells refurbished shampooers on line....good luck with your choice.....
I thought Kirby's were fantastic until I used a new $300 dollar Hoover at a friends house. The Hoover was much, much more powerful and cleaned in one pass. It also weighed about 1/4 of the Kirby (those of you with stairs know what I'm talking about). I've changed my mind, Kirby's are extremely overrated.
No they are not worth it. My wife bought one from a friend who became a saleswoman. It doesn't pick up dirt that well. It is a major nuisance to change over from vacuum to rug shampooer. It has a tendency to spill the cleaning liquid (dirty water that it sucked out of the carpet) so that most of the rug is OK but there are some really dirty parts where the liquid slopped out. If you switch from one mode to the other and don't get it together perfectly it will not turn on at all. My wife claims she doesn't know how to run anything that complicated. I stick to my ShopVac if I need to vacuum something. We have no dogs so hair removal is not an issue for us. Short answer is don't bother. Get a regular vacuum and rent a rug cleaner when you need one.
I have one I bought 11 years ago. It is still running like new. I had to take it in about 3 years ago and have some new belts put on it. Other than that it has been very reliable, and YES it does clean as well as advertised. I have a Chow Chow dog and he sheds horribly. The dog is as old as the vacuum. If you mix the water VERY hot before adding the carpet cleaner. ( I use the generic cleaner soap from Wal-Mart) it works great. Hope this helps. My favorite thing about the Salesmen that sale these vacuums is they say it will last a lifetime. (which i believe them) but then 1 year later the same guy comes back and tells me I need to upgrade it. That still makes me laugh. P.S. if you have means I highly suggest you buy one.
I have a Kirby that is 18 months old and a Dyson that is about 2 years old. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats that shed like crazy. I use the Dyson first (which doesn't clog) which does a great job picking up the hair and then deep clean with the Kirby. I have bad allergies, and using the vacuums this way, I save a fortune on bags for the Kirby and get up far more dust mite droppings than I would otherwise. I thought the Kirby did a pretty good job with its dry foam carpet cleaner, but I also use steam and chemicals for some areas.
